Struggle in Soviet Russia

"We should use our ideological advantage to recruit influential intelligence personnel extensively in the Western world, at least in Eastern Europe," Petrov talked freely in front of Victor with a cigarette in his hand.

For Petrov, he prefers to do intelligence work than diplomatic work, and it is obvious that he has done a lot of in-depth work in intelligence work. The most important thing is that he is joining the People’s Committee of Foreign Affairs. Before that, he also received two years of intelligence work training.

When Petrov expounded his point of view, Victor did not speak, but just sat quietly and listened with a smile, acting as the most qualified listener.

"Actually, in my opinion, the independence of the intelligence department should be higher." Petrov seems to have a hard time meeting an audience like Victor. More importantly, this guy who seems to be surprisingly good in character is still The chairman of the National Security People’s Committee is the first person in charge of intelligence work within the alliance.

"The reason for this consideration is that there is a certain contradiction between intelligence and decision-making." In the face of a good listener like Victor, Petrov apparently let go of it completely. He continued to talk, "According to normal Procedures, intelligence obtained by the intelligence department, should provide reference and basis for decision-makers at the upper level, but facts have proved that this normal procedure is often not followed. In many cases, the intelligence department is trying to obtain intelligence. It proves that the decisions made by the upper-level decision makers are correct."

What Petrov said is already in place. In fact, this is the biggest problem in the work of the NKVD in the past. Of course, this is not a phenomenon unique to the alliance. On the contrary, in countries around the world , There are such problems.

What does Petrov mean?

Quite simply, what he meant is that according to normal working procedures, the national intelligence agency will first obtain intelligence from abroad, and then submit the intelligence to the higher-level decision-making agency, and the decision-making agency will then formulate corresponding countermeasures based on the content of the information. .

However, this kind of work procedure is only idealized. In many cases, because of the subordinate relationship between the superior and the subordinate, the decision-making of the superior decision-making department is not made based on the intelligence of the intelligence department. Not only will the information obtained by the intelligence department not be used as a reference, they have to find relevant information to prove that the decision made by the higher-level decision-making department is correct.

In Victor’s previous life, such things did not happen rarely. The most famous of these was the US CIA’s investigation of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which was purely a case of intelligence serving politics.

Yes, Victor is more optimistic about this comrade Petrov. Although the two people have not been in contact for a long time, and this time, although Petrov said a lot, Victor did not dare to say how much he knew about each other. , But one thing is certain, that is, the diplomat who will be the Soviet ambassador to China has enough enthusiasm in intelligence work. This job must have enough enthusiasm.

"Ling Ling..."

The crisp ringtone interrupted Comrade Petrov's narration. He paused with a bit of meaning, and glanced at the phone on the desk.

"Sorry, I'll answer the call first," Victor said, standing up, smiling at the other person.

Walking to the desk, Victor picked up the ringing green phone and put the receiver to his ear.

I don’t know what the person on the phone said, it’s just that the smile on Victor’s face froze for a while, but he quickly changed the smile back, and said into the receiver: "I know, you will be in my office in five minutes. Come in the office."

Hanging up the phone, Victor turned around and walked back to the chair just now, holding the back of the chair with both hands, and said to Petrov on the other side: "That's it, Comrade Apollo Alexandrovich, I Want to know your thoughts, are you interested in working for the People’s Committee of National Security?"

"Oh?" Petrov was stunned for a moment. After saying so many words before, he seemed a little excited and cooled slightly. He met Victor's gaze and after a while indulged, said, "That's probably not something I can make a decision. After all, I just took over the appointment of the committee, and I will go to Chongqing in a while."

"Of course, your appointment cannot be changed now," Victor smiled and said, "However, fortunately, our National Security People’s Committee is a rather special department after all. Your position in the People’s Committee for Foreign Affairs , It will not affect your position in the National Security People’s Committee."

After a pause, he went on to say: "The most important thing is that, as you said before, the war against the Germans has come to an end, but it is too early to say that we are about to usher in peace. , Because if nothing happens, when the war on the western front ends, we will turn our eyes to the east. In other words, in the near future, our focus on military intelligence will shift to the eastern front. Transfer to the Japanese. As the intelligence department of the alliance, we must do the corresponding work ahead. Therefore, if you are willing to work in the National Security People’s Committee, I hope to take advantage of the job opportunities in China in the next few years. Build our intelligence network in the Far East."

Petrov was silent for a while. For him, this was indeed a tempting invitation. After all, he likes intelligence work, which is different from diplomatic work. The latter is just a job, while the former is his hobby. .

"If it will not affect the appointment of the People's Committee of Foreign Affairs, I am willing to give it a try," Petrov said cautiously without considering it for too long.

"Well, you are welcome, Comrade Apollo Alexandrovich," Victor reached out his hand and smiled after finally waiting for the affirmative reply. "From now on we will be colleagues. Later, your secret appointment will be Someone has contacted you, of course, there are some..."

After spreading out his hands, Victor made a helpless expression and smiled: "The more cumbersome review process is a rule that has always existed in the Committee. I hope you can understand."

"Of course," Petrov said, standing up, shaking hands with him.

"Then, I hope everything goes well for you in the Far East," Victor said with a smile.

Although Petrov hadn’t heard what was said on the phone before, he knew that Victor was busy with something, so he took the opportunity to leave. Although he has no problems with the political review, he still has to go back and do some preparatory work.

For Petrov, Victor didn't want him to stay in the Far East for too long, but wanted to observe him for two years. If his abilities are really good, he is ready to transfer him back and become his deputy.

In Victor's view, people who do theoretical work are indispensable in any department, even those that are pragmatic. The People’s Committee of the National Security Council does not lack people who do practical things, nor does it lack people with outstanding professional capabilities, but it lacks people who can do theoretical work, and Petrov is obviously one such person.

When Petrov was sent out of the office, Victor's smiling face instantly became gloomy when the office door closed.

"What's the matter?" Nino noticed the change in his mood and asked with concern.

Victor did not answer directly. He sullied his face and shook his head. When he walked back to the desk, he said in a deep voice: "There is some bad news coming back from London. The situation seems a bit urgent. An important lurking person has activated a special emergency contact code."

Hearing what he said, Nino didn't ask much. Although her relationship with Victor was very special, the rules were the rules. Knowing too much about things that she shouldn't understand and ask about is not a good thing.

After another few minutes, someone knocked on the door of the office.

Nino walked over quickly and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a burly middle-aged man with a face full of flesh. At the moment the door opened, the other person stood up straight, gave a military salute to Victor, who was standing next to his desk, and said loudly: " Comrade Chairman, Laptev reports to you."

"Come in," Victor said without looking up.

He is more familiar with the middle-aged man outside the door. The other party's name is Ivan Sergeyevich Laptev. He is the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service who is in charge of the British intelligence department, and his military rank is colonel.

Quickly walked in the door, Laptev closed the door easily, and walked to Victor's desk.

"What's the matter?" Victor turned his head to look at him and asked bluntly when he walked in front of him.

Laptev did not speak, but raised his right hand. At this time, he was carrying a small metal box in his right hand, which was handcuffed to his wrist.

Seeing the box in his hand, Victor took two steps and took out a key from the drawer on the side of the desk.

He opened the box with this key and took out a red file sealed with wax from it.

The file bag is not very thick, and obviously, there are not many files in it. Victor checked and saw that there was no problem with the file bag. Then he opened the package and took out a yellow letterhead file from it.

This document is printed, and the initial signature is a Russian letter, which translates to "orphan". As soon as he saw this letter, Victor knew who submitted the document, and at the same time, he immediately realized The severity of the problem.