Fox said, “Talk to him, certainly. But hear my offer first.”
* * *
• • •
Won did speak with the FSB officer back in Russia via encrypted messaging, and even though Filotov claimed to have no clue who this Roger Fox was, he said he would check with his higher-ups. He reported back that Fox was, indeed, known to Russian intelligence. He lived in London, and Filotov suggested she go there to hear him out.
This was something she could not do without North Korean approval; in fact, she had a responsibility to report this contact with the Russian agent, even though the North Koreans knew she was on a joint mission set up by Moscow. But Pyongyang had ordered her home and she was certain the Russians would only want to talk to her in London if they had some sort of need of her talents.
She decided then and there not to seek approval from her handler in Pyongyang. She would go on the trip, and then report what she’d learned.
The following morning she was picked up by Fox in a Mercedes, along with a giant of a man, who seemed to Janice to be Fox’s personal security officer. Soon the three boarded a private jet and flew to Farnborough Airport, thirty-five miles southwest of London. Here a black Mercedes SUV with a driver picked them up and drove them out of the airport grounds.
As soon as they pulled onto the highway, the huge blond in the front passenger seat turned around and handed something to Fox. The Russian turned to his guest.
“Dr. Won, we ask that you wear this blindfold for the duration of the trip. For security reasons, I’m certain you understand.”
Won did as she was told, taking the nighttime mask and placing it over her eyes.
The vehicle stopped an hour later and she was escorted carefully across a gravel driveway and into a building. A maze of corridors and steps came next, and by the time Fox helped her into a chair she was utterly disoriented.
Finally her blindfold was removed, and she found herself seated at a table in an opulent dining room. Outside the window she saw a beautiful expanse of lawn, several acres in size, surrounded by a well-manicured and extravagant-looking garden.
Fox was there, seated next to her. A bearded man in his sixties sat across from her at the table, but he stood as soon as she saw him and bowed.
Fox made the introductions. “Dr. Won, this is my employer, David Mars.”
Mars extended a hand. “A pleasure, Doctor. I trust your journey was both comfortable and uneventful.” He poured tea from a service for all three of them, then sat back down. “It’s green tea, from Korea, in honor of your visit today.”
Mars sat close to her, leaning closer still. Won did not like having her personal space violated, so this intrusion disquieted her, although the man still smiled at her like they were long-lost friends.
He said, “Your nation has served you well with your operation to move you into the West, and you, in turn, have served it quite admirably over the past three and a half years.”
“Who are you? You aren’t Russian, either.”
“I trust the fact that Fox has been cleared by Russian intelligence will put you at ease, but I will tell you something about me. I represent interests here in the United Kingdom, interests that I believe coincide with your own.”
“How would you come to know of my interests?”
When she stole another glance at Fox, Mars said, “I have your file from GRU. It’s all there.”
She nodded slowly.
“We also know you’ve been recalled by Pyongyang.”
Won’s eyes narrowed. “There would be nothing in my file about that. The Russians are not privy to my orders directly from Pyongyang.”
Mars sipped his tea. “You put your flat up on the market; you’ve not been shopping for another residence. You haven’t taken on new assignments at the Centre for Disease Prevention; it certainly seems as though you are winding your time down in Sweden. We don’t see evidence that you are moving to another job in the West, and Russia did not recall you, so we can only assume your birth nation has asked you to return home.”
“You are spying on me. I do not think my birth nation will like hearing that.”
Mars shrugged now. “They don’t know you are here. I doubt you’ll be telling them anything I tell you.”
Won realized this man knew more about her than she did him,