The two shadowy black stealth jets continued to roar over southern Europe. Forty-four
liked to stay way south of Germany when moving around Europe. His travel back from France
would take a little longer, but detection and interception would be less likely. They were flying
supersonic after all, what's another hour in the big picture. On approach to the Russian border
and the Caucasus Mountains Forty-Four resumed the lead of the two-plane formation.
The planes came in extremely low over the Black Sea, creating a small wake from the
powerful exhaust of the RASP engines. Although highly trained and disciplined, Forty-Four had
some superstitions. He took a flight path up and around the peak of Mount Elbrus. The pilots of
the KGB always circled the highest peak in western Russia when they entered and exited their
country. This path honored Prometheus, the titan who gifted humanity with fire and the art of
civilization and was then betrayed by the god Zeus and chained to the mountain‟s eighteen-
thousand foot peak for all of eternity.
After the pilot‟s tribute, they turned northeast and headed for KGB headquarters, where
Maximillian would be awaiting their return. The Rasputin estate consisted of the converted
Vysotsky Monastery. Maximillian needed a cover for KGB operations headquarters and the
heavily walled compound was perfectly suited to the task. With a ridiculous amount of money,
he paid the Orthodox Monks to give up the rights to the Monastery and relocate to a new home.
The beautiful deep blue minarets and fourteenth century architecture were a deep contrast to
the high tech world of the modern KGB headquarters located within the walls and under the old
fortress. When Vladimir the Bold constructed the fortress in the late thirteen hundreds he could
not foresee that only two hundred years later Ivan the Terrible would add to the then decrepit
structure the addition of a beautiful five domed cathedral. Finally restored to its original
purpose of providing security to the homeland by Rasputin, the fortress housed mass amounts
of treasure, fine art and the latest in start of the art weaponry and vehicle propulsion
technology.
The two VTOL aircraft hovered briefly over the open square in the middle of the fortress
waiting for the hidden landing bay doors to open up and give them access to the aircraft hangars
two stories below the surface. Maximillian was at the hangar door waiting for them to touch
down. Forty-Four stepped down from the cockpit and approached Max. As he greeted his
leader, he also handed him the large Petorium crystal they retrieved from Jacques apartment.
Max smiled at the sight and weight of the crystal, "Forty-Four, looks like you ran into
some trouble, our scanners picked up only three people returning in our airplanes. Do you have
the rest of these fine crystals?"
Forty-Four never liked to give bad news to Max, hesitantly he answered, "Sir, we were
YOU ARE READING
Space & Time
AdventureWritten in 2014 the storyline involves an almost crystal ball view of Putin's growing aggression towards Ukraine. Mikhailya Groschev was born in the year 1952 in the Soviet Union controlled Ukraine. Her father is an Astrophysicist and a Cosmonaut...
