What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tehran Gambit
The Soviet suitcase nuclear bombs seemed of little worth after the decisive fall of the USSR. One Brigadier General of the Red Army thought otherwise and placed 80 of the bombs in his private safekeeping area. Unfortunately his friend, Lieutenant General Lebed, insisted on ranting publicly about the missing bombs, so a modification was made to his personal Mi-8 helicopter and he died in the crash.
About the same time, Sasha, a luscious young KGB agent, in the traditional role of an Intourist guide, singled out an American taking her St Petersburg tour, and gave him the VIP special. He fell for her immediately and to her surprise and patriotic consternation, she succumbed to his charm and strength. They spent the summer intertwined on the bed of her little apartment, then she was summoned by her Palkovnik to a bleak interrogation room. He told her she had a choice: Dump the Amerikanetz, who would then be deported, or watch him die anonymously and very painfully.
The young lovers were to meet the next evening at a restaurant on the Moyka in St Petersburg, but she did not appear. The Amerikanetz, named Larson, waited for her for more than four hours in the freezing snow. He finally left word for her at the restaurant and walked to her apartment. It was completely empty: no furniture, no clothes, no framed certificates and no cat. The missing cat, Boris, cast clarity on the situation. Larson returned to his hotel, packed one bag, and was out of Soviet airspace before the bureaucrats even started drafting his order of deportation.
Many years later Larson almost had a heart attack when Sasha came to his door, still beautiful and sexy. With apologies and tears, she explains how she had been forced to leave him to save his life. She is now part of an FSB Counter Terror team and she hopes Larson will help them locate and neutralize a Chechnyan terrorist, Tatsuyev, who has been hired by the Iranians to detonate a 1.3 kt nuclear bomb in Manhattan. Larson hesitates, arguing that this situation should be handled by the New York Police bomb squad, or HS, or the military. Sasha's tears seem genuine as they fall on her cleavage and her legs are just as beautiful as before, inducing Larson to offer to help, his better judgment aside. Despite a passionate kiss, she refuses to sleep with him and leaves Larson wondering what he has gotten himself into.
Colonel Oleg Timchenko, the SVR Resident, leads the FSB/SVR joint force to locate the terrorists. He is Russian old school, slow, methodical, doing searches by grids rather than algorithms or intelligence assets. Oleg thinks he can handle the situation without having an Amerikanetz involved, especially one who might get in the way of his intentions for Sasha. Larson finds this plodding approach counterproductive in view of the short timeline and in fact they have made no progress. He consults an Arab friend in the New York Police Department. Her advice is unconventional, but against the Russians failure to produce results, Larson decides to pursue it. Now his enemies include the terrorists (the Chechnyans, now joined by Hamas), the NYPD, the FBI and possibly his new "friends," the Russians. His only ally is the woman he loves, the woman who abandoned him before.
About the same time, Sasha, a luscious young KGB agent, in the traditional role of an Intourist guide, singled out an American taking her St Petersburg tour, and gave him the VIP special. He fell for her immediately and to her surprise and patriotic consternation, she succumbed to his charm and strength. They spent the summer intertwined on the bed of her little apartment, then she was summoned by her Palkovnik to a bleak interrogation room. He told her she had a choice: Dump the Amerikanetz, who would then be deported, or watch him die anonymously and very painfully.
The young lovers were to meet the next evening at a restaurant on the Moyka in St Petersburg, but she did not appear. The Amerikanetz, named Larson, waited for her for more than four hours in the freezing snow. He finally left word for her at the restaurant and walked to her apartment. It was completely empty: no furniture, no clothes, no framed certificates and no cat. The missing cat, Boris, cast clarity on the situation. Larson returned to his hotel, packed one bag, and was out of Soviet airspace before the bureaucrats even started drafting his order of deportation.
Many years later Larson almost had a heart attack when Sasha came to his door, still beautiful and sexy. With apologies and tears, she explains how she had been forced to leave him to save his life. She is now part of an FSB Counter Terror team and she hopes Larson will help them locate and neutralize a Chechnyan terrorist, Tatsuyev, who has been hired by the Iranians to detonate a 1.3 kt nuclear bomb in Manhattan. Larson hesitates, arguing that this situation should be handled by the New York Police bomb squad, or HS, or the military. Sasha's tears seem genuine as they fall on her cleavage and her legs are just as beautiful as before, inducing Larson to offer to help, his better judgment aside. Despite a passionate kiss, she refuses to sleep with him and leaves Larson wondering what he has gotten himself into.
Colonel Oleg Timchenko, the SVR Resident, leads the FSB/SVR joint force to locate the terrorists. He is Russian old school, slow, methodical, doing searches by grids rather than algorithms or intelligence assets. Oleg thinks he can handle the situation without having an Amerikanetz involved, especially one who might get in the way of his intentions for Sasha. Larson finds this plodding approach counterproductive in view of the short timeline and in fact they have made no progress. He consults an Arab friend in the New York Police Department. Her advice is unconventional, but against the Russians failure to produce results, Larson decides to pursue it. Now his enemies include the terrorists (the Chechnyans, now joined by Hamas), the NYPD, the FBI and possibly his new "friends," the Russians. His only ally is the woman he loves, the woman who abandoned him before.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 30, 2014
1 person is currently reading
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.