CIA Agent Warfield sat on a bench alongside another of St. Petersburg’s beautiful churches. Beside him, new agent Barnes fidgeted.
“Where is agent Privideniye coming out?” said Barnes.
“Over there.”
“I don’t see a door there.”
Warfield turned a page of his newspaper. “Not to worry.”
Moments later a middle-aged man walked through the wall of the church. As he passed the pair Privideniye murmured, “They made the switch. It’s transferring to Khabarovsk.”
Warfield just nodded. Barnes stared aghast and hissed, “He walked through a wall!”
“When in Russia, we bring our A-game. Privideniye has unusual skills.”
“Is he a mutant?”
“No.”
“Manipulates quantum fields?”
“Nyet.”
“Right! Nanotechnology.”
“Hardly. He’s worked for American intelligence for almost 100 years.”
“We had age-defying drugs way back then? Hmm. Guess he disagreed with the October Revolution of 1917.”
“You could say that,” murmured Warfield. “He died defending the Tsars in 1917.”
______________________________
Written for What Pegman Saw: https://whatpegmansaw.com/2017/09/16/st-petersburg-russia/
Author’s Notes:
The October Revolution was the Communist takeover of Russia in October 1917:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolution
Privideniye: One of the Russian words for “Ghost.”
https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the/russian-word-for-c4745785181de931cfd5bd79294cb1687d82aea9.html
Great story, EagleAye! I enjoyed the way you built expectation by the repeated questions of Agent Barnes, and resolved them by revealing that Privideniye died in 1917 and is therefore a ghost. Certainly got a chuckle from me!
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I’m glad it worked and you enjoyed the story. Much appreciated! 🙂
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I love all the wild suppositions. Even so, I never saw the ghost coming!
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Same.
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Good to know I can still surprised a seasoned writer/reader once in a while. 😉 Thanks so much! 🙂
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Ha! Delightful. Ghosts can come in handy, it seems.
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Yeah, especially as spies. Boards don’t creak beneath their feet. 😉 Glad you had fun. Thanks very much! 🙂
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Ha! Again. I hadn’t thought of the creaking board thing. 😉
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Nice twist, Eric.
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Thank so much, Ted! 🙂
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A ghost would definitely be a great spy to have on your side! Fun twist, although I’m worried about how long it took the new guy to catch on; he’ll need to up his game if he’s going to survive long in this job.
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Haha! You are so right. Barnes is a bit green to be working in Russia. Warwick has a big job getting the new guy up to snuff and otherwise…not dead. Of course, this ghost isn’t the CIA’s only ghost… 😉 Thanks so much, Joy!
p.s. What’s interesting is when a CIA ghost comes across a Russian GRU ghost. That’s when things get “fun.”
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I can see it now: the Ghost Wars. Like the Cold War, only mistier. All the more reason for Barnes to get up to snuff quickly!
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Now you know the inspiration for Tom Clancy’s techno-military thriller “Ghost Recon.” 😉
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Fantastic story. Reminded me of the Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever where Kirk and Spock step through a wall into the past.
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I know that one well! Isn’t that the one where Bones goes temporarily insane and jumps through the “Time Keeper?” Thanks so much! 🙂
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Spasibo. Another great tale, Eric, and I never saw the end coming 😀
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Glad to hear that. Thanks so much, Lyn! 🙂
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Haha – if you zoom out and round there are two bodiless faces… ghosts… I nearly wrote a story based on them. So glad I didn’t. Your story is way better, way funnier. 😀
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Aha! The ghosts are there. 😉 Brilliant minds…as they say. Thanks so much for the kind words. 🙂
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Dear Eric,
Very clever play on words. Love the way you constructed the story with the wide-eyed ‘aha’ at the end.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Glad the “aha” appealed. Thanks so much, Rochelle! 🙂
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The ideal spy! I’m glad he’s on our side.
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Me too. He’d be a terribly effective enemy. 😉 Thanks kindly! 🙂
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