Rainbow Six: November Sun

60: "DEBRIEFING"

Harry began the slideshow displayed up in the main monitor. "As you all remember, we were able to take one of the terrorists - Petr Tverdovsky - prisoner in Brussels, thanks to Nøkk's efforts."

Nomad sat in the seat next to her, and she flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Through extensive questioning, Belgium has been able to extract adequate information to piece together what we think to be the entire organization." Harry clicked to the next slide. "Yegor Federov - AKA Tsar, the man who led the attacks in Brussels - is only part of the puzzle. He has a brother named Matvei, whom Tverdovsky has named as the mastermind behind November Sun."

Twitch raised her hand, and Harry nodded to her. "Yes, Pichon?"

"What's the significance of 'November Sun' as their name?" the woman asked.

"We don't know yet," Director Six admitted. "Multiple agencies are investigating possibilities of a large scheme planned for November, but we just don't know."

He clicked to the next slide. "This is Matvei Federov. These are all of his known associates." Over the next minute, Harry read off the names
as portraits of members of November Sun popped up on screen. The Rainbow operators took down notes dutifully.

"What do all of these men have in common?"

"Beslan," Fuze replied. There was a tinge of pain in his answer.

"Precisely. And, as we suspected, Petr Tverdovsky confirmed that November Sun's mission was to seek vengeance for the massacre." Harry's tone grew dark. "It was to culminate in a nuclear device detonation at the Washington E. Convention Center yesterday."

"Guess we got lucky," Warden remarked dryly.

"Indeed." Harry progressed the slideshow.

Four portraits moved to the top center of the screen. Scores of others shrank and were frayed out. One of them was a generic outline of a woman.

"These four are the only ones remaining; Tverdovsky, who has been giving us intel; Boris Andreyev, Matvei's top lieutenant; and of course, Matvei Federov himself." Harry pointed to the blank female silhouette. "Tverdovsky tells us that there is a female in a power position of sorts that Matvei and Yegor routinely contacted. We don't know her identity, only that she is Russian; and because the Federov brothers kept her identity so secretive, we have to assume she is in a position to do great damage."

"Russian government?" Ela suggested.

"Very well could be. We have to assume the worst."

Harry opened a laptop and swiped some files from the drive over to the operators' desk tablets. "With everyone else KIA, we have Matvei, Boris, and Mystery Russian Woman remaining."

"Want us to assist with the investigation?" Dokkaebi asked.

"Roger." Harry took a sip of water before pointing around the room. "You, Pichon, Castellano. Coordinate your efforts with Vince Vion."

Dokkaebi, Twitch, and Valkyrie all voiced their affirmatives.

"What a sad story this all was," remarked Frost, gazing up at the many pictures of November Sun's operatives. "They met hell as children, and never left."

"Good and evil share both sides of a very thin coin." Harry swept his gaze solemnly over the men and women of Rainbow. "Now, daily base operations continue as usual. Besides Dokkaebi, Twitch, and Valkyrie, all schedules remain unchanged. I'll keep you all posted." He looked out at his operators and smiled. "Thank you all for being the best at what you do. You make my job easier. You are dismissed."

The men and women of Rainbow dispersed, filing noisily out of the briefing room. Their chatter and voices blended together in a stream that Harry found comforting.

Director Six went over his files for a couple minutes more before shutting down the terminal and connected monitors. He picked up his laptop, grabbed his water, and turned out the lights as he left.

What he wasn't allowed to discuss with his team was that all intel had already been forwarded to Anna Grímsdóttir of Fourth Echelon. If anyone could find Matvei Federov and his remaining associates, it was Sam Fisher.

"Harry?" came a gruff voice.

Harry turned to see Tachanka waiting for him. "Alex. What can I do for you?"

Alexsandr folded his arms and smiled politely at a woman pushing a mail cart as she passed by. "I know you're busy. Just had a question."

"Sure." Harry could sense the man was rather distracted. "What's on your mind?"

"Couple questions. How's Melnikova doing?"

"She's doing well, actually. Enjoying her vacation."

Alex didn't bother hiding his surprise. "Really?"

"I know." Harry grinned. "She's unplugging a bit. Just texted me an hour ago, actually. She's getting some much-needed R&R."

"Ah. Good." Tachanka lowered his voice, and his eyes fell to the floor. "Listen: there was, uh - in D.C, there were two boys I encountered. Their father was shot, and—"

"Second floor?" Harry interrupted softly.

Alex nodded.

"They're okay, Alex. Their father too. And so is the wounded woman you saved in the food court."

Relief washed over Alexsandr's face. "Oh. This is good." The man tried to project his usual stone-walled demeanor, but a smile still slipped through. "Good. Spasibo."

"You're welcome, Alex." Harry smiled. "You did good work. Get some rest. You've earned it."

"Thank you, Director." Tachanka turned on his heel to make his way back through the halls.

"Alex - call me Harry."