Torchlight: Coming In Hot, #1

By Albert Valiaveedu

The first installment of Albert Valiaveedu's 'Coming In Hot' Trilogy sets up the story with exciting characters. Meet Sam Rae, a Naval Officer who had just transferred from UDT 3, Vira Moroz, a Nurse at Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, and Mason Bates, a man who really needs a win. Premiering on Veterans Day 2020, Torchlight explores the realities and tensions of the Cold War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Albert Valiaveedu
• Release date: Oct 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393258179

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book is dedicated to the Joseph Rybinski and everyone else who has shaped civilization to what it is now, especially those whose names have been lost in the folds of time.

At 2358 CST today, I finally finished Book 1. Not gonna lie, it ended up being an enjoyable read.

―Mr. Joseph Rybinski

CHAPTER 1

June 13, 1960

A MAN. A BLACK SUIT with a green spotted tie. Walked down a busy hallway.

George, you’re back! How is it going?

Another man just entered the building. The complicated arrangement of desks and cubicles was considered a labyrinth to newcomers.

Nothing much, I just got back from LA, you?

His thick, Russian enunciation easily identified him whenever he spoke. Their matching, parted-to-the-left, black hair could only be differentiated by the strands of dark brown hair on Mason’s slicked hairline. They also had very different builds. George was a large, muscular man with broad shoulders while Mason presented himself as far smaller.

My pager just beeped from David. I’m headed that way now.

Yeah, I got that too, I think he wants us to go over some paperwork from the U-2 Incident. I’ll go with you.

The CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia has been bustling with people over the last few years, even though security has only gotten stricter. This Monday morning was no different. George Kozlov was probably the most trusted Russian in the United States, having served in the U.S. Navy in the Second World War and being awarded the Legion of Merit Ribbon. However, he isn’t all Russian; his mother traces back to the American Revolution, from both sides of the fight.

Mason Bates had usually served as the team leader on over 50 missions in the CIA for the past 5 years. He has organized, directed, and tracked everyone on his team from the CIA Headquarters in Langley. He would be at Langley for almost 10 more years before he joined counter-terrorism at the NSA. Unlike Kozlov, he is as American as it gets, but has no military background.

The two friends walked down another hallway; they swept a couple of lefts before arriving at a large conference room. With a projector screen on one end and a white board on the other, the room was built with resourcefulness in mind. There was a table for 16 in the center of the room and the rest of the walls were covered with tinted, bulletproof glass. Three new faces appeared on the scene, along with a familiar one: David O’Neal. All orders come from O’Neal. He reported directly to the Deputy Executive Director of the CIA. The remaining three agents were unknown to Mason and George. Out of respect, all three stood up. The first was a middle-aged, blond-haired man with circular glasses. The second was an old man with a whitish gray beard: his experiences were shown in his weather-torn face and deep eyes. Finally, the last agent appeared far younger, he was large but his excitement was poorly hidden behind his poker face.

Mason, George, good to see you two again. O’Neal’s graveled voice was rough enough to sandpaper a brick. We have three new personnel on the team for this new mission, as you can see. The rest of your team was transferred after the last incident.

Tip #01: Don’t get too personal with anyone. Chances are, you won’t ever see them again.

The mission is to locate and destroy three nuclear missiles that have been located at a facility near NIIP-5, the Baikonur Cosmodrome. We have reason to believe that the Soviet Union plans to move the missiles to the Cosmodrome in order to prepare them for launch. O’Neal gestured towards the pair of glasses, this is Theodore Hall. He designs similar missiles for the Air Force and is a valuable asset to us for this mission. He will communicate to the rest of the team from Langley with Bates. When you find the targets, Hall will guide you on how to disarm it, since we currently don’t know the designs of the warheads. He then points at the old man, This is Agent Wills, as both of you may recognize from your previous missions. He has an impressive resume from the British MI-6 and has been in the business for over 40 years. Finally, drawing attention to the young agent, we have Agent Rae. He just transferred from the Navy Underwater Demolition Team 3.

Tip #02: Always be ready to trust your life with someone you hate, even if you haven’t formally met them yet.

This mission is going to be very simple, as I have briefed Hall already. We will have Kozlov, Wills and Rae infiltrate the Zvezdograd Air Base in Kazakhstan. Our recent intelligence points that this to be where the Reds keep a large supply of nuclear weapons. We just want to get a scope of what we are up against and disarm at least one of their experimental warheads. Wills will stay at the truck while Kozlov and Rae go into the weapons storage facility. Then, we have Hall communicate directly to Rae using the Delco 5300 on how to disarm these warheads. Specifics are explained in the files. Bates, you are leading the team and are their point of contact. O’Neal glared up at Bates from the folder he was reading off, This mission should be simple; but as we all know, simple can become very complicated very fast. It is very important that we do not lose these missiles.

David handed each of them very thin file folders with the CIA emblem on the center. Each person was given the same file and O’Neal expected it to be memorized verbatim. This was already an unusual mission even by O'Neal's standards. He liked keeping teams together. Adding new people causes difficulties with the team dynamic, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

We can already assume that this is not going to be a simple mission at all. Especially since one of the six was paid off by the Soviet KGB less than a month ago.

CHAPTER 2

February 5, 1960

MR. IGOR KURCHATOV RECEIVED A PACKAGE just before sunset. He had retired last week, at age 57. He was enjoying his last days in Moscow before moving to a cabin near the Black Sea. His wife, Marina, was out to get milk at the local store down the street. They haven’t eaten dinner yet.

Igor Kurchatov spent almost 15 years in the Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program and he nearly sacrificed his life for it multiple times. He hated his job. He had love for his country but none for the cause. Igor was not a strong believer in weapons of mass destruction. He knew that it would not be as easy to leave his position, but he didn’t know it would be so difficult.

Igor loves packages. He used to send cakes back and forth with his siblings when he was away for years on end. A soldier by the name of Andrei from the nearby base handed it to him. It was a light package, too light to be cake. Out of curiosity, he opened it and found, to his surprise, that it was a gift from his old boss: a Pobeda Watch. The gift came with a small letter, written in his native Russian but with the slight Georgian dialect that is typical of his late friend.

My beloved Igor,

I know you understand how grateful I am for the work you have done for your country. I hope you enjoy the gift. Good times are ahead!

Yours Truly, 

J. Stalin

The delighted, albeit confused, Igor tossed the message and began to