Spies Like Us

Dec 1, 2008

Dmitri had only had to kill three men, before today. Things were different now, not like the old days. The Cold War had made things easier — the rules were more clear. Now, Dmitiri thought to himself, you find yourself having to kill someone you considered a friend. This man, Alexei Andropov, used to work for him in the KGB. In fact, Dmitri had recruited him at a young age when Alexei was training for the OMON in Moscow.

Those days are long gone, Dmitri thought as he glanced down at the body sprawled before him in the snow, the warmth still fading in wispy breaths of steam. Dmitri let out a heavy sigh, and turned to walk away, but was surprised by the outline of a tall man making his way over the embankment. He tensed briefly, then relaxed as he recognized the approaching man.

"Thomas, you shouldn’t sneak up on an old spy like me" he said with a humorless smile. Thomas did not return the smile, but instead reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a thick envelope which Dmitri knew would contain the agreed upon amount, in crisp $100 American bills.

"Courtesy of our friends in Virginia" Thomas said, without a trace of irony. Dmitri wondered if his old enemy was even capable of irony, or any emotion, for that matter. Thomas turned to leave, and Dmitri quietly raised his gun to the back of his head.

“Unfortunately, they’re not your friends anymore” he remarked, and fired two quick shots. Thomas fell forward and slumped against the embankment. Dmitri dropped the gun by Thomas’ side and said quietly, "Spies like us have no friends". He put the envelope in the inner pocket of his trench coat and made his way up the embankment.