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“Spetsnaz?”
“Yeah. Not even some sidelined special force pressed into our colleagues in Wagner Group. ‘Leave a rebel village with no survivors come the morning’ type.
“Mmm. A good catch. A few months and those very same Wagners would have probably swept her up first.”
“Right. You think she’s really guilty?”
“Maybe. Our friends at the FSB aren’t really sure themselves, but PR and all. Even if she is that’s fine, we’re offering good money and she’ll leave enough dead to make it worth it. Besides, someone not bitching we didn’t give them STANAG shit is always nice. Anyway, good luck with your’s I hear he’s a real treat.”
“Fuck off.”
“I think I will.”
A man in a grey three-piece suit with a striped black and blue tie entered the office. Yekaterina would have been picked up from the Swiss hotel that the company directed her to after sending a ticket for a RU-CH flight, and like the rest of the mercenaries would be lead into an unassuming looking building, only about a minute’s walk inside getting the woman to a very fancy office in which she was told to wait. “Good morning! Or, well, evening now.” the suited man said in Russian, a Moldovan accent in the words as he took a seat behind a table of the room. He was bald, dark haired and dark eyed with just slightly slanted eyes leading to the conclusion he was likely a Gagauz when cross-referenced with his accent.
“Sorry I’m late, my name’s Alexei Fomavich. Let me just get a few things in order, then we can begin. Enjoying Switzerland?” the man asked, although as he drew a few papers from the desk he didn’t really leave much time to reply. “Tell me, do you have much experience with NATO? Training with their weapons, hand-signals, that sort of thing?”
The office reminded her a little of the FSB offices at Lubyanka, though it made her much less nervous than when she was interviewed there. She would’ve preferred to wait outside, at least she could’ve had a smoke while waiting, but she couldn’t be that heartless. Getting the stench out of the upholstery would’ve taken weeks and no small amount of currency. Or Jewish gold, it was Switzerland after all. As such, she went through multiple stages of boredom, from scouring the office for hidden cameras and microphones out of curiosity or anything to read, to sitting down and twiddling her thumbs and by the time her interviewer arrived, she’d almost dozed off.
“Good night.” Katya continued the chronological progression of the man’s greetings in Russian as she sprung up from her seat, clad in a red shirt and black dress pants, “Sorry, habits from national service are hard to break.” She sat down and rested her elbows on the table, pondering the first question for a brief moment. “Being GRU, we did get to familiarize ourselves with some basics. Mainly equipment used in a couple of plausible deniability operations, mostly personal weapons and vehicles. Though NATO equipment as a whole is mainly Alfa Group territory. Very few at the Kremlin were dumb enough to think we’d be deployed to a NATO country, so training in their ways was often overlooked. Besides, by-the-book signals in my unit were something everyone knew but no one used. We made our own system, and we always assumed it was the same for NATO troops.”
She leaned back in her seat to indicate that was the end of her answer and studied Alexei’s posture and expression, looking for any indication to what he thought of the answer.
A slight smile momentarily decorated Alexei’s face as the woman noted upon past habit, nodding in understanding. As she moved on to discussing her past a pen materialized in his hand and he began to write on one of the papers. His hand moved fast clearly putting many words on the paper almost as if getting a full transcript. As she finished speaking the Gagauz spun his pen while looking at the ceiling with some thought. He mouthed something, before looking back at his counterpart. “Well, of course, a third world war as anything more than nuclear annihilation is a fantasy. But you’ll be working with several operators with a strong NATO or allied background. It of course depends on the unit, and as time progresses you with the rest of your squad will of course be more and more comfortable with each other and hence develop something of your own signal system. However, the time it would take… well, we can’t have the team disoriented on the first mission and only working together properly by the third or fourth operation. This can all be remedied though, not to worry. The company has a firing range at which employees can hone their skills or become acquainted with new arsenals. Likewise we have documents and educational media to prepare operators. Our former-NATO colleagues have to do the same with Russian and general post-Soviet or Warsaw pact protocol and equipment.” Alexei wrote a little more, before picking up another paper.
“Moving on. You were discharged to save face, it seems. But do you still have contacts in GRU? Officers still keeping in touch, that sort of thing?”
“You should set up a voice recorder, your hand must hate you after a couple interviews in a row. Reminds me of my university days.” she gestured to Alexei’s notes when he finished writing, sighing at his second question. They were going to stamp that on her gravestone weren’t they? ‘Here lies Y. F. Whatshername. By the way, she accidentally killed three of her own!’
“I've stayed in contact with some of the rank and file from my platoon, but those are all senior enlisted personnel. I tried to steer clear of officers, my responsibility was looking after my platoon, not mingling with the medal racks pulling the strings. Senior Lieutenant Vinogradov, my old platoon leader, could be a way to someone higher up, he dealt with things at company level, though we haven’t spoken since New year’s Eve 2019. Nauseatingly patriotic though, if you decide to reach out to him. I did deal with the brigade's logistics company on a regular basis, if you think that's of any help.” she explained without shifting from her reclined stance, doubtful that Ares would be interested in crates upon crates of personal equipment left over from rearmament when the Ratnik system was rolled out, assuming they were still available and haven’t been carted off to Chechen, Dagestani or some other minority-heavy units not one ethnic Russian soul gave half a shit about.
Alexei raised an eyebrow as it was recommended he record the conversation, and then shook his head. “This is off the books. Sort of. What the psychiatrist and psychologists record will be on the books this is… well, it’s to ‘get a feel for you’.” The last words coming out in English.
With that out of the way he scribbled on a little and with the response he got folded the current paper, before going on to another. He was largely devoid of facial expression, but with a slight drop of the shoulders it was clear he understood not to go in that direction any more. “Well, okay then, I will go on in my next point.” Alexei paused, drumming fingers on the table wondering how he’d phrase the next question. “All your operations seem to have gone spectacularly, the most professional performance. But all of them were against forces inferior in nature. Worse training, worse arms, worse armour, worse munitions. In our line of work, usually it is the same, but not necessarily. The most common case is if we end up in conflict with other Private Military Companies. Before you mentioned how you were never prepared for combat against NATO troops, which in your previous position is prudent. But in our situation we can end up against veteran Seals, VDV, Royal Marines, Mossad, PLA Spec-Ops, so on and so forth. They will easily be kitted with FLIR, plate carriers, AP bullets, top of the line rifles too expensive for standard issue but easily affordable for a PMC. Georgian army are of course real soldiers, but nothing compared to the professionals we might come across. Do you think you will rise to meet the challenge?”
“A sheet of paper and a flash drive alike can come to those who shouldn’t have them.” She, too, uttered in English, “And a paper is easier to read, unless you’re writing in a cipher at that pace, that would be impressive.”
"I didn't choose where we went or who we shot at, but I can see why you'd be concerned." she nodded when he raised the issue. And not all of those 'spectacular' operations included combat. "That's not to say I don't have experience fighting regular units. The Vostok 2018 exercise is still fresh in my memory. VDV and even the PLA took part in that one." She added when he mentioned those two by name. Of course, had Ukraine not gone down the gutter in 2014, she might have had the chance to train not against NATO, but with NATO.
"I believe I will. In some ways, guerillas and other - as you called them - inferior forces can be more challenging than regular armies. One could argue the United States, Great Britain and even the Soviet Union acquitted themselves well in throwing back the might of the Wehrmacht, despite the way we went about it." she referred to Soviet losses, lumping the man into the Soviet basket. "But we got a nasty kicking from raghead goat herders in Afghanistan, and ask the Yanks or the Frogs about Vietnam. A straight up fight is an organized mess. Anti-guerilla operations such as my work in Syria can be much worse because you don’t always know who’s a combatant, let alone what side they’re on. And I wouldn't include 2008 in that, the Grizuny were hopelessly outclassed and outnumbered. And if I fail to meet the standard, then that problem will take care of itself in a way." Such a scenario could of course put the team and by extension the mission at risk, but the obvious didn’t need to be stated.
Alexei didn’t elaborate on why paper worked better for “off-the-books” for him, giving a little shrug. Perhaps at the end of the interview he’d burn the papers in demonstration. The reply Alexei received was somewhat puzzling. He smiled as Yekaterina mentioned the Wehrmacht, even if the rest of the words confused him. Was she saying that a sort of natural selection would come forth if they came against a superior force? That if there was a better prepared enemy, she would soon be eliminated and not be a problem anyway? The interviewer scratched his chin thoughtfully, cocking his head. “Yes, anti-terrorist operations are uniquely difficult particularly when civilians are present, but look at it like this. You are an unstoppable force, and most of your comrades-to-be will be too. But what when you come against an immovable object?” The man drummed his fingers on the table for a second or two. “The Field Manager you are to be working with lost the majority of his previous team in such an engagement, he was one of two survivors. Reviewing the footage of their helmet cameras the first person died because they changed position of cover having previously been spoon-fed poorly prepared OPFOR, while these experienced, well equipped veteran professionals reacted such that even with covering fire he didn’t make ten centimetres past his previous position. The next operator was hit through the wall he was using for cover, while a third had his magazine hit while blind-firing and the ammo therein cooked off. The foe easily afforded shooting centre-mass after switching to armour penetrators taking on several more on the retreat, and at the extraction point the rest died with a grenade-supported crossfire made possible by night-vision equipment.” An oratory pause.
“We’re mercenaries, we kill for money and death doesn’t phase us. But ten comrades dead in one night? It shook the company, even the most insane or greed-fuelled creatures on our payroll felt shivers down their spine. We don’t want a repeat of that. If a team at a certain point isn’t capable of properly taking on foes of a similar threat level to them then we won’t simply deploy them. But sometimes we need a team urgently, sometimes not even for a contract but to extract another team. You must live to tell the tale of going against someone as badass as yourself, not just go against them.” Alex waved his hand to gesture at the world as a whole. “But for now it won’t be an issue. All teams get first sent to a sort of probationary contract, and the intensity of the contracts they are sent to only gradually escalates. Now then, if you would go against a former Russian serviceman, would you be able to carry out your contract?” Alexei asked, switching from one harsh topic to another. “We aren’t foolish enough to go against Wagner or other state mercenaries. But much as your American and other colleagues might go against former brothers in arms, you might go against a stray ex-VDV, or Spetsnaz. The disaster contract I just described was orchestrated by an FSB Colonel in reserves, who also acted as a sniper for our rival PMC. It's not a rare thing.”
She swallowed a joke about breachers going through immovable objects when Alexei described the shitstorm that one of their squads, one apparently led by her maybe-new-boss, went through. Being shot through cover was determined more by the cover and the offending weapon rather than the enemy, and ammunition cooking off that violently was most likely a freak incident, proving what her breaching instructor told them the first day of explosive breaching: ‘Murphy knows explosives, they aren’t exempt from his laws.’ The way Alexei phrased it made her think the rest died because they forgot about spacing, but she couldn’t be sure without seeing the footage herself. His mention of NODs on the bad guys’ side could also hint at the team being unprepared. She could only hope it wasn’t the Field Manager’s fault, but she of all people shouldn’t jump to conclusions and blame the field commander.
“My team are the people who are watching my back, therefore my loyalties lie with them.” the Russian stated firmly, “And so what if someone on the other side may be Russian? A human is a human, I don’t much care where they are from. And should we happen upon someone I know, well… better them than me, any day of the week.” Of course the sum Ares promised, at least in the initial sales pitch, was also a good motivator, but mentioning that and making it appear like you could be bought would hardly be a good move.
“You mentioned things like NODs, armor-piercing munitions, body armor and helmet cameras. What sort of equipment do you usually work with in general terms, if I may ask?” She wasn’t sure whether she was overstepping her bounds or not, but the latest story piqued her curiosity.
With some satisfaction the following scribbles of the interviewer were much shorter, and he raised an eyebrow as the tables turned and it was he who now had to answer questions. Shrugging, he set down the papers and clasped his hands together.
"Well, we fight for money rather than politics - even if those eventually become money - and so we can afford rather high end equipment. The squad I just mentioned largely carried AK200 main arms, with Korth sidearms. They had FLIR optics, several grenades each, plate carriers, helmets, gas masks and gas to make the masks worthwhile, as well as a mortar. Sometimes we manage to get our hands on IFVs and APCs or at rare times tanks, but usually you will be on foot or with Humvees and similar. But this all depends on where you will be deployed, and how much trust we find in you. The former squad was very much a veteran one. I speak off the books here but for your first assignment you will be impersonating Algerian armed forces, and will hence be carrying largely old, post World War soviet equipment: AKMs, SVDs, RPKs. You will also be given cotton rolls to place in your mouth and skin-tone darkening make up to make you look like a local soldier, along with falsified documents and such. At other times your assigned equipment will largely reflect the nature of the contract once again. If deployed to Mexico you will likely field a mixture of NATO and Russian equipment to make use of ammunition of your fallen foes. If you are to only work for a day and extract before night we won't find need to assign you FLIR as it is unnecessary weight. As you gain trust of Ares Solutions you will be granted access to a catalogue of sorts from which you may select any equipment you believe will suit you best for your next operation, although of course within reason. We're not letting you bring anti tank systems to guard a politician."
Again papers were shuffled, and a little more scribbling done. "You're not God's gift to pubescent boys, but you're a naturally decent looking woman augmented by good physical shape. Would you be prepared to make use of that? I'm not asking you to whore yourself out, but there's a certain class of men that are easier to convince with a pretty smile than a wad of cash. In my mind I am thinking back to a particular interaction I had with border guards, but I would like to keep this idea very general for now."
The answer was much more detailed than she expected, but either her interviewer was good at hiding his annoyance, or he didn’t mind being questioned by the interviewee. What surprised her was how casually he shared details of ‘her first mission’ and she straightened up in her chair with eyebrows raised in surprise at the mention of it. Sure, it was likely akin to a probation period, but it gave the impression she was already one foot in the door, though whether it was because they liked her so much or were simply that desperate to replace losses was beyond her.
Most of the gear he mentioned was an old hat, or at least familiar in some way to her with the exception of the sidearms. The Russian remained unfazed by the prospect of a false flag operation, merely chuckling at the thought of taking the path of a private contractor, someone she impersonated several times during her career in Spetsnaz, and impersonating someone else on her first run with them. Only thing that could be a little worrisome was the state of Algerian arms and ammunition, but that could be chalked up to the fact that, its geographic location and lingering anti-French sentiment aside, she didn’t know all that much about Algeria. Wouldn’t be the first time she’d be doing homework about some country, and having a sibling who worked in the travel industry helped a bit. “I can’t speak a peep in either Arabic or French, I assume you have at least a few who can.” It was never a problem for the Spetsnaz in Syria, where they usually masqueraded as contractors, but a squad of supposedly Algerian troops where only one or two ever spoke the language would probably not last long unnoticed.
“That’s done me nothing but good in a co-ed unit of conscripts.” She laughed at the ‘no God’s gift’ part before changing back to a serious tone. “But the last time someone wanted to keep something ‘very general for now’, my landlord screwed me out of my security deposit. So if we go through with that, I want it clearly defined, in print and have my own copy.“ She briefly considered adding something about how much trust she’ll find in Ares, but decided against throwing her potential employer’s words back at him.
“You don’t need to speak Arabic, there will be others to do that. You’re there to shoot people, not too different from past anti-terrorist operations you would have worked in save for a little initial subterfuge. In fact, the OPFOR is likely to be less of a threat than jihadists, though we’ll come to that when we do.” The pen twirled a few times, and Alexei waved a hand placating. “I understand, we’ll keep all that in mind.” Lowering the pen, the interviewer once more clasped his hands together.
“These were the most important questions really, and to be frank there’s very few answers you could have given that would have made us deny you entry into the company’s staff. But they’re important for your long term stay in ‘the Ares family’. For example, between operations there will be a gap of anything from five days to a month while a contract in itself may last from a day to a month. In these in-between times there’s any amount of things you can do, such as enjoying the many zeros on the cheques you receive. However faster access to those aforementioned catalogues or even a promotion to field manager and higher needs investment into the company outside of contracts. Going to specialized training sessions for using, foreign equipment or protocols, war games and sparring, briefings of all sorts, operational language courses, these things. We even have the typical corporate things like ‘company retreats’, although those may be cancelled as a relic from when there were far more people without combat experience running the company. It would be excellent if we can expect to see you there, but we also need to have at least a vague idea of what you’re doing outside of company time. It’s not that we actually care of course, but we certainly need to know of any potential threat to company or even squad that can come from this. We might have your back if you tell us you’re smoking crack in between operations, but if you don’t then you’re on your own, save for perhaps you committing a suicide with two shots in the back of your own head.”
The comment about ‘suicide’ brought a slight smile to the woman’s face. Looks like she wasn’t that far off the mark when she compared the office to the ones at Lubyanka. “So, just like working for any other company, save for the last bit.” she shrugged, “Only an idiot would turn down an offered chance for self-improvement, whether raising their chance of coming back alive through increasing squad cohesion or simply gaining new knowledge, either useful to to company or even in general life, such as the languages.”
“And you don’t have to worry about me showing up to work drunk or high, I’m clean- well, mostly.” she fished a pack of regular Javas from her pocket. “My sort of background doesn’t mesh with drugs or excessive boozing - even in Russia - and I’m already used to keeping quiet about the things that happen at work. If I didn’t, I’d be sitting in Vladimir Central and not a PMC office in Switzerland. And should you be worried I might be bought, then the best defense I can offer is half a decade in the ground forces, even though I am qualified to translate or interpret at any Embassy in an English-speaking country, or even any old courthouse in Russia, and be paid the same - or more if I got lucky - without the risk of being shot or blowing up a chunk of a raghead town.” She said, hoping to address the issue of threat to the squad and/or company.
Softly scratching his chin at the response he received, Alexei was pleased. “Good. Very good, in fact. I believe your future at Ares Solutions will be very, very fruitful.” With that he stood up, finally extending his hand to shake. “I believe that’s all we needed to discuss. When you go downstairs ask the receptionist for the package, it’ll include a keyring, as well as a company credit and pass card. You can buy yourself whatever you need in Switzerland, apartment, car, meals. But don’t get yourself a ferrari or gold-plated lobsters or I’m afraid your organs will be harvested and that’s the end of your story. You’ll be able to get around company properties with the keyring and pass-card, and information for a company email along with other systems is on a sticker attached. You will also of course sign a bunch of papers. The briefing for your first contract is here on Tuesday at two in the afternoon, your contract is the following day. Welcome to Ares — any questions?”
Yekaterina stood up and shook the offered hand with a firm grip. “Floor and room number for the briefing would be lovely, but I’ve made due with less intel than that.” she allowed herself a brief smug smile before parting ways.
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