1

Tang Feng and Han Jiang anxiously waited for the feedback of various clues, Yelena's work efficiency was always very high, which often surprised Han Jiang, and this time it was Yelena who brought Han Jiang a surprise first. Not long after Yelena and Makarov returned to Petersburg on the basis of the newly acquired information, they made new discoveries.

Han Jiang opened the e-mail, and an email from Yelena immediately jumped into his eyes, and he hurriedly called Tang Feng, who saw that the title of Yelena's email was-"Shocking new discovery." The two couldn't help but glance at each other, surprised and delighted in their hearts, Han Jiang clicked on the email with a trembling right hand......

Yelena and Makarov came to the archives of the headquarters together after getting the approval of the high-level, and they wanted to check the files about the "forward base", especially the files of the later riots at the base, and they finally obtained the right to consult all the files, but to their disappointment, there were very few files about the advance base that year, and the most detailed file was the file written by Shchedrin about the riots at the base and the subsequent arrest of the cadets.

Shchedrin's file was classified as top secret, and Yelena checked the records of the file and was surprised to find that no one had accessed the file since it was filed.

"If he hadn't run into me, I'm afraid Shchedrin would never have told anyone about the events of the year for the rest of his life." Makarov couldn't help but sigh.

"He has kept a secret for decades, and he must have been suffocated, so he told you about the base riot, otherwise he will take these old stories to the grave." Yelena sighed softly.

Yelena and Makarov spent two hours reviewing the file in detail, and the contents of the file were basically the same as what Shchedrin said, and nothing new was found. The rest of the files, mostly reports on the daily situation at the base, most of which were written by Makarov, are prosaic and worthless.

"Why can't you even find a complete list of base cadets in these files?" Yelena looked at the yellowed files in front of her, puzzled.

"There should be." Makarov also searched in the thick file bag, "Well, here's a copy. "Makarov found a roster." But...... However, this roster is not complete. Makarov looked at it for a while, and then he rejected the roster.

Makarov found another copy, but it was still incomplete, Makarov explained: "Later, the base cadets rioted and burned all the files and documents in the base, and the files you see now are all documents and files submitted to the headquarters by me and Shchedrin before the riot, and at that time, the base personnel, including the cadets, were not fixed and often changed, so it is not easy to find a complete roster now." ”

Makarov is also looking for clues in the file, "Why is there no record of White's interrogation in Shchedrin's report, not even a photo of White?" Makarov searched through the archives and finally asked.

"Oh! I had asked Shchedrin about this before, and Shchedrin said that there was a picture of White at the beginning, but when Stephkin came to pick it up, he took all the archival documents about White, including the photographs, with him. Then they had an accident on the train, and White and the archival documents were gone. Yelena explained.

"It's hard to check." Makarov felt a headache.

Yelena scratched her hair, "Forget it, it seems that we can't find any clues in these files, I have also checked it, and I can give an account to Han Jiang." ”

Makarov smiled, "It's not like your character. We can't find any new clues about the situation at the base, so it's better for us to check Buldenko. ”

"Burtenko? You've worked with him, and don't you know him? Yelena asked Makarov rhetorically.

"Everyone has their own secrets, and even more so an experienced agent, Bultenko is still a mystery to me!"

Makarov woke Yelena with a word, "Yes, it's time to investigate this person." ”

"We must go through the clues and enter his inner world, because the impasse we are investigating now is precisely because we cannot enter the hidden world of these people's hearts, including Brenin, Stepkin, and Burtenko, and what we are going to investigate requires us to enter the hidden world of these people in order to get a glimpse of their secrets." Makarov said thoughtfully.

"The Hidden World?! Well, but through these files, can we enter their hidden world? ”

"There will be clues." After Makarov finished speaking, he asked the administrator to bring up Buldenko's file.

Buldenko's file is surprisingly simple, just from the file, his secret service career can be described as unremarkable, as Buldenko once said to Makarov, first served in the KGB's border guards, the place of service was in the Far East, and then made a great contribution and was transferred to the KGB Border Guard Directorate, but what credit did Buldenko do in the file? But the words are unknown. Later, because of a mistake in his work, Buldenko was kicked out of the General Directorate of Border Guards, and came to the mysterious Thirteenth Bureau, which existed for only one year before it was abolished, after which Buldenko was sent to the 10th Department of Management Archives, where he stayed for five years.

Buldenko was transferred to the First Main Directorate two years before he met Makarov, and was sent to the Far East to train agents, but Buldenko's training intensity was too great, and in the process of training new trainees, two new trainees died in an accident, and Buldenko was severely punished, demoted, and sent to the forward base in Mongolia as Makarov's deputy.

2

Yelena and Makarov quickly went through Buldenko's file, and Yelena said with some disappointment, "It's the same as what you said before, there are no valuable clues!" ”

"Nope! Yelena, I don't see it that way. Although the records in the archives are basically the same as what Burtenko told me back then, when I see this file today, I still see some clues. ”

"Oh?! What do you see? ”

"First of all, Burdenko served in the Far East when he served in the border guards, and then he made a great contribution and was lucky to be transferred to the Main Border Guard, so what merit did he make that allowed him to be transferred from the Far East to the Main Border Guard in Moscow at once? I don't know if it was out of secrecy or omission, and he didn't mention it to me at the beginning, but I can tell from it that he probably did this great work in the Far East, and it seems that this credit belongs to him personally, and no one else participated. It stands to reason that there should be a detailed record of the meritorious service and punishment of each agent in the file, but we have not found a detailed record of Buldenko's meritorious service in the archives of Burdenko, which is a bit strange, if it is not because of the omission in the file, then the lack of specific credit for his specific credit must be out of the need for confidentiality, and what credit needs to be kept secret? That's interesting. ”

"Well, that's a bit weird."

"Secondly, Buldenko didn't work long in the Main Directorate of Border Guards, and he was kicked out of the General Directorate because of a work mistake, what kind of mistake is this? Again, it is not explicitly stated in the file. ”

"Could it be related to his previous credits?"

"I don't know about that. Thirdly, after Buldenko left the Main Directorate of Border Guards, he entered the thirteenth bureau that had just been established, and what was this thirteenth bureau for? I've been in the KGB for so many years, and I don't know! Judging from the archives, this thirteenth game only existed for one year before it was revoked, but it was this year that gave me a new discovery. Yelena, what do you see from this? ”

"Thirteenth inning?" Yelena didn't understand what Makarov was referring to, she stared at the small record on the file, and for a long time, Yelena's eyes suddenly lit up, "Yes...... It was the year that disappeared in 1964, the year when Burdenko went to the 13th Bureau, the year we were looking for 1964. ”

"That's right! Is this just a coincidence? Makarov's brow twisted into a knot.

"But I have checked the files of Brennin, Stephkin, Isakov and others, and their resumes have no connection with this 13th Bureau, and when they participated in the operation to protect Misha, they belonged to the KGB department in Petersburg, and in addition, from the archives, Buldenko never worked in Petersburg, so I really don't see any intersection between them?" Yelena raised her own questions.

"It's really a problem, and I don't see what Buldenko has to do with the lost year 1964, but I ...... I always felt that it was a valuable clue. Let's ignore this thirteenth game for a while, and continue to look down, which is the fourth question I want to talk about, after Bultenko left the thirteenth game, he was sent to the tenth place, that is, the archives office, which is where we are now, the archives office has always been regarded as a quiet place with nothing to do, think about it, what will happen to a strongman like Buldenko who is sent to such a place? ”

"Spend all day with these old files?"

"Nope! Others will, Buldenko will not, and with what I know about him, he will not be idle, he will definitely find something to do, and he will find something valuable to do, at least what he thinks is valuable. Well, the only value here is these old files, you don't underestimate the value of these documents and files, their value is reflected in the secrets they contain. ”

"Do you mean that Burdenko will be here to discover as many secrets as possible from these archives?"

"Buldenko is a real agent, as long as he is given the slightest hope, he will not give up, he will definitely use his position to get a lot of secrets here that he wants. Don't forget the torn pages from Misha's file. ”

"But it was torn off at least after the end of the protection of Misha in 1988, when Burdenko was long gone."

"I don't mean to say that those pages of the file were torn out by Burdenko, I just want to remind you not to underestimate the five years that Burdenko was here."

"Well, Burdenko's five years in the Archives did allow him to use his position to obtain a lot of secrets."

"And the fifth point, this file allows me to figure out why Burdenko, who was higher in rank than me, was assigned as my deputy, because of his previous cruel training methods, which resulted in human deaths."

"It seems that Burdenko has a history in this regard."

"This can also explain that he killed people again at the base, and after I found out, although he pretended to be calm on the surface, he was extremely afraid that I would report him to the top."

"If he is punished by the top again that time, it is estimated that Burdenko will be finished." Yelena thought for a while, and then said: "In this way, in retrospect, it was actually very dangerous for you to go to the Valley of the Wild Wolf with Burtenko, if Burdenko jumped over the wall in a hurry, killed you, and then said to the above that you were unfortunately missing, you would be resentful of the sea." ”

"I remembered later that I was also afraid, but in fact, he didn't dare to do anything to me at that time, Buldenko was punished and demoted at that time, and I was the person in charge of the base and a lieutenant colonel officer, if I disappeared without knowing anything, the above would definitely send someone down to investigate in detail, so he dared to deal heavily with the students, but he didn't dare to do anything to me."

"Father, I think you still underestimate Bultenko, if you don't agree to his proposal in the Valley of the Wild Wolf and insist on reporting the death of the student, can he easily let you go?"

"This ......," Makarov muttered, "I can fool him for the time being and secretly report his affairs!" ”

"Hmph, a good agent has been with you for a few years, don't you know your personality?"

"Alright! Yelena, this is just your guess, Bultenko, although there are many problems with him, but I don't think he is as bad as you guess! After Makarov finished speaking, he slowly closed Buldenko's file.

3

After listening to Makarov's summary of the five gains, the image of Buldenko gradually became clear in Yelena's mind, but Yelena always felt that something was still missing, and Buldenko's thin face was still shrouded in a heavy fog Thinking of this, Yelena couldn't help but feel irritated in her heart.

Seeing that he could not find any more valuable clues, Makarov wanted to leave, and Yelena put all the files in order and returned them to the archivist.

Makarov and Yelena walked out of the archive room and came to the elevator, Makarov walked into the elevator, but Yelena stood still in a daze.

"Yelena, what's wrong with you?"

Yelena seemed to think of something out of the blue, "Wait, we've forgotten one thing. ”

"Forgot something?" Makarov hurriedly stepped out of the elevator again.

Yelena took two quick steps back to the archives and asked the Administrator, "Can you help me look up if there is a file on an American named Warren White." ”

The administrator rolled his eyes expressionlessly, pointed to the computer next to him, and said, "We have so many files here, how can we remember any Americans, you can use the computer to check it yourself." ”

Yelena walked to the computer, and the administrator warned in her ear, "This computer is not allowed to use any removable storage devices, and the password is required to enter the system." ”

Yelena used her own password to enter the FSB's internal system, and then entered a complex special password to enter the internal file system.

"What, you suspect that the American has a problem?" Makarov asked.

"I think Han Jiang's suspicions are justified, and Xie Delin's original intuition may also be accurate, if those students were indeed received by people from abroad when they were preparing to flee in Vladivostok, then the matter of the base riot would not be simple. The archives we have now seen show that the headquarters later characterized the riot at the base as Shchedrin's mishandling of the rebellion, which led to the rebellion of the cadets, and I think this conclusion is hasty. ”

"What about your reasoning?"

"I can't say the reason yet, but the last White escape, and the appearance of Stepkin, make me believe that things are not simple."

"White? Stepkin? Makarov felt a little confused in his mind.

Yelena had typed in the word "White" and searched in the internal file system, and more than a dozen file profiles with the word "White" in the title appeared on the search results screen.

Yelena and Makarov checked the files with the word "White" in these titles one by one, but to their disappointment, none of the more than a dozen files they searched for were the "White" they were looking for.

"It seems that in our system, except for Shchedrin's report mentioning this White, there is no record of that American!" Makarov said, shaking his head.

Yelena was not reconciled, and searched Stepkin's file again, this guy has a lot of files, from his entry into the KGB to his imprisonment, all of which are recorded. Yelena had already checked Stepkin's files many times, and this time she focused on Stepkin's activities before and after the riots at the base, but in addition to what they already knew, Yelena did not find more valuable clues from them.

Makarov saw that Yelena was still unwilling, so he had to persuade: "Okay, you can do your best, you can give Han Jiang an errand." ”

"I'm not for him." Yelena held on her lips and typed the word "Joyce" into her computer, she had no hope, because it was just the name of the American freighter, and there should be no record of the American freighter in the FSA's internal file system. But just then, a search result appeared on the computer screen, the only one for "Joyce".

4

Yelena and Makarov were both startled at the screen, and Yelena shuddered to open the record, and a brief brief introduction came into their eyes......

Report on the handling of the incident with the American camouflaged spy ship "Joyce" September 1986 Leningrad ID: Д03860914037

In August 1986, a US freighter named "Joyce" docked at the port of Leningrad, and after loading and unloading its cargo, the ship was stranded in the port of Leningrad on the grounds of mechanical failure, thus arousing our side's vigilance. They often send intelligence officers disguised as ordinary crew members to go ashore for close-range reconnaissance and perform various tasks.

It was later confirmed that the ship belonged to an American company called "Caribbean Steamship Cargo Company", which was registered in Puerto Rico, USA, and its real controller was the CIA.

After grasping the relevant information, our side seized the "Joyce" on the basis of this, studied the ship's equipment, and examined the personnel on board, and the personnel on board confessed to the fact of spying on our country's intelligence.

In view of the fact that relations with the United States are being improved, and on the basis of humanitarian consideration, after consultations with the United States, we have decided to exchange our personnel detained by the United States for the "Joyce" and its crew. On September 4, the two sides exchanged agreements and signed a secret memorandum, in which the two sides agreed not to disclose the incident to the public and to permanently seal the relevant documents as top secret.

This short account was enough to make Yelena excited, "Shchedrin's original hunch was right, not only that White had a problem, but even this 'Joyce' ship had a problem. ”

"It seems that this matter is getting more and more complicated, how can it ...... Why did the CIA get in touch with this? Makarov was both excited and confused.

"Now it can be proved that the rebellion of the cadets at the base back then was not so simple, at least after they arrived in Vladivostok, they must have been assisted by some foreign forces, if it wasn't for that White who did not act secretly, Shchedrin reacted quickly, I am afraid that all the cadets were picked up by the 'Joyce' wheel." Yelena judged.

"This ...... If the students had received assistance from foreign powers before the riot, that would be a big problem! "Makarov can't believe that the batch of students he has trained will still have ties with foreign powers? If this is true, it is simply the greatest irony of his own secret service career.

"Maybe it just happened that the cadets fled to Vladivostok and found an American ship parked in the harbor, so they secretly made contact with the Joyce ship." Yelena busily comforted Makarov.

"Nope! Shchedrin said that something happened on the day the Joyce entered the port, and the trainees had no time to contact the Joyce wheel. ”

"Shchedrin also said that the group of cadets fled to Vladivostok and hid for more than half a month, during which time it was entirely possible that these well-trained cadets used some special means to get in touch with other US ships docked in the harbor, and half a month later, the 'Joyce' ship came to Vladivostok."

"I hope that's the case, otherwise I can't imagine it." Makarov muttered to himself.

"In 1986, the Joyce was caught in Leningrad, the KGB inspected the ship, and interrogated the people on board, maybe there will be a record of that 'White' in the file!" Yelena's words were filled with excitement.

"In 86, it's been more than ten years since the last incident, and this 'White' will still be on the ship?" Makarov will be skeptical.

Yelena couldn't wait for the administrator to find the file with the number Д03860914037, this file is very thick, Yelena flipped through it roughly, the process of the incident and the final processing were not complicated, the most in the file was the interrogation records of the eighteen crew members on the ship, which was the part that Yelena and Makarov were most interested in.

5

While Yelena was still wondering if there was the "White" she was looking for among the eighteen crew members, a document called "Warren White's Interrogation Record" popped into her eyes.

Yelena looked at Makarov excitedly, "It seems that this White has been on the ship all along. ”

"Well, this guy is a CIA agent."

Yelena and Makarov read the ten-page interrogation transcript with great hope, but they were disappointed that the entire interrogation transcript was a record of the basic situation and no extra clues could be found, except for a description of the incident.

The only thing that made Yelena feel valuable was White's photo, and the interrogation record included several photos of White, including frontal and side photos, and Yelena scanned them one by one and loaded them up to take away.

Makarov suddenly reminded: "Look for any of these people again, is there that Martin?" ”

"Martin?" Yelena was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, "Father, why are you so confused, since White has a problem, what he said about Martin, who met by chance in Yokohama, Japan, must be talking nonsense, why are you still serious!" ”

"It's better to check!" Makarov also did not say why.

Yelena then carefully examined the interrogation records of the eighteen crew members one by one, and sure enough, one of the interrogation records was titled "Charles Martin Interrogation Record".

Yelena pulled out the "Charles Martin Interrogation Record", "There really is a man named Martin, but that doesn't mean anything, there are too many Americans named Martin." ”

Makarov took the document and looked at it carefully, basically the same as White's interrogation record, it was some account of the incident, which was not of interest to Yelena and Makarov, this Martin's interrogation record also attached a few photos, Makarov stared at the photo for a while, and then shook his head, this person he had never seen.

Yelena and Makarov went through the eighteen interrogation records, especially the photographs of the eighteen people, and Yelena scanned them all.

"Yelena, it seems that we have a good time, although the identity of the 'Joyce' wheel and White has been confirmed, it has not really helped our affairs."

"It's not over yet, and these photos might help us."

"You want to show White's picture to Shchedrin for identification?"

"Yes, let Shchedrin confirm it first, and then tell him what we have found, and see what new ...... he can offer us"

Yelena was talking, when suddenly there was no sound, and Makarov found Yelena's eyes staring straight at a document, "Yelena, what's wrong with you?" Makarov asked with concern.

After being stunned for a while, Yelena said slowly, "I...... I think that's the important discovery. ”

"What?" Makarov was puzzled.

Yelena handed the document to Makarov, who glanced at it and then his eyes widened, and he noticed that at the bottom of the document, entitled "Opinions on the Handling of the Incident with the Joyce" Disguised Spy Ship, appeared a familiar name - Andrei Grigorievich Brynin.

"How could it be him?" Yelena recalled Brenin's old face.

After a moment of silence, Makarov said slowly: "That's right, at that time, Brynin had just been promoted to general and the head of the KGB counterintelligence system in the Leningrad region because of his successful performance of several major missions. ”

"If that's the case, then the 'Joyce' incident is still under his jurisdiction." Yelena flipped through the documents quickly, and she saw Breynin's signature underneath many of them.

6

Yelena sat down and began to look at the document "Opinions on the Handling of the Incident of the "Joyce" Camouflage Spy Ship", which was very brief and addressed to the then chairman of the KGB, Kryuchkov:

Dear Comrade Kryuchkov,

In view of the fact that China is in the process of improving relations with the United States, if our side handles the "Joyce" incident in a high-profile manner at this time, it will undoubtedly undermine the initial trust that has been formed between the two countries, be detrimental to the implementation of China's diplomatic strategy, and damage China's interests.

……

Therefore, I believe that the most appropriate way to deal with this incident is to reach some kind of agreement with the US side in a secret manner, which will protect our interests to the greatest extent and will appropriately crack down on the US side's rude acts. I don't know if it's okay?

Andrei Grigorievich Brynin

"It seems that it was Braining's idea to deal with the 'Joyce' incident in a low-key manner in the end, and he seems to be telling the truth in the document, but I don't know if he has hidden some ulterior motives!" Yelena said.

"It can't be seen from these documents alone, and it makes sense for Brening to deal with it like this. However, Brenin, Stephkin, when their names are linked together in such a bizarre way, one cannot help but be suspicious! Makarov said.

"Yes, ten years apart, two seemingly unrelated things are miraculously connected, except for the appearance of White, Stephkin and Bryning, which makes me even more sure that there is something wrong here." Yelena said.

"Are you saying that the Joyce Wheel incident and the base riot incident are all related to their protection of Misha in the first place?" Makarov still couldn't believe it.

"They met because they were involved in protecting Misha together, but then they always appeared at some key times and key places in our investigation, and when I went to ask them separately before, the two of them recalled things that had been separated for so long, but they recalled so clearly and so consistently, all of this is abnormal, it makes me suspect that they must be hiding some secrets."

"But...... But the two of them, as well as that Isakov, are already dead, except for those key times and key places, they can't see that they have any connection with the affairs of the base and the scientific expedition team back then? ”

"The problem may lie in these key times, key places, when Shchedrin suppressed the base cadet riot and targeted the suspicion on that White, Stephkin suddenly appeared, and then White disappeared; When the Joyce turned out to be a camouflaged spy ship and White was caught again, Bryning suddenly appeared again and quickly froze the matter! ”

"But Stephkin did have orders from headquarters at that time, and Brenin was impartial......"

"Father, we can now string these people and things together in a line," Yelena interrupted Makarov's words, suddenly took out a blank piece of paper, and wrote on the left side of the white paper from top to bottom: Expedition team - Misha - Brenin (burned), Stephkin (prison break), Isakov (died in battle) wrote on the right side of the white paper from top to bottom: Bultenko - forward base (Li Guowen) - riot (Shchedrin) - White 1 (Stephkin) - White 2 (Brynin). Then, Yelena drew a line between Stephkin on the left and White 1 on the right, and then connected it with Brening on the left and White 2 on the right. ”

Makarov also wrote a few words on a blank piece of paper: Black Lama - Ma Yuan - Ma Changguo - Stephen (Fanny), Makarov looked at the line on Yelena's paper and said: "Yelena, this is Stephen's line, on the surface this line is much simpler than ours, but after I looked at the line you connected, I felt that Stephen's line is not so simple." ”

"Oh? Father, what do you see? ”

"Yelena, do you notice the line you draw, and what connection does it have with mine?"

"Connection, Ma Changguo and Stephen are both American......" Yelena's eyes suddenly lit up, "On the surface, there is no connection between the two lines, but if you insist on saying connection, then this is White?!" Because he's also an American, but that's all there is to it! ”

"Well, that's the connection. Before Stephen died, he mentioned a White, but we can't be sure that 'White' is the 'White' of the year, if we insist on linking our thread with Stephen's thread because of this White, it seems too far-fetched now, but my intuition tells me that these two lines are intrinsically linked, and I suspect that the White back then ......"

"Do you suspect that the General has something to do with this mysterious White?" Yelena asked rhetorically.

"Well, think about it, if Stephen's line is drawn further down to the general, and suppose the general is the so-called 'White', or 'White' represents the general, then we will all be connected!"

"Father, you are too godly, I only thought of connecting the two lines on our side, you actually think of Stephen's line, if it is really like what you said, then, the base riots, protect Misha, Stephen's three lines can be connected!" Yelena was rarely excited like a little girl.

"However, we can't be happy too soon, Stephen and Fanny are dead, in this way, Stephen's line has been completely broken, and although our side can now merge the two lines of the base and Misha into one, but Bultenko, Isakov, and Brenin are also dead, leaving only one Stephkin whose fate is unknown, it can be said that the clues on our side have basically broken up to this point, Yelena, you must know that the mastermind behind the scenes is not willing to show his true face easily." Makarov was excited, but he still kept a clear head.

Yelena disagreed, "No, we're not done here, we still have Shchedrin." ”

"You mean to ask him to identify the pictures?"

"That's right! Maybe he can give us some new clues. ”

"Then let's hope God bless us!"

"What? Father, you don't seem to have much hope for Shchedrin. ”

Makarov shook his head and did not answer. Yelena saw that it was getting late outside, and the archives were about to close, so she had to return the files to the administrator, and Makarov left the headquarters archives with greater doubts and excitement about the new discovery.

7

When Yelena and Makarov rushed back to St. Petersburg the next day, it was already afternoon, and they hurried to Shchedrin's residence on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.

Shchedrin's home was considered a wealthy area of St. Petersburg, and Yelena drove out of the city and soon saw a luxurious villa area. Yelena had already been to Shchedrin's villa, so she parked her car firmly in front of the villa gate. The two jumped out of the car, and Makarov couldn't help but sigh: "This kid has been a blessing in disguise, and now he has made it, and he lives in such a good house!" ”

"That's not right!" Yelena abruptly interrupted Makarov's exclamation and pulled out her gun.

What did Makarov also realize right away? He didn't know what was going to happen? But years as a secret agent made him sniff out danger.

Yelena held the gun and came to the door of the villa sideways, Makarov came to the other side, listened attentively, there was no movement in the house, the two hesitated for a moment, and suddenly there was a sound in the house, Yelena didn't know what it was, but she sensed that the sound was wrong, so Yelena did not hesitate to knock open the heavy door of the villa.

Makarov also rushed in, and the two rushed straight into the living room, in the luxurious living room, Yelena saw Shchedrin being tied to a chair, and at this moment, Shchedrin fell to the ground with a chair, and Yelena immediately understood what was going on with the sound just now.

Yelena and Makarov hurriedly picked up Shchedrin and took the strip of cloth that Shchedrin stuffed in his mouth, and Shchedrin shouted: "The man went upstairs. ”

Makarov stayed behind to take care of Shchedrin, Yelena quickly rushed to the second floor, and in the master bedroom on the second floor, a black shadow flashed, and when Yelena rushed to the balcony of the master bedroom, the black shadow had already jumped off the balcony.

Yelena also jumped off the balcony and chased after the black shadow, but the black shadow flashed and disappeared. Yelena was hesitating, when she suddenly rushed out of a Volvo car from behind, Yelena hurriedly dodged, and when she regained her footing and raised her gun to shoot at the "Volvo", the car was already gone.

Yelena was just about to chase after her by car, when Makarov's voice came from behind her, "Yelena, stop chasing!" ”

Yelena suppressed her anger and returned to the living room, "Do you know that person?" Yelena asked Shchedrin.

"Nope! I don't know. I really can't figure out who will kill me, I haven't offended anyone! Shchedrin looked innocent.

"How can you be sure that the man is going to kill you? If you want to kill you, you will be shot directly, and you will not have to be tied up? Yelena asked Shchedrin rhetorically.

"That guy wants to be the scene of my accidental death, so tie me up first, you have to be one step later, and that guy is going to inject me with something!" Shchedrin said.

"I'll tell you, why someone wants your life, because you were a KGB man." Makarov said.

"I've been out of the KGB for so long, and it's long before it's time to break it."

"Because you still know the secrets of the KGB, you are doomed to not be at peace." Yelena said.

"Confidential? What else do I know? ”

"Advance to the base." Makarov tract.

"Ahh Didn't I tell you everything I knew? ”

"Someone doesn't want you to tell you everything you know." Yelena said.

"But I've already told you what I know! What's the use of killing me again? ”

"Maybe you know some other secrets that scare those people." Makarov whispered.

"Nope! I have told you all that I know, and I have not hidden anything. ”

"We believe in you, but please remember it again." Yelena helped Shchedrin onto the couch.

Shchedrin thought about it carefully and shook his head, "I really don't know what else to say. ”

"Do you know Brienin? Andrei Grigoryevich Brynin? ”

"Brainin?!" Shchedrin thought for a long time, and finally shook his head.

"And what about Isakov? Vasily Alekseevich Isakov? ”

"Nope! I certainly don't know this person. Shchedrin replied crisply.

Yelena and Makarov looked at each other, and Makarov asked Shchedrin again, "So, you can recall how many times you met with Stepkin?" ”

"Stepkin?! The time I really dealt with him was that time, in Vladivostok. Later, when I went back to the headquarters, I met him a few times, but I only said hello, because I saw that he had bandages on his hands, and I knew that he was not doing well, so I didn't talk to him much, and then he left the headquarters, and I never met him again. ”

"Alright! It seems that you really don't know anything, but we believe in you, and those people don't. Makarov said, pulling out the photographs that had been scanned in the archives, and he didn't tell Shchedrin about the people, but asked Shchedrin to identify the eighteen photos.

8

Shchedrin looked through everyone's photos one by one, and in the end, to Yelena and Makarov's great surprise, after seeing the photos, Shchedrin looked dazed, shook his head and said to them, "Who are these people?" I don't know any of them, so it doesn't look like it's being filmed now. ”

Shchedrin's answer stunned Yelena and Makarov, who had no choice but to take out the photo of "Warren White" and put it in front of Shchedrin, "Are you reminiscing, do you know this person?" ”

"This person?" Shchedrin frowned, looked at the photo carefully, and finally shook his head, "No, I don't know." ”

"Look good again, look at this person younger, don't you really know him?" Yelena prompted Shchedrin.

"I certainly don't know this man." Shchedrin replied in the affirmative.

Yelena was going crazy, so she had to tell Shchedrin, "This is the 'Warren White' you interrogated back then!" ”

"What? This...... That's impossible. Shchedrin couldn't believe it, "White's appearance is not like this, absolutely not, this person has a fair face, and the White I interrogated has a beard, and his complexion is like those of the crew, a bronzed, and more importantly, White's facial features are not like this, it is difficult for me to describe the appearance of that White in words, but I am sure that White is not the person in the photo." ”

"If you seriously recall, this picture was taken ten years later......" Makarov said.

"Even if it's ten years, one person shouldn't have such a big change."

"And what about the figure in the photo?" Yelena asked suddenly.

"Figure?" Xie Delin looked at it for a while and said, "The figure is about the same. ”

Makarov took out the photo of "Martin" again and asked Shchedrin to carefully identify it, but Shchedrin still did not recognize him.

Things seemed to be at an impasse again, but Shchedrin's words made Yelena fall into deep thought. After a moment of silence, Yelena told Shchedrin about the "Joyce" that they had in their possession.

After hearing this, Shchedrin was shocked, and after a long time, he muttered, "That's how it is." I...... At the beginning, it was under my nose, let it walk! So I was right when I caught White! ”

Yelena nodded at Shchedrin, "It's just that this White is a little strange." ”

"Warren White?!" Shchedrin thought about it and suddenly shouted, "Could it be that the file you saw has been tampered with?" ”

Shchedrin's words shocked Yelena and Makarov, but Yelena quickly dismissed this possibility, "When I checked the file of the 'Joyce' wheel, I specially looked at the access record of this file, and again, like the file of the base riot, no one had ever accessed it before us. And if someone doesn't want us to see this file, just take it, there's no need to make a fake copy and put it inside. ”

"Yes, this file was discovered by accident. No one should have tampered with this file. Makarov also said.

"That's weird, I can assure you that the White I saw was definitely not the man in the picture." Shchedrin swore by it.

"Do you remember what the other crew members of the Joyce were like?" Yelena didn't give up yet.

"I had dealt with their captain and first mate at the time, but it was only in a hurry, and after such a long time, it was hard to recognize them. It's just that...... It's just that White made an extremely deep impression on me, not because I interrogated him a few times, but because I pinned all my hopes on him at that time, but in the end, I ......" Shchedrin said this, and suddenly asked Yelena and Makarov rhetorically, "I don't understand how you can investigate this matter after so long?" ”

"Because a series of terrible things have happened recently, from the United States to China, and then to Russia, so that I, an old man who has retired, will not be able to enjoy his old age in peace." Makarov tract.

"Something terrible?"

"Yes, that Stephkin escaped from prison...... Yelena told Shchedrin what they had about Stephkin and Brynin.

After hearing this, Shchedrin was stunned for a long time before he said: "It turns out that this matter is so complicated!" ”

"That's why we need your help, and you can think about the future, like Stepkin......" Yelena hopes that Shchedrin will be able to recall some more valuable clues. But Shchedrin thought for a long time and shook his head, and then Makarov suddenly asked: "Then where can we find Lieutenant Nikolai?" ”

"Nikolai?" Shchedrin was startled, and then said slowly: "He has long been dead. ”

9

Makarov was shocked when he heard that Nikolai was dead, "Nikolai is also dead?" How did he die? ”

"Later, after the whole incident was over, an investigation team was sent down from above, and I definitely couldn't run away to hold the relevant people accountable, but I didn't expect that Nikolai and Stephkin were also locked up and confined like me, waiting for the final review results." Shchedrin rolled his eyes, as if he was recalling an extremely difficult event, "We have been censored for more than a month, and there was a period of time when the censorship was so strict that we were hardly allowed to rest, and the interrogators were divided into groups and kept asking us all kinds of boring questions, and Nikolai had an accident at that time. In the face of intense interrogation, Stephkin and I survived, but Nikolai did not survive in the end, and he committed suicide by cutting his throat with a blade in the confinement cell. ”

"Where did you get the blades in the confinement chamber?" Yelena couldn't believe it.

"I don't know. Later, I heard from the officers who investigated us that Nikolai was secretly hiding. ”

"Why did Nikolai commit suicide? It stands to reason that his responsibility should not be as great as yours! Yelena asked again.

"The psychological quality is not good, I thought that the sky was about to fall, so I committed suicide! So the only people who were punished for this incident were me and Stephkin, and everyone else died in the line of duty. ”

"What questions did the officers who examined you ask at the time?"

"That's what happened to me, I'll tell you 1510, they mainly want to judge whether I have dereliction of duty in the whole incident, I put the blame on Buldenko anyway, I can only blame the trainees trained by this guy for being too fierce, otherwise how can it cause such a big loss!"

"These must be the same questions that Nikolai asked, can't he hold on?"

"I think Nikolai has been at the base the longest, so I ask him a lot about the base and about Buldenko, and even about you, Makarov." Shchedrin said.

"Did you have any direct contact with Stephkin during the review?" Makarov suddenly asked sensitively.

"Nope. We were held separately, in a small confinement room for each person, and we were separated during interrogation. ”

"Did those officers mention Stephkin when they interrogated you?" Makarov asked again.

"Very little, almost nothing, because his situation is different from mine." Shchedrin paused for a moment, and then said: "However, there was a situation that made me very confused later, it stands to reason that Stephkin made a mistake later, and the question should be very simple, and it can be asked clearly, but when I was censored for more than a month and released, Stephkin was still in the cell." ”

"Oh! This is indeed suspicious. Could it be that Stephkin is dishonest? Yelena was suspicious.

"I don't know the specifics, anyway, he has been reviewing for longer than me." Shchedrin is still puzzled.

"It's not hard to understand. With what we know about Stephkin now, he has more suspicions, so he must have been very uncooperative during the review. Makarov said.

"That's right!" Shchedrin suddenly shouted, "What are the names of those people you just mentioned?" ”

"Brainin?"

"Nope! Another! ”

"Isakov? Vasily Alekseevich Isakov? ”

"That's right! I remember, I've heard of this guy, and if you don't mention the censorship, I'll forget that at that time, the person in charge of the confinement room at the headquarters was a tall guy, and that man seemed to be called Isakov! ”

"Are you sure?" Makarov and Yelena both exclaimed. Yelena hurriedly added: "The Isakov we mentioned is two meters tall! ”

"That's right! The man was two meters tall, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and a fierce face, very strong! Shchedrin remembered what Isakov looked like.

"That's right again!" Makarov muttered from his mouth.

"Yes! Isakov also appeared, Stephkin, Isakov, and Brenin actually appeared in this series of events, so that the blade of Nikolai's suicide is also likely to ......"

"They were afraid that Nikolai would say something, so they forced Nikolai to commit suicide." Makarov tract.

"Who are they? Nikolai ...... again And what do you know more than I do? "Shchedrin did not understand what Makarov meant.

"What does Nikolai know more than you can do? There's only one possibility, he knows better than you about going to base. Makarov said.

"Advance to the base? What else can happen to the forward base? Besides, aren't you still the head of the forward base? Shchedrin was puzzled.

"Could it be...... Is there any other secret that I don't know about the forward base? Makarov fell into heavy memories again, but for a long time, he could not find anything from the memory.

10

The three of them chatted for a while, and when Makarov and Yelena saw that they could not ask any more valuable information, they got up and took their leave, and Shchedrin said fearfully, "You are gone, and I am going to go abroad to avoid it, and if you still have any questions to ask me, call this number." ”

Yelena took Shchedrin's phone call and walked out of Shchedrin's villa with Makarov, who had not yet jumped out of his thoughts just now, "Base, what are the secrets of the base?" ”

"Father, don't think about it so much, we still have something to gain this time, Isakov appeared, and the two lines I drew before have been further perfected."

"Well, the line is connected, but almost all the people in the know are dead, and every clue can't progress until that White."

"Yes! But Shchedrin didn't recognize White in the photo. ”

"I should have thought a long time ago that this White would not let us see his true face so easily." Makarov thought for a moment, and suddenly muttered to himself: "Isn't White not a person, but just a code name?" ”

"I don't rule it out."

"It seems that there will be no further progress here for Shchedrin, so I warned you yesterday in the archives, don't be too optimistic, the way it is, when you think you are close to victory, often greater difficulties will come."

"Even if Shchedrin doesn't use it, we still have Stephkin, I don't believe we can't catch him!" Yelena was not convinced.

"Then you can't count on it, Stephkin may know a lot of inside information, but as a well-trained and veteran agent, we have learned his skills, so it can be said that we are not his opponents alone, and Han Jiang is not good! Even if we catch this guy, this guy won't open his mouth. Makarov said.

"Then according to what you mean, Stephen's clue is broken, and we can't progress here, so it's no problem!"

Makarov pondered for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Yelena, what about Brynin's autopsy report?" ”

"That's right! I'll let Ilyugin take care of this, it's time to ask him. With that, Yelena and Makarov got into the car and rushed to the FSB building.

Ilyugin received Makarov and Yelena in his office, and Yelena got straight to the point and asked: "Is Brynin's autopsy report out?" ”

"It's out!" Ilyugin took out a document from his desk and handed it to Yelena, and said, "Unfortunately, because the body has been burned by the fire for a long time, it is difficult to identify the true identity of the corpse, and it can only be seen that it is a male corpse. ”

"Is that so?" Yelena looked disappointed.

"Do you still suspect Bryning?" Ilyugin asked.

"Nope! I don't know who to suspect now......" Yelena pondered for a moment, then asked Ilyugin, "You introduced me before, saying that Brynin has been living in a villa in the suburbs since his retirement, rarely going into the city, and never leaving Petersburg, right?" ”

"yes!" Ilyugin didn't understand what Yelena meant.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure? We didn't send anyone to spy on Brynin at the time, so it's hard to know for sure, I just heard from a lot of former colleagues, and I didn't visit him. Ilyugin shrugged helplessly.

"So can you find out Bryning's entry and exit records?"

"Do you suspect that Brynin was not in Petersburg during that time, and was abroad? You can check it, but Yelena, if you think about Bryning, an experienced agent, if he really wants to go abroad and doesn't want to be discovered, he can completely fake his identity and get away with it! Ilyugin reminded Yelena.

"Yes! Yelena, how confused are you. Makarov said.

Yelena felt that she was indeed messed up by these things, she rubbed her temples vigorously, and looked at Makarov helplessly, Makarov shook his head and said, "The only thing to look at is Tang Feng and Han Jiang." ”

"That's right! The jade interstitial screen is now in their hands, and they will definitely not be peaceful there. Yelena's heart fluttered when she thought of this.

……

After reading Yelena's letter, Tang Feng and Han Jiang were shocked, Tang Feng rearranged his thoughts and said, "I can't imagine that the forward base is related to Stephkin and Brynin. ”

"Yes! A White brought out the three agents who had protected Misha back then, Stepkin, Brenin, and Isakov, and this so-called 'White' is not simple! Han Jiang sighed.

"Could it be that White is the general?" Tang Feng suddenly asked.

Han Jiang pondered for a moment and said, "If White was the White that Stephen met back then, White would not be a general. ”

"Well, but there's another possibility, 'White' is just a code name, and he doesn't specifically refer to someone, otherwise why wouldn't Shchedrin know White in 1986?" Tang Feng made a very interesting point.

"According to what you say, Shchedrin met White, White who was arrested in 1986, and White met Stephen, none of the three are alone?" Han Jiang had a hunch that this problem was getting more and more complicated.

"It's entirely possible! Maybe even 'General' is just a code name. ”

'What?' The general is also a code name?! No! This is absolutely impossible. Han Jiang refused to believe Tang Feng's speculation. I'd rather believe that the general is that Brynin. ”

"Brynin, yes! Was the man who was burned to death Brynin? Now it is unknown. ”

"Well, although Yelena has made a great discovery, it seems that she is in a predicament again, and the only thing to see is Professor Luo, after all, the jade interstitial screen is the key!" Han Jiang muttered.