Part 44: Mr. X

Update 20 – Mr. X




Hotel Syevyernaya Zvyezda, eh? Quite a mouthful. Quite fancy, though.




We head on inside.



Inspect the lobby
Surprisingly non-monumental.

Inspect the elevator
Modern. It also appears to work.

Inspect the receptionist
A smooth character. Seems on top of his job.

Inspect Alfred Alexandrovich Obukov
A somewhat supercilious air. He's of medium height and slender build.

He's here to meet with Mr X. Our job is to find out his identity.




We follow him into the cocktail bar.



Inspect the cocktail bar
An international atmosphere with piped music!

Nice place. Shame I'm not staying here.

Inspect the bartender
An experienced professional.

I'm in the mood for a drink.
Can I buy you a drink?
No thank you, sir.
I'd like a vodka, please.
Certainly, sir.



Well, the contact is certainly taking their sweet time getting here. I'll go wait out in the lobby.

6:00 PM

A familiar man arrives.



Major Agabekov?



We follow Agabekov into the bar.



Obukov follows Agabekov out. We follow him too.



Well, I guess now I know the identity of Mr X.

6:05 PM



Obukov leaves the building.

I'll stick around and see what Agabekov does.

6:11 PM



Agabekov leaves the hotel, and we follow.




As much as I'd love to see where he's going, I've don't have the time. I still have to see if I have any new recordings, and then meet Cut-throat at 7 PM. I have to go back to the warehouse.

6:31 PM

Back at the warehouse...



Obukov goes into the warehouse. If we just follow him in, he'd see us. Better to take the skylight path.



We go into the bar, through the back door, up the stairs, out the window, onto the rooftop, through the warehouse skylight, and down the stairs.




It's me again, comrade Savchenko.
Mechulaiev's in his office, comrade Obukov.
Good.

We quickly hide in the crates.




I'll wait until he's done meeting with Mechulaiev, and then start listening to the recordings.



Obukov leaves the meeting room and goes into the front part of the warehouse.

Goodnight to you, my friend!
Night.
You'll soon be a rich man!
Hope so.
Sun-drenched beaches and beautiful girls, eh?
You said it.

Time to start listening to the recordings.

Recording 9
Start of recording timed at 4:41 pm.



End of recording timed at 4:41 pm.

Recording 10
Start of recording timed at 4:42 pm.

The conversation is inaudible; the voices are too far away.

End of recording timed at 4:43 pm.

Recording 11
Start of recording timed at 6:26 pm.

The conversation is inaudible; the voices are too far away.

End of recording timed at 6:27 pm.

Recording 12:
Start of recording timed at 6:28 pm.

Did everything go well?
Have no worries on that score, Gennadi Leonidovich!
So.. Has Mr X fixed a date?
Indeed, my friend. The crack will arrive and the video tapes will leave tomorrow.
So soon?
No point in waiting, is there? Unless...
No, that's no problem at all, Alfred Alexandrovich.
Glad to hear it!
Just one thing... Have you any idea what time...?
Well, Viktor will have to be ready to leave in the afternoon, to pick up the crack around midnight, at the agreed meeting point.
The sooner the better.
That's the spirit. And Viktor Matsnev will be ready to transport the video tapes and receive the incoming crack?
No trouble. I'll be seeing my contact in the docks later on. Everything will be ready at our end for tomorrow.
Excellent! Well, if there's nothing else, I'll say goodnight.
See you tomorrow, then.

End of recording timed at 6:30 pm.

The final recording, Recording 13, is inaudible. It's probably just that last conversation between Obukov and Savchenko.

We start recording again, and put the recorder back in the crate. Then we use the skylights to return to the bar.




Time to head back to Gostinitsa Hotel. I've got all the information I need for my meeting. I only hope I'm not too late.