Page 204 of The Secret of Secrets

“I asked her to write down her name.” The Marine motioned to the slip of paper. “I believe it’s pronounced ‘Sasha Vesna.’ ”

Chapter 129

As he drove away from Dana’s apartment, Sergeant Kerble felt drained. He switched on the car radio and cranked the volume to help him stay alert. The diplomatic pouch sat on the seat beside him, and as ordered, he would deliver it to the ambassador at once.

Halfway around the massive rotary in Vítězné Square, Kerble felt the phone in his pocket begin to vibrate. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID—a U.S. embassy extension.

“Kerble,” he answered, turning down the radio.

“Thank God you answered!” The woman’s voice was familiar but sounded uncharacteristically frantic.

“Madam Ambassador?” Kerble was instantly on high alert. “Is everything—”

“Where are you right now?!” she interrupted.

The ambassador’s abruptness was unusual, and Kerble had the odd sense she’d been drinking, which was also out of character. “I’m just leaving Dejvice,” he said. “I have the item you requested, and I’m headed—”

“I need you to do something else. Right away.”

As the ambassador explained, Kerble’s instinct told him something about this situation was seriously wrong. “Ma’am, I’m having trouble hearing you,” he lied, implementing their agreed-upon security protocol. “Are you in town? Running errands?”

“For Christ’s sake, Scott!” she snapped. “You know I don’t run errands! Just do what I asked!”

Ambassador Nagel’s heart was pounding as she descended the marble staircase into the embassy’s elegant foyer. The anteroom that separated the embassy from the street was always manned by a Marine guard, but tonight, as Nagel had requested moments earlier, there were three muscular Marines positioned in the foyer. The young corporal in charge looked relieved to see her approaching.

The guards were standing with a new arrival—a blond woman in jeans, a parka, and sneakers. Her shoulder-length hair was wet and disheveled, and her posture was slumped, as if she was profoundly weary, or perhaps even injured.

Nagel recognized the woman at once, having seen her in photos.

Sasha Vesna…and she looks like she’s been through a war.

The Russian woman’s presence here—bedraggled but alive—came as a sobering shock. Seeing her, Nagel felt momentarily disoriented, especially considering what she knew about Sasha’s complex personality. If Langdon and Solomon were correct about the woman’s dissociative identity disorder, then the first thing Nagel had to do—as bizarre as it seemed to her—was to discern which Sasha had just shown up at the embassy.

“Ms. Vesna,” the ambassador said politely, keeping her distance. “I am Ambassador Nagel. I was informed you are looking for Michael Harris?”

“Yes,” the woman said, her voice frail with a thick Russian accent. “Michael is my friend. He said if I was in trouble, I should come see him here.” The young woman was shivering in the cold, and her voice faltered. “And…I think I’m in trouble.”

You think you’re in trouble?! Nagel wanted to shout. You killed Michael Harris and blew up a top secret government installation! When the ambassador spoke, however, her tone was calm. “I’m afraid Michael is not here right now.” And I think you know that already. Don’t you?

“Will he be back soon?” Sasha asked. “Michael said I could come unannounced if I ever felt I was in danger.”

“Are you in danger?” Nagel asked.

“Yes, I…think so,” she said, on the verge of tears.

“From whom?”

“I don’t know!” she said, tears flowing freely now. “I don’t know what happened to me! I’m confused and I don’t remember…I just know I need a safe place to be!”

“So are you requesting asylum?” the ambassador asked.

“I don’t know what that is,” she said, taking a step toward Nagel. “I just need—”

“Sasha, stop!” Nagel bellowed as two Marines stepped between them, causing Sasha to halt immediately in her tracks. She looked genuinely terrified that she’d done something wrong.

“Ms. Vesna,” Nagel said, regaining her calm. “I want to help you, but first I need you to listen to me very carefully. It’s extremely important.”

Sasha nodded.