Midnight Black

As per his protocol, Court is sleeping in his cottage’s closet, while on his bed is a body double made out of stuffed pillowcases and bags. At around one o’clock, Court wakes up with the feeling that something is wrong. As a cold breeze enters through the closet door, Court realizes that the cottage door is open. He watches through the crack in the closet door as a figure sidles up to his bed. Just as the man is about to shoot the dummy, Court pulls a gun from under his pillow and kills him.

The sound leads to sniper fire from the woods. As more men enter Court’s cottage, he flattens himself behind the bed and opens fire with the dead man’s submachine gun. By the time Zack and his associate Jakub get to Court’s cottage, Court has killed a few men and escaped. Dvorak’s men kill several of Zack’s teammates.

Meanwhile, Court circles back to the snipers on the headland, sneaking up on one and slitting his throat. He positions himself behind the sniper’s scope, spots a GRU Shark, and kills him.

By the time Court begins targeting GRU Shark and Eagle team members, most of Zack’s team are missing or dead, their radios silent. Zack himself is darting between trees, trying to get to a marsh nearby. As Dvorak and Atilla realize that the sniper fire is no longer friendly, they make plans to escape into a nearby marsh and await reinforcements.

Zack is close to the marsh when he sees two figures (Atilla and Davrok) wading through the water. He sneaks up behind them, yelling at them not to move. Atilla turns to him with lightning speed, pistol raised, but Zack kills Atilla. Recognizing Dvorak, Zack wades over to him and ties his hands.

Since Court can see no movement at the cottages, he leaves his sniper’s position and moves back to his cabin. He collects his gear and, using night-vision goggles filched from one of the dead, spots Zack and a prisoner in the distance. He gets into his Land Cruiser, parked nearby, and picks up Zack and Dvorak. He expresses his condolences to Zack for all the teammates he has lost. Zack says that the men died for a cause. Telling Zack that he loves him, Court drops off Zack and Dvorak next to Zack’s SUV. Court is now headed to the Helsinki port.

In Helsinki, Baronov learns of the debacle, but he does not regret giving Zack’s location to Dvorak because eliminating Zack and his team is part of Baronov’s master plan. Even if Zack himself is alive, most of his team has been wiped out. What Baronov does regret about Dvorak’s capture is that, under interrogation, he is bound to reveal that Baronov has been getting his information from an FSB plant in the NRC (the anti-Peskov alternate government council headed by billionaire Mikhail Sorkin). Sorkin will definitely have Baronov’s spy liquidated. Baronov now turns his attention to the man whom Russian intelligence knows as Chayka. Baronov knows him by another name as well: Courtland Gentry. Court is headed to Russia, and his entry into the country is by Baronov’s design.

Court meets a shipping company owner recommended by Milda who sells him a berth on the Arcturus Pearl, headed to the port of Ust-Luga, near Saint Petersburg, Russia. In his berth, Court receives a call from Hanley, who tells Court that Zack has handed Dvorak over and is on his way to Poland to report to the NRC.

Hanley’s investigation has revealed that Katarina Orlova, the granddaughter of Milda’s old contact, is the leader of the Moscow arm of the Legion. Katarina is off the grid but can be a very useful contact for Court. The bad news is that Watkins has refused CIA support for Court. Court is disappointed, but he always knew he would have to make his own way.

The NRC operates out of a massive military complex that the Germans built in Klomino, Poland, during World War II. Abandoned after the breakup of the USSR, the complex became operational three years ago when the Polish government rented it out to train Ukrainian special forces. Sorkin poured his money into the complex, and by the time Zack gets to Klomino, he can see the secret site gleaming and packed with sophisticated aircraft like V-22 Ospreys.

A woman called Irina refers to Zack by his code name “Romantic” and leads him to Sorkin’s office. Sorkin tells Zack that he has captured the mole who was leaking information to the FSB. The bad news is that the mole already told FSB about an aerial attack that the NRC was planning in Russia, forcing Sorkin to abandon his plan.

Sorkin has a new assignment for Zack: training Russian defectors in warfare and espionage. Zack wonders about Sorkin’s reasons for involving himself in geopolitics when he can simply sit back and enjoy his fortune. Sorkin replies that it is his life’s mission to liberate Russia from Peskov. Though he has no desire to replace Peskov himself, Sorkin will wait for the right leader to come along. Zack accepts Sorkin’s task.

As the Arcturus Pearl heads into Russian waters, Court goes on deck to survey his surroundings. He spots a Russian patrol boat in the distance and knows that officials will search the Pearl. Court has prepared himself for just such an exigency.

Decking himself in a neoprene scuba suit that he grabbed from the salvage company in Finland, Court grabs his duffel bags and tactical gear and strings them in a line tied to the deck. Tossing the bags into the water, he uses a rope to descend into the sea. Once in the water, he cuts off the lines, grabs the gear, puts on an underwater mask, and sinks under the surface. Court sets the compass on his wrist to the coastal coordinates and grabs the handles of his battery-powered sea scooter, its propellers dragging him in the direction of Ust-Luga.

Court surfaces over two hours later, close to the shore. He discards his mask and scooter, using his fins to make it to the coast. After he climbs out of the water, he dresses himself in civilian clothes from his waterproof duffel bag. He makes his way to a forest near the shore and hides the duffel under branches. He knows that his gear will be discovered soon, making it clear that a diver has entered Russia, but Court will be gone by then. Court walks to a highway and boards a bus to St. Petersburg, feeling excited to finally be on his way to his destination.

By the time Court reaches Moscow from the St. Petersburg train station, it is close to mid-morning. Court, who spent time in Moscow on his earliest assignments, notices that the city has changed. Its vibrant cafes and museums remain but have fewer patrons. Court can see a heavy army and police presence, as well as people, including the wealthy, being stopped by the police for questioning. Court keeps a low profile so that he doesn’t catch the police’s eye.

Later that same day, Baronov receives intel from the border patrol about scuba gear washed ashore near the Gulf of Finland, which makes him think that Court has arrived in Russia. Baronov has a hunch that Court is headed to Moscow, from where he will go to Mordovia. It turns out that Baronov is well aware that Court’s sole purpose in Russia is freeing Zoya, though how he came by the information is not revealed at this stage. Baronov has no intention of letting him leave Moscow alive. He orders that the day’s video feeds from all St. Petersburg railway stations be scanned for men traveling alone.

Court purchases a simple men’s suit and a backpack that will help him pass as a busy executive. He waits for the right time to head to his target location, an old building managed by Arkady Rubenov, Milda’s contact. When the streets are relatively empty, Court enters the building and reaches the Rubenov apartment, introducing himself to the older man with a previously agreed-upon code phrase. Arkady and his wife bring Court inside, and, to confound possible audio surveillance, they pretend that Court is a Nicaraguan embassy official who is there to rent a room.

Arkady beckons Court onto the balcony for an uninhibited conversation. Court thanks Arkady for all his help, but he needs another favor: contact with his granddaughter Katarina. A scared Arkady pretends that Katarina is only a nurse and begs Court to leave her out of his project. Court will have to contact the Legion by himself. Meanwhile, he can stay in the basement of the building, where Arkady and his wife will bring him food and water.

It is daily exercise time for the confinement-wing inmates at Yavas, and the women are let out to pace in cages in a compound. Nadia is in the cage next to Zoya’s, and she tells Zoya that they can talk. Though armed guards oversee the compound, they aren’t really interested in listening to the inmates. The women strike up a conversation, trading stories. Unlike the other inmates, of whom she is wary, Zoya feels like she can trust Nadia completely.

Nadia thinks it is unusual that a former SVR agent like Zoya is in an ordinary women’s penitentiary, but, given that Baronov is so interested in Zoya’s case, this makes sense. Zoya doesn’t understand what Nadia means; Nadia clarifies that Baronov has a dacha, or country house, near Yavas and puts “his” prisoners in the jails here to supervise them. Clearly, Baronov had Zoya transferred to Yavas.

Zoya wonders why Baronov would interrogate her about her unknown patron when her presence in Yavas is his doing. She realizes that Baronov may have been playacting for the benefit of the warden, Maximov, who would have questioned an Odessa-order prisoner being in his jail. As exercise time draws to a close, Zoya tells Nadia that they can work together to escape Yavas, but an exhausted-looking Nadia tells her that their fate is not in their hands anymore.

Meanwhile, Baronov finds footage that shows Court getting off a train in Moscow. His plan is to flood the area with FSB agents so that they can comb it for possible contacts of Milda.

In his basement unit, Court catches up with the Russian state TV news, learning of Trifonov’s assassination. Although the state-sponsored news blames American agencies and Ukrainian forces for the attack, Court knows the ambush is the work of Russian resistance.

Meanwhile, Zack tells Hanley about the sophisticated aircraft possessed by the NRC. This piques Hanley’s interest, and he requests an encrypted call with Sorkin. Over the call, he proposes to Sorkin that the NRC and the Ukrainians plan an air raid in Mordovia, possibly with US support. Sorkin tells Hanley that he will discuss the matter with the Ukrainian prime minister.

A few days later, Hanley meets Watkins at CIA headquarters and learns that the plan he hatched has been successful. The Ukrainian prime minister reached out to the US president for assistance on the planned air raid. The US president is inclined to help, but only in a covert operation.

Because Hanley specializes in such ops, Watkins wants him to get to Poland. Hanley agrees, telling Watkins that while the Ukrainians break Yarovoy out, Court will be breaking Zoya out of the women’s jail. He wonders if perhaps they can find a way to work together. Watkins leaves the machinations to Hanely but tells him that Zack cannot go on the raid, as his ties to the CIA are well-known.

In Moscow, Arkady wakes Court up in the middle of the night, telling him that Katarina wants to meet him. Court goes to a back alley as directed by Arkady, where he is pulled into a van. A pillowcase is thrust over his head, and he hopes that Arkady hasn’t sold him out.