Read Tsar Wars: Agents of ISIS, Book 1 for Free Online Page A

deeply about the Empire’s
security. He’s an intelligence maven , a man with
considerable resources and even more friends—of which I am one. If
he sees a problem, he’ll try to fix it whether he’s Commissar of
ISIS or not.”
    “And people will just risk their lives for
him?”
    “Not for him. For the Empire.”
    Eva looked about to say more when the office
door opened and Hasina poked her head out. “My father would like to
talk to you a minute,” she told the senior Bar Nahum.
    Avram laid his left hand gently on Eva’s
shoulder and returned to the office with the dvoryanka, closing the
door behind them.
    The Quantum-line, or Q-line, speaker was set
up on his desktop. A Q-line was the most secure communicator
available because it used a digital one-time cipher pad. Hasina’s
device spoke only to one her father had, and they were the only two
devices with this particular randomly-generated cipher pad. Even if
someone intercepted the message it could never be decrypted by
anyone who didn’t have a copy of the pad. As with most such
encryption devices, this Q-line was voice-only. While picture and
tridee transmission were possible, they were prohibitively
expensive in this circumstance.
    “Hello, Nkosi,” Avram Bar Nahum said.
    “Hello, old friend,” came the knyaz’s deep,
rich voice. “It’s been a long time.”
    “Not long enough,” Avram said, “considering
you never call unless the Empire’s in terrible trouble. I think the
Empire could use less trouble, so I could use fewer calls.”
    “I can’t fault your logic. Hasina tells me
you won’t accept the job I have for you.”
    “Not ‘won’t.’ ‘Can’t.’ Mikkel and I aren’t
the men for the job any more—not if the safety of the Velikaya
Knyaghinya is riding on it, as your daughter says.”
    “I’m not Commissar any more. I have to use
the resources at my disposal.”
    “That’s exactly why I’m suggesting my son and
Noy’s and Marnina’s daughter. They’re smart, fast and talented—at
least as good as their parents.”
    “They’re also totally inexperienced,” the
knyaz pointed out.
    “ Nu ? So how experienced were my
brothers and I when we started? They learn quickly, these children
today. They’re about the same age as your daughter, I might
add.”
    There was an audible sigh from the man at the
other end of the line, who knew he couldn’t argue with any of that.
“Tell me about them,” he said at last.
    “Don’t think I’m suggesting them out of
nepotism. They’re the biggest stars of the show. I’d much rather
keep them here. Only my great love for the Empire would let me part
with them.
    “Judah’s the more enthusiastic one. He loves
anything to do with spying. He listens to my old stories over and
over. He’s memorized all those silly Ilya Uzi novels—”
    “If he goes by them, he’ll be in big
trouble.”
    Avram smiled. “He knows the difference
between them and reality. I made sure of that. He’s absorbed all
the craft Mikkel and I could feed into him, and he’s always eager
for more. Physically he’s in perfect condition, and mentally he’s
up to the challenge. He’s got the background. As I said, he’ll
learn quickly in the field.”
    “And the girl?”
    “She’s no girl, and you’d better stop
thinking of her that way. She grew up very quickly—probably too
quickly. Losing both her parents like that did things to her, made
her a little wild.”
    “I don’t need ‘wild.’ I need
‘disciplined.’“
    “She’ll definitely give you tsouris there. She does things her own way, which isn’t always the way you
or I would do them. But when she chooses to do something, it gets
done right. Everything comes naturally to her. She’s the most
brilliantly intuitive person I’ve ever seen. I’ve never known her
instincts to be wrong. I’d trust my life—more importantly, I’d
trust the Velikaya Knyaghinya’s life—in her hands. Much as it pains
me to say it, between her and my son