The sky over Moscow was orange with the sun's glow.
Inside NKVD headquarters.
General Commissar Genrikh Yagoda leaned forward at his desk, eyes tracing the bold lines on a cable just received from a GRU operative in Milan.
"Confirmed: Italian and German officers met May 12. Plans for shared doctrine training under review. Likely buildup for Mediterranean coordination."
He circled the final line twice:
"Rome-Berlin cooperation now tactical, not theoretical."
Yagoda exhaled slowly. Then stood.
"Comrade Klevtsov," he said to his aide, "wake the encryption team. This goes to the Kremlin. Full clearance. Top threat tier."
Klevtsov saluted sharply. "Yes, Comrade Commissar."
Yagoda walked to the far wall of his office where an oversized operations map showed the European continent.
Dozens of red and black pins stabbed the map like old wounds.
He tapped one near Milan, then another in Berlin.
