The Grey Cardinal Part 2 (Crimes + Conspiracies)

An obscure KGB agent began his political career with successes in East Germany, before the fall of the Berlin wall. Shortly thereafter, he left the KGB to enter politics in St. Petersburg, in the Soviet Union. From there, he set about to establish his own personal network of power brokers. When the U.S.S.R. finally collapsed, he remained in Russia acting from behind the scenes. His secret organization succeeded in placing what was billed as a weather satellite in orbit and then camouflaged its true purpose. Not satisfied with manipulating things from far behind the scenes, he began a relentless pursuit of more direct power from within the Kremlin itself; but the ex-Soviet republic of Chechnya complicated matters by seeking independence. Russian leadership became deeply divided over how to deal with the rebels causing the mysterious Vladimir to take a more active hand in the Kremlin decision making.

The power struggle takes on a personal twist when the ex-KGB colonel and the Russian president lock horns over who really will control the new Russia. The outcome is extremely important to the future of the clandestine organization vying to retain secret power, and to the ultimate fate of their mysterious satellite. The struggles are intense and alternative possibilities of what may have really happened are posed to the reader versus actual Western press reports. Meanwhile, back in the United States, the investigation continues into the bombing that killed 18 people in Virginia and the pursuit of those responsible.