On the way she passed another door, behind which she could hear muffled talking. She slowed to listen and heard radio static, then indecipherable radio voices. Then several people talking in a foreign language. McKinney cautiously approached the door and pressed her ear to it.
A man’s voice was talking in a guttural language she didn’t recognize. Maybe Russian?
The sudden piercing caw of a raven close by made her literally jump and turn. There, perched on a fire extinguisher sign jutting out from the wall, was a large black raven, examining her curiously.
“You scared the crap out of me.” She approached the bird, while it continued to regard her calmly. McKinney could see the raven wore some sort of fiber-optic headset that was barely visible until she got within a few feet. The bird stepped out onto the edge of the sign and flapped its wings, cawing again.
“No one likes a snitch, Huginn.”
The bird cawed back.
A familiar voice spoke nearby. “That’s Muninn.”
Startled again, McKinney turned to see Odin standing in the corridor, not far behind her.
“Can’t sleep?”
She marched up to him. “I heard someone talking in a foreign language behind that door.”
“You still don’t trust me?”
She pointed. “The more I think about it, the more suspicious I am. Why aren’t we on a military base? Why can’t anyone show me government credentials or any proof who you are? Why am I locked up here?”
Odin nodded slowly. He appeared to be carefully considering his answer.
Muninn cawed again behind her.
McKinney pointed at the bird. “And what the hell are you doing using animals? How is this ethical?”
“You need sleep, Professor.”
“What I need is proof that I’m not helping bad people do bad things.”
He pointed to the raven. “Huginn and Muninn fly outside every day and always return of their own free will. If they regarded you as a friend, they wouldn’t have sounded the alarm.”
“You’re using them.”
Odin extended his arm and Muninn flew over to perch upon it, then climbed onto his shoulder. “That’s a cynical view of symbiosis.”
“Training ravens to help fight your wars is hardly symbiosis.”
“I sometimes wonder who’s training who. You know what they say about field research: ‘Never study an animal smarter than yourself.’” He approached the door McKinney had been listening at and pounded heavily on the wood.
The radio chatter beyond stopped, and they heard heavy footsteps approach the door. It pulled open a crack, and a wrinkled, gray-haired man with a ponytail and liver spots answered. A cigarette was tucked in the corner of his mouth, smoke curling around him. He spoke in a slight Russian accent. “What the hell are you pounding on door for? You scared the hell out of me.” The man’s eyes darted from Odin to McKinney, and his expression turned to a slight grin. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and opened the door further. “Well, good evening, dear lady. . . .” He extended his hand, but Odin interrupted him.
“Knock it off, Rocky. Tell the good professor here why you speak Russian.”
The man scowled and opened the door all the way. “Because I’m Russian, you asshole. Why?” Behind him McKinney could see an electronics lab littered with circuit boards and drone aircraft components.
“Where are you from?”
“What’s this all about?”
“It’s a simple question.”
The man huffed. “Is FBI doing this nonsense again?”
“Answer the question.”
“My brother and I defected 1989. My clearances are in order, and anyone who says otherwise can kiss my Ukrainian ass.” He started poking Odin in the chest. “And that includes you. You think you intimidate me? I’ll take that bird of yours and shove it straight up your JSOC ass. I was held by KGB for a year in Smolensk. There’s not a man in the world who can—”
Odin held up his hands. “Rocky! Okay, man. I just wanted to put something to rest. It’s cool. We’ll get out of your hair.” Odin gestured to McKinney and started heading back down the hall.
Rocky leaned out into the hall. “You haven’t introduced me to your lovely young friend, Odin.”
“Need-to-know, Rocky.”
“Ah . . . fuck you and your secrets. I have better secrets.” He went back into his lab and slammed the door.
McKinney sighed as she walked alongside Odin.
“If it will put your mind at ease, Professor, wander around the facility. I can’t open every door for you, but you can talk to whomever you find. Pump them for information if it helps you sleep.”