Chapter By Chapter> Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image chapter 40

Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter (or possibly multiple chapter for this one) of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

Seventy-Eight chapters, some with short enough chapters that it feels wrong to call it a chapter. Either way we’re more than halfway done with this book and still have a long way to go. Last time we got to see the only good guy at Commie Op-Center. I don’t know whether or not Orlov Sr. is a commie deep down, though given how he treats people like people I kind of doubt it. He’s starting to suspect something is up, meaning he might not have been the best choice to head your spy organization that’s being used for a governmental coup.

Now we get to visit his son, to see how in he’ll be once everyone figures out that Putin Dogan is trying to restore the USSR by starting with the Ukraine. I already said my thing before and this isn’t a political blog, though I have been a bit more political in this one, so let’s just get on with the review. This is the best padding I can do for this chapter, unfortunately. I’m all out of ways to go spoiler free analysis at this point.

Chapter 40: Tuesday, 10:09 AM, Ussurisk

Spell check wants me to use a different spelling, but this is what’s in the book. Maybe it’s a fictional place or something?

We start with too much information about the train. Some of it is not bad, like how they set up communications, but while the history of the train itself isn’t bad it goes on a bit long for me. Then we get Orlov Jr getting a call from his father, asking him to inspect the crates. It’s all filled with money–American money, which doesn’t seem like a red flag to either of the Russian soldiers involved in the transportation. It’s here that Nikita learns about the situation at the Ukrainian border, and he realizes whatever’s going on his dad and his idol are on opposite sides of things. Nikita (that’s Orlov, Jr) is convinced the money is for the war and will save lives, but Orlov Sr wants to stop the war if he can. Something is seriously wrong and he’s going to figure it out, telling his son that he knew nothing about the situation that didn’t arise until after Jr left with the train and that he doesn’t want the money leaving the train. He’s also keeping an eye on the plane Sr suspects is from foreigners but doesn’t know it’s Striker on board.

So Junior isn’t part of the plan, but he is a sort of patsy here. I don’t know if it’s the combination of hating his dad and looking up to Kosigan as a mentor of sorts, but he’s determined to help the war effort as a Russian soldier. Nobody is fully aware of Dogin’s coup or Kosigan’s part in it, though regular Op-Center suspects a coup. As far as Junior knows he’s helping his hero, and getting to stick it to his dad as a bonus. What happens when the train stops at Ozernaya Pad is an answer we’ll get in the future, but unless he’s against an actual overthrow of Russian and return to the Soviet life I suspect he’s going to give Striker a fight, and possibly his father as well.

Next time we’re going to check in with regular Op-Center and see if they’ve figured anything out, and if they’re finally going to tell the Russian President about it. Unlike the current border situation in 2025,  President Zhanin isn’t in on it.