Chapter By Chapter> Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image chapter 44

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.

Last time we had to read two chapter to get a decent length. This week we have a chapter at 10 pages. We’ve checked in with Striker, and now it’s time to check back in at Commie Op-Center, where their enemy may be themselves.

In skimming to get the page count, this chapter does something interesting with the font, switching at a few points with a typewriter type font. That’s not a mistake, it’s meant to indicate…I don’t know what yet. That’s one advantage to modern printing.

You can change the font to indicate something specific, like phone
texting or something that's done specially to set itself apart from 
other text in the book. I need to learn about doing that.

I think if I was using the block editor I could do fun stuff like that, though I do have a few features like the “blockquote” to set quotes apart from my writing, which just adds to the visuals and helps with immersion. On this site I’ve used headings, coloring text, and other things to make certain things stand out. How this chapter will use the type font will decide if this is to help draw the reader into the world or take you out with some silly gimmick. Let’s dive in and see.

Tuesday, 6:30 AM, St. Petersburg

Even more unusual for this book is that there are two different scenes, but both take place in the same area in around the same time, so it still fits the pattern. That maybe why this is longer than most other chapters.

In the first part, Orlov is reading a transcript of a communication between Dogin and Kosigan discussing the delay in getting the money to their co-conspirators since the storm required train transfer. Dogin assures Kosigan that Orlov doesn’t suspect…though he does now…and I’m betting Rossky is feeding Dogin information as he’s part of the plan. Orlov manages to put together the entire plan based on what Dogin and Kosigan say to each other: start a fake revolution in Poland, pull the Ukraine into a desperate situation with refugees and the like, force Zhanin into reactionary mode, and take over in the confusion.

The plan also includes retiring Orlov and sending his son back to his station in total ignorance, though Orlov suspects Nikita would be in big trouble if he doesn’t deliver the money. He’s also not sure that Nikita wouldn’t be on their side if he learned the full story, and having to arrest his own son would not sit well with his wife. We’re given some “flavor text” through his sandwich that they are a loving couple, but this is a bit worse than someone else arresting him for arson. This would be years in military prison if he disobeyed orders and delivered the payoff money anyway.

The type text in this chapter is used to set aside the transcript from the rest of the story, which is a good visual idea. It makes the reader feel like he’s reading the same thing as Orlov and draws your attention better if it had just been the regular typeface. This is reading a transcript, not listening to a recording, so this was a good idea.

The second section of the chapter focuses on Rossky. He’s still part of the old system, one of the things that makes him a good stooge for Dogin, and he has the place bugged. Not surprising for a commie to have the place bugged. Orlov is a patriot of his country, not the communist system, and he’s one of the few things keeping Commie Op-Center from being fully communist, though its existence is part of Dogin’s plan. Orlov was there as a figurehead, someone to take the blame, but now that he’s actively interfering in the plan, Rossky reports to his master and Dogin agrees it’s time to take him out and Rossky to assume full control. I hope he fails because I like Orlov and want him to succeed. Things just got interesting at Commie Op-Center, but if Rossky is the one who falls I may have to change the nickname. One problem is that Nikita has orders not to turn over the money and he’s not happy about it. I’m guessing dad didn’t tell him the full situation. Now the story’s getting interesting. Took long enough. I’ll probably rant about that in the spoiler free intro to our next installment.

Next time we check in with Squires in the Arctic Circle.