Cast List

• Zdeněk Beneš – Zdeněk (ZDEN-yek) or “Z” is the most interesting of the AIFS personnel. In his 70’s, he has a thin frame, a thin face, thin silver hair, and a thin white beard. The watery eyes behind his glasses show both passion and compassion. He is fluent in Czech, Russian, English, and probably more. He’s a renaissance man: he used to be an electrical engineer and designed the power system for the Czech Republic’s tram system. Not restricted to one discipline, his knowledge of Prague rivals the Blue Badge guides in London.
• Josh Fredman – Josh is a Jew from New York with big, dark eyes that any girl would find attractive. His wits are always about him, and he speaks with a slight New York accent that confirms this without making him presumptuous in any way. He knows his stuff when it comes to the airline industry.
• Andy Dvorak – Andy is a genuinely good guy. He has a small, strong frame and a sturdy jaw that is slightly unshaven. He is not a big partier because he wants to be part of the FBI one day. It doesn’t take long in meeting him to find out that he wants to work for the FBI to do good in the world, not because of the mystique that surrounds the job.
• Will Barnett – With a wide face, red hair, and a redder beard, Will appears Icelandic. He looks out of his right eye, and he has a knack for recognizing good ideas when he hears them. Laughs emanate from Will, and although he is quiet in large groups of people, his good sense of humor allows him to fit in with any small group.
• Helen Akhtiorskaya – Helen is possibly the most unique of the cast. Like Josh, she is a Jew from New York with enormous eyes. Her family emigrated from Russia when she was seven to avoid a lifetime of discrimination. Helen, though fluent, has a predilection to keep her Russian to herself. The choice is well founded—nearly every guidebook I’ve read explains that old Czechs probably speak German, young Czechs probably speak English, and nearly all Czechs speak Russian but “the language is not always welcome.” Helen has the body of a ballerina as a result of two years of intense dance training and a strict vegetarian diet. She is fairly solitary, loves literature, and finds beauty in the details of life.