by Jack Higgins
"And what was his reaction to all this?"
Greta paused for a long moment, as if suddenly realizing where things were going, and it was Ivanov who jumped in.
"You heard the Colonel. It's a simple enough question."
"He was very excited. He… he said what a sensation the death of the four of them would make. It would rock the world."
The silence was so heavy it filled the room, and then Lermov said, "And Major Bounine's reaction?"
"He said surely you're not thinking of something like that, and Luzhkov cut him off and made an amazing speech about the Wall coming down and the death of Communism and the evils of Capitalism. He kept saying things like 'the Communist order must be restored.' He was quite drunk."
"And you were still there listening?" Ivanov asked.
"I felt as if I'd been forgotten and asked what he wanted me to do, and he said the moment we knew which riverboat was being used, I had to notify him at once. I got the impression that Major Bounine wasn't very happy, but he told me to go and get on with it. On my way out of the door, I heard Luzhkov say to Bounine, 'We need a man to deal with our problem satisfactorily,' but that was as the door was closing." She sat there, strangely composed, that edge of defiance again. "So there you are."
Lermov turned and raised his eyebrows to Ivanov, who came and put both hands on the table, his face only a couple of feet away from her. "What do you mean, 'there you are'? That's total nonsense. There isn't a human being in the world who, having heard what Luzhkov was beginning to say, could have resisted holding on for a few seconds to hear the rest. So don't be stupid, and tell the Colonel what it was."
She came apart, tears starting. "All right, then. He said we need a man to deal with our problem satisfactorily, a bad man who is also a madman, something like that. It sounded crazy, but, like I said, he was drunk."
She paused, and Ivanov pushed her again. "Go on."
"Bounine said, 'Do you know of such a man?' and Colonel Luzhkov said that he did, and he told Bounine to go get his coat and put a pistol in his pocket and he would introduce him to the man. I closed the door at once and hurried away to the code room. I was worked up by the whole business, so I opened the door to a small balcony by one of the code-room windows and lit a cigarette, and I saw them go down to the staff car park, get in Luzhkov's Mercedes, and drive away."
"And that was that?"
"No, actually, you should have another transcript in the file. It came in about an hour and a half later from the same source, saying that the riverboat was called the Garden of Eden and they would be boarding her at the Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, have the meeting, go downriver and disembark at Westminster Pier, and that preparations were already in hand to prepare the boat at Chelsea."
"And you forwarded it to Luzhkov?"
"I called him on my mobile but Bounine answered, and I gave him the information."
"And you've no idea where they were?"
"I swear on my life, I don't know. There wasn't even traffic noises. It had started to rain incredibly that night and continued for twenty-four hours. The whole thing the following day was bedeviled by rain and heavy mist. You couldn't see across the river."
"And you didn't see them again?" Lermov asked.
"I'd worked the whole night shift, remember, I needed sleep. I went to my room in the staff block down the road. The two of them just disappeared, as I understood it, sometime in the afternoon. That's all I can say. Look, I'm tired, I need the bathroom."
"Of course you do." Lermov got up, and said to Ivanov, "A word."
They went out, and Ivanov said, "This is quite a story."
"If it's true, I want you to contact Major Chelek in London. She's just told us she didn't see them again after their night on the town because she'd gone down to staff quarters and gone to bed. See if he can confirm that. Also ask him to confirm the question on this slip of paper."
"I'll see to it. Anything else?"
"Yes, tell Sergeant Stransky to commiserate with her, woman-to-woman, let her have a shower and general cleanup and see that she gets a decent meal and a drink. Have her back here in an hour and a half."
"What for?" Ivanov asked.
"Because there's more, Peter, much more, and I haven't got time to waste. I'm trying to think of absolutely the worst consequence I can threaten her with. I'll let you know when I've decided what it is."
Ivanov said with awe, "I'm beginning to think I don't know you at all, sir."
"Frequently, I think I don't know me," Lermov said. "But, for now, I'm going back to the office, where, with luck, the old tea lady may be operating."
And she was there, still plying her trade. He purchased two ham sandwiches made with rough black peasant bread, had scalding tea in a tall glass, and sat in the office and went through the loose file from beginning to end, feeling already that he almost knew it by heart.
Academic work was all he'd had time for when it came to writing books, but he loved fiction at any level, had considered it an essential part of his work in the intelligence field. It had taught him that individuals were what they were, could continue to act only in that way, so that it was possible to tell in advance exactly how they would behave in any given situation. He was absolutely certain that applied to Greta Bikov.
The door opened, and he glanced up. Ivanov moved in and dropped a transcript on the desk. "How the hell did you know? When you leave the code room, you sign out if you are junior staff. You also sign out at the front door of the Embassy. Just down the road are staff quarters, and you sign in there and sign out when you leave and sign in again at the Embassy. Here's the answer to your query, too."
"Stupid, stupid girl." Lermov sighed as he read it all.
"What are you going to do with her?"
"Make her tell the truth," Lermov said. "All of it."
Greta was standing by the desk when they went in, Stransky and her colleague on either side of the door, and she looked renewed again, her hair bound, a touch of lipstick, trim and attractive in her uniform.
"Sit down, Lieutenant. I trust you feel refreshed?"
"Of course, Colonel, you've been very kind."
"And you've been very stupid," he said softly, took off his glasses, and polished them.
"What is this?" She was angry now, and allowing it to get the better of her.
"You lied to me. You didn't go off to the hostel to go to bed. The only place you booked out of when a colleague took over was the code room. We've been on to London and had your comings and goings checked."
She was thoroughly unsure now. "I was in the canteen."
"Enough of this. I'll tell you what you are. A tramp who has shared the bed of an infatuated fool who's indulged you at every turn. You stuck your nose into everything, indulged yourself by perusing documents that were eyes-only or most-secret, listened in on his telephone calls. Oh, yes, I've had that aspect of Luzhkov's office and the outer office checked by GRU in London. There are three different systems linking both offices that would allow someone to eavesdrop."
She was thoroughly worked up now. "It's not true, I swear it."
"And then there's the safe, I'm sure he showed that off to you, stuffed with thousands of pounds sent to fund covert GRU operations. I would imagine you purchased your underwear at Harrods."
"Damn you to hell," she screamed.
"No, hell is where you are going." Lermov took a folded document from his breast pocket and opened it on the desk. "You are dismissed from the GRU with disgrace and sentenced to life imprisonment in Station Gorky."
If ever there was horror on a human face, it was on hers. "You can't do that." She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. "What can I do to stop this dreadful thing happening?"
"Admit everything, and not just what we've been talking about but anything else that you overheard in the past."
She tried to compose herself. "But I wasn't always acting as his secretary. All right, there were some other strange things that happened. He was crazy in a way, and
a great drunk, but most of the time I was in the code room."
"Start by telling us what happened on Monday morning. You weren't in the code room then. Tell me exactly what you did."
"The second transcript that came from Paris, the phone with the information about the Garden of Eden and Chelsea, came in when I was still on duty."
"You've told us that you called Luzhkov and Bounine answered, and you didn't see them again. I presume that wasn't true."
"I was curious about the whole business, there was no way I could have gone to sleep. There was no sign of the Mercedes in the car park. It's not against regulations to take a restroom break, which I did, and had a shower while I was in there to liven myself up, and I had my alarm which would alert me if anything came through. I returned to the code room, looked out at the car park, and saw the Mercedes was there again. It was just before my six a.m. relief, and another transcript came through from Paris."
"And what was that?"
"A confirmation that the Garden of Eden would host a party for a hundred people and would slip its moorings at one-thirty for the trip to Westminster."
"And you, of course, passed it straight on to him?"
"I wasn't sure if he might have gone to his quarters down the road, but, when I tried the office, he was there and told me to read the transcript over the phone."
"So what did you do after that?"
"As I told you, I was intrigued about the whole business, so I went and got a tray at the canteen, coffee, and so on, an excuse to go to the office."
"And?"
"I saw Major Bounine approaching. He was in a robe, a towel round his neck and his hair damp as if he'd been in the shower, and he looked angry. He totally ignored me and went straight into the outer office."
"And you, of course, followed?"
"Yes."
"And you operated one of the recording devices in the outer office that enabled you to eavesdrop. What was being said?"
"I can't remember everything, but the Colonel told Bounine about the time the Garden of Eden was leaving, and Bounine said, 'Have you informed Ali Selim about that?' Luzhkov said he had, and that Selim was very happy about it. A hunter scenting his prey."
Lermov glanced at Ivanov. "What do you think, Peter?"
"That, incredible as it sounds, Luzhkov was planning some sort of a hit." He turned to Greta. "How did Bounine react to all this?"
"He brushed it aside and said he had something more important to discuss." She shook her head. "Look, I wasn't making notes, so I can only recall the gist of it."
"Go on," Lermov said. "Just do your best."
"Well, it seemed to concern Alexander Kurbsky."
"It what?" Ivanov was astounded.
"Major Bounine asked the Colonel if he was aware that Tania Kurbsky had died of typhoid in Station Gorky in 2000. The Colonel said that was nonsense, and Bounine told him the Putin files and the DVD were all fake. The Colonel sounded upset and said something about Kurbsky having done everything for nothing."
Ivanov was looking stunned by now, and Lermov said to her gently, "My dear Greta, Station Gorky recedes already. Now, carry on. Did anything else strike you about that conversation?"
She frowned, trying to think back, and then nodded. "I remember now. Bounine said to the Colonel that the man in the black hood who saved Blake Johnson wasn't Dillon at all, it was Kurbsky, who couldn't stand the idea of someone else ending up in Station Gorky like his sister."
"And that was all."
She frowned, trying her best, and then smiled in a kind of triumph. "Bounine said that Ferguson and Roper had probably found out that Kurbsky's defection was false."
"Incredible," Ivanov said.
"And what happened then?" Lermov asked.
"Bounine walked out, ignoring me, so I took the coffee in to Luzhkov. He was drinking vodka, as usual, and thanked me for the coffee. The fact that I was still there didn't seem to surprise him. I went back in the office, busied myself with some filing, and then he got another call, and I checked it out."
"And who was it?"
"General Ferguson. It was a shouting match, and he called Colonel Luzhkov a bastard." She shook her head. "I only remember bits. He threatened to have a lot of GRU people packed off to Moscow. He said he knew all about Kurbsky and intended to help him in any way he could. He said Kurbsky had already done the United States a big favor by saving this Blake Johnson."
"And afterwards?"
"He was sitting in there drinking vodka for ages and then he sent for Bounine."
"And you listened again?"
"He said to Bounine that in view of what had happened, that maybe it would be a good idea to cancel Ali Selim, and gave Bounine fifty thousand pounds to give Selim for his time."
"And Bounine went?"
"Yes, I was at my desk. He left without a word, carrying a holdall with a shoulder strap." She was obviously uncomfortable again. "I need a rest, Colonel, please."
"We're coming to the end. You've been very good. Bounine returned, did he?"
"Yes, the morning had flown, it was certainly past noon. He came straight through my office and went in to the Colonel."
"And once again you listened?"
"Bounine said Ali Selim had told him he had cancer and had only three months to live and wasn't interested in the money or canceling. He'd go out in a blaze of glory."
She paused, and Lermov said, "Go on, girl."
"I'm sorry, Colonel. Through the glass windows to the corridor, I saw Olga, the staff supervisor, approaching. She was obviously going to come in, so I switched off."
"Dear God, don't let it be true," Ivanov put in with great emotion.
"Calm yourself, Peter," Lermov told him. "Give her a chance." He leaned forward. "How long did she stay?"
"Three or four minutes, and, as soon as she'd gone, I switched on and heard Bounine say, 'You must face him.' The Colonel said that Bounine must go with him and find an opportunity to shoot Selim."
"And what did Bounine say?"
"He agreed to go, said they'd leave in twenty minutes, and went out."
"And Luzhkov?"
"Followed him a bit later, telling me that he and Major Bounine had an appointment and he'd be back later in the afternoon. I left the office and went upstairs to a window overlooking the car park, saw them walk to the Mercedes, get in, and drive away, Bounine at the wheel."
"Well, he would be," Ivanov commented, "Luzhkov awash with vodka like he was."
Greta Bikov seemed to straighten her back, and clasped her hands together on the table in front of her. "And that, Colonel, was the last time I clapped eyes on Colonel Boris Luzhkov and Major Yuri Bounine, so help me God."
Lermov smiled. "I believe you completely, Lieutenant Bikov."
"All sins forgiven, Colonel?" she asked.
"To be frank, I would find it difficult to recommend you to any officer of rank for secretarial duties, but I will overlook that, as your misconduct has provided me with information beyond price. We are not finished yet, of course, but I think you've earned another break."
Lermov sat opposite Ivanov in a secluded corner of the officers' bar and indulged in the finest vodka to be had and cold as ice.
"Excellent," Lermov said as he drank the first one. "I really needed that."
"It surely freezes the brain," Ivanov told him. "Your threat to send her to Station Gorky for life was what did the trick. The silly girl fell for it."
"But I meant it, Peter. There is no room for empty threats in my world. People imagine physical force is always necessary to break down the subject of an interrogation."
"And you don't agree?"
"In the years of the Third Reich, the Germans were the masters of Europe from the English Channel to the Urals, and yet in Britain, where the Nazi spy system was totally destroyed, torture was unthinkable, no physical force used at all."
"So what was the secret?"
"The double-cross system. They turned spies so that their German masters thought t
he spies were still working for them and believed in their radio traffic."
"How did the British do that?"
"Certainly not torture, and, according to their ethos, you could never depend on any kind of physical force. Their spy catchers offered a simple choice, delivered in the English of the upper classes."
"Saying what?" Ivanov asked.
Lermov delivered his answer in English so perfect there was only the hint of a Russian accent. " ' Sorry to hear you can't help us, old man. Too bad. They'll take you back to your cell now. No point in prolonging things. You'll be hung in the prison yard at nine o'clock in the morning.' "
"Good God," Ivanov replied in reasonable English, though not as excellent as Lermov's. "They actually did that?"
"Oh, yes, the salutary-shock approach. The knowledge of that nine o'clock appointment concentrated the minds wonderfully."
"I see now where you were coming from with Greta Bikov. You scared the pants off her."
"Don't feel sorry for her, Peter. Her behavior in London was appalling. Who else has she been listening in on?" He shook his head. "She's not fit for anything as far as the GRU is concerned."
"But still is for us?"
"Of course, but let's review what we've learned so far. Boris Luzhkov, who appears to have been a drunken idiot most of the time, heard of the unexpected meeting of the Big Four and decided to cover himself with glory by arranging to have them assassinated by a man called Ali Selim whom he'd obviously dealt with frequently. I get a hunch that Bounine was not too happy about this but agreed to go along, not really having any choice. After midnight Monday morning, they met Ali Selim, the hit was set up, and they returned to the Embassy. What's the next step?"
"Bounine appeared in Luzhkov's office to ask him if he knew that Tania Kurbsky, who was supposed to be alive, had actually died of typhoid in January 2000, and Luzhkov said he didn't."
Lermov said, "Let's accept that Luzhkov genuinely didn't know that Tania was dead, which would mean Bounine didn't either, so where had he got the truth about Tania from?"