Revolution

by Edwin K. Sloat

with afountain pen various features of the Mikoyan camera.

  The waiter put the order on the table and stood by for a moment forfurther orders.

  Shvernik said, "First you take a sizable portion of vodka, like this."He poured them two jolts. "And drink it down, ah, bottoms up, youAmericans say. Then you spread butter on a small slice of raisin bread,and cover it with a liberal portion of caviar. Good? Then you eat yourlittle sandwich and drink another glass of vodka. Then you start allover again."

  "I can see it could be fairly easy to get stoned, eating caviar Russianstyle," Paul laughed.

  They went through the procedure and the waiter wandered off.

  Paul said, "I can take several days arranging the camera deal with you.Then I can take a tour of the country, supposedly giving it a touristlook-see, but actually making contact with more of your organization. Ican then return in the future, supposedly to make further orders. I canassure you, these cameras are going to sell very well in the States.I'll be coming back, time and again--for business reasons. Meanwhile, doyou have any members among the interpreter-guides in the local Intouristoffices?"

  Shvernik nodded. "Yes. And, yes, that would be a good idea. We'll assignAna Furtseva to you, if we can arrange it. And possibly she can evenhave a chauffeur assigned you who'll also be one of our people."

  That was the first time Paul Koslov heard the name Ana Furtseva.

  * * * * *

  In the morning Leonid Shvernik came to the hotel in a Mikoyan CameraWorks car loaded with cameras and the various accessories that wereavailable for the basic model. He began gushing the advantages of theMikoyan before they were well out of the hotel.

  The last thing he said, as they trailed out of the hotel's portals was,"We'll drive about town, giving you an opportunity to do some snapshotsand then possibly to my country dacha where we can have lunch--"

  At the car he said, "May I introduce Ana Furtseva, who's been assignedas your guide-interpreter by Intourist for the balance of your stay?Ana, Mr. John Smith."

  Paul shook hands.

  She was blond as almost all Russian girls are blond, and with thestartling blue eyes. A touch chubby, by Western standards, but less sothan the Russian average. She had a disturbing pixie touch around themouth, out of place in a dedicated revolutionist.

  The car took off with Shvernik at the wheel. "You're actually going tohave to take pictures as we go along. We'll have them developed later atthe plant. I've told them that you are potentially a very big order.Possibly they'll try and assign one of my superiors to your accountafter a day or two. If so, I suggest that you merely insist that youfeel I am competent and you would rather continue with me."

  "Of course," Paul said. "Now then, how quickly can our assistance to youget underway?"

  "The question is," Shvernik said, "just how much you can do in the wayof helping our movement. For instance, can you get advanced type weaponsto us?"

  The .38 Noiseless slid easily into Paul's hands. "Obviously, we can'tsmuggle sizable military equipment across the border. But here, forinstance, is a noiseless, recoilless hand gun. We could deliver anyreasonable amount within a month."

  "Five thousand?" Shvernik asked.

  "I think so. You'd have to cover once they got across the border, ofcourse. How well organized are you? If you aren't, possibly we can helpthere, but not in time to get five thousand guns to you in a month."

  Ana was puzzled. "How could you possibly get that number across theSoviet borders?" Her voice had a disturbing Slavic throatiness. Itoccurred to Paul Koslov that she was one of the most attractive women hehad ever met. He was amused. Women had never played a great part in hislife. There had never been anyone who had really, basically, appealed.But evidently blood was telling. Here he had to come back to Russia tofind such attractiveness.

  He said, "The Yugoslavs are comparatively open and smuggling across theAdriatic from Italy, commonplace. We'd bring the things you want in thatway. Yugoslavia and Poland are on good terms, currently, with lots oftrade. We'd ship them by rail from Yugoslavia to Warsaw. Trade betweenPoland and U.S.S.R. is on massive scale. Our agents in Warsaw would sendon the guns in well concealed shipments. Freight cars aren't searched atthe Polish-Russian border. However, your agents would have to pick upthe deliveries in Brest or Kobryn, before they got as far as Pinsk."

  Ana said, her voice very low, "Visiting in Sweden at the Soviet Embassyin Stockholm is a colonel who is at the head of the Leningrad branch ofthe KGB department in charge of counter-revolution, as they call it. Canyou eliminate him?"

  "Is it necessary? Are you sure that if it's done it might not raise sucha stink that the KGB might concentrate more attention on you?" Pauldidn't like this sort of thing. It seldom accomplished anything.

  Ana said, "He knows that both Georgi and I are members of the movement."

  Paul Koslov gaped at her. "You mean your position is known to thepolice?"

  Shvernik said, "Thus far he has kept the information to himself. Hefound out when Ana tried to enlist his services."

  Paul's eyes went from one to the other of them in disbelief. "Enlist hisservices? How do you know he hasn't spilled everything? What do you meanhe's kept the information to himself so far?"

  Ana said, her voice so low as to be hardly heard, "He's my olderbrother. I'm his favorite sister. How much longer he will keep oursecret I don't know. Under the circumstances, I can think of no answerexcept that he be eliminated."

  It came to Paul Koslov that the team on this side could be just asdedicated as he was to his own particular cause.

  He said, "A Colonel Furtseva at the Soviet Embassy in Stockholm. Verywell. A Hungarian refugee will probably be best. If he's caught, thereason for the killing won't point in your direction."

  "Yes," Ana said, her sensitive mouth twisting. "In fact, Anastas was inBudapest during the suppression there in 1956. He participated."

  * * * * *

  The dacha of Leonid Shvernik was in the vicinity of Petrodvorets on theGulf of Finland, about eighteen miles from Leningrad proper. It wouldhave been called a summer bungalow in the States. On the rustic side.Three bedrooms, a moderately large living-dining room, kitchen, bath,even a car port. Paul Koslov took a mild satisfaction in deciding thatan American in Shvernik's equivalent job could have afforded more of aplace than this.

  Shvernik was saying, "I hope it never gets to the point where you haveto go on the run. If it does, this house is a center of our activities.At any time you can find clothing here, weapons, money, food. Even asmall boat on the waterfront. It would be possible, though difficult, toreach Finland."

  "Right," Paul said. "Let's hope there'll never be occasion."

  Inside, they sat around a small table, over the inevitable bottle ofvodka and cigarettes, and later coffee.

  Shvernik said, "Thus far we've rambled around hurriedly on a dozensubjects but now we must become definite."

  Paul nodded.

  "You come to us and say you represent the West and that you wish to helpoverthrow the Soviets. Fine. How do we know you do not actuallyrepresent the KGB or possibly the MVD?"

  Paul said, "I'll have to prove otherwise by actions." He came to hisfeet and, ignoring Ana, pulled out his shirt tail, unbuttoned the toptwo buttons of his pants and unbuckled the money belt beneath.

  He said, "We have no idea what items you'll be wanting from us in theway of equipment, but as you said earlier all revolutions need money. Sohere's the equivalent of a hundred thousand American dollars--in rubles,of course." He added apologetically, "The smallness of the amount is dueto bulk. Your Soviet money doesn't come in sufficiently highdenominations for a single person to carry really large amounts."

  He tossed the money belt to the table, rearranged his clothing andreturned to his chair.

  Shvernik said, "A beginning, but I am still of the opinion that weshould not introduce you to any other members of the organization untilwe have more definite proof of your background."
<
br />   "That's reasonable," Paul agreed. "Now what else?"

  Shvernik scowled at him. "You claim you are an American but you speak asgood Russian as I do."

  "I was raised in America," Paul said, "but I never became a citizenbecause of some minor technicality while I was a boy. After I reachedadulthood and first began working for the government, it was decidedthat it might be better, due to my type of specialization, that Icontinue to remain legally not an American."

  "But actually you are Russian?"

  "I was born here in Leningrad," Paul said evenly.

  Ana leaned forward, "Why