Breakthrough (The Red Gambit Series) (29 page)

No give at all in her position. Zhukov, whilst pained by the revelations, could not help but be impressed by Nazarbayeva’s straight-forward
delivery
.
A
t the same time
, there was a dangerous naivety to her
approach.

Stalin made his directions.

“One for you
,
Comrade Marshall,” gesturing at Beria, “Get your men out to the
air
regiments and ensure that we get the right information
in future
. Punish anyone who has been in error.”

He raised his hand to cut off Zhukov’s objection
,
and paused for a moment. Softly and in acknowledgement of
the
Marshall
’s
unspoken protest
,
he continued.

“Only those who have been grossly in error, Lavrentiy.
We have lost too many experienced commanders already. Shoot only those who have deliberately lied to us.”

Only Zhukov and Nazarbayeva wondered how many would die by that order this very night.

“Continue
,
Comrade, continue.”

Acknowledging her leader with a nod
,
Nazarbayeva moved into the next area.

“The Spanish are having some difficulties in organising the Blue Division
,
and the independent brigade. It seems they will not be ready for some time. Most estimates give them two weeks
before crossing the border, although one of our agents within the division itself believes they could
still
march within a week.
”

Without any degree of triumph
,
Nazarbayeva continued.

“GRU predictions were correct
,
and we understand that over 180,000 ex-German and Italian small arms have been provided to the Spanish Army, complete with ammunition, as well as a large number of captured artillery pieces and vehicles. Also we can confirm that
thirty-seven
German tanks crossed into
Spain
during the Patriotic War,
but we are presently unable to confirm types.”

Beria examined the woman for signs of gloating at his discomfort
,
but could see none.

‘
Very wise
,
you fucking bitch
,’ he thought, unable to contemplate the possibility that Nazarbayeva had no intention of embarrassing him and was solely delivering her best interpretation of intelligence.

“Our government agent confirms that the Spanish plan is to re-equip their expeditionary corps initially
,
and then as much of the rest of their army as possible. This will have the effect of slowing their committal to battle
,
which is a plus for us, whilst undoubtedly making them more effective when they do arrive, which is not.”

A fair interpretation to Zhukov’s mind, and he already understood that Nazarbayeva stood by her agents so he would go with that.

“One other matter
relating to
Spain
,
Comrade Marshall.”

He looked up
,
only to realise that the GRU officer was speaking directly to Beria.

“Our
main
agent speaks of a
possible
covert operation run
in the
Madrid
area
,
which has resulted in the death of one of his
supportive
contacts
,
and brought unnecessary attention to his door.”

Beria felt his bile rise.

‘
Bitch! You dare to chastise me?
’

The momentary flash in his eyes was quickly suppressed and missed by all in the room.

‘
Anyway, NKVD’s contact Tatiana,
’ smugly reminded himself.

“Apparently a woman was found
brutally
murdered in unusual circumstances
, a woman who
,
we now discover,
was being watched by the Spanish Secret Service
because of
her
known
communist links
and
open
romantic
episodes with
certain high government officials, our agent included.”

Beria’s angry silence was noted by Stalin and Zhukov, although only one knew the facts that were troubling the NKVD head.

“The woman was sympathetic to our cause and willingly offered information to our agent, often giving him cause to believe that she was already working for another similar organisation.”

‘
NKVD had one of your agents, and not for the first time,
and not the only one in
Spain
either
,
my little
L
ieutenant
C
olonel
.
’

The faintest smile warped Be
ria’s lips, which he swiftly hid
with his teacup.

“Apparently
,
the woman was
grossly
violated after death and Spanish investigators are proceeding on the assumption that it was done to mask the real motive, and are
also
assuming that motive is related to he
r possible espionage activities.
E
specially as she was known to
have
associate
d
with a group of strangers in a
Madrid
hotel on the day of her death, strangers
that
have since disappeared.
”

Silence was still the NKVD Marshall’s only response.

“Indications are that the group have German origins, something that has caused a great deal confusion in Spanish investigative minds.”

Both Zhukov was surprised by that, and failed to notice that neither Stalin nor Beria shared it.

“Our information does not support any involvement from the Germans, Comrade Marshall.”

Beria shrugged.

“If this is part of a
n NKVD
covert operation
,
it has placed GRU’s highly placed agent at risk.”

Finally animated
,
the spectacled officer leant forward.

“Do not presume to lecture me on covert operations
,
Comrade
PodPolkovnik
.
You are here to brief.”

Beria leant back again and threw an expansive hand gesture at the GRU officer.

“S
o
,
brief
us,
and leave your personal accusations at home.”

Naïve possibly, but more really just possessing the strength to stand up for herself.

“Apologies
,
Comrade Marshall, but I conv
ey the words of General Pekunin
,
who was very precise. This apparent
NKVD
operation has
exposed
GRU’s highest placed
Spani
sh
agent
to
risk. That agent is now discontinuing his
communications
until the investigative activity has ceased. So we have lost our best contact at a crucial time.
”

Zhukov was sure that Pekunin would not have wished his officer to be quite so precise
,
and he felt wary for the woman.

Beria gathered himself for another verbal assault
,
but was cut off before he could start.

“Comrade,
PodPolkovnik
.
GRU is correct to be angry that a highly placed agent
may have
been placed at risk. I am sure that Comrade Marshall Beria will investigate this thoroughly and inform us of his findings.”

Beria nodded in deference to his chief, again finding himself put on the spot by this GRU woman.

Strangely
,
Stalin decided to defend his man, speaking of something that had been previously agreed would remain unspoken.

“I will tell you that events in
Spain
are about to take a positive turn, thanks to
investigations
made by Marshall Beria
’s men. I can say no more for now.”

Stalin settled back into his chair and invited Nazarbayev
a
to continue.

“The Italian situation is not presently clear, despite our best efforts to understand their minds. I
actually
believe they presently do not know
exactly
what they intend to do
,
Comrade General Secretary.”

That drew a snort from both Beria and Zhukov, the Italians being everybody’s whipping boy.

“The secret offer made by the Foreign Ministry
should certainly cause some
division in their ranks. However, one piece of intelligence may indicate some good news for us.”

Referring to her folder
,
Nazarbayeva listed the Italian formations
that
presently served within the Allied forces.

“The Italian government has requested that these
combat
groups
,
and all other
support
units under British
commander
Alexander
,
be
permitted to journey to holding areas near Livorno,
Florence
and
Rimini
,
with the expectation that they
be
returned to Italian authority,
and
with a view to creating an independent Italian Army.”

Whilst this was not completely new information to her audience
,
her interpretation of the
intelligence
certainly was.

“By removing the Groups and the support units
,
the Italians are physically weakening the Allies Italian Force. They must know this. Therefore it is my conclusion that the Italians are withdrawing their fighting troops prior to declaring neutrality.”

This time it was Zhukov who spoke first, challenging the impressive Amazon.

“On what basis do you make that conclusion
,
Comrade
PodPolkovnik
? Why can they not be forming an Italian Army to fight us?”

“Comrade Marshall, it would appear to be a simple matter of geography.”

Nazarbayeva produced a
n
uncomplicated
sketch of
Northern Italy
from her folder and passed it across to Stalin.

It was
minimally
marked, and simply demonstrated her point.

“At a time when Allied resources must be under pressure
,
the Italians
are expending vast qua
n
tities
to bring
their forces together
on the blue line.”

Both Beria and Zhukov craned their necks to see that the Blue line ran from west to east
across
Italy
, running through the three cities Nazarbayeva had cited.

“
To our thinking
,
the most natural place to assemble, given the present locations of their units, would be the triangle
Modena
,
Ferrara
to
Bologna
. It would also make more military sense to keep your assets nearer to the potential point of need.”

Zhukov agreed for the same reasons the GRU officer had just cited; he had simply wanted to hear her reasoning and to understand if he had missed something in his swift
appraisal
.

“I can agree with your assessment
,
Comrade Nazarbayeva. It makes sense. Is there something within the Foreign Ministry briefing which would support this view
,
Comrade Marshall?”

Beria found himself the
unwelcome
focal point of attention, three pairs of eyes boring into him, one solely for the amusement of seeing him uncomfortable
,
as the
ir
ow
ner knew well what the others
did not.