Snow Wolf (43 page)

"I think he's in love with you, more
than just a little. And you know what's really odd? I'm not sure that makes me
feel entirely happy."

Anna didn't speak, just sat there,
considering what he had said.

Stanski put his cigarette in the ashtray,
then stood up and pulled her toward him. She could feel his strength but she
resisted, and then his mouth was on hers, kissing her fiercely.

She pulled back and said, "No!
Please, Alex, don't. And put out that cigarette or we might both be burned to
death and save the Russians the bother of killing us."

"Interesting."

"What is?"

"You said 'the Russians.' As if you
were no longer one of them."

"Put out the cigarette and get some
sleep."

He stubbed out the cigarette and as Anna
went to switch off the light he reached again for her hand.

"I said no ... !"

But he held her while his other hand
began to undo the buttons of her blouse. She went to stop him but he gently
pushed her hand away and put a finger to her lips.

"Don't speak."

There was a determined look in his eyes.
Part of her wanted to protest, but another part of her wanted to feel close to
him, to be held and protected again.

He undid her bra, untied her ribbon, and
her hair spilled about her shoulders. He looked into her eyes. "Anna, what
happened between us, I want you to know it was good. Maybe the closest I've
ever felt to a woman."

"No doubt you tell that to every
woman you sleep with?"

"Not true. Maybe you were right.
Maybe I've never really trusted anyone enough to let them get close."

She looked up at his face and she knew in
all honesty he meant it. A feeling of guilt came over her, but it passed, and
then something stirred inside her. She felt a surge of passion overcome her and
she kissed him fiercely on the mouth in the darkness.

Helsinki.

A log fire blazed in a corner of the room
on the second floor of the American Embassy, and as Branigan came in his face
was grim as he stared across at Massey seated nearby.

"The doc says you've got a mild
concussion but you'll live." Massey rubbed his neck and said, "How do
you know for certain Saarinen's dead?"

"The Finnish Air Force tried to stop
him at our request. They picked up the crash on their radar when Saarinen was
on the homeward leg, and the signals went dead. By all accounts it looks like
he bumped into a patrolling Mig."

A look like pain appeared on Massey's
face. "Why did you try to stop him, for God's sake?"

Branigan looked him in the eye. "I
should have thought that was obvious. You really fucked up, didn't you, Jake?
You're going to get the book thrown at you for this." Branigan slammed his
fist on the desk. "And don't look so dumb and innocent, buddy. I didn't
come all this way just to have a fireside chat. I'm talking about the bodies in
the woods. I'm talking about Braun-and Akashin."

Massey had turned quite pale, then he
said quietly, "How did you know?"

"After we learned about Akashin and
Popov we decided to pay the cabin a visit." Branigan paused, and said
angrily, "You should have contacted me as soon as you had problems. Why
didn't you?"

"The men at the cabin came looking
for trouble. But I figured they only wanted Anna. After it was over we buried
the bodies. Stanski still wanted to go through with the mission. Nothing was
going to stop him after Vassily was killed. I went along with him. Maybe I was
wrong, but too much planning had gone into it and I wanted it to succeed. I
knew once you learned what happened you'd want to reconsider the mission or
cancel. But I thought that would be a mistake. I figured how could it really
matter if we went ahead? Akashin or the men who came to kill Anna couldn't have
known about the operation and they were all dead. I figured maybe we had enough
time to go ahead with the plan before you figured out what had happened."

Branigan leaned in closer. "You
broke the rules, Massey. And it mattered all right. You want to know how
much?" Branigan explained about the Stalin file found on Braun's body, and
the suspicion that a Soviet team had visited the cabin.

Massey was deathly silent, then he said,
"Stanski thought the file was destroyed in the fire."

"Well, it wasn't. And if your two
friends landed safely my guess is they've walked into big trouble. Kislov and
his pals in Moscow are going to put two and two together. And they're going to
hope that we go ahead with our plans, because that way they just might catch
your friend Stanski and the woman when they land. That's why they didn't remove
the file. That Mig we think bumped into Saarinen's plane, it wasn't a
coincidence. Within two hours of Kislov landing in Moscow every damned Soviet
border post, naval and air base were put on alert-including the one outside
Helsinki, at Porkkula. Kislov's people in Moscow may not know when or which way
Stanski is coming, but they'll figure out the likely bets, the ways we've used
before, and they'll hedge them."

Branigan saw the shock on Massey's face
and sat down.

"And you know what's going to happen
if Moscow captures them alive?

Shit, there's enough meat in this pie to
start World War Three. First, you'd have a show trial, and when the evidence
came out in court, every country in the world is going to point an accusing
finger at Uncle Sam. After that, Moscow can do pretty much as it wants, and do
it self-righteously, because we're knee-deep in our own dirty washing-we sent
in an assassin to kill a world leader and that's a naughty thing to do by any
standards."

"Stanski would never let himself be
taken alive."

"You can't guarantee that, Massey.
No one can. It's aces wild right now, and anything could happen. And the fact
is, Moscow's probably already on his tail, and that ain't good. That's why
we've got to stop this thing before it gets out of hand. That's why I want to
know exactly how this plan of yours works and how you planned to get them into
Moscow. I want names and safe houses and routes. Every last detail. I want
answers and I want them fast. Because sure as hell, old buddy, we're going to
abort this mission, no matter what it takes."

Branigan stared into Massey's troubled
face.

"I think you'd better talk, Jake,
and talk fast. Before it's too late for all of us."

Tallinn.

The two KGB officers were already seated
in the dining room when Stanski and Anna came down to breakfast the next
morning. Both stood up politely when they saw Anna enter the room, their eyes
red from a late night and too much alcohol.

The older of the two was middle-aged with
a ruddy face, a large stomach and bushy mustache. He had a cheerful gleam in
his eye and he introduced himself as Colonel Zinov.

The second man was a boyish-looking
captain. His eyes took in Anna's body as he offered his hand.

"Captain Bukar-in at your service,
madam." He smiled amiably. "Your uncle just told us about your
arrival. This must be your husband." He shook Stanski's hand and then it
was the colonel's turn.

"Pleasure to meet you both. You
chose a bad time coming to Tallinn in winter, but I do hope your honeymoon will
be pleasant. Will you be staying long?"

"A couple of days, just enough time
to visit relatives and see the old town," Stanski replied.

The captain smiled over at Anna.
"Perhaps you'd both care to join us for drinks tonight?"

"I'm afraid we already made plans,
but thank you for the offer.

Bukarin smiled charmingly and clicked his
heels. "Of course. Another time, perhaps. Enjoy your breakfast."

Breakfast was more thick slices of fatty
meat and chunks of goat's cheese and another plateful of oily fish, but there
was fresh white bread and butter. When Stanski led Anna to a table by the
window he noticed she was pale. As they sat, he whispered, "What's the
matter?"

"The way those two looked at me made
me shiver."

Stanski touched her arm and smiled.
"I'd say they both have an eye for the ladies. Relax. And remember, they
think we're on our honeymoon. So cheer up."

Beyond the window the sky was clear and
blue. On the cobbled square outside there seemed to be some kind of market
going on, groups of countrymen in cloth caps standing around examining horses.

Gorev came in moments later carrying two
jugs of steaming tea and coffee. He chatted with the two officers a moment
before they finished their breakfast and left the room.

He came over. "Looks like you both
passed with flying colors." He winked at Anna. "And the young one,
Bukarin, has definitely taken a fancy to you, I can see that."

"I'm supposed to be a married
woman."

"That hasn't stopped either of them
before."

Stanski stood up and went to the window.
Horses' hooves clattered on cobblestone and the square was crowding with
people. "What's happening outside?"

"Horse market day," said Gorev.
"The horseflesh dealers meet here every month."

An Emka was parked outside and moments
later they heard heavy footsteps in the hallway and the sound of a door
opening; then the two officers stepped into the car before it rattled off
noisily over the cobbles, leaving upset horses and dealers in their wake.

Stanski said, "Where have your two
guests gone?" Gorev poured coffee and said scornfully, "Off to pick
up their girlfriends for more drinking and carousing. The bastards even had me
make them up a picnic. I hope it kills them." When Gorev fell silent,
Stanski said, "What's the matter?"

Gorev wiped his hands anxiously on his
apron. '@It may be nothing important, but one of the delivery men who came this
morning, he said there were plain-clothes militia at the railway station,
checking papers. They seemed quite thorough. But what stuck him as odd was that
they were checking both men and women."

"What's odd about that?"

Gorev tugged at his beard. "More
usually the militia are in uniform when they're at the station, and trying to
catch army deserters. Only this time they seemed to be paying as much attention
to the women. I'll have to contact Erik and ask him to find out what's
happening, but it may take a couple of hours. In the meantime, I suggest you
remain here at the inn."

Stanski came back from the window and
finished his coffee. He looked at Anna. "I don't know about you, but I
need some air." Anna looked at Gorev, who shrugged. "Personally, I
would prefer it if you both waited until I hear from Erik. Who knows?

There may be trouble."

"What sort of trouble?"

"That's God's guess. But if there's
a lot of militia about, you can be sure something's up and it may be unwise to
tempt your luck."

Stanski produced his wallet and examined
his papers and food coupons. "Maybe now is our chance to see if our papers
stand up to the test. I'd say it's as good a time as any." He smiled over
at Anna. "What do you say?"

"Maybe Toomas is right. Perhaps it
would be safer to stay here. But if you think we should ... ?"

Stanski grinned. "You're playing the
compliant wife. Leaving the decisions to your husband."

"Then let's just hope, my darling
husband, that it's the right one."

Stanski put away his wallet and saw the
worried look on Gorev's face. "Don't fret, we'll be back before you know
it. You have a map of the town?"

Gorev wiped his hands nervously on his
apron. "In the back room. But I hope you're doing the right thing. And if
you must go out, an hour, no more. Otherwise I'll start to worry."

Lukin came awake a little after eight,
his head aching and his mouth dry. He had slept for only three hours and there
were dark shadows under his eyes.

When he had shaved, an orderly brought
him a tray with a samovar of tea. It tasted vile but he drank it thirstily and
ignored the single slice of burned toast on the plate.

Five minutes later as he dressed there was
a knock on the door and Kaman entered.

"Sorry to disturb you, Major. Some
news just came in."

Lukin picked up his false hand lying
beside him on the bed and began to strap it on. He saw the captain wince at the
sight of the mangled stump.

"What's the matter? Haven't you seen
a war wound before?"

Kaman blushed. "It just occurred to
me, how do you manage to shave?"

"With great difficulty. Your report,
Kaman."

"The foot patrol managed to get
within twenty meters of the wreckage sites. One's definitely the missing
Mig."

"And the other aircraft?"

"A light plane, make unknown, but
definitely not one of ours."

"Any bodies?"

"Two. The Mig pilot and the other
pilot in the light aircraft. The patrol couldn't get close enough to remove the
corpses, and apparently there wasn't much left of either of them. Both appeared
burned beyond recognition."