As soon as their guests were gone, Georgi Lebedev hurried to the manor house’s extensive library, where Ivan Petrov was sitting behind an enormous, hand-carved desk reading the letter that Jones had sent him. The CIA director had written a personal note on a copy of the photograph that showed Jones, Windslow, and Petrov holding the gold bar: “We accept your proposal. Mr. Mason is my envoy and will handle all arrangements.”
Lebedev said, “What did Jedidiah write? Is the CIA going to help us get the gold?”
“As we suspected, Mr. Mason is not a State Department liaison,” Petrov said, avoiding the question. “Has Nad been able to identify him?”
“Not yet. She is taking his fingerprints from the shot glasses as we speak. She should have an answer shortly. But what of Mr. Jones and the CIA? Is it going to help us?”
Petrov said, “I will learn more tomorrow, but today, it is enough for me to tell you that Barkovsky’s days are limited, and when the time comes, I will be the one who puts a bullet into the back of his head.”
“Vyshaya mer,” Lebedev said, which translated to “the highest measure of punishment.” It was when a condemned man was taken into a room, made to kneel, then shot in the back of the head so that his face was blown away and made unrecognizable. It was part of the Stalinist tradition.
“You have not even told me where the gold is located,” Lebedev said, “and we are like brothers, closer than brothers. Why would you share your secret with some stranger just because he arrives with a letter?”
“Do you take me for an ass?” Petrov asked.
“No, my friend.”
“Then don’t treat me like one,” Petrov said. “I will talk to this Mr. Mason tomorrow, but I will tell him little, or nothing, until I learn what he has come to offer us.”
“I say we screw the Americans. Nad is loyal to you. Let her get the gold. Do this on your own.”
Petrov patted Lebedev on his shoulder. “And what happens when her loyal hired guards see mountains of gold before their eyes? Billions within reach. Can they overcome the temptation? Only men who believe in a greater cause can be trusted to recover the gold. You can’t buy honor or loyalty. That’s why I need the Americans. They will not betray their own country.”