The Blind Run

Chapter Eighteen

Having decided to meet there was a difficulty with the venue. Berenkov knew it would be inappropriate – forbidden, in fact – for Charlie to come to Dzerzhinsky Square and Charlie – without a proper reason for the feeling, because it was not of his choice or making – was reluctant for the Russian to come to him among the cooking smells. The decision came from Berenkov and Charlie said he would like very much to go to the Russian’s home and meet his family. Until now – apart from the one rebellious walkabout – Charlie’s existence had been within the apartment, the telephone-arranged pick-up and Natalia Fedova’s office alongside the peripheral road and as he left that night, emerging from the apartment block with no obvious guard in place, Charlie had the impression of escaping again. The driver was as taciturn as they all appeared to be but at least he accorded Charlie the respect of holding open the door of the car. It was a large vehicle, a Zil, opulent by Soviet standards, an official car. The driver used the government-reserved centre lane, like the man who took him out for the debriefings but Berenkov’s Zil seemed to belong whereas the debriefing transport always appeared to Charlie to be an intrusive interloper. The route was different, too, back towards the centre of the city. Even the street lighting was brighter and he actually saw the illumination around the Kremlin and Red Square. He made the guess and was proven right when they moved into the Kutuzovsky Prospekt complex. The government enclave, Charlie knew. Which meant Berenkov had returned in triumph. And was still held in active – and more important – working respect. Charlie tried to curb the excitement. Even before they met he had confirmation of Berenkov being in Dzerzhinsky Square: Wilson hadn’t been sure, that night in the governor’s office. Maybe you’d even get to him. And he had. Things were suddenly looking good: better than he’d dare hope they would, in fact. Still too early to start counting chickens – the eggs weren’t even laid yet, let alone hatched – but at least he was being given a look inside the henhouse.

There were the predictable security checks and as they moved forward Charlie stared up at the carefully segregated blocks, wondering what Politburo member was behind what lighted window. He made another sure guess and was right again; there wasn’t any odour of cabbage.

Berenkov was in the lobby of his section, to take Charlie past the final security. For a few moments each man stood on opposing sides of the foyer, gazing at each other in silent recollection. Berenkov, always the more exuberant of the two, broke the mood, striding across with both arms outstretched and booming, ‘Charlie! Charlie!… it’s good to see you!’

Charlie accepted the embrace, conscious of the attention of the driver and inner guards: Berenkov smelled as Charlie remembered from their initial, fencing encounters – before he’d made a case and was able to arrest the Russian – of expensive cologne and expensive cigars. ‘And you, Alexei,’ he said, sincerely. ‘It’s good to see you.’

From a cubicle one of the security men said something Charlie didn’t catch but indicating a book, a clear reference to some noted entry formality, but Berenkov waved his hand dismissively, typically refusing to conform, leading Charlie instead towards the elevators. ‘Clerks!’ he said. ‘The world is full of clerks.’

They stood apart in the elevator, each surveying the other again. Berenkov shook his head and said, ‘You don’t look good, Charlie. I’ve seen you look better.’

‘I’ve been better,’ confessed Charlie. ‘You look fine.’ The Russian did: much fatter than Charlie remembered, even from before the arrest, actually appearing physically bigger than Charlie’s memory. Florid-faced, too, he saw, remembering Sampson’s description. High liver, by the look of him. Berenkov certainly looked like a high liver. But then, he always had been.

‘Things are pretty good,’ said the Russian, as the lift stopped.

Eighth floor, Charlie noted. He wondered if degree of importance were indicated by the level of the apartment. If they were it would make Berenkov very important.

Valentina and Georgi stood waiting, nervous and uncertain in the main room: they were overawed as much – maybe more – by Berenkov’s physical presence as by encountering someone from the West, Charlie guessed. With no reason for having made any prejudgment, Charlie was surprised at how neat and diminutive Valentina was; he’d expected Berenkov to have a wife matching him in size, battleship to battleship. Georgi was about the same height as his father but without the weight and much darker, too, darker skinned and darker haired. The greetings were shyly hesitant, the boy and his mother deferring to Berenkov’s boisterous lead. Charlie wished he’d had the facility and money to bring Valentina a small gift. Commerce had been easier in the nick than it was here, he thought, in passing. Berenkov gushed whisky into glasses and apologised for its inferior quality and Charlie drank it gratefully and said it was wonderful, which he thought it was. Valentina laid out pick-ups, tiny dishes of smoked fish and nuts and olives and Georgi sat alertly attentive. Forcing himself to make the contribution, the boy said, ‘How long have you been in Moscow?’

‘Not long: only three or four weeks,’ said Charlie. Berenkov wouldn’t have told either of them, he supposed; not everything anyway.

‘How long do you expect to stay?’

It didn’t look as if he’d told the boy anything. ‘A long time,’ said Charlie, easily. He felt no difficulty. It was business; their type of business at which they were both expert. Berenkov would understand, later.

‘My father was a long time in the West.’

Charlie smiled sideways at Berenkov, who was sitting contentedly listening to the boy practise his English in the conversation. ‘I know he was,’ said Charlie. ‘He was very successful there.’

‘You were a close friend of my father’s?’

Charlie smiled again, aware of Berenkov’s attention upon him now. ‘Your father and I had the same sort of job but we were competitors,’ said Charlie. ‘There was a lot of mutual respect between us.’

Berenkov laughed, approvingly, and echoed, ‘A great deal of mutual respect.’

Books lined two walls of the Moscow apartment, as they had in the Eaton Square flat which Berenkov had occupied in London. The identification for the person he had to contact was Chekhov: and Berenkov had used Chekhov, for his London codes. The spy was someone in headquarters, Wilson had said: Berenkov was at headquarters. As likely as it seemed, Charlie knew he could make no move whatsoever. He could be mistaken. And Berenkov was too astute to miss an approach.

‘I’m very glad, to be able to thank you,’ said Valentina: she had a predictably small voice. ‘I’ve always felt that you made it possible for Alexei to come back home.’

‘I suppose I did,’ said Charlie. She clearly knew more than the boy.

‘Georgi may qualify to become an exchange student,’ said Berenkov, the pride obvious.

‘England?’ queried Charlie, curiously.

‘Possibly,’ said the boy. ‘Or America.’

‘The experience will be good for him,’ insisted Berenkov.

Could it be this easy! Charlie thought. He was aware of the looks that went between Berenkov and his wife. To Georgi, he said, ‘Do you want to go?’

‘I want to do what my father considers best,’ replied the boy, dutifully.

Berenkov insisted upon refilling their glasses twice before they ate. The trouble to which Valentina had gone with the meal was obvious and Charlie complimented her on the borsch and then the veal – aware the family had extensive concessionary facilities to obtain everything on the table, another indication of Berenkov’s importance – and smiled over his wineglass at the Russian. ‘French?’ he guessed.

‘A little indulgence I allow myself,’ confirmed Berenkov. ‘I always regretted not being able to teach you about wine, Charlie…’ Berenkov paused, appearing to consider the statement. He added, ‘It was, I guess, the only thing that I knew better than you.’

‘Maybe there’ll be time now,’ said Charlie.

‘Maybe,’ agreed Berenkov.

After the meal Georgi excused himself to study in his room and Valentina made much of clearing the table, to leave them alone. Berenkov offered brandy – French again – which Charlie accepted, and an imported Havana cigar, which he didn’t. Berenkov savoured the ritual of wetting the leaf and clipping the end, lighting it in a billow of bluish smoke and said, ‘The greatest advantage of having Cuba as an obedient satellite.’

‘You’ve a nice family, Alexei,’ coaxed Charlie. ‘It must be good to be home?’

‘Yes,’ agreed Berenkov, reflectively. ‘It’s good.’ He smiled across at the other man. ‘I never expected to be entertaining you here in Moscow, Charlie.’

‘I didn’t expect to be entertained.’ Why didn’t Berenkov come out with Chekhov’s innocent remark about the weather!

‘I never had the chance to thank you, either,’ said Berenkov. He raised his brandy bowl. ‘I’ve made the toast before, in your absence, but I’ll make it again, now you’re here. Thanks, for making the repatriation possible.’

‘I’m glad somebody benefited,’ said Charlie.

‘Was it bad?’

‘I would never have done it, if I’d known just how bad,’ admitted Charlie. If Berenkov were thinking of running Charlie realised that what he was saying could actually be a disincentive, but again it would provide an opening for the identification if the Russian would accept it. He told the other man, in greater detail than he’d bothered during the debriefing with Natalia, because he knew Berenkov would understand. He talked about dragging around Europe, on the run with Edith, jumping at shadows and of the pursuit when they were discovered and Edith’s death and of the loneliness and the drinking afterwards, just occasionally interrupted by doing things for Willoughby’s son.

‘Remember what you told me, when I debriefed you in jail?’ he asked Berenkov.

The Russian frowned, shaking his head.

‘How glad you were, in the end, that I’d got you? That you were getting scared you couldn’t go on much longer?’

‘I remember,’ said Berenkov. He hadn’t until now. He didn’t think he’d admitted that to anyone: Charlie must have been a better, more insidious debriefer than he recalled.

‘That’s how I felt, in Italy,’ said Charlie. ‘I’d have gone on running, if I’d had the chance, but I was really very tired. The feeling I remember, when I knew they had me, was of relief.’

‘I know that feeling,’ said Berenkov, fully confessional too.

‘Then prison,’ said Charlie, bitterly. ‘Jesus, how I hated prison!’

‘I told you about that,’ reminded Berenkov. ‘When I was there. I told you never to get caught.’

‘I know,’ recalled Charlie. Openly he said, ‘I suppose formally being a defector is different. There’s protection. Security.’

Berenkov smiled but said nothing.

Valentina came from the kitchen with coffee, put the pot between them and then – appearing aware of the depth of their talk – withdrew again.

‘Still surprised you came here, Charlie,’ said Berenkov.

‘You told me I’d go mad in prison; something like that,’ said Charlie, still in memories. ‘You were right. I would have done. Bloody nearly did.’

‘Still didn’t expect you to come to Moscow,’ insisted Berenkov.

‘I’m here now,’ said Charlie, with obviously forced brightness.

‘And?’

‘Tonight’s been the first good time,’ admitted Charlie. ‘The apartment stinks – literally – but I accept I can’t expect anything better. The debriefings I accept are necessary too: part of the procedure. But they’re becoming repetitive. At least, I suppose, I’m lucky to have got rid of that asshole Sampson.’

‘He’s a very clever asshole, Charlie.’

‘Assholes often are.’ It would be too much to hope for an indication from Berenkov of what the man was doing but there was something instinctive about trying, with the disparaging remark.

‘What are you going to do, Charlie?’ asked Berenkov, casually disregarding the lure.

It had been too much to expect, conceded Charlie: offensive almost. He said, ‘You tell me. What am I going to be allowed to do?’

‘There could be something,’ said Berenkov. ‘Something that might not create a conflict.’

So the man had studied the debriefing and knew about his refusal to Natalia, that first day. Charlie carefully put the brandy bowl on the table between them, knowing the gesture wasn’t over-demonstrative. Was it going to be the approach for which he’d been waiting or the offer of a job? ‘What?’ he said.

‘I don’t want to make promises I can’t fulfil,’ withdrew Berenkov. ‘I wanted us to meet and to talk. To get an idea of how you felt. I need to talk to other people, before I go any further.’

‘Will you?’ urged Charlie. He was unsure about Berenkov but knew he had to maintain the link.

Berenkov hesitated, appearing to consider the question. Then he said, ‘Yes. It’s not a commitment, you understand: it could be rejected, by other people.’

‘I understand,’ said Charlie. ‘I’d appreciate it. I don’t want to atrophy, like I was atrophying in prison.’

‘I owe you a favour, Charlie,’ said Berenkov. ‘A very big favour.’

Georgi emerged from his room, to bid them goodnight and Charlie wished him luck with the examinations which could qualify the boy for the exchange course. And then he looked back over the table where the French wine stood and accepted some more French brandy from his hospitable host and decided he should try further. To Berenkov Charlie said, ‘If Georgi passes, when would he go?’

‘This year, sometime,’ said Berenkov, rekindling his cigar. ‘About nine months, I supposed. Maybe sooner.’

According to Wilson, whoever their mystery informant was wanted all his family out. With Georgi freed by the exchange, that would only leave Valentina. Charlie looked around the spacious apartment and at the books again. He had a delicate game to play, Charlie realised; probably a game more delicate than he’d ever played before in his life. If he made the slightest, infinitesimal mistake – and a monstrous mistake like wrongly believing it was Berenkov who wanted to cross back to the West where he’d lived for so long – then the Russian would identify it, immediately. And being the absolutely dedicated professional he was, Berenkov would see him inside a gulag so fast there’d be scorch marks left on the ground. Remembering the look that had earlier passed between Berenkov and his wife, Charlie said, ‘How would Valentina feel about his going?’

‘You still don’t miss a lot, do you Charlie?’

‘Like you, it’s automatic.’

‘Valentina thinks of the West as some sort of monster that swallows up people she loves.’

‘How do you think of it?’ risked Charlie.

‘I had a hell of a time,’ admitted Berenkov, nostalgically. ‘I got nervous, in the end. And it was always unreal, without Valentina. Georgi, too. But it was good to me. Damned good.’

Careful, decided Charlie. He was going to have to be very, very careful.

‘Whatever happens – about the job, I mean – we’ll have to meet some more,’ said Berenkov.

‘I’d like that,’ said Charlie.

Tanks had been in the forefront of the Ardennes offensive, the last attempt in the Second World War to break through the Allied front in the West, seize Antwerp and bottleneck supplies for the British and American armies about to invade Germany, and so the Battle of the Bulge was one frequently recreated by Kalenin. He’d had papier mache models created, to scale, of the contours and the geography, with towns like Charleville and Sedan and Revin picked out and he had his tank forces to scale, as well. Kalenin admired von Rundstedt’s strategy – bringing the vehicles across terrain supposedly impossible for them – and regarded Montgomery’s success more due to luck than tactics. Another hour, another day, another person looking in another direction and the outcome might have been completely different, he thought. To test the theory, he moved the American tanks that Montgomery controlled just fifty kilometres from where they’d actually been, using Reims as the marker, and timed von Rundstedt’s assault twenty four hours earlier. Completely different, he thought again. Was he looking in the right direction, to find the traitor opening a window for the British to look right inside his very own headquarters? Kalenin had permanent, twenty-four hour surveillance on the deputies and their immediate subordinates – everyone with likely access – and the reports were being channelled directly to him, even here, at night. The observation reports from the British embassy, too. And discovering nothing, not the slightest squeak from an unseen, unsuspected tank track. The feeling of impotence – and that vaguer feeling of uncertainty beyond – was worsening, as every day passed. When, oh when, was he going to be able to realise where the break had been made? Kalenin rearranged the tanks, in the properly recorded formations and divisions. It hadn’t been necessary in the Ardennes, at the very end of 1944, but it was always possible to detect an assault by inviting one, remembered Kalenin: it had even been an earlier strategy successfully practised by von Rundstedt.

The KGB chairman straightened from his war-games table and crossed to the desk upon which lay the latest batch of meaningless surveillance reports. Beside them lay the master-list of the people under suspicion. He’d have to invite an attack, Kalenin decided, staring down at the twelve names. To each – but exclusively to each – would have to be given specific and apparently vitally sensitive material. They’d broken the key, after all. As soon as they intercepted the message, they’d know the source. Kalenin was irritated that the subterfuge hadn’t occurred to him before. Commanders who took too long to think of strategies usually lost battles. Sometimes even the war.