C harlie was as disoriented as Natalia had been realizing where she was when she had arrived downstairs, but she’d recovered by the time she reached the outside landing. Charlie was glad of its half light but wasn’t concerned at some visible surprise that Popov wasn’t accompanied by Petr Gusev. To reinforce the point he said so as he greeted them and used the word surprise at the same time as saying he was delighted to see her, which he was, although he needed to think a lot more about the circumstances before he was sure about that.
Natalia’s second uncertainty was to be welcomed directly inside the apartment by Hillary Jamieson. The American girl had also expected another man and there was momentary, first-meeting hesitancy which Charlie thought easily overcame any outward difficulty.
Inwardly there was a lot of conflicting feelings trying to get to the forefront of Charlie’s mind. Anger was chief among them, which he refused, because at that stage he wasn’t sure he had anything to be angry about and in any case anger never helped rational thinking. So what was it rational to think? Viewed in an objectively straight line, Aleksai Semenovich Popov had accepted a social invitation for himself and the woman he was shortly to many, not on behalf of himself and a Militia colonel. Which was perfectly reasonable – the only misconception his – and even maintained a perhaps necessary element of business because until very recently Natalia had been part of the nuclear investigation and still headed the specific anti-smuggling division. But was it as simplistic as that? Popov knew he’d gone to Leninskaya soon after he’d arrived. And that he’d been to Moscow before and that Natalia had debriefed him. But to have been as adamant as Natalia was that the man was unaware of their personal relationship meant what old KGB records survived were sterilized of any such suggestions. Which he already knew anyway, for Natalia to hold the rank and position she did. What was left then? A professional episode in the long-distant past which could conceivably explain his going to Leninskaya like he had? As wrong to cloud his reasoning by over-interpretation as it would have been to allow obscuring anger. For the moment he had to follow the straight line. Which didn’t mean, of course, he shouldn’t be on the lookout for unexpected curves. But then he always was.
Unwittingly Hillary, the perfect hostess, smoothly covered the immediate arrival, seating Popov and Natalia together on the high-backed, siderope-tethered couch and offering canapes while Charlie poured champagne for everyone except himself, remaining with his preferred whisky. The apartment was the obvious and immediate subject of conversation, which Hillary responded to as openly as she did with everything else and invited them to look around: her and Charlie’s evidently shared bedroom was the last on the escorted tour. There was no cause for Charlie to feel uncomfortable, but he did. Natalia was quite controlled by then, smilingly attentively to the other woman although paying little attention to him, which wasn’t Charlie’s immediate disappointment. Hillary had the advantage of youth by maybe ten years – for the first time Charlie realized he didn’t know how old she was – and although she hadn’t dressed as exuberantly as she sometimes did for their club visits the silk moulded to her Greek goddess figure and stopped short enough to exhibit the forever legs and Charlie thought Natalia suffered by the side-by-side proximity and suspected Natalia thought so too. Natalia’s dress was silk as well, although a subdued black against Hillary’s crimson, but cut more comfortably and longer. The blackness drained what little colour there was from her face and she hadn’t hidden the worry lines around her eyes and lips, and she’d pinned the chignon carelessly and stray hair was already escaping.
And Natalia wasn’t just suffering from the physical contrast. In an austere but superbly tailored and waistcoated black suit and muted tie, Popov was more than ever a Romanov look-alike and was flirting extravagantly with the receptively flattered Hillary. It actually created a brief divide, separating Popov with Hillary and Charlie with Natalia, and provided a further comparison between the laughing banter against artificially subdued conversation. Natalia looked directly at him when she said he seemed to be settling in very comfortably after he agreed he had been extremely lucky to get the Lesnaya apartment. Charlie presumed Sasha would be at the creche, under Militia protection, but Popov was too close for him openly to ask, even though the Russian appeared totally engrossed in some hand-waving anecdote of Hillary’s. Remembering Natalia’s concern during every conversation, particularly about the bed-wetting, Charlie was still surprised Natalia had left her.
Dinner began on the same facile social level, with Popov taking Hillary through the first-time-in-Moscow, how-do-you-like-it routine and smiling quizzically at Hillary’s reply that it was interesting. Then, abruptly and still smiling, he turned to Charlie and said, ‘But you, of course, were here before?’
‘A long time ago,’ replied Charlie, easily and at once. A curve in the line or something else he should try to consider rationally? Popov-knew what he’d been, like everyone else. There hadn’t been occasion to talk of it before – even at their now relaxed lunches – and it wasn’t indiscreet now, because Hillary was officially FBI.
‘What’s your feeling, having known it then?’
‘It’s trying to develop too fast, without enough control.’
‘Crime, you mean?’
‘Not entirely. But mostly, yes.’
‘There was as much crime in the old days. It just wasn’t obvious. And the government were involved up to their necks.’
‘Like they are now?’ demanded Charlie. If Popov wanted an open discussion, it was all right by him. He even welcomed it.
‘Like too many of them are now, yes. Which is our problem. But we’ll win. Not at once and not easily, but in the end we’ll get control. Which is all any law enforcement organization in the West has ever tried to do, get some sort of control. No one’s ever going to eradicate crime.’
Charlie didn’t try to extend it and Popov didn’t go on, instead trying to lighten the conversation by telling Hillary that the lack of fashion was an even greater problem in Moscow than crime, which Charlie thought was unfortunate in view of the difference between how Natalia and Hillary were dressed. It was only when the American tried to match the lightness with a comment about her protective suit that Natalia appeared to realize Popov had already met Hillary and knew who she was and Charlie, setting out on another objective straight line, encouraged Hillary to talk about it. Charlie was glad he hadn’t told her about four of the canisters recovered in Germany being empty. He hadn’t told Lyneham or Kestler, either. Or Natalia.
‘You make the carelessness – and the experimentation – sound criminal?’ suggested Natalia.
‘I believe it was. And is,’ agreed the American.
‘But you’re not solely accusing Russia?’ clarified Popov.
‘I’m accusing every nuclear nation.’
Charlie began to relax, content to let the discussion go on without him. He really wished he knew about Sasha.
‘But we’re the careless nation of the moment,’ Popov was saying.
‘That’s not an accusation,’ Hillary pointed out. It’s a fact. Why we’re all here.’ She smiled. ‘Although quite frankly I don’t understand why I’m still here: what I came for is all wrapped up now, isn’t it?’
‘It will be, with the trial in Germany.’
‘Which Aleksai will have to attend to give evidence,’ said Natalia, proudly Charlie thought.
He would have preferred to wait longer but the cue was too good. ‘London is beginning to question the cost of the entrapment idea.’
‘So soon!’ frowned Popov.
‘They’ve become accustomed to things happening quickly,’ said Charlie.
‘That’s no criteria,’ dismissed Natalia. ‘Although I don’t think the risks justify the outside chance of your learning anything worthwhile.’
Charlie wondered if Popov had told Natalia of the attempted intimidation and got his answer when Hillary said, ‘There’s a lot of big guys on our side but it’s costing a lot in cars.’
Natalia looked to each of them, finally to Charlie and said, ‘What happened?’
‘A car got burned out, that’s all. It was inevitable.’
Popov said, ‘There’s a lot of protection in place now.’
The remark obviously connected with Sasha in Natalia’s mind. ‘For how long?’
‘As long as is necessary,’ said Popov. ‘Or until London – or indeed Fomin or someone at his level – decides it’s a waste of time.’
‘Is that how you regard it?’ demanded Charlie.
‘What you’ve got so far is pretty low-level,’ said Popov. There had been positive criminal identification from the surveillance camera pictures of the men who had imported the computer chips and the cars: a Jaguar had actually gone to the Ugreshskaya salesroom from which Charlie had bought the BMWs.
‘This is becoming a serious party and parties aren’t supposed to be serious!’ protested Hillary, with sudden brightness.
‘And we do have something to celebrate,’ announced Popov.
‘What?’ demanded Hillary.
‘Natalia and I are getting married.’
The ebullient Hillary whooped and clapped and actually kissed Natalia on the cheek and demanded Charlie open more champagne, which he did and forced a token sip despite his dislike of the acidity. Hillary insisted upon a toast, which Charlie gave, and he congratulated Popov. Natalia looked at him fully again when he congratulated her and smiled and thanked him. Hillary occupied the remainder of the meal and during coffee afterwards, peppering Natalia with preparation questions, to which Popov smiled indulgently and Charlie half listened. He heard Natalia say she hoped to retire after the wedding and Popov said his ambition now was to get an apartment like Charlie’s. Just before they left Popov said perhaps Charlie and Hillary would come to the wedding when the plans were finalized and Hillary said they had their first acceptance if she was still in Moscow.
‘Isn’t that terrific!’ Hillary enthused, after Popov and Natalia left.
‘Terrific’
‘You didn’t mind me accepting for us, did you?’
‘No,’ he lied.
‘You know something odd?’
‘What?’
‘Natalia reminded me of the photograph that was here that first night I came back, after that business at the club.’
‘My sister,’ reminded Charlie, repeating the lie he’d made up at the time. ‘I suppose there’s a resemblance.’
‘I haven’t seen it around, incidentally. Or the one of the baby. There only seems to be the one of Edith now.’
‘They must be here somewhere,’ said Charlie, who’d put both in his embassy safe the day before Hillary had moved in, confident after his return from London that Bowyer wouldn’t intrude. He’d told Hillary that Edith had died, but not how or why.
‘Popov is as sexy as hell! I think Natalia’s a lucky girl, don’t you?’
‘Very,’ agreed Charlie.
‘Hey!’ said Hillary, misunderstanding his shortness. ‘I didn’t say he was my type! No need to get jealous!’
‘I’m not,’ denied Charlie.
Natalia was furious. They’d hardly spoken during the ride home and now she lay stiffly in the darkness, her body not touching his. She was glad of her cycle because she didn’t want to make love.
‘With Sasha at the creche we could have gone back to my place: it’s nearer,’ Popov said.
‘This is the number they’ve got.’
There was a long silence. Finally he said, ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Why didn’t you tell me where we were going! And why announce the wedding like that? And then invite them!’
‘I wanted it to be a surprise. And why shouldn’t I have told them we were getting married? I want everyone to know!’
‘It was of no interest to them.’
‘Hillary seemed excited.’
‘She’s that sort of girl.’
There was another silence, which Popov broke again. ‘Odd, how this business has brought them together.’
‘What’s odd about it? She’s a beautiful girl. He’s amusing.’
‘He wasn’t particularly amusing tonight.’
‘It would have been difficult, the way you took the evening over.’
‘One of us had to.’
‘What else has happened, apart from firing his car?’
‘There was an extortion attempt. And another car was rammed.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
She felt him shrug in the darkness. ‘It was nothing we didn’t expect. He’s got spetznaz people looking after him: that’s who checked us tonight when we arrived.’
‘But he’s under threat.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘Then I don’t want him at the wedding. Sasha will be there. There could be a risk.’
‘We’ve invited them now.’
‘ You invited them, I didn’t. I don’t want them!’
‘Tonight wasn’t a good idea, was it?’
‘No.’
‘I’m sorry. I’d apologized to him for the problems in the operation and we’ve seen a lot of each other and I thought it was an idea to get things on a friendly footing. I was wrong in not telling you where we were going and I’m sorry about that, too.’
‘How long will you be in Germany?’
‘I’ve no idea. Quite a while maybe.’
‘I don’t want the protection taken away from Sasha until you get back.’
‘It was a nuisance threat, nothing more.’
‘Not until you get back,’ she insisted. ‘And maybe not even then.’
Two days later, which wasn’t a Friday, Lieutenant Ranov came smiling into Charlie’s Dubrovskaya office and their conversation occupied most of the afternoon and settled some of Charlie’s outstanding questions as well as raising more. It also made him angry at things he’d missed. It meant he was late getting back to Lesnaya. Hillary said, ‘You’ve just missed Natalia. She called to thank us for the other night. Aleksai sent his regards.’
It wasn’t arranged for Natalia to call him until the following day, so it had to have been social politeness. He wondered what it would be like when they did talk.