In the Company of Spies

by Stephen Barlay

  Conversation with her was an arduous process, and they were reminded repeatedly that she was not to be exhausted or pressured.

  “Are you Russian?” Rust asked her.

  “Half.” And after a pause: “But born here.” She struggled to speak. “I’ve lived here all my life.”

  “That’s been dealt with, Mr. Rust,” the duty officer cut in, “but I can give you the gist of it. She’s what amounts to being a second-generation agent. Her grandparents escaped from Russia via Shanghai and Hong Kong, and settled over here. Her mother quarrelled with them, became a Communist and married a Communist. They were recruited by the KGB during the war. They themselves trained Anna for the job, but she was not activated until 1955, when both her parents were already dead. Please don’t bother her with questions about the earlier period, not just now, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. Why should I? I’m as anxious as the next man to molly-coddle this delectable young lady, our newly found ally.” Rust stared at her hard. “Pity we weren’t on the same side just a few days earlier.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what those two men would do to you.”

  “How did you know the code?”

  “I listened in on the phone.”

  “Ell would have heard and recognized the click when you picked up the extension.”

  “She didn’t use the extension,” said Repson. “She had an extra earpiece connected to the line. It was hidden among her clothes, and whenever the line was in use, she could just listen. It had a cover fitted so that it wouldn’t be heard chirping if, for instance, she was speaking on the line and I happened to look for something in the bedroom or even in her closet.”

  Rust listened to him but never took his eyes off her. “Were you sent to Leningrad only to pick me up?”

  “No. I had to be briefed for the job. And to meet you, yes.”

  “Is that why I got permission to visit the closed part of the Hermitage? To bring me within your reach?”

  “Yes.”

  “But why? You never even tried to recruit me.”

  “No, you were being set up for recruitment by some other KGB Directorate or perhaps the GRU, I don’t know. But after I’d met Ell and he wanted to marry me, it was decided that you must be eliminated from CIA work.”

  “Why?”

  “You were too close to Ell. You might have noticed things. You know, oddities about him. Something that might lead to his fall. We, I mean they, well, we, in fact, had to protect him. He’d be pushed hard to get promotions, and with our help — ”

  “Whose help?”

  “Sapphire. It’s a separate network.”

  “What network?”

  “KGB. Not even the Washington Resident knows it. I certainly don’t.”

  “We’ll have to try and prod your memory.”

  Anna looked at the duty officer, who, in turn, warned Rust, “Please don’t question her about her contacts, superiors and lines of communications. That’s being dealt with by others.” Rust shrugged his shoulders. “How was I to be eliminated from Company work?”

  “Somebody studied your past and behavior pattern. It was thought you’d resign.”

  “Because of our affair?”

  She nodded, but avoided his eyes.

  “And if not?”

  “You’d be blackmailed into it.”

  “With the pictures?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did you suddenly reverse the blackmail idea?”

  “Orders from the Center.”

  “Why?”

  “I didn’t know then that you were on the run from Moscow. But they foresaw that you might get to Ell and cause an embarrassment to me.”

  “So you arranged that the pictures should be planted at the Upstairs.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you know what would happen to my friend Hal?”

  “No. We thought the house was empty.”

  “When did you receive your orders?”

  “Oh, about the eighteenth or nineteenth.”

  “September?”

  “Yes. But it was only a precaution. Nobody thought you’d get out of the Soviet U — I mean, Russia. But they didn’t know what other contacts you had in Moscow.”

  “What do you mean, ‘other’ contacts?”

  “Apart from the embassy.”

  “Do you know that Holly was killed?”

  “Who’s Holly?”

  “The man I contacted at the embassy.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Who was your man at the embassy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The duty officer raised his hand. “Please stick to your own area of involvement.”

  Rust started to walk up and down the room. When he was passing the bed, he suddenly stopped and leaned over Anna. “Why did you claim that you craved my sperms?”

  “I … ” She stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath which seemed to hurt her, then tried to outstare him. “It was part of my instructions in Leningrad.”

  It shamed him that he was still so bugged by that sentence. Damn male vanity, he thought. Her instructors had certainly known how to plant a painful verbal time bomb that would be remembered. He turned to Repson with an apologetic halfsmile. Repson nodded, saying. “It’s not your fault,” and busied himself with the handbrake of the wheelchair.

  “What was your main assignment? Spying on Bobby Kennedy?” Rust tried to sound as impersonal as possible. “Please,” the duty officer reprimanded him.

  “It’s essential. Please answer,” Rust insisted.

  “Yes. I was to pick up as much intelligence as possible. But it was even more important to help Ell’s promotions. It was hoped that one day he would be in a really top job and I’d be there, with him. In a position of trust.”

  “You mean his bed.”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you know that I was in Moscow?”

  “I didn’t. Not until about the eighteenth. That’s why they asked me to find out where you were.”

  “Who asked you? The Center?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why would they be interested in me or my whereabouts at the time?” Rust noticed that the duty officer pricked up his ears and looked toward a mirror. It must be a two-way, Rust guessed.

  “Because of the message from the defector … I mean, the Russian sailor who tried to defect in Cuba.”

  “Tried?”

  “He was caught.”

  “And questioned?”

  “Probably.”

  “And he talked?”

  “Probably.”

  “What the hell do you mean, probably? You know damn well that they all talk. I mean we all talk. Your people are kind of persuasive.”

  “Not my people. Not anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “I left them, didn’t I?”

  “Why? Why have you turned?” She was silent, and he grabbed her shoulders. “Why?” The officer did not interfere. “Why?” He shook her. Tears appeared in her eyes. “Why?”

  “I lost my faith in them.”

  “So suddenly?”

  “Not suddenly.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I was hoping that Communism would be different under Khrushchev.”

  “It wasn’t. But that didn’t make you change sides. You didn’t come over voluntarily. You turned your coat only when you were caught.”

  “I was afraid.”

  “Of them?”

  “Of them. And you. All of you. I didn’t want to be tortured.”

  “We don’t torture people.”

  “Don’t you?”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks and woke him to the fact that he had been squeezing her shoulders mercilessly, just where the flesh curved into forming her neck. “I’m sorry.” He drank some water to give himself time to cool down. “Okay. What do you know about that sailor, defector, call h
im what you like, and the message he brought out?”

  “Only what the message was. Somebody had been ill but was better now. Something like that.”

  “What were you supposed to do with it?”

  “To get it to you and report back your reaction.”

  “So you sent O’Connor to me, right?”

  “Who’s he?”

  “He brought me the message. Posing as CIA.”

  “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t know who’d take the message. I only conveyed the Center’s orders. I left them in a mail drop. It would be picked up by someone who’d then make his reports to me through another drop near Harvey’s, the fish restaurant on 18th Street.”

  “Used to be one of our favorites,” Repson mumbled.

  Rust ignored him. “Well, I have news for you, sweetheart. You were not so clever after all.” He was bent on hurting her, at least with words, and did not feel ashamed. “That poor, wretched man, whose balls were probably torn out when he was probably questioned probably by your friends, that sailor tricked you probably with his last breath. He changed the name in the message, and that was a warning signal to Yelena and my father and eventually to me, too!” It made him feel better. At least he had paid tribute to the memory of a fellow victim.

  Anna appeared to be very tired. Her breathing was erratic. A doctor was summoned, and it was thought best to discontinue the interrogation.

  “I don’t believe her,” said Rust to his brother when the door closed behind them. “She’s trying to save her skin by offering to work for us.”

  “She didn’t offer it. She was forced to.”

  “And if we set her up as a double on that basis, you think we could ever trust her?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Her actions will have to be watched all the way. But don’t underestimate our own people. This decision was made at the highest level. The risks and the odds must have been assessed carefully.” He took a deep breath as Rust pushed his chair through self-closing doors into the dusk that smudged the edges of trees and buildings. “I only wish I wasn’t involved emotionally.”

  “But you are. And I must congratulate you, Ell.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you didn’t throttle her a few minutes ago. I know what a struggle it must be to restrain yourself.”

  “And it’s going to be much worse.”

  “How can it be?”

  “Through daily exposure.”

  “Daily? You mean … you’re crazy!”

  “It’s not my choice, Helm, believe me. But she’s potentially the most important double we’ve had for years. To play her will be a game of great skill and tremendous excitement. The main thing is to keep up the appearances. Nothing, but nothing, must seem to change in our lives.”

  “You mean she remains your devoted wife?”

  “She must.”

  “And you’re willing to continue living with her.”

  “No, I’m not. But I’m willing to continue living with the new game. I’m a player. I don’t opt out easily.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I didn’t mean that.”

  “Didn’t you?” Rust was pushing the wheelchair faster and faster along the narrow garden path. “Goddam squeak. Why can’t you get it fixed?”

  “I keep forgetting it.”

  “It’s awful.” And it became even more irritatingly prominent when they entered the corridor of the building where Rust’s room was.

  “What’s your next move, Helm?”

  “Wish I knew.”

  “They really ought to reward you.”

  “For what?”

  “Well, whatever else there may be, you’ve certainly exposed Anna. So I’m sure you’ll land something big. After a while, I mean. Hasn’t anybody approached you to discuss it?”

  “Not yet.”

  “It’ll come.”

  “How long will they keep me here?”

  “I don’t know. The longer the better.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s safer for you. You must have made some pretty obstinate enemies over there.”

  “I’m not important anymore.”

  “Don’t bank on it, Helm. I guess our people must have turned the Upstairs into a fortress by now.”

  “What for? I’m not even sure that I’ll ever go back there.”

  “You might have to.”

  “Nobody’s telling me what I must do.”

  “The Company may.”

  “You’re forgetting something, Ell. I’ve opted out. I’m a free agent.”

  “Sure. Nobody’s disputing that. But I know that some people are thinking a lot about your future.”

  “Tell them to leave the thinking to me.”

  “That’s just what I told them. Especially when I heard a bit of gossip.”

  “What?”

  “That somebody had a bright idea of sending you to Cuba.”

  “Are they crazy?”

  “Must be. Mind you, they said it would be quite a unique opportunity for you.”

  “What opportunity?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Tell them to go and fuck themselves. All of them.”

  “I’ll tell them. In fact, I think I have a much better idea.”

  “What?”.

  “To recruit you for my little outfit. It would be great to work together, wouldn’t it?”

  “Depends.”

  “Naturally. And, of course, the scheme would have to be devised very carefully. But with your Cuban contacts … ”

  “Forget it, Ell.” They reached the room. Rust sat on his bed. No one was there, but someone was no farther away than the receiving ends of the bugs that must be hidden in every corner, every piece of furniture. Rust glanced around with open disgust. Repson nodded in agreement. “It’s ridiculous,” said Rust. “They trust her more than me.”

  “I don’t know. But the important thing is that it should seem so to the Center. Don’t forget, it’ll be monitoring every move she makes. It’ll scrutinize every word in every communication from her. It’ll have to be convinced that although you might have killed their man on Long Island, you’re not suspecting her, that although you might have delivered the message from Moscow, our people don’t quite trust you because the blackmail trick has worked. It’ll expect to see that you’re in a bit of disgrace.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “It’s our only way to sell them the double bluff. Even you and I won’t be able to see one another for a while. I must seem to be furious with you.”

  “Naturally. I’ve fucked and blackmailed your beloved wife, haven’t I?”

  “That’s how they devised the trap, and that’s what they must see us falling into.”

  “Count me out, Ell.”

  “Sure. At least you won’t have to share my predicament. Living with her, living with the temptation to kick her and beat her and … fuck her, yes, fuck her, no matter what. Because I still want her, and it’s shitty and humiliating.”

  “I understand.”

  “How could you? You’re a free agent. With all the glory of getting information out of Moscow and helping to prevent Khrushchev from arming Cuba with nukes.”

  “Yes, I could have done that in July. With that shopping list from Castro’s desk.”

  “That’s why Anna must have stolen it.”

  “I thought she was denying that.”

  “She was. But when we reminded her of the porokhovyye konfety on the list, she remembered and admitted it.”

  “Pity I didn’t choose a different channel.”

  “You wanted to help me, Helm.”

  “Several people would still be alive if I hadn’t.”

  Soon after Repson had left, Schramm arrived.

  “Come on, Helm, our celebration dinner is long overdue.”

  “Have you brought sandwiches?”

  “We’re going out.”

  “Outside?�
�� Rust asked with mock astonishment. “You mean I can be trusted?”

  “Yeah. As long as you’re protected.”

  “That’s one way of putting it, I suppose.”

  “I’ve reserved a private room in an excellent Georgetown steakhouse.”

  It was a chauffeur-driven car, and they were following a civilian motorcyclist. Rust glanced back over his shoulder. An unmarked car seemed to be sitting right on their tail. Perhaps he was not trusted all that much. It infuriated him, but he chose to wait and see. He did not need to wait for long. Halfway through dinner, Schramm said he had a message for Rust. “From whom?”

  Schramm’s index finger stabbed toward the ceiling. “Really?”

  “The very top. They want you to know how much your work is appreciated.”

  “Will they follow up the info?”

  “Only bad weather is delaying it. U-2s will look at every microdot you brought us. They’re very grateful. You’ve helped to settle an argument in high places.”

  “So what’s the catch?”

  “No catch.”

  They were finishing dinner when the door opened and Sir Charles walked in. “Good to see you, Helm.”

  “Good to see you, too. What a coincidence. You walking in here of all places.”

  “The place is famous for its Calvados. Can I have a glass with you?”

  They drank, and Charles began to explain why in his opinion, Calvados was a better after-dinner drink than Cognac, but Rust lost his patience: “Okay, we’ve had the spiel, now let’s have the facts of life.”

  “Right,” said Schramm. “You’ve done well. You’ve earned the right to a hell of a lot of privileges. For the time being, I’ve been given the full-time job of looking after you and helping you do whatever you want. So what’s your plan?”

  “I haven’t got one. I’m still living from one interrogation to the next.”