he assured us couldn’t be traced.
Even I had no idea where they were. Pasha didn’t either. His job was simply to let Anna know – if need be – when she had to evacuate the gated enclave on the Moscow margins that had been designed to protect them from everyone below Frank on the food chain.
Which didn’t include Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, prime minister of the Russian Federation, chairman of both United Russia and the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus.
A truly powerful man
…
As I headed back to the motel I visualized Pasha delivering the message. I knew Anna wasn’t going to be impressed. She’d do what we’d agreed. Then she’d go into meltdown. I still missed her, but I was glad I wouldn’t be there when that happened. One of those laser-beam stares of hers could take your bollocks off more severely than a Flechette missile.
I circled the motel lot, then went back in the way I’d come out.
I unlaced my Timberlands before I got my head down, but still kept them on.
There was a familiar creak above me. ‘Nick …’
‘Yup.’
‘Have you been on a mission?’
‘Only a little one. It’s all good out there.’
‘Did you take the gun?’
‘Yup. I always keep it with me.’
Another creak.
‘I’ve never shot anyone before.’
‘Good.’
‘My dad showed me how to use a pistol. In the garden at our
dacha
. You came there. Remember?’
‘Sure I do.’ That wasn’t completely true, but I did have a vision of a high wall, woods, and a kitchen with the world’s biggest and most gleaming coffee machine. ‘Peredelkino, right?’
‘Yes. Peredelkino. We used real bullets, but we only fired them at beer cans.’
‘Rounds.’
I could almost hear the cogs whirring in his brain.
‘What do you mean,
rounds
?’
‘We don’t call them bullets. We call them rounds.’
‘Ah. R-r-rounds …’ He rolled the
r
around in his mouth like he was tasting it. ‘So my dad was shot … with r-r-rounds …’
I didn’t want to rush him back to a place he was only just starting to escape from. But, fuck it, I couldn’t keep tiptoeing around this thing. I hoped he’d be able to stay in mini-Frank mode for a moment or two longer.
‘Did you spot anyone else up on the mountain? Apart from your BG?’
He went so quiet I couldn’t even hear him breathe.
‘A guy in khaki combats, maybe? With a ring? A red ring, with a silver eagle on it? An eagle with two heads?’
Eventually he spoke again. ‘No. But I couldn’t see much from the back seat. And I was talking to my dad. About a maths problem.’
‘A maths problem?’
‘Yes. He used to set me challenges. Then something happened in front of us. With a truck, I think. A big truck. My … my BG pulled off the road … and stopped the car … and turned in his seat … and … and …’ He swallowed. ‘And that was where you found us …’
I heard him trying to suppress a sob.
Anna would have been able to say something warm and cuddly, but I wasn’t built like that. I just let him have a bit more silence to wrap himself in.
It seemed to work.
‘Why did my BG do it, Nick? My dad didn’t trust many people, but he trusted …
him
.’
‘Mate, I honestly don’t know. But I aim to find out. Starting first thing tomorrow.’
‘Where will you find out?’
‘I’ve got a couple of addresses.’
‘Can I come too?’
‘Better not. Your dad always wanted me to keep you safe. And you’ll be safer here.’
Since neither of us was doing much sleeping, I took him through the drills instead.
16
I did it again the next morning.
We’d keep the shutters closed; it was more secure that way, and would make the place look like it was empty.
‘You can have your bedside light on. Catch up on your Dostoevsky. Or turn on the TV – but no volume. If you think someone’s trying to gain entry, don’t mess around. Get straight out of the bathroom window and leg it. Into the hedge first, then under the fence. The
Even I had no idea where they were. Pasha didn’t either. His job was simply to let Anna know – if need be – when she had to evacuate the gated enclave on the Moscow margins that had been designed to protect them from everyone below Frank on the food chain.
Which didn’t include Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, prime minister of the Russian Federation, chairman of both United Russia and the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus.
A truly powerful man
…
As I headed back to the motel I visualized Pasha delivering the message. I knew Anna wasn’t going to be impressed. She’d do what we’d agreed. Then she’d go into meltdown. I still missed her, but I was glad I wouldn’t be there when that happened. One of those laser-beam stares of hers could take your bollocks off more severely than a Flechette missile.
I circled the motel lot, then went back in the way I’d come out.
I unlaced my Timberlands before I got my head down, but still kept them on.
There was a familiar creak above me. ‘Nick …’
‘Yup.’
‘Have you been on a mission?’
‘Only a little one. It’s all good out there.’
‘Did you take the gun?’
‘Yup. I always keep it with me.’
Another creak.
‘I’ve never shot anyone before.’
‘Good.’
‘My dad showed me how to use a pistol. In the garden at our
dacha
. You came there. Remember?’
‘Sure I do.’ That wasn’t completely true, but I did have a vision of a high wall, woods, and a kitchen with the world’s biggest and most gleaming coffee machine. ‘Peredelkino, right?’
‘Yes. Peredelkino. We used real bullets, but we only fired them at beer cans.’
‘Rounds.’
I could almost hear the cogs whirring in his brain.
‘What do you mean,
rounds
?’
‘We don’t call them bullets. We call them rounds.’
‘Ah. R-r-rounds …’ He rolled the
r
around in his mouth like he was tasting it. ‘So my dad was shot … with r-r-rounds …’
I didn’t want to rush him back to a place he was only just starting to escape from. But, fuck it, I couldn’t keep tiptoeing around this thing. I hoped he’d be able to stay in mini-Frank mode for a moment or two longer.
‘Did you spot anyone else up on the mountain? Apart from your BG?’
He went so quiet I couldn’t even hear him breathe.
‘A guy in khaki combats, maybe? With a ring? A red ring, with a silver eagle on it? An eagle with two heads?’
Eventually he spoke again. ‘No. But I couldn’t see much from the back seat. And I was talking to my dad. About a maths problem.’
‘A maths problem?’
‘Yes. He used to set me challenges. Then something happened in front of us. With a truck, I think. A big truck. My … my BG pulled off the road … and stopped the car … and turned in his seat … and … and …’ He swallowed. ‘And that was where you found us …’
I heard him trying to suppress a sob.
Anna would have been able to say something warm and cuddly, but I wasn’t built like that. I just let him have a bit more silence to wrap himself in.
It seemed to work.
‘Why did my BG do it, Nick? My dad didn’t trust many people, but he trusted …
him
.’
‘Mate, I honestly don’t know. But I aim to find out. Starting first thing tomorrow.’
‘Where will you find out?’
‘I’ve got a couple of addresses.’
‘Can I come too?’
‘Better not. Your dad always wanted me to keep you safe. And you’ll be safer here.’
Since neither of us was doing much sleeping, I took him through the drills instead.
16
I did it again the next morning.
We’d keep the shutters closed; it was more secure that way, and would make the place look like it was empty.
‘You can have your bedside light on. Catch up on your Dostoevsky. Or turn on the TV – but no volume. If you think someone’s trying to gain entry, don’t mess around. Get straight out of the bathroom window and leg it. Into the hedge first, then under the fence. The
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