Nick’s entire expression changes. “From a Soviet colonel?”
“Yes.”
“I was just packing before you knocked. Something has happened, and I have to go back to Washington.” He hesitates. “A U-2 plane found evidence the Soviets have installed nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in Cuba.”
chapter twenty-six
“How bad is it?” I ask.
“It’s bad. The weapons can reach the United States. I need to return to Washington, in case—” Nick wraps his arms around me, and I allow myself to lean into him, the world around us spinning madly out of control.
Was the colonel trying to prevent such an attack? The idea of nuclear war—
Will Fidel use the weapons? Will the Soviets?
I need to get the microfilm to the CIA immediately.
My family, my sisters, they’re all in Florida, ninety miles away from Cuba. And in Cuba—there are family and friends there, too, Eduardo languishing in a prison somewhere, so many innocent people in jeopardy.
What will the United States do in retaliation for Fidel allowing the nuclear weapons in Cuba? How many lives will be lost as a result of the escalating tensions between our two countries, politicians threatening war and posturing with little regard for the potential destruction on both sides?
I wanted a war, wanted the Americans to do something, but not this. Nothing good can come of this. We learned about the bombs the Americans dropped on Japan in school, about the devastation it wrought, and it terrifies me to think of the same kind of destruction battering our shores.
Will Cuba be caught in the middle of a war between the United States and the Soviet Union?
“They think the Soviets are going to use the weapons to attack the United States?”
“I don’t know,” Nick answers, his expression grim. “I hope the Soviets know better than to employ the weapons, but even the threat of them—that they moved them to our backyard—well, it’s extremely worrying, to say the least.”
What is on the microfilm? It can’t be a coincidence that Dwyer asked me to get it at this time.
“What will the president do?”
“He’s planning on addressing the nation. He’s meeting with his advisors, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council. I need to go home.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, absolutely not. If the Soviets do attack, you’ll be safer here.”
“And the body I’ve left behind?”
A blistering curse leaves his mouth as he remembers that particular complication.
“Besides, my family is in Florida. You’re going to Washington. I don’t want to stay here. If there is to be war, I want to be in the United States. Close to those I care about.”
“It’s not safe, Beatriz.”
“When are we going to stop having this fight? Either I go with you, or I go on my own, but either way, I’m going. My sisters might need me. You might need me.”
The CIA might need me.
He hesitates. “If things get really bad, promise me you will go somewhere safe.”
“I will.”
I’m not sure either one of us really believes me. I don’t say the rest of it, because I can easily imagine his response, but it occurs to me there are many solutions to this problem—not just military.
Mr. Dwyer wanted to use me as a weapon against Fidel. Here’s his chance.
* * *
• • •
Nick arranges our travel with an efficiency and expediency only copious amounts of money and influence can facilitate. I slip the microfilm into a padded envelope, the urgency of world events no longer allowing for me to wait to possibly hear from Dwyer again before I act. Nick insists on accompanying me, as I follow the backup procedure we’ve established if a drop ever collapses.
I return to the Ritz with Nick while he finalizes our travel arrangements. I take a proper shower, the remainder of the blood scrubbed away, little to be done for the cuts and nicks on my skin from where Ramon and I fought for the knife. Then I busy myself with repacking the clothes I threw into my bag earlier, and count the money I grabbed from my secret hiding place in my flat for a day such as this. My father taught me the lesson of preparing for emergencies, quick exits and exile, of always having cash on hand for whatever life throws my way.
My hand brushes a lace dress as I shut the bag, and a memory takes hold, of my last night in Havana, as I packed for a trip that has turned into a never-ending exile. The tenor of our days is defined by this madness, as we rush from one crisis to another, from revolution, to crushing defeat, to the brink of nuclear war.
Perhaps it is my recklessness that causes me to go with Nick to Washington now. Perhaps it is a folly best forsaken, and yet, when the last four years of your life have been defined by war and conflict, it is impossible to feel as though you’re not living on borrowed time, as though you shouldn’t eke out every last moment of pleasure before the things you love most are once again seized from you.
Nick hires a car to drive us to the airport as we leave London. We sit in the back, our hands joined, resting on the seat between us. Everything happened so quickly; thankfully, I had the foresight to bring my passport with me when I left my flat.
Have the police found the body? Or did Dwyer’s people get to the flat in time?
“You could be considered an accomplice, you know,” I warn Nick in a whisper, grateful for the privacy window separating us from the driver. “Once we get on that plane together—”
“Haven’t we been through this already? I don’t care.”
“You should care.”
“And yet, I don’t. What does it even matter in the face of what we’re up against with the Soviets? Besides, we’ve heard nothing to give the impression that a body has even been found. It’s just as likely the CIA was able to dispose of your Cuban spy. I imagine Dwyer has plenty of experience in these matters.”
“How well do you know him?”
“Dwyer?”
I nod.
“Personally? Not at all. But in certain circles, his reputation precedes him. I had a feeling you were here for him when I learned you’d come to London.”
“He helped me register for school. It was my cover, of course, to get close to the Cuban operative, but I liked it. A lot.”
“Politics?”
“Of course.”
“I’m glad you’ve had that opportunity.”