"Really? Would you pay me for my uniform? How much are we talking about?" While the lieutenant colonel was hidebound in some areas—believing, for instance, that shortages of material goods crippled America, that life there was as difficult as in Russia—he also had a streak of capitalism when it came to his property.
In the end, Nikolai paid one-thousand rubles and now owned a reasonably new official Border Troops uniform.
Standing between bookcases in the dacha library where no one could see him, Nikolai secretly studied maps of the Soviet Union and Finland's border area. Now his study of the Soviet-Finnish border was more inspired than ever.
Outside, the weather remained cold without freezing, sunny and dry. Nikolai enjoyed jogging through the woods, where several times, he spotted surveillance men hastily pretending to urinate into the undergrowth as he appeared. Twice he walked the ten kilometers to the railway station, partly to increase his fitness in case he had to make a long trek during his escape.
He returned to Moscow with his testimony. Masirov collected it and turned it over to General Barishsky. One day later, Lieutenant General Masirov told him the history was accepted. "Now, you may leave for London."
"And Sasha?"
"Really? Do we have to discuss the daughter again?"
"I'm begging this time. I promise immense loyalty. Only let her come along with me."
“She has already been removed to her new home. Now get out!”
51
He left Barishsky and drove home at breakneck speed, terrified for Sasha. He let himself inside his apartment, only to find his mother sitting alone on the sofa, weeping.
“They were just here. They took our Sasha!” She could scarcely get the words out between sobs.
An icicle pierced his heart. “Say that again?”
“KGB knocked. I was in the kitchen cleaning up after our little meal. I was putting plates away when I heard them. I went to the door and pulled it open. Two KGB men swooped in without a word and muscled past me. ‘She’s in the bedroom,’ one man said. They went to the bedroom and returned with Sasha. He held her under his arm like a sack of potatoes. Poor Sasha! She was crying and screaming to be put down, but they didn’t. Instead, they pushed by me because I was trying to block the door. One of them put his hand on my chest and shoved me out of the way. ‘Don’t ever get in our way again.’
“‘Where are you taking her?’ I cried. I knew I had to get some idea of where she would be taken. I knew I needed something to tell you, Nikolai. Oh, my God, I am so so sorry!”
He was in shock and couldn’t speak. His mind had shut off, and now he was trying to swim through the mire, swim toward the light of logic and action. “Where does KGB take children? Who do we ask?”
“Let me call a friend. Her son works for the oblast.” She dialed the phone. “Hello?” She held the handset out from her ear so Nikolai could hear what the friend said. “One question, Annalisa. KGB came here and kidnapped my only granddaughter away.”
“No!”
“Oh, yes. I was hoping you could tell me where KGB takes children they take away from home. Can you ask Nazik?”
Annalisa called out to her son, repeated the question, then said to Nikolai’s mother, “To Moscow Oblast Family and Child Protection Service. It is located on Popov Boulevard.”
Nikolai shouted at the phone, “Nazik, how do I get into this place and get her out?”
On the other end, Nazik picked up the phone and spoke. “Sure, that’s the question—armed guards at the door, armed guards at the gate. I’m sorry to report that I have taken children there before. There is no way in and out without written orders from the judge.”
“I need a court order?”
“You will find out they had a court order to get Sasha away from you.”
“That makes no sense. But I must trust what you say. All right. You have no ideas for me?”
“I’ll be thinking about it. I’ll call back if I think of something.”
“Thank you, Nazik.”
His mother replaced the handset in its cradle and looked at Nikolai. He held up a hand, indicating she should let him finish his thoughts.
He wrote on the notepad used for private talks. I have to get inside. There has to be a way.
His mother wrote, You could watch to see who drives in and out of the gate. When they come out, follow and steal their vehicle and go back yourself.
“KGB knows best,” he said for the benefit of the electronic ears listening to their every word. “I can only leave it alone.”
She understood why he was talking like that. “The Party is always right. Maybe you can visit her there. With permission.”
“All right, then. I have been ordered to London by General Masirov. I need to pack my clothes and things.”
“Will Sasha be going to London with you?”
“No, she will stay here. KGB is going to take excellent care of her. I’m very pleased.”
She didn’t hesitate. “I’m sorry, Nikolai, but the Party is right.”
“It will be difficult, but life always is. First comes duty. She will remain here, and I will try to visit. Eventually, they will let me. Thank you for watching her while I was away on business,” he told her. “It’s time for you to return home. The bus comes in thirty minutes downstairs.”
“I’m already packed.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Goodbye,” she whispered and left with her suitcase.
He shut the door behind her and looked around the room. He wouldn’t say another word after that. He could only hope that his feeble attempt at convincing them he was acquiescent would work.
52
The ULYSSES team was on high alert in London.
"Whatever has happened?" Charles Lightner asked at a short meeting.
"No news isn't good news," Bolling said. "If all were well, he would have let us know. If all were bad, he couldn't let us know. I'm apprehensive we've lost him, team."
Emma Magnuson wasn't so sure he was lost. Of all the team members, Magnuson tended to be the most optimistic at such times as this. "There's also the possibility all is well. Maybe he's back at work or in training, and they're watching him too closely, so he hasn't been able to signal."
Jason Donovan stood and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. He walked to the windows and looked down on the sidewalk in front of River House. "Here's what I think. I think we have Moscow Station contact him somehow."
"How would we do that?" Lightner asked.
Donovan shook his head. "Not sure. Ideas? Anyone?"
"Do we know he hasn't signaled he's in trouble?" said Bolling, one of Nikolai's handlers. "I've been reading and re-reading every document and call memos and pouch contents from Moscow. What about illegals?"
"No one's seen anything," Donovan said. "At least not that I've been told."
Cummings finally spoke up. "I've sent an urgent cable to MI6 Moscow and instructed them to be on the highest lookout for the activation of Operation TINKER. But I'm very doubtful. I can instruct them all I want, but if there is nothing from Nikolai, the highest alerts in the world are meaningless.”