Blatant cunning registered on the Russian’s face. ‘Tell me why I should.’
‘Germany doesn’t have capital punishment. Russia does,’ said Charlie, simply. ‘Murder, which you’re guilty of by having given the orders, is a capital crime. So is nuclear theft. The crimes you committed in Russia take precedence over that of smuggling nuclear components into Germany. So you could be transferred back to Moscow to face trial on the greater charges. In Russia, you die. In Germany, you get a custodial sentence. Which, on past history, won’t be very long.’
‘Germany wants the glory of a trial! They wouldn’t miss it by sending me back!’
‘You sure about that?’
Mitrov wasn’t and it showed: the nerve was tugging at his mouth. ‘What guarantees would there be?’
‘Cooperate and the trial, and the sentencing, will be here in Germany,’ promised the German.
‘Let’s see how we go,’ accepted Mitrov, doubtfully.
‘Tell me about the Shelapin involvement,’ Charlie demanded.
‘They’re a Chechen group,’ dismissed Mitrov.
Charlie recognized the first crack in the dam. ‘We know that. Were they part of the Pizhma distribution?’ It wasn’t a naive question.
‘Of course they weren’t! I told you, they’re Chechen!’
‘So how did some of the Pizhma containers end up with Vasili Shelapin? And more with another member of the Family.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘But you knew six containers had to be left in the original trucks, after you unloaded?’ pressed Schumann.
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Yes you do,’ challenged Charlie.
‘I was just told they had to be left.’
‘By whom?’
‘At a planning meeting.’
‘By whom?’ repeated Charlie, refusing the avoidance.
‘Silin.’ The man mumbled the name, as if he hoped they wouldn’t hear it.
‘To be taken into Moscow?’
‘Yes,’ said the Russian, unthinking.
‘So you knew the trucks were going on into Moscow!’
Mitrov hesitated, realizing the mistake. ‘Yes.’
‘Why? Why weren’t they abandoned at Uren?’
‘Silin said they were needed in Moscow.’
‘Why?’
‘He didn’t tell me. Just that he wanted them there.’
‘You’re lying,’ accused Schumann.
‘Confusion,’ blurted Mitrov.
‘Decoy, you mean?’
‘I suppose.’
‘Was it your decision to break open the containers: risk a township?’ demanded Schumann.
‘No!’
‘Silin again?’ probed Charlie.
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘Confusion,’ the man repeated. ‘Delay.’
‘ Akrashena?’ said Charlie.
‘Silin.’
‘So he knew about the Kirs attempt?’
‘Yes.’
‘When did the planning for Pizhma start?’
‘I don’t remember.’
‘When?’
‘Towards the end of the month.’
It wasn’t the answer Charlie expected. ‘Date?’
‘I can’t remember.’
‘The day?’
‘I’m not sure. Tuesday I think.’
‘The thirtieth?’
‘Earlier.’
‘The twenty-third?’
‘That sounds better.’
That was before the first Interior Ministry meeting to plan against the Kirs robbery, calculated Charlie. ‘That was when Silin told you akrashena was the task force code name?’
Mitrov shook his head. ‘Later. More than a week later.’
That fitted better. ‘Did Silin tell you, personally? Or was it part of a discussion involving several people.’
‘Several people.’
‘All Family?’
The wary pause was too obvious. ‘Yes.’
‘That’s a lie.’
‘It was all Family when I was involved.’
‘Explain that,’ demanded Schumann.
‘There’d been another meeting, before. Just Silin.’
‘Who with?’
‘The people he knows.’
There was a sharp spurt of pain in Charlie’s feet at the first-time thought that Kirs had been even more of a decoy that he’d imagined, up until now. ‘Who are these people?’
Mitrov grimaced. ‘Who do you think?’
‘I don’t want to think. I want you to tell me.’
‘Militia.’
‘Who?’
‘I don’t know. No one knows. Only Silin. That’s how it works. Just him and them.’
‘ Them!’ seized Charlie. ‘One person? Or several?’
‘Several. I don’t know how many. All Militia are crooked.’
‘The Dolgoprudnaya are established here, in Berlin?’
There was another wary hesitation. ‘Yes.’
Although he knew the answer, Charlie said, ‘Where else, in Russia?’
‘St Petersburg.’
‘So where are these special Militia people? In Moscow? Or outside?’
‘Moscow, definitely.’
‘Why definitely?’
‘The meetings are so easy. Any uncertainties can be resolved at once, which they couldn’t be if the dealings were with people outside Moscow.’
‘What rank?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Names?’ came in Schumann.
There was a snort of derision from the Russian. ‘There are never names.’
‘You’re a corps commander?’
Mitrov paused. ‘Yes.’
‘Who was the other corps commander, at Pizhrna?’
‘Malin.’
‘Full name,’ demanded Schumann.
‘PetrGavrilovich.’
‘He’s got ten men with him?’ established Charlie, calculating from the satellite photographs.
‘I suppose so.’
‘And ten canisters?’
‘Yes.’
‘Where are they? What route are they taking?’
The man shook his head. ‘You’re too late.’
‘Why are we too late?’ asked the German.
‘They went full south, through the Ukraine.’
‘ Full south?’ questioned Charlie, curious at the phrase.
‘The Black Sea,’ said Mitrov.
‘For simple, quick land access to anywhere in the Middle East after a short voyage,’ accepted Schumann, more to himself than to the other two. ‘When?’
‘Five days ago. Out of Odessa.’
There was no way of knowing whether each canister was full, calculated Charlie, sickened. If they were, as much as a hundred kilos had been lost: twenty bombs, eighty thousand dead. ‘Who were your buyers to be?’
‘I don’t know. I wasn’t part of that. It was arranged here, in Berlin. By our people here.’
‘In Marzahn?’
‘KulmseeStrasse. Number 15,’ smiled Mitrov. ‘You’ll be wasting your time. They’ll have cleared out days ago. They were due at Cottbus the day we were picked up: you missed them by being four or five hours too early!’
‘Who do you think the buyers were?’ pressed Schumann.
Mitrov shrugged. ‘Middle East. Who else?’
‘How did the Pizhma planning come about?’ demanded Charlie.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘What happened first? Did Silin suddenly announce you were going to rob a nuclear train? Or did he say there was going to be a robbery at a nuclear plant that he’d decided to take advantage of?’
Mitrov thought for several moments. ‘He said we were going to rob a train. Then he talked of the Kirs robbery.’
‘He specifically mentioned Kirs!’ pounced Charlie.
‘Yes.’
‘And talked about both robberies at the same meeting?’
Mitrov shook his head. ‘Different times. Pizhma, at first. Then Kirs later.’
All this time! thought Charlie, anguished. All this time they’d not just been going around in circles but revolving in the opposite direction from that in which they should have been going even to half-understand what was happening. How much did he have to change his privately formulated opinion of how it had all been organized? Not much. He was sure now he was looking in the right direction.
Satisfied with what he’d learned, Charlie let Schumann conclude that day’s session and shared the ritual celebration drink with the German before relaying the day’s events to Rupert Dean through the quasi-embassy facilities being set up in preparation for the full diplomatic transfer from Bonn. The Director-General asked hopefully if there could be any doubt about the ten containers getting to some unknown destination and Charlie said he didn’t think so and agreed with Dean they had the sort of disaster they’d feared. London was providing Moscow with a daily transcript to support their sting operation approach as well as advising Washington, but Charlie kept in daily personal touch with Kestler.