‘I’ll call Zurich and get them to send through a helicopter as quickly as possible.’
Graham sat on the nearest bench and watched Kolchinsky cross to the row of public telephones against the far wall. A prostitute entered the station from the street and approached Graham. She was a teenager with an attractive face marred by an excessive amount of make-up and a slender figure accentuated by the tight-fitting black leather jacket and mini-skirt. She rested one of her feet on the bench.
‘Buon giorno, come si chiama?’ she purred seductively and traced her finger over his lips.
He batted her hand aside and glared up at her. ‘I’m not interested. Take a walk.’
Although she understood no English the tone of his voice was enough to warn her off. She walked back towards the entrance leading out into the street.
‘Who was that? A prostitute?’ Kolchinsky asked when he returned.
‘Yeah, a baby-pro,’ Graham said dismissively.
‘A baby-pro?’ Kolchinsky asked, frowning.
‘Jailbait. A hooker who’s still under the legal age of consent.’ Graham gestured towards the telephones. ‘Did you get through to Zurich?’
Kolchinsky lit a cigarette then nodded. ‘We’ve had a stroke of luck. One of our helicopters is in Milan. It should be here within the hour.’
‘Where do we meet it?’
‘We don’t. Zurich said they’ll have a hired car waiting at the landing place so the pilot can come through and pick us up.’
Graham glanced at the prostitute standing in the entrance. ‘When I see a tramp like that I guess I should appreciate Sabrina a little more.’
‘I think you do already, only you won’t admit it. Take tonight for instance, on the train.’
‘I covered her up because the last thing we need at this stage of the assignment is her going down with pneumonia. You’re making a lot out of nothing, Sergei.’
‘Am I?’ Kolchinsky replied. ‘She thinks a lot of you, you know.’
Graham stared at his feet. ‘We’re so different. She’s the epitome of the little Yuppie girl. A slave of fashion, living in the affluent part of the city, eating out at all the chic restaurants, driving a Mercedes Sports bought for her by Daddy. That’s another thing, her father’s done everything for her. He bought her a flat, bought her a sports car, influenced the Secretary-General–’
‘No!’ Kolchinsky interceded sharply. ‘She’s here on merit and you know it. You’ve seen her shooting, she’s in a class of her own. I’ll tell you this, you were the envy of every Strike Force member when you were brought in to replace Jacques. They’d have done anything to be in her team.’
Graham got to his feet. ‘There’s a pinball machine over in the corner. It’ll help pass the time.’
He was still playing the machine when the helicopter pilot arrived forty minutes later.
Kolchinsky took him across to meet Graham.
‘Are you ready, Tommy?’
‘I’m impressed,’ Graham said without taking his eyes off the machine. ‘I didn’t know they showed films like that in Russia.’
‘I saw it at the Odeon in Leicester Square. I hated it.’
‘I’m not surprised, it’s hardly a film for geriatrics.’
‘Thank you very much. Actually I went with one of the secretaries from the Russian Embassy. She wanted to see it.’
‘Enough said,’ Graham replied and clocked up his seventh free game. ‘Okay, I’m ready.’
They left the station and climbed into the hired Peugeot 305. It was a short journey to the makeshift airfield, a flat strip of snow-covered grassland on the outskirts of the town. Graham grabbed his two holdalls and made his way towards the Lynx helicopter. Kolchinsky spoke to the pilot through the open driver’s window then walked across to where Graham was waiting.
‘Ready?’
‘Ready, but why isn’t the pilot warming up the helicopter?’
‘Because he’s not flying it. I am.’
‘You are?’ Graham said with surprise. ‘Since when do you fly helicopters?’
‘Since I got my licence twenty years ago.’ Graham exhaled deeply then moved over to the helicopter and climbed in beside Kolchinsky. ‘You’re quite safe, I assure you.’
‘I don’t doubt it,’ Graham said, strapping himself into the seat. ‘I just never knew you could fly these contraptions. I suppose the KGB trained you?’
‘On the contrary. I learnt to fly while I was serving as a military attaché in Stockholm. It was something to alleviate the boredom.’
The pilot, who had been directing the Peugeot’s headlights at the helicopter, returned Kolchinsky’s wave, then swung the car round and headed back towards the highway.
‘How long before we catch up with the train?’ Graham asked once they were airborne.
‘You’re sitting on the map.’
Graham tugged the map free and opened it out on his knees. He traced his finger along the dotted black line representing the railway track. ‘If my memory serves me correctly it was due out of Modena at 4.45. It’s now–’ he pushed back his cuff to reveal his gold plated Piaget watch ‘–5.17. How long was it due to stay in Modena?’
‘Fifteen minutes.’
‘Then it should be somewhere around Castelfranco Emilia right now, about twenty-five miles away.’
‘We’re slightly ahead of the schedule Zurich radioed through to the pilot. That means we should catch up with the train before it reaches Anzola d’Emilia. Are you with me?’
‘You knew all along, why didn’t you just say when I asked you?’
‘Just testing,’ Kolchinsky replied with a smile.
Graham folded the map and slipped it behind the seat. He unclipped his watch and turned it around in his hands. ‘Carrie gave me this for my thirty-fifth birthday. We went to the theatre that night. She’d booked the tickets five months in advance. She even got me to wear a tux.’
‘You in a tuxedo? I can’t imagine it.’
‘Neither could I, but she was determined to make a night of it. We took in the show on Broadway then went on to Christ Cella’s where I had the best T-bone steak I’ve ever tasted, and we ended up drinking Irish coffees at Fat Tuesday’s until three in the morning. What’s more she paid for everything. God only knows what it must have cost her but she refused to let me touch my wallet. She kept insisting it was my night. It was the last time we ever went out together. I was sent to Libya ten days later.’
‘Vasilisa loved the theatre. We’d go at least once a month but I haven’t been now for over seven years, not since she died. It wouldn’t be the same without her.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Graham said, then snapped the watch around his wrist.
Kolchinsky checked the Air-Speed Indicator then glanced at his watch. ‘We should be over the train in a couple of minutes.’
Graham zipped his parka up to his neck and pulled on a pair of gloves.
‘Don’t forget the balaclava,’ Kolchinsky reminded him.
‘I don’t intend to, it’s in my holdall.’
‘Michael, you don’t–’
‘I know, it’s dangerous as hell but we agreed last night that it’s essential to the success of the operation. Don’t worry, I’m your man. The boss has always called me a daredevil, now it’s time to live up to the image.’
‘You’ve always lived up to it.’
‘You look more nervous than me. Christ, all you have to do is hold this baby steady. I’m the one who has to rappel in the pitch dark on to the roof of a moving train.’
Kolchinsky handed him a miniature headset consisting of an earphone and microphone connected by a thin strip of durable wire. Graham slipped it on then clambered into the cabin where he pulled the balaclava over his head.