“What was the name of your farm?”
Hunter did not know of one. He shrugged. “We just called it ‘the farm.’ “
Agent Konev frowned deeply. “You don’t know the name of the place were you worked?”
“We never paid much attention.”
“I say you are a German spy.”
Hunter remained silent. That was probably what Wayne Nystrom had told them. Based on what Judy had told him about the NKVD, he now expected much worse treatment-maybe physical torture and an attempt to imprison him in a labor camp.
“What is your mission here?” Agent Raskov spoke this time. “Who is your contact?”
Hunter considered his options. Of course, he could withstand substantially greater torture than a human, but he could not afford to have his captors find that out. In any case, the Third Law required that he not allow harm to come to himself.
“Speak, Hunter!” Agent Konev shouted. “Your silence proves your guilt! Now answer us!”
Since Hunter had given Steve the belt unit to trigger the sphere back in Room F-12, Hunter could only escape by means of his own personal resources. That would endanger the welfare of his whole team. He still did not want to take that step.
Suddenly Agent Konev shot up out of his chair and punched Hunter across the table, striking him in the face. Hunter’s reflexes gave him plenty of time to see it coming, and he rocked back slightly with the blow. He carefully sustained much of the punch and allowed himself to fall from his chair to the floor, to give the man some satisfaction.
As Hunter slowly got to his feet, both agents moved around the end of the table. Agent Raskov grabbed Hunter under his arms and hoisted him up. At the same time, Agent Konev slammed his fist into Hunter’s abdomen. As before, Hunter reacted the way he judged a human would, doubling forward and then falling to his knees, pulling free of Agent Raskov’s grasp.
“Let him think about it,” said Agent Raskov.
“He needs more convincing, comrade-and this is only the beginning!” Agent Konev struck Hunter in the head with his knee, almost casually.
Hunter obligingly fell over on the floor. He could see only their lower legs and feet now.
“It’s been a long night,” said Agent Raskov. “At least, let’s discuss it outside. Come.”
“All right.” Agent Konev kicked Hunter with one foot as a parting shot and switched off the light.
Hunter remained motionless until they had left. The door closed behind them firmly and the lock snapped into place. Then Hunter stood up.
The room was completely dark except for the strip of indirect light entering under the door from the hall. The only possible exit for Hunter was the door. Unless he chose to use it, he could do nothing but wait.
16
The next morning, Steve sat with Judy and Jane in their corner of the warehouse with their bowls of hot gruel.
“What are we going to do?” Jane asked. “Are we joining the work brigade today, or what?”
“It’s the best way to blend in,” said Steve. “If we leave, we might not be welcome back. Judy, what do you think?”
“What’s the point of joining the work brigade? Just to wait till Hunter comes back?”
“Yeah, exactly.” Steve paused to eat. “If we start running around Moscow on our own, it’ll be even harder for him to find us.”
“You could…you know.” Jane tapped her lapel pin. “If we call him after we leave here, it won’t endanger these people again.”
.”But we’ll be stuck with nowhere to go tonight,” said Steve. “I think our best bet now is to stay with the work brigade and wait for Hunter to come back.”
“I’m afraid we’ll wait forever,” said Judy. “What if something permanent happens to him? We’ll just be sitting around.”
“Let’s give him another day, at least,” said Steve. “That’s not very long.”
“I agree,” said Jane. “If he has to sneak away instead of break out, a day isn’t too long to wait.”
“So I’m outvoted,” said Judy, with a sigh. “All right. I guess it won’t hurt a historian to go out with a work brigade and dig ditches for a day. Maybe I’ll learn something useful out there.”
Ishihara lay motionless on the hard, cold floor, conserving his energy. Wayne slept soundly, using his cloak for padding. In the morning, the sounds of other people rising and talking awakened Wayne. Stretching, he looked around and then sat up.
“Are you well?” Ishihara asked quietly. He sat up, also.
“Uh, yeah. It was kind of a short night, though. How long was I asleep?”
“Six hours and four minutes. Well short of the eight hours recommended for ideal human rest.”
“It’ll do.”
“I see some people in the front are preparing large vats of hot cereal. We shall be fed.”
“Good. I’m hungry.” Wayne looked around. “What kind of a place is this?”
Ishihara glanced about the room. “If you look carefully, you can see disconnected cables and holes in the floor where machinery was once bolted down.”
“Yeah, I see. What does that mean?”
“I believe this was previously a factory. Now all the industrial machinery has been hauled away.”
“Why? Something to do with the war?”
“Yes. I think they carried it away from the advancing Germans.”
“In case Moscow is captured?”
“Yes, and also to avoid having it bombed.”
Ishihara looked around at the crowd, which consisted mostly of women and children. A small number of elderly men were scattered through it. Some people were getting in line for the rest rooms and for breakfast.
“What do they all do in the daytime?” Wayne asked. “Do they have jobs to go to?”
“I have been listening to people talk. This is a work brigade. After breakfast, trucks will take everyone outside Moscow to dig ditches.”
“We don’t want to waste any time doing that.”
“No. However, before we leave, I suggest you eat. We may have trouble finding other food today.”
“Yeah.”
Ishihara waited where he was as Wayne got in line for the rest room. By the time he had joined the line for breakfast, most people already had their food. He brought his back to Ishihara and started eating.
“I have continued to monitor the NKVD radio traffic,” said Ishihara.
“I guess the car must have been reported stolen by now,” said Wayne.
“No, not yet,” said Ishihara. “Not yet?”
“We still have some time in which we can use the car,” said Ishihara. “At least as long as it still has fuel. We should use it while we can.”
“We’ll use it in more than one way,” said Wayne. “It will lend us an air of authority, won’t it? Maybe we can get some information from the guys up at the front table.”
“I think I understand what you mean,” said Ishihara. “More play-acting?”