“I shall not—”
“Oh, yes, you will.” Shaw reached down with the sub-machine-gun and prodded the man in the belly with the chromium barrel. “And you’ll hurry, too! Time’s getting short.”
The Russian glared back at him in silence, then dragged himself to his feet and went along the passage to the telephone. Shaw, following close behind, jabbed the weapon into his spine while he spoke to someone above. As the Russian put down the phone Shaw snapped, “Well? What did they say?”
The man hesitated, then said gruffly, “They said nothing, they merely acknowledged.”
“They’ve accepted the message?” Shaw stared into the man’s eyes.
“Yes.”
Shaw nodded. “Good. Now, I want a few words of explanation as to what’s happening here at the dam, if you please.”
“I do not please.” The eyes were glittering, the Lips drawn back. “It is not my concern, anyway — all that.”
Shaw rapped, “All what?”
The Russian’s face took on a look of obstinacy; Shaw said in a tight, hard voice, “Now look. I told you I was an agent of the Committee of State Security, right? I know you don’t believe me and I agree it appears unlikely on the face of it, but it happens to be the truth.” He paused. “At the present moment I’m the personal agent of Comrade Colonel Andreyev — of the Moscow KGB headquarters. I don’t know if that makes you think or not, but I’ve a feeling it damn well ought to, Grazhdanin! I doubt if I really need to tell you that Siberia or the death cell is waiting for the enemies of the Soviet Union — or do I?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “I am no enemy of the State, Englishman! You, by your very nationality, must be so yourself.”
“Must I?” Shaw shook his head. “I wouldn’t bank on it. What about the other Englishman?” That went home. The man looked up sharply, his expression cautious. “There is no other Englishman.”
Shaw glanced at Virginia, then back at the Russian again. “I don’t believe you. I happen to know for certain that a particular Englishman, one indeed of several in the Press party, has come to the dam. He came ahead of the others, and ahead of General Kosyenko. I have reason to believe that he intends to take control for his own purposes. And I’ll tell you something else. KGB headquarters in Moscow have full knowledge of a plot to assassinate Comrade General Kosyenko, and of a plot to sabotage the uranium workings and the atomic industry of the Chalok valley. This plot must and will be smashed… and Soviet citizens who have taken pay from, let us say, the Chinese People’s Republic will all be executed. Of this, I can assure you, Grazhdanin.”
“I have taken no pay from the Chinese, or from anyone else. I know nothing of this.”
“That’s something you’re going to have to prove, isn’t it — and to Colonel Andreyev, not to me. The colonel will be here shortly, with a strong turn-out of MVD troopers. In the meantime, of course, if you decide to assist the State, I feel quite sure the State, in its turn, will act leniently towards you. It isn’t too late — not quite yet.”
“I have nothing whatever to say,” the man replied harshly. “I have done nothing — nothing — against the interests of Russia or of Communism.”
“Very well, it’s your funeral. I’ve no more time to waste on you, friend. At the same time I’m not leaving you down here on the loose — and I don’t want you with me where I’m going either so you’ll have to accept my apologies for what I’m going to do.”
Shaw took a half-pace backward, then slammed his fist hard into the Russian’s face, cracking the back of his skull against the wall. The man remained standing, an expression of stupidity crossing his face, and once again Shaw crashed a fist into him. Slowly, heavily, the man slid down the wall to the concrete floor and lay in a heap, blood trickling from his mouth and nose.
Shaw murmured, “That’s better than killing you, I suppose, though somehow I don’t really believe Andreyev’s going to be very matey with you when all this is over.” He gestured Virginia into the lift, following her in himself. He pressed a button and the gates closed. The lift went upward fast, up and up… after a full minute, it slowed suddenly and then stopped with a stomach-sinking jerk. The gates opened without any further action on Shaw’s part and he and Virginia, both with their guns ready, stepped into a square lobby built of bare concrete like the lower passage.
Shaw looked around.
There was a door let into the wall opposite the lift and to the right of it. On a panel by this door were batteries of colored lights, some of them glowing red. As Shaw watched, two purple fights came on. There was a notice on the door itself, reading in Russian:
MAIN CONTROL-ROOM
STRICTLY NO ADMITTANCE
EXCEPT ON DUTY
Shaw nodded towards this. “Journey’s end,” he said quietly. “This is it, Virginia.” He frowned. “You know — what worries me is the fact that there aren’t any troops around, except that chap we left in the spillway. Even in the West, a place like this would be patrolled by troops or police — given the same set of circumstances!”
“You mean it looks as if Treece has got control?”
Shaw nodded. “Complete control! He must have managed to deal with the guards… which in turn means he’s got all the assistance he needs, right on the spot.”
Virginia shivered involuntarily. There was a curious look in her eyes now and her face was pale and scared in that brilliant electric light. Gesturing towards the control-room she asked, “You’re going in?”
He said, “Too right, I am! Keep close behind me, Virginia. I don’t want you to get bent, you know!”
He saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes as she said softly, “That’s just exactly how I feel too — about you, Steve darling…”
He bent, and skimmed his lips very briefly over the top of her head. For a moment the hard glint in his eyes softened. “This is neither the time nor the place,” he said lightly, “for a love scene! There’s going to be plenty of opportunity for that later. Now — ready?”
She nodded, not speaking.
Very quietly, they approached the control-room. They could hear the low note, the humming of electric motors and dynamos coming faintly from beyond the door.
Thirty-two
Shaw jerked the door open and sent it swinging inward with a jab of his foot. He went in with the Kalashnikova weaving from side to side and ready to spray lead. There were four men in the control-room. One, a nondescript little sandy man, looked as if he might be the engineer on duty, two were uniformed men of the MVD — and the fourth was Brigadier Treece.
They all swiveled towards the door.
Treece, his face livid, called out something, and at once one of the MVD men fired from the hip and bullets stuttered past Shaw and the girl as they flung themselves aside. As Shaw moved, he fired back himself. The trooper gave a sharp cry and clutched at a shattered wrist.
Shaw snapped, “Right, this is it! I don’t understand all that’s going on, but if there’s any trouble… well, just remember my aim isn’t bad, that’s all. Now — Brigadier Treece. I rather think some explanations are called for, don’t you? If that trooper fired as a result of what you said to him, then I wouldn’t call it a very friendly action — right?”