Armstrong took a second mouthful of caviar He liked it.
‘I think you would find that membership of our team would not be too demanding, and I am sure that we could, from time to time, help each other advance in what the British still insist on calling “the great game”.’
Armstrong scooped up the last mouthful of caviar, and hoped he would be offered more.
‘Why don’t you think it over, Lubji?’ Tulpanov said as he leaned across the table, retrieved the will and placed it back in the envelope.
Armstrong said nothing as he stared down at his empty plate.
‘In the meantime,’ said the KGB major, ‘let me give you a little piece of information to take back to your friends in the security service.’ He removed a sheet of paper from his inside pocket and pushed it across the table. Armstrong read it, and was pleased to find he could still think in Russian.
‘To be fair, Lubji, you should know that your people are already in possession of this document, but they will still be pleased to have its contents confirmed. You see, the one thing all secret service operatives have in common is a love of paperwork. It’s how they are able to prove that their job is necessary.’
‘How did I get my hands on this?’ asked Armstrong, holding up the sheet of paper.
‘I fear I have a temporary secretary today, who will keep leaving her desk unattended.’
Dick smiled as he folded up the sheet of paper and slipped it into his inside pocket.
‘By the way, Lubji, those fellows back in your security service are not quite as dumb as you may think. Take my advice: be wary of them. If you decide to join the game, you will in the end have to be disloyal to one side or the other, and if they ever find out you are double-crossing them, they will dispose of you without the slightest remorse.’
Armstrong could now hear his heart thumping away.
‘As I have already explained,’ continued the major, ‘there’s no need for you to make an immediate decision.’ He tapped the brown envelope. ‘I can easily wait for a few more days before I inform Mr. Schultz of his good fortune.’
‘I’ve some good news for you, Dick,’ said Colonel Oakshott when Armstrong reported to HQ the following morning. ‘Your demob papers have been processed at last, and I can see no reason why you shouldn’t be back in England within a month.’
The colonel was surprised that Armstrong’s reaction was so muted, but he assumed he must have other things on his mind. ‘Not that Forsdyke will be pleased to learn you’re leaving us so soon after your triumph with Major Tulpanov.’
‘Perhaps I shouldn’t rush back quite so quickly,’ said Armstrong, ‘now that I have a chance to build up a relationship with the KGB.’
‘That’s damned patriotic of you, old chap,’ said the colonel. ‘Shall we just leave it that I won’t hurry the process along until you tip me the wink?’ Armstrong’s English was as fluent as that of most officers in the British Army, but Oakshott was still able to add the occasional new expression to his vocabulary.
Charlotte continued to press him on when they might hope to leave Berlin, and that evening she explained why it was suddenly so important. When he heard the news, Dick realized that he could not prevaricate much longer. He didn’t go out that night, but sat in the kitchen with Charlotte, telling her all about his plans once they had set up home in England.
The next morning he found an excuse to visit the Russian sector, and following a long briefing from Forsdyke, he arrived outside Tulpanov’s office a few minutes before lunch.
‘How are you, Lubji?’ asked the KGB man as he rose from behind his desk. Armstrong nodded curtly. ‘And more importantly, my friend, have you come to a decision as to which side you are going to open the batting for?’
Armstrong looked puzzled.
‘To appreciate the English,’ said Tulpanov, ‘you must first understand the game of cricket, which cannot commence until after the toss of a coin. Can you imagine anything more stupid than giving the other side a chance? But have you tossed the coin yet, Lubji, I keep asking myself. And if so, have you decided whether to bat or bowl?’
‘I want to meet Mrs. Lauber before I make a final decision,’ said Dick.
The major walked around the room, his lips pursed, as if he were giving serious thought to Armstrong’s request.
‘There is an old English saying, Lubji. Where there’s a will...’
Armstrong looked puzzled.
‘Another thing you must understand about the English is that their puns are dreadful. But for all their sense of what they call fair play, they are deadly when it comes to defending their position. Now, if you wish to visit Mrs. Lauber, it will be necessary for us to make a journey to Dresden.’
‘Dresden?’
‘Yes. Mrs. Lauber is safely ensconced deep in the Russian zone. That can only be to your advantage. But I don’t think we should visit her for a few days.’
‘Why not?’ asked Armstrong.
‘You still have so much to learn about the British, Lubji. You must not imagine that conquering their language is the same as knowing how their minds work. The English love routine. You return tomorrow and they will become suspicious. You return some time next week and they won’t give it a second thought.’
‘So what do I tell them when I report back?’
‘You say I was cagey, and that you’re “still testing the water”.’ Tulpanov smiled again. ‘But you can tell them that I asked you about a man called Arbuthnot, Piers Arbuthnot, and whether it’s true that he’s about to take up a post in Berlin. You told me that you’d never heard of him, but that you would try to find out.’
Armstrong returned to the British sector later that afternoon and reported most of the conversation to Forsdyke. He expected to be told who Arbuthnot was and when he would be arriving in Berlin, but all Forsdyke said was, ‘He’s just trying you out for size. He knows exactly who Arbuthnot is and when he’s taking up his post. How soon can you find a convincing excuse to visit the Russian sector again?’
‘Next Wednesday or Thursday I’ve got my usual monthly meeting with the Russians on paper supplies.’
‘Right, if you just happen to drop in and see Tulpanov, tell him you couldn’t get a word out of me on Arbuthnot.’
‘But won’t that make him suspicious?’
‘No, he would be more suspicious if you were able to tell him anything about that particular man.’
Over breakfast the following morning, Charlotte and Dick had another row about when he expected to return to Britain.
‘How many new excuses can you come up with to keep putting it off?’ she asked.
Dick made no attempt to answer. Without giving her a second look he picked up his swagger stick and peaked hat, and stormed out of the apartment.
Private Benson drove him straight to the office, and once he was at his desk he immediately buzzed Sally. She came through with a pile of mail for signing and greeted him with a smile. When she left an hour later, she looked drained. She warned everyone to keep out of the captain’s way for the rest of the day because he was in a foul mood. His mood hadn’t improved by Wednesday, and on Thursday the whole team was relieved to learn that he would be spending most of the day out of the office.
Benson drove him into the Russian sector a few minutes before ten. Armstrong stepped out of the jeep, carrying his Gladstone bag, and told his driver to return to the British sector. He walked through the great archway off Leninplatz that led to Tulpanov’s office, and was surprised to find the major’s secretary waiting for him in the outer courtyard.
Without a word she guided him across the cobbled yard to a large black Mercedes. She held open the door and he slid onto the back seat beside Tulpanov. The engine was already running, and without waiting for instructions the driver drove out into the square and began following the signs for the autobahn.