His argument and the way he presented it were disarming, especially since Trask knew what he was talking about. Perhaps Trask knew even more than Tzonov thought. For instance, he knew or suspected that the - intruder? - from the other side was a man. And now there might be a way to confirm his suspicions.
'Is that what you think?' he said. That your visitor is a spy for the Wamphyri? Their advance guard, as it were? Someone working for Harry Keogh, perhaps?'
If his words caught the other off guard there was little outward sign of it: a single blink, and the almost imperceptible narrowing of cool grey eyes. Then Tzonov's answer. The reputation of your Branch is
well-deserved, Ben. That is precisely what I think. It's at least a possibility. Between us we control talents with which to combat any such incursion; but until we know what the threat is, or that it definitely exists ...' He let his words taper off.
'You haven't been able to fathom him, then?' Trask took it that Guy Teale had been correct: what had come through the Perchorsk Gate was a man.
'As yet we're not wholly in a position to fathom him, no,1 Tzonov said. 'Rather, he is not in a position to be fathomed.'
'Can you explain that?'
'We're holding him within the Gate,' Tzonov obliged. 'At our end, just beyond the Perchorsk threshold. What? But do you think we've learned nothing from the lessons of the past? That we would simply let such a creature in without first considering our actions? A thing -possibly a man, which at least has the looks and present shape of a man - from the parallel dimension of the Wamphyri?'
'Holding him?' Trask couldn't help but frown. Since that time all those years ago when Harry Keogh had gone through the Gate, E-Branch had lost much of its interest in Perchorsk. It had been taken for granted that the Russians were adequately equipped to close the place down. Or if not that, certainly to deal with whatever might come through.
'Ah!' said Tzonov, nodding. And for the first time during their conversation he seemed surprised, and pleased. 'You don't know of the - precautions - which we've taken at Perchorsk.'
'We've always assumed you sealed the place up,' Trask told him. 'Permanently. Any responsible authority would have seen to it at once.'
That had been tried before,' Tzonov answered with agrim smile, 'before my time. But do you know, I'm told that it was far better to be in Perchorsk and living in fear, than out of that place and not knowing what was going on! And I believe it, for since then we've had the experience of an entirely separate but analogous comparison. I refer to Chernobyl, of course. You may recall that the Sarcophagus was a sealed unit, too - until they opened it up again ... and again! But the place is still alive and dangerous, and will continue to be for a long time to come. Which is why they must now open it yet again, a third time, in order to be certain they know what's happening. Well, Perchorsk was the same: we had to know what was happening.' He paused, and in a moment continued, 'We've taken precautions, of course. Such as these safeguards are, they have allowed us to contain this most recent visitor at our end of the Gate. So that we now have a choice: we can study him, if it's at all possible, or simply destroy him out of hand. I would prefer to study him.'
'And you want to let us in on it?' Trask kept his face expressionless. That would seem very big of you, if I didn't already know that you can't handle it on your own.' It was so, he knew; also that everything Tzonov had told him was the absolute truth. The needle on Trask's mental lie-detector hadn't so much as wavered. 'But what you haven't yet told me is the sort of help you expect from us. How about it, Turkur? What is it we've got that you need?'
'Several things,' the other accepted his reading, made no pointless attempt to deny the accuracy of Trask's deductions. 'Your Branch has a wealth of experience in such matters, for one thing. Not to mention a persity of ESP talents. You yourself would be invaluable, Ben. Your ability to look at what we've got here and know the truth of it: whether our visitor is merely a man and harmless, or much more than a man and a monstrous threat. As I am sure you're aware, your talent is unique and we have nothing like you. Then there are your prognosticators - your "hunchmen" - Teale and Goodly. We too have a man who reads the future, our own precog, of course. Alas his talent is ...' Tzonov shrugged, '... middling at best. And I'm sure you're aware of that, too. But your men are the best! At the first sign of danger, they'd recognize it immediately. Indeed, it is their nature to know well in advance.'
It was Trask's thought to ask: What is it about this man or thing that interests you? Why don't you just destroy it out of hand? What do you hope to gain from studying it? But if he asked those questions and Tzonov chose to lie or obfuscate ... their new found rapport could be broken, and Trask knew now that he needed the cooperation of the Russian telepath as much as he himself was needed. Of course he did, for if David Chung was correct and the visitor was in some way revenant of Harry Keogh ...