Cherkshan broke the phone connection and leaned back in his chair. He was startled to find Katrina standing in his doorway with her arms folded.
Her voice, when she spoke, was cold and brittle. “What killed our daughter?”
“Radiation poisoning.”
“You and I both know she has not been around radiation.”
Cherkshan nodded.
“Someone killed our daughter, Anton.” Katrina stared at him. “In all the time that we have been married, I have never asked you about the things you have done. But I will speak of them now. You have killed men, my husband. To save your life and for your country. I know this is true.”
“Yes.”
“Promise me this: promise me that the people responsible for our daughter’s death will die.”
Cherkshan took in a breath and let it out. Katrina did not know how much she was asking. But it did not matter. She had asked. He nodded. “It will be done.”
***
Dressed in old clothes, Cherkshan stood inside a bodega four kilometers from his home. He had slipped out of his house using a subterranean tunnel he had built into his neighbor’s yard. There was a good chance that the FSB didn’t know about the tunnel, and he was very careful about his departure. The heavy snow made it easier to disappear.
Along the walk to the bodega, he had checked behind him several times. No one had followed him. When he had reached the bodega, he had used the payphone to make one call.
The man at the other end had picked up and said hello.
The general had named another place, but the man at the other end of the connection had known he had meant to meet at the bodega and to be careful about coming.
Forty-two minutes later, Dmitry Dolgov entered the bodega. He looked older than Cherkshan remembered, but he still had the roving eyes with steel in his gaze. He gave no indication that he recognized Cherkshan as he walked to the counter and purchased a paper and a hot tea.
The paper meant that he had not been followed. If he had purchased gum or candy, he had a tail.
After his transaction had been completed, Dmitry left the bodega. A few minutes after that, Cherkshan left as well. He stepped out into the cold and walked a block to the east. Dmitry waited in the shadows at the corner.
“My condolences on your loss, General.”
“Thank you, Dmitry, but you do not have to rely on titles here. You and I, we are old friends.”
“True.” Dmitry sipped his tea as they walked and watched for tails.
“My daughter was murdered.”
Dmitry said nothing.
“It was done by a sociopathic dog who works for the FSB. One of my own.” Cherkshan passed over a photograph of Colonel Sergay Linko. “He poisoned my daughter with radiation.”
“I am truly sorry, Anton. That is a bad way to go.”
“There are no good ways.”
“No, but there are some that are worse than others.” Dmitry put the photograph inside his coat. “I know this man. He has a reputation even among the SVR.”
“He is in Greece. Following Professor Lourds on a treasure hunt that the president believes in.”
“You do not?”
“I do not care. I want Linko dead. I am asking you to do this thing for me because too many people are watching me and because you have a history with Lourds.”
“After everything he has been through, Lourds may not trust me.”
“Then do not let him see you.”
“What about Lourds?”
“He is not my enemy.”
“And the treasure?”
“I do not care about it.”
Dmitry nodded. “As you wish.”
“Dmitry, I know this thing I ask is a lot, but I made a promise to Katrina that our daughter’s murderer will pay for his crimes.”
“You do not need to worry about it. We look out for each other, my friend. It is what good Russians do.”
“I fought with my daughter all the time, Dmitry. She had visions of what Russia would be like if it followed along the lines of freedom. I would not listen.”
“You and I argued with our fathers as well. Only not as loudly or as bravely as these young people do. This is a natural thing.”
“Perhaps, but perhaps I should have been listening more.”
Dmitry held up the paper. It was a copy of The Moscow Times. “Your daughter left many articles behind. I have read them. She was thoughtful and insightful. She has left a legacy. You can still read them. You can still hear her voice.”
Cherkshan took a deep breath and knotted all his pain into a ball in