Kings of Many Castles

and Nezavisimaya Gazeta, all three dominated by the same coverage, and laid them out side by side on the bed in front of the man. “We’ll have a television brought in. You can watch your own network. It’s their lead story, too.”

“Not true.”

“They really made a fool out of you, didn’t they?” said Jordan. “Jesus, how they must be laughing!”

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“Can’t understand why you’re taking the rap for people who set you up like this,” said Kayley. “They’re not doing anything to help you.”

“Need to think.”

“Let’s think it through together,” said Kayley.

Bendall began to hum the wailing dirge.

“That song got words?” asked Jordan.

The man hummed on, appearing oblivious of them.

“It’ll help you if you tell us about the others,” said Kayley.

“Comrades,” said Bendall.

“Comrades who deserted you, cheated you,” said Kayley.

“No! Go away!”

“Tell us what we want to know and we’ll go away,” said Jordan.

“GO AWAY!”

The roared demand was so unexpected that all three Americans actually jumped and there was a scuffed arrival of the two doctors at the door. Bendall screamed it again and tried to lash out at Jordan with his uninjured arm. He missed but swept the tape recorder off the bedside table, laughing when the cassette hood broke as it hit the floor. He threw his head back and shouted “GO AWAY” over and over again, breaking the words occasionally with a cackling laugh. He finally stopped shouting, exhausted, and when he did thehysterical laughter turned to tears. They streamed, unchecked, down his face and his nose ran, too.

Agayan hurried in from the doorway, pushing past the lawyer. “What did you do to him …! Say to him?”

“We didn’t do anything,” said Kayley, defensively. “Just tried to get answers to some questions.”

“Go away,” mumbled Bendall, his voice a hoarse whisper.

“Yes, go away,” agreed the psychiatrist. “This is bad.”

Badim had his fingers at Bendall’s wrist, checking his pulse. “Bad,” he echoed.

In the car on their way back to the embassy Jordan said, “We hit a nerve.”

“And maybe broke it,” said Kayley.

“It’s being overemphasized,” insisted Charlie.

“For what reason?” demanded Natalia.

“To create precisely the situation that’s arisen: to spread suspicion and distrust among us.” The way to prevent any official curiosity about Natalia’s dedicated Interior Ministry telephone number appearing on his hotel bill was to pay it-and then destroy it-himself. It would only represent a temporary out-of-pocket expense.

“So we’re back to KGB-of FSB-disinformation?”

“Doesn’t it fit better than anything else?”

Natalia didn’t reply for several moments and when she did it wasn’t an answer. “The leak’s been added to the presidential enquiry remit.”

“We’ll be OK!”

“We’ll be found out.”

“I’m not able to get back as soon as I thought I would.”

“How long?”

“Three, maybe four days.”

“Don’t call me direct again, like this. It could be traced.”

“You haven’t told me if there’s anything new.”

“Bendall had a mental collapse when he was with the Americans.”

Why had she waited until now to tell him! Because her personal concerns were overwhelming her professionalism, he answered himself. Forcing the calmness, Charlie said, “He’s all we’ve got!”

“We all know that.”

“What do the psychiatrists say?”

“They haven’t been able to talk to him properly yet.”

“There’ll be a tape. That’s the system we’re working with here.”

“The transcript hasn’t got up to my level yet.”

“And you haven’t got a prognosis, of his condition?”

“I told you, psychiatrists haven’t been able to talk to him yet! Medically he seems OK.”

“I’ll call …” began Charlie but Natalia said, “I told you I don’t want you to.”

“I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Yes.”

“Tell Sasha I’m sorry about the circus. We’ll go next weekend.”

“Yes,” she said again, almost uninterestedly.

For several moments Charlie sat hunched on his hotel bed, reaction colliding with reaction. What the fuck had Little Big-Foot-in-the Mouth said to tip Bendall over the edge! More importantly, what was needed to pull him back? And at this moment he couldn’t … Yes, he could. Kayley had told him about the intended meeting. Again Charlie got at once through to Donald Morrison.

“You heard how Kayley’s meeting with Bendall went? He told me earlier it was to be this afternoon.”

“Not a word.”

“I’m having all the meetings analyzed, by people here. So I need not just a transcript but a copy tape. Can you chase Kayley up, get one shipped over in the diplomatic bag?”

“As quickly as I can,” promised Morrison.

“If not quicker,” encouraged Charlie. He actually thought it was the MI6 man coming back to him when his phone rang five minutes later.

Instead Anne Abbott said, “How’s your day been?”

“You don’t want to know about it,” said Charlie, his mind not fully on the woman.

“I do, Charlie. I’ve got to know about everything, remember?”

14

Leonid Zenin insisted they personally confirm the extent of George Bendall’s collapse by going to Burdenko hospital which Olga had intended to do anyway. She was irritated at not having initiated the suggestion ahead of the man it was becoming practically automatic-or did she regard it as essential? — to try to impress as much out as in bed. Among the ground floor and ward level security men there was a discernible foot-shuffling uncertainty that they were in some way going to be blamed which Zenin did nothing to allay by sweeping autocratically past both contingents, shaking his head against any verbal explanation from either group. The warned-in-advance Nicholai Badim and Guerguen Agayan were waiting outside Bendall’s room.

“There’s no purpose in going in,” said Badim. “There’s a room along the corridor …”

“We came here to see for ourselves,” said Zenin.

“There’s nothing to see! Do!” protested the doctor.

“Please open the door; let us in.”

It wasn’t a request and Olga felt a sexual flicker at the authority. She said, “There were some sounds, like scuffling, on our dedicated tape?”

“Your people got to the door before I did. I understand he was trying to hit one of the Americans … lashing out at them.”