Countdown

“Even though I knew he was wrong, I couldn’t help myself. He took me away from me, and replaced it with his own soul”

“He’s dead

“Yes” she cut in. She raised a hand to her heart. “But now he’s dead inside here as well” Slowly she slipped the nightgown off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She stepped away from it, her body shimmering. I believe in you, Kirk McGarvey. And now I want you to make love to me” She came to him, and as he took her into his arms, he knew what had been missing all of these years-all of his life. No one had ever believed in him.

MOSCOW

The connection was imperfect. Lieutenant Colonel Vasili Semonovich Didenko sat in his nondescript office on the third floor of the Lubyanka, holding the telephone tightly to his ear. Was it possible? he asked himself. Could it be possible? “I want you to come in” he said.

“It will take me a few days to arrange something, and in the meantime I want you to go to ground. Do you understand” Didenko, who was the newly promoted chief of the KGB’s Department 8 of Directorate S (Illegals)-the department that used to be called Viktor, for Mokrie Dela (Wet Affairs)had been a student of Baranov’s. A gifted student. He saw now, for the first time, at least one portion of his future. “Can you hear me” he shouted into the telephone. The connection between Moscow and Damascus was never very good, but this evening it was worse than normal.

“Tell me where you are, I can help you” Didenko listened closely to what the man was saying. He was not only listening to the words for their meaning, but listening for a weakness. But there was none. There never had been. “Whatare you saying to me” Didenko shouted. “Fuck your mother, you cannot be serious. You need me But the connection was broken.

Didenko slowly hung up the telephone. He sat in his dimly lit office for a long time before he got his coat and left the building. On the way across to the parking lot he pondered the other’s last words. “I’ve become a floater. When I want blood I’ll call you.

This time, you bastards, I won’t let you fuck me up”