See Charlie Run

reverse direction, going back towards the heart of the city, and instead of reply, said: ‘You can get Irena out safely?’

‘If I’m satisfied about everything,’ said Charlie, making his own refusal. ‘I want to know a lot more.’

‘Why?’

‘My safety,’ said Charlie, honestly. ‘So why defect?’

‘You are aware of my department?’

‘Yes.’

‘I do not wish to continue any longer,’ said Kozlov, shortly.

Charlie thought back to the first night’s meeting with Art Fredericks and the American’s assessment that Kozlov was frightened; Charlie’s initial impression wasn’t of fear. He said: ‘Why not?’ It was an interrogator’s trick to keep the questions as short as possible, making the other person do all the talking.

Kozlov hesitated, as if unsure how to say it. ‘I have carried out too many operations. Soon I will get caught. I know I couldn’t stand any sort of incarceration, for a long time.’

Charlie, who had endured imprisonment and at one time thought it would send him mad, recognized the fear at once and reversed just as quickly his earlier doubts. He found that explanation absolutely understandable. It also made other things understandable. The reference to Kozlov’s strange calmness, for example: the man was calm – and superbly professional – because his trained nerve had not broken, which was the erroneous inference Charlie had reached. He said: ‘Your people will come after you.’

There was another quick exchange of looks. ‘I know,’ said Kozlov. ‘I’ve pursued others myself. That’s why everything has got to be right, from the beginning.’

Charlie made a note to have Wilson check unexplained or unusual defector deaths beyond Valeri Solomatin, the exiled Ukrainian writer. He said: ‘Are you sure you can trust the Americans?’

‘No,’ said Kozlov. ‘That’s why you are involved.’

‘I did not mean immediately, here,’ expanded Charlie. ‘I meant later when …’

‘I know exactly what you mean,’ interrupted Kozlov. ‘Just as I know you’ve got to make the effort and why I am not annoyed; indeed, it would have been something else that would have worried me if you hadn’t attempted to cheat the Americans. Fredericks has tried to keep Irena and I together, at every meeting I’ve had with him. Says I can’t trust you.’

You can’t, thought Charlie. He saw they were on the park-encircling highway again and decided the car was as secure a place as any, once the checks for surveillance had been carried out. Reminded, and not yet completely abandoning the persuasion, Charlie said: ‘They have monitored every meeting, despite your insisting they shouldn’t.’

‘I told you I knew that,’ said the Russian.

‘So why didn’t you withdraw?’ demanded Charlie, coming to another of his worries.

‘Because it didn’t please me to,’ said Kozlov. ‘Every meeting has been like that tonight, a series of places where they’ve no idea when or how I’ll make the contact. Every time we’ve seen what they are doing and how they are doing it. If there had at any time been a concentration of people, indicating a kidnap attempt, then everything would have been off.’

Charlie digested what the man said, filtering the important points. ‘“We”,’ he quoted. ‘You said every time we’ve seen what they are doing it. Has your wife been involved, in the checks?’

‘Fredericks needs protectors: so do I,’ said Kozlov.

‘Tonight?’

‘Particularly tonight. I wanted her to see what you looked like.’

Charlie stirred, discomfited: yet further surveillance he hadn’t identified. It was happening too bloody often. He forced his mind on, to the more important points. Kozlov clearly expected a snatch: a further reason for not attempting one, here in Japan. Another impression came to him and he said: ‘If you’ve watched, like you say you have, for the four meetings, you must have a pretty good file on the CIA staff here?’

‘Every one,’ confirmed Kozlov. ‘That’s my cover, if there are any questions from my own people.’

So Kozlov’s hadn’t been an empty boast, to Fredericks. Charlie’s mind stayed on the American. The man had been right about one thing: the Russian was professional in everything he seemed to say or do. Charlie glanced outside, realizing they had done one complete circle of the park.

Kozlov saw the look and said: ‘Yes, it’s time to alter the route. I wasn’t becoming careless.’

‘I didn’t think you were,’ said Charlie, honestly.

Kozlov took the car off the circular road, going in the direction of the docks, and said: ‘You haven’t told me officially how your people feel?’

‘Of course we will accept you,’ said Charlie, at once.

‘Irena,’ qualified Kozlov. ‘It’s Irena you’re taking.’

‘I still don’t completely understand how you intend making this work,’ said Charlie.

‘I am valuable, yes?’ demanded Kozlov.

‘Yes,’ agreed Charlie. If there were to be a slip – a mistake to show him things weren’t right – it was most likely to come now.

‘Irena, too?’

‘Yes,’ said Charlie again. Stick to one word responses, let the other man talk, he thought.

‘And you – and the Americans – plan to try to grab us for yourselves once we’re safely out of Japan?’ completed Kozlov. He looked across the car once more, smiling triumphantly.

Charlie realized that a lot – perhaps everything – hinged upon his answer. He hoped to Christ he was going to get it right. He said: ‘Yes, that is exactly what we’ll try to do.’

‘Thank you,’ said Kozlov. ‘I’m glad you didn’t lie: most people would have done. You’re proving yourself to me as much as I am to you, don’t forget.’

There was a jump of satisfaction, but Charlie curbed it at once: another interrogation technique was trying to confuse a questioner with praise. Charlie thought, I’m not forgetting anything, my son. ‘I still don’t understand,’ he persisted.

Kozlov nodded, and Charlie didn’t know whether the gesture was one of approval or something else. ‘So the Americans will guard and protect me, absolutely. And your people will guard and protect Irena absolutely.’

Time to attempt some deflection of his own, Charlie decided. ‘From what?’ he said.

‘Broken promises,’ said Kozlov. ‘At the moment you and the Americans will give any undertaking, just to get us. I want to be confident they will be kept.’

The rehearsed story, Charlie recognized. He said: The only way to guarantee that, then, will be for you and Irena to live permanently apart? Once you’re together, your guarantee goes.’

‘No,’ argued Kozlov. ‘Before we come together permanently we want the full arrangements made, for income and pensions and changes of identity. Houses, too, of course … and going public. Did Fredericks tell you of that insistence?’

‘Yes,’ said Charlie. He’d led the Russian along perfectly, he decided. Time to spring the trap. ‘It won’t work, though, will it?’ he challenged. ‘You gave me the reason yourself, a few moments ago.’

‘What do you mean?’ demanded Kozlov. He looked straight across the car, ignoring the road.

‘You know your people will chase you: one of the conditions is to have your appearance altered, isn’t it?’ pressed Charlie.

‘Yes,’ agreed Kozlov.

‘So from the moment of your first lecture, you’re an easy target,’ said Charlie. ‘Bad flaw there, isn’t there, Yuri?’

‘What lecture?’ said the Russian.

‘That’s going public,’ said Charlie. ‘Where you guys make all the money.’

‘No,’ said Kozlov. ‘There is no flaw, on my part. You’ve made assumptions and they’re wrong. The flaw is yours.’

‘How?’

‘I know completely my value as a defector,’ said Kozlov. ‘It’s in the embarrassing disclosures that I can make, of what I’ve done for the Soviet Union. Before Irena and I are re-united I want a contractual agreement, for my account to be published …’ Kozlov smiled again. ‘The money is to be additional to anything that is agreed to be paid to us by either yourselves or the Americans, of course.’