The girl was half-naked as Sturgiss bundled her back into the room. Maclaren stood looking at the red marks coming up on the girl’s naked breasts. Her eyes were closed and she hung limply, enfolded in Sturgiss’s strong arms. Maclaren nodded and Sturgiss put her on one of the fixed chairs, her arms still tied behind her back.
When she opened her eyes Maclaren said, “Do you want some more, baby, or are you gonna talk?”
The girl bowed her head, nodding.
“Did he give you codes?”
She nodded.
“What codes?”
“NATO second level and BAOR operational.”
“What else?”
“He got us service manuals for F-111.”
“How did he get those?”
“He fixed for me to have sex with US airman.”
“What else?”
“He get me many NATO documents. I not read them.”
“What kind of documents?”
“Of communications and monitoring, Red Alert procedures. I don’t remember more.”
“Who directed you?”
“Yuri. Yuri Simenov.”
“Where did you meet him to be briefed?”
“I don’t understand … what is briefed.”
“Where did he meet you to tell you what to do?”
“Sometimes at my place, sometimes at MfS.”
“In Normannenallee?”
“Yes.”
“What rank is he?”
“Captain. He is not KGB. He is GRU.”
“How much did they pay you?”
“I got my flat and one thousand marks a month. Sometimes extra if I do well.”
“Who else did you have in West Berlin?”
“Fox and Mason and one other.”
“Who was the other?”
“A sergeant in Military Police.”
“Did he work at Check-point Charlie?”
“Yes.”
“That’s how you got in and out, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Would you work for us?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I love Yuri. He’s going to marry me.”
Maclaren smiled. “He’s already married. Got a wife in Kiev.”
“I know, he is going to divorce her.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Two years three months.”
“You know his wife is three months pregnant?”
“I don’t believe. He loves only me.”
“Must be screwing his wife all the same. We could pay you well if you worked for us. You’d have their money and ours.”
“I do it for Yuri. Is not only the money.”
“What else can you remember?”
“My head aches. I am very tired.”
Maclaren nodded to Sturgiss who smiled, and Maclaren said, “Not longer than an hour.”
Maclaren turned to Symons and Walker. “Let’s go back to the house.”
Back at the house the man in civilian clothes who had unlocked the back room in the outbuilding made them coffee and then went back to the kitchen.
As they sat around drinking Symons said to Maclaren, “Did you get what you want?”
“More or less.”
“Why didn’t you ask for the MP’s name and the US airman’s name?”
“No point. We know it already. They’ve been dealt with. Both of them.”
“What’s going to happen to the girl?”
Maclaren smiled. “Sturgiss will have his fun and then we’ll bung her in with the other two.”
“Won’t the two soldiers be reported AWOL?”
“No. We’ve covered all that.”
“How?”
“You’re a nosy sod, Symons. We shall put out a story that they’ve defected to the East Germans with the girl. It’ll give the Russkis something to work out.” Maclaren turned his head to watch as Walker signalled that he wanted the toilet and the man with the keys took him out of the room. “What do you tell your soldier friend to make him do what you tell him?”
“I hypnotize him.”
“I know. But how do you make him shoot the buggers? He’s not the shooting kind.”
“That’s why he was chosen, so that nobody would ever believe him if he came apart when I’m not around. I told him that they were spies trying to help the Russians take over the UK and we were all relying on him saving us. They were desperate men. He has to save us all.”
“And he believes all that crap?”
“Of course.”
“Tell me about the girl.”
“She’s the same. She does what I tell her to do when she’s hypnotized.”
“And neither of them know what they’ve done?”
“No. They’re programmed to forget it all.”
“That means you could screw the girl and she’d never know.”
“Yes.”
“And you could do this with any girl?”
“Ninety-nine out of a hundred.”
“Jesus. You must have a fantastic time.” He looked at Symons’ face. “When we were looking for a soldier why did you go to the dentist’s surgery?”
“Because in a dentist’s waiting room people are under mild stress. You can assess them more easily and most people have an injection and they are drowsy and relaxed. Easy to influence.”
Maclaren nodded, as if he had learned something he might be able to use himself some day.
“We’ve got to find another squaddie. He’s being discharged next month.”
“Maybe we should try a civilian, they are just as suitable.”
“No. We’d rather keep it in the army. We can cover up for them. We know the rules and regulations. We’ve got a better hold on them.”
12
The receptionist looked at the card and handed it back to him, pointing down the corridor.
“Go down to the end of the corridor, Mr. Walker, turn left and the third office along on the right is marked Personnel. They’ll be expecting you. Ask for Mr. Patel.”
George Walker knocked on the door and walked inside the office. An Indian with thick-rimmed glasses pointed, smiling, to the chair at his desk.
“Mr. Walker?”
“Yes.”
“You got the company brochure I sent you?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Anything you didn’t understand?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Any questions on the company employment policy?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
Patel smiled, opened a drawer and took out a printed form, pushing it across the desk. “I’d like you to fill that in and then we’ll talk. It’s a standard form. Just a few basics.”
The young man reached inside his jacket and took out a ball-point as he read the form. And as Patel watched, Walker filled in the details on the first page. Name, Christian names, address, date of birth, education, qualifications, and finally hobbies and interests.
He turned over the page and the heading said “Previous Employment.” Slowly and carefully he filled in the details
