“Why do you think that?”
“Those bastards in the Kremlin are ready to risk a war. They aren’t sure how far they can go without the Americans picking up the gauntlet. They want to rule the world, Europe, Asia, South America, everywhere. And the only people who can stop ’em are the Americans. They’ve got no idea of how the free world thinks, especially the Americans. They get fed real crap by the embassy.
“And the Yanks are only just beginning to understand that Moscow doesn’t have the same inhibitions as Washington. I’ve heard Washington people saying that Moscow wouldn’t start a war in Europe because the Red Army would lose a hundred thousand men in the first few days.” Serov waved his arms. “Even if that was true it wouldn’t stop them for a second. What’s a hundred thousand dead if it gets you even more power? There’d be no riots in Red Square or round the Finland Station. But lose a tenth of that many American lives for the sake of Europe and you’d have Congress in uproar and the whole country going crazy.
“So in Washington they try to work out how to stop the aggressions without starting a war and they too don’t have enough information about what the people in the Kremlin are thinking. They’re both playing Blind Man’s Buff. It’s crazy.”
“That’s what’s worrying Lensky. He wants me to keep him in the picture about what they’re thinking in Washington and the White House.”
“That’s great but who’s going to do that for the White House?”
“Maybe they’ve got their own man in the Kremlin.”
“I can tell you for sure they haven’t. He’d have to be a genuine Soviet, have been around the top brass for a long, long time and ready to risk his life. Why the hell should he? If he knows what’s going on he’s part of it and getting all he wants already.”
“What about a man like Lensky?”
“He’d never do it. He’s got a broader outlook than the rest of them but he’s still part of it. And he’s still waiting for the dream to come true despite what he knows.”
“Is there anyone else you can think of who could do it?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“You, my friend. You understand them both. You’ve got Lensky in Moscow, there’ll be a Lensky in the White House somewhere.”
“And who do I cheat on?”
“Nobody. You give honest advice to Lensky and honest advice to somebody here.”
“Lensky wouldn’t agree.”
“So you don’t tell Lensky about this end of the story. You give him straight honest advice. Not biased either way. You do the same here.”
“And not tell them either?”
Serov shrugged. “You’d have to work that out. They’re not idiots and they’d be getting more information than they’re getting now. Despite your advice either side could still go ahead and do it the wrong way but they’d at least know the odds before they placed their bets.”
Aarons smiled at Serov. “You’re as crazy as the rest of them. I’ll take you to a night-club tonight for a change.”
“You. A night-club. You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. My sister’s husband plays piano in a night-club. He’s great. You’ll love it.”
“As long as he plays ‘Manhattan’ I’ll be happy.”
CHAPTER 33
“There’s a gentleman asking to see you, sir.”
He shook his head. “I can’t, Jo. Tell him to make an appointment.”
“He says it’s personal. To do with the war.”
“The war? What’s his name?”
“It’s Serov, but he said that when you knew him his name was Pascal.”
“Good God. You mean he’s here?”
“Yes.”
“Show him in.” He paused. “Phone Macey and make some excuse. I’ll see him later.”
Malloy was standing by the window as his secretary opened the door and said, “Mr. Serov to see you, sir.”
Malloy walked forward, smiling, his hand held out. “I can’t believe it but it’s great to see you.” He pointed at the chair in front of his desk. “Sit down. What are you doing in New York?”
“It’s good to see you too. I work in Washington. It’s a long story.”
“So tell me. And how did you find me?”
“I looked up your name in the New York telephone directory. But there were pages of Malloys and O’Malleys. I’d never seen your name written down. A girl at the library found me a directory of attorneys and helped me track you down.”
“How long are you here for?”
“I live here. Not in New York but in Washington. I’ve been here some time.”
“What happened to you? I drove everybody crazy trying to trace where you’d gone from Fresnes.”
“They shipped me off to a concentration camp. It was liberated by the British. I was in hospital for some months and then I went back to Paris.”
“What were you doing?”
Serov took a deep breath. “I was working for the Russians. After some time I defected and now I’m doing an office job in the French section of the CIA.”
“My God. Tell me about it. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Serov told him his story but made no mention of Aarons. When he had finished Malloy said, “And all they use you for is evaluating French section documents?”
“I was glad to do anything they gave me, Bill. Just pleased that they let me stay.” He paused. “You didn’t fancy joining CIA when they started it up.”
Malloy laughed. “Nobody asked me. No, that’s not fair. I wanted to earn some real money. Anyway I’m a lawyer not a spook.”
“But you still keep contact with the old OSS people.”
“I spend a lot of time in Washington so I bump into them from time to time. Some of them stayed on when it became the CIA but most got out as soon as they could.”
“I’ve got something important that I want to talk to somebody about. Who should I talk to? It’s got to be whatever goes
