“Maybe it comes down to a question of loyalty.”
“That’s rubbish and you know it. Tell me …” she paused “… do you think Moscow would drop atomic bombs on America?”
He smiled. “No.”
“Why not?”
“There’d be no point. There’d be nothing left. There’d be no prize.”
“And do you think we’ll drop atom bombs on the Soviet Union?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged and smiled. “I’d reckon that was an un-American activity. They don’t want a war. They want to go on enjoying themselves.”
“You know damned well that America wouldn’t do a thing unless Moscow attacked them first.”
Aarons shook his head slowly. “It’s not as simple as that. There are powerful people on both sides who would be all for starting a war. Not a world war. Just taking over some country for strategic reasons or because they have some valuable resources. They can both fight proxy wars. But those can develop into major confrontations.”
“What sort of people would want that in the Kremlin?”
“The military. The hard-liners.”
“And here? Who wants to make wars in Washington.”
“The people who make huge profits from armaments.” He shrugged. “And the Red-haters.”
“All the more reason why you should try to pour oil on troubled waters.”
“Putting politics aside—what would you like me to do?”
“You really want me to say?”
“Yes.”
For long moments she was silent, then she said, “There’s no point in me saying what I’d like, is there?”
“You’re my wife, that’s enough.”
“OK,” she said quietly, “with my income from the studio and what you make on the books, we could live quite happily.” She paused. “That’s what I’d like.”
He reached across the table and put his hand on hers. “Try to understand, my love. It’s like breathing—I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.”
She smiled. “I don’t expect you to change your life, honey. Just a touch on the brakes here and there. Don’t worry.”
“And this thing of Serov’s?”
“Do it. Try it.”
Aarons phoned Serov and asked him to arrange a meeting with Malloy. He wanted to meet him alone. Serov had called back almost immediately. Would Aarons meet Malloy at his house. Mr. Malloy’s wife, Kathy, was in Florida and they would be alone.
When they had settled down in Malloy’s small but comfortable study Aarons wasted no time.
“We both know what we’re here to talk about, don’t we, Bill?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to ask you whose idea this is? Who first thought of it?”
“It was Serov’s idea. He put it to me some months ago.”
“What did you think of his idea?”
Malloy shrugged. “Frankly, I thought it was crazy.”
“So why did you take it further?”
“I thought about it for several days. I couldn’t get it out of my mind.” Malloy shifted uneasily in his chair. “As you know, I’m a lawyer. I spend my time on checking facts and seeing if what has been done meets the laws of the land. That tends to make you a rather conservative thinker. Imagination isn’t necessarily an advantage for corporate law. I wondered if I was the right man to make a decision on Serov’s idea.
“Don’t get me wrong. I worked with Serov in Occupied France and even though I never agreed with his politics in those days, I trusted him.” He paused. “I still do. But although he’s come over to our side I still felt some doubts about his political judgement. My boss, Mr. Hancox, is a man I totally respect. So I decided to talk to him about it.” He smiled. “At that time Serov had kept you anonymous. Never gave your name or anything to judge you on. But he told me what you were doing. That scared me.
“Anyway Hancox had the same reaction as me. At first he thought it was crazy. Then he had second thoughts. He talked to an old friend of his who is a close friend of Truman. Hancox was surprised that that man saw possibilities in it. I arranged with Serov to meet you socially and I couldn’t really believe what I’d been told about your work. You were too sane, too intelligent …” He laughed softly, “… and too American.”
Aarons didn’t react. “Then what?”
“It was put to President Truman. He didn’t hesitate. He thought it was workable. That it might help. It seems he thinks that things are going to deteriorate even further between Moscow and Washington.”
“But he’s got the CIA, why doesn’t he use them to find out what he wants?”
“I think for two reasons. The practical reason is that he can only get from the CIA what they’re capable of getting. And as far as the Soviet Union is concerned, that ain’t much. Secondly he sees all US official sources as biased. Fitting the facts to their theories. He’d like somebody he could talk to who has no axe to grind. Who knows both sides and understands both sides.”
“How does he know that I’m impartial?” He shrugged. “Why should I be?”
“He’s just got to accept Serov’s evaluation and mine, at this stage. I guess you’ll both make your minds up about the arrangement when you’ve tried it for a bit.”
“Serov says that they would accept that I should still operate my network.”
“Yes, that’s agreed.”
“Why?”
“They realise that without that you would have no access to the Kremlin.”
“But I would get no immunity from the FBI?”
“I raised that point and they said that that was the weak link in the chain. There’s nothing illegal in what we’ve talked about but to give you immunity for other things would be a serious offence. The FBI and the CIA would be angry that they weren’t made parties to the arrangement. Even if pressure was put on them they could be dirty enough to leak it to the press. Do you want immunity?”
“No. I’d trade it for an assurance that whatever happens to the arrangement, even if it doesn’t work, that they would never tip
