The Brotherhood of the Rose (35 page)

Saul didn't bother pretending he was still asleep. Squirming to sit up, he studied the room- a den with paneled walls, rustic paintings, a fireplace. "Where am I?"

"Near Lyon. A modest chiteau I sometimes use for interrogation."

"Where's Erika?"

"Down the hall. But you needn't worry. A doctor's with her. She's fine, though she's got a nasty headache."

So did Saul. He slumped against a chair. His thoughts spun. "How did you find us?"

"The international language."

"I don't---' "Music. Besides the Stradivari, the violin case contained a microphone and a homing device."

Saul groaned in disgust. "Kochubey was so convincing I didn't think to check.

"But you almost dropped it out a window. I'll admit you had me nervous for a moment."... That still doesn't answer my question. How'd you know we'd grab Kochubey?"

"Your agency told us."

"That's impossible."

"The information was specific. Since it was our man Remus killed in Bangkok, your people offered us the courtesy of letting us eliminate you."

"Eliot." Saul sounded as if he cursed. "So it seemed to me as well."

"But how did?"

"We'll get to that. First let me set the stage." Orlik gestured toward a window. "Dawn is breaking. If you think of escape, that's natural. But listen to what you're up against. You're on the edge of the Pilat Regional Park. There's a town to the south called V6ranne, another to the north called P61lusin. No doubt you anticipate we have dogs, so you'd take to the wooded high ground-toward Vdranne. But there you'd have to avoid the village. By night, you'd be stuck in the soft earth of the graveyard or the open fields. Wherever, we'd catch up with you. Our darts would give you another headache, and we'd have to start all over. Granted, a confrontation in a graveyard would be romantic. But the reality is it's dawn and we need to talk. I'm sorry I can't offer you a Baby Ruth."

Saul narrowed his eyes. "You're well informed."

"Depend on it. Would you like some breakfast? Please don't think I've laced the croissants or coffee with anything. It never works properly."

Despite himself, Saul laughed. "Good, let's be friendly." Orlik removed the handcuffs. Puzzled, Saul rubbed his wrists, waiting till Orlik poured and drank the coffee. At last he had to ask. "Then you know about Eliot's orphans?"

"I'm sure it's occurred to you the Latin word for patriotism comes from the same root as father. Pater. Patriae amor. You saw your father as an extension of your country. Trained to defend it, you did everything he told you, unaware you were loyal to him-but not your government. His scheme was so brilliant the others adopted it.".

Saul stopped drinking. "Others?" Orlik studied him. "You must have known. Why else would you pick up Landish?"

"Others?"

Orlik frowned. "You really don't-? I assumed you'd reached the same conclusion I had. 1938."

"Make sense. Eliot wasn't even in government then. '54 is when he disappeared."

"And again in '73."

"But that time one of your men, Golitsin----2' "Not mine, but he did work for the KGB." '-- was involved, except your people shot him for treason."

"Then you have made progress."

"For Christ's sake!"

"Please, you'll have to be patient. I thought you could tell me some things. I never guessed I'd be telling you."

"Then tell me, dammit!

What's going on?"

"1938. What does that mean to you?"

"It could mean Hitler and Munich... or the Abelard sanction."

"Good. Then that's where we'll begin."

When Hitler met with Chamberlain and Daladier in Munich, a different meeting took place that same day in Berlin. Hitlerwith Mussolini next to him-demanded that England and France renege on agreements they'd made with Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Poland to protect those countries against invasion. Hitler's intentions were obvious, but England and France did nothing to stop him, hoping he'd be satisfied if he expanded Germany's territory into those adjacent countries. The men at the other meeting, the one in Berlin, knew better, however. After all, they directed espionage for Germany, England, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and they understood that Hitler's invasion of those other countries wouldn't be the end of his need for power but only the start. A war was coming, so vast and destructive it would dwarf all others before it.

Though heads of state chose to ignore the implications, the directors of intelligence could not, for they realized the role they would play in the coming war, and they had to make preparations. Since the First World War, their community had dwindled. Conditions had changed. Traditions had been forgotten. With a new conflict about to begin, it was time to reorganize, to agree on principles and establish rules, one of which was the Abelard sanction. "I've always admired the imagination of the men who created it," Orlik said. "Such a brilliant refinement, so clever a variation. But there were other consequences of that meeting in Berlin, the most important of which was the recognition of the bond shared by those men. Because of their profession, they realized they formed a group larger than politics, transcending differences between their nations. One year countries might be friends, the next year enemies, the year after friends again. Such instability was senseless, based on the whim of politicians. It allowed the intelligence community to practice its skills, to enjoy the risks, but the men in Berlin understood that at heart they were closer to each other than to their governments. As well, they suspected the risks were becoming too huge. While they realized the need for rules, the leaders of their governments seemed to recognize no rules at all. How could the world survive if politicians refused to agree on limits? Someone had to act responsibly. Of course, before the war, they couldn't have predicted how serious this question would become. But even before atomic weapons, the issue of responsibility aggravated the intelligence community. Hitler's excesses became intolerable. We know some German intelligence officers collaborated with the English. These same German operatives attempted to assassinate Hitler. The bomb failed to kill him, and of course they were executed."

"You're suggesting a pattern?"

"What I've told you is fact. What follow are my suppositions. The men at the Abelard meeting agreed unofficially to act as-what shall we call them?-watchdogs on their governments, to see that international rivalry remained within acceptable bounds. A certain amount of conflict was necessary, of course, for the intelligence community to justify itself, but beyond a certain point, every nation stood an equal chance of losing, so the plan was set in motion. Stalin, remember, had begun his purges. My countryman, Vladimir Lazensokov, was executed a few months after he came back from the Abelard meeting. Did Stalin learn about that meeting and what Lazensokov had agreed to? Who can say? But his execution, in tandem with Hitler's reprisals for his attempted assassination, made the watchdogs in the intelligence community much more circumspect. They delegated their responsibility to carefully chosen professionals. Tex Auton, America's representative at that meeting, chose his adopted son Eliot, for example. Percival Landish chose his own son. The French and German representatives did the same. Lazensokov, I believe, foresaw his execution and made arrangements beforehand."

You're talking about Golitsin?"

"Then you follow my logic. Golitsin, who was executed for treason in '73, had secret business with Landish and Eliot, and two other men in French and German intelligence. No doubt you'd soon have learned about them. The parallels are remarkable. The five men at the Abelard meeting trained surrogates who refused-despite their ambition-to achieve the highest positions in their networks. Instead they secured jobs just below the upper echelon where they wouldn't be threatened by the whim of politicians. To keep those jobs secure, they each compiled a secret collection of documented scandals, which they used as leverage against anyone foolish enough to try to remove them from power. These men have retained their positions since after the war and thus have been consistent influences on their governments. They've sabotaged operations. Your U-2 incident and Bay of Pigs, for example. To moderate the less enlightened members of their agencies, they've insisted an enemy spy had infiltrated them. As a consequence, each network has been so busy investigating itself only a moderate level of espionage has been maintained, and thus a form of control has been established. Acting responsibly-or so they imagine-these men ensure an international status quo."

"Eliot's disappearances in '54 and '73?"

"Meetings. To cement their relationship, to reaffirm their intentions. They needed to coordinate their efforts. They met as seldom as they could but as often as they had to."

"One problem with your theory."

"Oh?"

"Each man couldn't do all that on his own. They'd have needed personnel and financing."

-True. But in your own case the CIA has an unlimited unrecorded budget. No one knows exactly how much money it receives or where that money goes. If accounts were. kept, secretcy would be impaired. Appropriating funds for a private operation wouldn't be difficult. The same rule applies to the other networks."

"Eliot and the others would still have needed help. They'd have had to delegate authority. Eventually someone would have talked."

"Not necessarily. Think about it."

Saul felt his stomach sink. "You and Remus didn't talk. Or Eliot's other orphans. I suspect the idea came from Auton; it functioned brilliantly. For years, you and the others have been working for Eliot in his attempt to comply with the implications of the Abelard meeting, to obey his foster father's directive."

"The Paradigm job he asked me to do."

"Apparently he thought it was necessary. We were blamed for it. So was Israel. Neither of us wants the Arabs to align themselves with the United States, The question is what did he hope to achieve."

"That's wrong. The question is why did he ask me to do it and then try to kill me afterward."

"You'll have to ask him."

"If I don't kill the bastard first." His bowels contracted. "They all had orphans."

"The final parallel. Landish, Golitsin, and the otherseach recruited foster sons in orphanages, guaranteeing loyalty without question, sacrificing their children when they had to."

"it keeps getting sicker." Saul raised his hands. "If I could-" I "That's why you're still alive."

Saul squinted, raging. "Get to the point."

"Like Lazensokov before him, Golitsin too foresaw his execution and chose a surrogate. I've discovered who, but I fear my efforts have been discovered. My opponent is clever" and powerful. If I become too dangerous to him, he'd easily destroy me. As a consequence, I've concentrated on the men in the other networks who inherited the legacy."

"But why? If they sabotage their networks, they're helping you."

"Not if they act in accord, Golitsin's replacement along with the others. They're interfering with the natural order. I'm a Marxist, my friend. I believe in Soviet domination. There are evils in our system, but they're insignificant compared to "What?"

"The utter obscenity of your own. I want to destroy these men. I want to let the dialectic take its course, upset the status quo, and complete the Revolution." Oru smiled. "When I received the directive to intercept and kill you, I couldn't believe my fortune."

"And that's it? You want me to go after these men? So you can protect yourself?"

Orlik nodded. "My fight's with Eliot. To get out of here, I'll have to compromise. I see that. But to help, I'll need a lot more compromise from you."

"No, I've got Erika. You wouldn't let her die. But there's something else."

Saul frowned. "You claim your fight's with Eliot? You're wrong. It's at least with another."

"Who?"

"You wondered how Eliot knew you'd come to Paris?"

"Say it!"

"Chris is dead. Landish killed him."

Erika choked. The bedroom had no windows. Saul wanted to scream, to smash the walls. Rage overwhelmed him, so intense he thought he'd burst. Grief wracked his muscles, shaking him till he ached. "It should have been me."

She moaned. "He wanted to take my place-to go to Paris with you and grab Kochubey while I watched Landish." Saul fought to breathe. "Because he had a feeling I'd be killed. But I wouldn't do it!"

"Don't."

I wouldn't listen!" -No, it wasn't your fault. The lowest card stayed. If you'd taken his place---"

"I'd have died instead of him! To bring him back, I'd gladly die!"

-That isn't what he wanted!" Erika stood, unsteadily raising a hand to the bandage around her head. "He didn't ask to change places with you so he could save his life. He thought he'd be saving yours. It wasn't your fault. For God's sake, accept what he gave you." She shook, starting to weep. "Poor Chris. So fucked up. He never knew any..."

"Peace?" Saul nodded, understanding. He and Chris had been trained to cancel all emotion except dependence on each other and love for Eliot. In Saul's case, it had worked. He'd never been bothered by the things Eliot asked him to do because he couldn't bear to disappoint his father.