Kompromat

‘What I mean, sir,’ they heard General Wright say, against the sound of running water, ‘is that it’s quite possible that ISIS or Daish or whatever was responsible for the chemical attack, rather than Assad.’

‘Then why the hell am I about to authorize a Tomahawk strike on a Syrian Government Air Base?’

‘People will expect you to do something, sir. Provided it’s an appropriate and proportionate response, of course.’

Then they heard Craig say, ‘Those little kids! Goddammit, I can’t stop thinking about them.’

That evening, while Jim Connally took Stephanov off to the British Embassy in Helsinki for the first debriefing of many, the Barnards had a quiet dinner on the waterfront.

Edward Barnard raised his glass. ‘Hyvä terveys!’ he said.

‘What does that mean?’ Melissa asked.

‘It means “good health” in Finnish. Years ago I had a Finnish girlfriend.’

He looked at his wife fondly. They were growing old together. That was how things were meant to be.

‘You did brilliantly today, darling,’ he said. ‘I guess Popov knew we were planning to visit the Karelia transnational biosphere reserve. It was on the schedule. That was our cover for the detour into the forest in case anyone asked. Popov just seized the opportunity for some back-channel diplomacy. Did you talk to him?’

‘Of course I talked to him. He’s a human being, isn’t he, not some kind of ogre?’

‘I mean when he was driving. That was tricky terrain.’

‘I don’t think Popov had any problems,’ Melissa said. ‘Most of the time he was driving one-handed.’

‘What was he doing with his other hand?’

‘Had it on my knee. Just for reassurance, of course.’

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Both Wilbur Brown, director of the FBI, and Bud Hollingsworth, director of the CIA, had made time in their busy schedules to respond to the US attorney general’s urgent request.

‘This came in the post today,’ Dirk Goddard, the former Senator for Mississippi explained. ‘Brown-paper envelope. Posted in Washington yesterday.’

They sat round a table in Goddard’s office to listen to the tape.

‘Okay guys,’ they heard Craig say. ‘This is what we’re offering if I’m elected president. Number One, the US is going to drop the current sanctions against Russia, as regards Crimea and the Ukraine. We would hope that NATO will follow us in this, but even if they don’t, we will act unilaterally.

‘Number Two: if I’m elected president, the United States will not challenge the deployment by Russia of the ground-based, nuclear-capable 9M729 missiles, even though possession of these missiles is a violation of the terms of the INF… Bert, what the hell does INF stand for?’

‘INF means the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Ron.’

‘I guess that’s Bert Rumbold,’ Wilbur Brown commented. ‘Sounds like he’s still on six packs a day.’

‘Thanks, Bert,’ they heard Craig say. ‘We understand the 9M729s have a range of 620 to 3240 miles. Apparently they hit Syria from the Caspian the other day. So if we agree that their use is compatible with the INF, then Russia can legally hit every capital in Europe. More to the point, perhaps, Russia will be able to blast the living daylights out of every city in China.