“You don’t really believe she’s a Moscow Center assassin, do you?”
“Sometimes two plus two does in fact equal four.”
“But sometimes it’s five.”
“Only in Room 101 of the Ministry of Love, Winston.”
“Sarah has an interesting theory,” replied Gabriel. “She believes Nina was deceived into delivering the contaminated documents.”
“And when did Sarah reach this conclusion? During the thirty seconds she was inside Viktor’s study?”
“She has excellent instincts.”
“That’s hardly surprising. After all, you were the one who trained her. But Moscow Center would never have entrusted such a dangerous weapon to someone who wasn’t fully under its control.”
“Why ever not?”
“What if she had opened the parcel on the British Airways flight from Zurich?”
“But she didn’t. She delivered the package to Viktor. And Viktor, who was justifiably paranoid about his security, waited until she had left before opening it. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that Nina Antonova and her controllers at Moscow Center devised a rather cunning method of slipping a contaminated package past Viktor’s formidable defenses. They’re probably celebrating their latest success as we speak.”
“There’s no way she’s in Moscow, Graham.”
“Well, she isn’t in Zurich, and her phone is off the air.”
“What about her credit card?”
“No recent activity.”
“That’s because she knows the Russians are looking for her. Obviously, we need to find her first.”
“By midday tomorrow, she will be the world’s most wanted woman.”
“Unless you delay releasing her name and photograph long enough for me to find her.”
Graham was silent.
“Give me seventy-two hours,” said Gabriel.
“Not possible.” Graham paused, then added, “But you can have forty-eight.”
“That’s not much time.”
“It’s all you’re going to get.”
“In that case,” said Gabriel, “I’m sure you won’t mind if I borrow Sarah.”
“Not at all. Where do you intend to start?”
“I was hoping to have a word with someone who used to work with Nina at theGazeta. Someone who might have an opinion as to whether she was a real journalist or a Moscow Center assassin.” Gabriel smiled. “You wouldn’t know where I could find someone like that, would you, Graham?”
“Yes,” he said. “I think I might.”
8
London–Norwich
