‘To the British?’
‘No, to the country of the British – to their political system – to safety! Shukshin didn’t give a damn for Mother Russia anyway, and now he had a new country, almost a new identity. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, do you see? In Russia he’d come close to life imprisonment for murder. Should he do the same thing in England? He could make a decent living there, a fresh start. He was a linguist, top-flight qualifications in Russian, German, English, and more than a smattering of half-a-dozen other languages. No, he didn’t defect to anyone, he defected from the USSR. He ran, escaped -to freedom!’
‘You sound almost as if you approve of the British system,’ the Mongolian grinned.
‘Don’t worry about my loyalties, Max,’ Dragosani grated. ‘You won’t find a man more loyal than I am.’ To Romania! To Wallachia!
‘Well, that’s good to know,’ the other nodded. ‘It would be nice if I could say the same. But I’m a Mongol and my loyalties are different. Actually, I’m only loyal to Max Batu.’
“Then you probably resemble Shukshin a great deal. I imagine that’s how he felt. Anyway, gradually over the months his reporting fell off, and finally he dropped out of sight. It put Borowitz on the spot but there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Since Shukshin was a “defector” he’d been granted political asylum; Borowitz couldn’t very well ask for him back! All he could do was keep tabs on him, see what he was up to.’
‘He feared he’d join the British ESPers, eh?’
‘Not really, no. Shukshin was psychotic, remember? Anyway, Borowitz wasn’t taking any chances, and eventually he tracked him down. Shukshin’s plan was simple: he’d got himself a job in Edinburgh, bought a tiny fisherman’s cottage in a place called Dunbar, made official application for British citizenship. He kept himself to himself and settled down to leading a normal life. Or at least he tried to . . .’
‘It didn’t work out?’ Batu was interested.
‘For a while. But then he married a girl of old Russian stock. She was a psychic medium – the real thing – and naturally her talent was like a magnet to him. Perhaps he tried to resist her, but to no avail. He married her, and he killed her. At least that’s how Gregor Borowitz sees it. After that – nothing.’
‘He got away with it?’
The verdict was accidental death. Drowning. Borowitz knows more about it than I do. Anyway, it’s incidental. But Shukshin inherited his wife’s money and house. He lives there still . . .’
‘And now we are on our way to kill him . . .’ Batu mused. ‘Can you tell me why?’
Dragosani nodded. ‘If he had simply continued to keep a low profile and stay out of our hair, that would have been okay. Oh, Borowitz would catch up with him eventually, but not immediately. But Shukshin’s fortunes have changed, Max. He’s short of cash, generally down at heel. It’s been the downfall of many another before him. So now, after all these years, finally he’s turned blackmailer. He threatens Borowitz, E-Branch, the entire
set-up.’
‘One man poses so great a threat?’ Batu raised his eyebrows.
Again Dragosani’s nod. ‘The British equivalent of our branch is now an effective force. How effective we’re not sure, but they may even be better than we are. We know very little about them, which in itself is a bad sign. It could well be that they are clever enough to cover themselves entirely, give themselves one hundred per cent ESP security. And if they’re that clever -‘
‘Then how much do they know about us, eh?’
‘That’s right,’ Dragosani looked at his companion with a little more respect. ‘They might even know that we two are aboard this plane right now, and our mission! God forbid!’
Batu smiled his moonish, ivory smile. ‘I don’t believe in any god,’ he said. ‘Only in the devil. So the Comrade General fears that if Shukshin isn’t silenced he might after all talk to the British?’
‘That’s what Shukshin has threatened him with, yes. He wants money or he’ll tell British E-Branch all he knows. Mind you, that won’t amount to much after all this time, but even a little knowledge about our E-Branch is far too much for Gregor Borowitz’s liking!’