Commissar Shdanoff shook his head. “You know enough for now, Miss Evans. I will give you the name when you get me out of Russia.” He looked at his watch. “We must leave.”
Dana turned to take one last look at the reactor that could not be shut off, that was turning out deadly plutonium twenty-four hours a day. “Is the government of the United States aware of Krasnoyarsk-26?”
Shdanoff nodded. “Oh, yes. They are terrified of it. Your State Department is working frantically with us to try to find a way to turn these reactors into something less lethal. Meanwhile…” He shrugged.
In the elevator, Commissar Shdanoff asked, “Are you familiar with the FRA?”
Dana looked at him and said cautiously, “Yes.”
“They are involved in this also.”
“What?” And then the realization hit her. That’s why General Booster kept warning me away.
They arrived at the surface and stepped out of the elevator. Shdanoff said, “I keep an apartment here. We will go there.”
As they started to walk along the street, Dana saw a woman dressed as she was, clinging to the arms of a man.
“That woman—” Dana started.
“I told you. Certain men are permitted to use prostitutes during the day. But at night the prostitutes must return to a guarded compound. They must know nothing of what goes on below the ground.”
As they walked along, Dana noted that most of the shops’ windows were empty.
The luxuries are gone. The state no longer has money to pay the scientists and technicians who work here. They have not been paid in months. Dana looked at a tall building on the corner and noticed that instead of a clock it had a large instrument mounted on top.
“What is that?” Dana asked.
“A Geiger counter, a warning in case anything goes wrong with the reactors.” They turned into a side street filled with apartment buildings. “My apartment is in here. We must stay there for a little while so no one will be suspicious. The FSB checks on everyone.”
“The FSB?”
“Yes. It used to be called the KGB. They changed the name, but that is all they changed.”
The apartment was large and was once luxurious, but it had become shabby. The curtains were torn, the carpets were worn, and the furniture needed re-upholstering.
Dana sat down, thinking about what Sasha Shdanoff had told her about the FRA. And Jeff had said, The agency is a cover-up. The real function of the FRA is to spy on foreign intelligence agencies. Taylor Winthrop had once been the head of the FRA, working with Victor Booster.
I would stay as far away as you can from General Booster.
And her meeting with Booster. Can’t you fucking journalists let the dead rest? I’m warning you to stay the hell away. General Victor Booster had an enormous secret organization to carry out the murders.
And Jack Stone was trying to protect her. Be careful. If Victor Booster knew I was even talking to you…
The FRA spies were everywhere, and Dana felt suddenly naked.
Sasha Shdanoff looked at his watch. “It is time to leave. Do you know yet how you are going to get me out of the country?”
“Yes,” Dana said slowly. “I think I know how to arrange it. I need a little time.”
When the plane landed back in Moscow, there were two cars waiting. Shdanoff handed Dana a piece of paper.
“I am staying with a friend at the Chiaka Apartments. No one knows I am there. It is what you call a ‘safe house.’ Here is the address. I can’t go back to my own place. Come here at eight o’clock this evening. I must know your plan.”
Dana nodded. “All right. I have a phone call to make.”
When Dana got back to the lobby of the Soyuz Hotel, the woman behind the desk stared at her. I don’t blame her, Dana thought. I’ve got to get out of this dreadful outfit.
Inside her room, Dana changed into her own clothes before making a phone call. She prayed as the phone kept ringing at the other end. Please be in. Please be in. Dana heard Cesar’s blessed voice.