bl.necroscope2-第77节

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m　in　the　British　zone　in　Berlin。　There　he'll　simply　die；　and　their　best　doctors　won't　know　why。〃
　〃But　why　will　he　die？　And　what　of　that　drug　you're　pumping　into　him？　Surely　their　doctors　will　pick　up　traces？〃
　Gerenko　shook　his　walnut　head。　〃It　leaves　no　trace。　It　pletely　voids　itself　in　a　few　hours。　That　is　why　we　have　to　keep　dosing　him。　A　clever　lot；　our　Bulgarian　friends。　He's　not　the　first　one　we've　drained　in　this　fashion；　and　the　results　have　always　been　the　same。　As　to　why　he　will　die：　he　will　have　no　incentive　for　life。　Less　than　a　cabbage；　he　will　not　retain　sufficient　knowledge　or　instinct　even　to　move　his　body。　There　will　be　no　control　…none！　His　vital　organs　will　not　function。　He　might　survive　longer　on　a　life…support　machine；　but。。。〃　And　he　shrugged。
　〃Brain…death。〃　Dolgikh　nodded　and　grinned。
　〃But　there　you　have　it　in　a　nutshell。〃　Gerenko　emotionlessly　clapped　his　child's　hands。　〃Bravo！　For　what　is　an　entirely　empty　brain　if　not　dead；　eh？　And　now；　if　you'll　excuse　me；　I　have　a　telephone　call　to　make。〃
　Dolgikh　stood　up。　〃I'll　be　on　my　way；〃　he　said。　Already　he　was　looking　forward　to　the　task　in　hand。
　〃Theo；〃　said　Gerenko。　〃Krakovitch　and　his　friends　…they　should　be　killed　with　despatch。　Don't　linger　over　it。　And　one　last　thing：　do　not　be　too　curious　about　what　they　are　trying　to　do　up　there　in　the　mountains。　Do　not　concern　yourself　with　it。　Believe　me；　too　much　curiosity　could　be　very；　very　dangerous！〃
　In　answer　to　which　Dolgikh　could　only　nod。　Then　he　turned　and　left　the　room　。　。
　
　*　*　*
　
　As　their　car　drew　away　from　the　checkpoint　towards　Chernovtsy；　Quint　might　have　expected　Krakovitch　to　carry　on　raging。　But　he　didn't。　Instead　the　head　of　the　Soviet　E…Branch　was　quiet　and　thoughtful；　and　even　more　so　after　Gulharov　quickly　told　him　about　the　disconnected　cable。
　〃There　are　several　things　I　not　liking　here；〃　Krakovitch　told　Quint　in　a　little　while。　〃At　first　I　am　thinking　that　fat　man　back　there　is　simply　stupid；　but　now　not　being　so　sure。　And　this　business　with　the　electricity…all　very　strange。　Sergei　finds　and　fixes　that　which　they　could　not　…and　he　does　it　quickly　and　without　difficulty。　Which　would　seem　to　make　our　fat　friend　at　the　checkpoint　not　only　stupid　but　inpetent！〃
　〃You　think　we　were　deliberately　delayed？〃　Quint　felt　an　uneasy；　dark　oppressiveness　settling　all　around　him；　like　a　positive　weight　on　his　head　and　shoulders。
　〃That　telephone　call　he　got　just　now；〃　Krakovitch　mused。　〃The　missioner　for　Frontier　Control；　in　Moscow？　I　never　heard　of　him！　But　I　suppose　he　must　exist。　Or　must　he？　One　missioner；　controlling　all　of　the　thousands　of　crossing　points　into　the　Soviet　Union？　So；　I　assume　he　exists。　Which　is　meaning　that　Ivan　Gerenko　got　in　touch　with　him；　in　the　dead　of　night；　and　that　he　then　personally　called　up　this　little　fat　official　in　his　stupid　sentry…box　of　a　control　hut…all　in　ten　minutes！〃
　〃Who　knew　we　were　ing　through　here　tonight？〃　Quint；　in　his　way　of　going　to　the　root　of　things；　asked　the　most　obvious　question。
　〃Eh？〃　Krakovitch　scratched　behind　his　ear。　〃We　knew　it；　of　course；　and　…〃
　〃And？〃
　〃And　my　Second　in　mand　at　the　Chateau　Bronnitsy；　Ivan　Gerenko。〃　Krakovitch　turned　to　Quint　and　stared　hard　at　him。
　
　〃Then；　while　I　dislike　saying　it；〃　said　Quint；　〃if　there　is　something　funny　going　on；　Gerenko　has　to　be　your　man。〃
　Krakovitch　gave　a　disbelieving　snort；　shook　his　head。　〃But　why？　What　reason？〃
　Quint　shrugged。　〃You　have　to　know　him　better　than　I　do。　Is　he　ambitious？　Could　he　have　been　got　at…and　by　whom？　But　remember；　we　did　have　that　trouble　in　Genoa；　and　didn't　you　remark　how　surprised　you　were　that　the　KGB　were　trailing　you？　Your　explanation　was　that　they'd　probably　had　you　under　constant　surveillance…until　we　put　a　stop　to　it；　anyway。　But　just　let's　suppose　there　is　an　enemy　in　your　camp。　Did　Gerenko　know　you　were　meeting　us　in　Italy？〃
　〃Apart　from　Brezhnev　himself…through　an　intermediary　who　cannot　be　brought　into　question…Gerenko　is　the　only　one　who　knew！〃　Krakovitch　answered。
　Quint　said　nothing；　merely　shrugged　again　and　raised　an　eyebrow。
　〃I　am　thinking；〃　said　Krakovitch　slowly；　〃that　from　now　on　I　tell　no　one　how　I　moving　until　after　the　move　is　pleted！〃　He　looked　at　Quint；　saw　his　troubled　frown。　〃Is　there　something　else？〃
　Quint　pursed　his　lips。　〃Let's　just　say　this　Gerenko　fellow　is　a　plant；　a　spy　in　your　organisation。　Am　I　right　in　thinking　he　can　only　be　working　for　the　KGB？〃
　〃For　Andropov；　yes。　Almost　certainly。〃
　〃Then　Gerenko　must　think　you're　a　plete　fool！〃
　〃Oh？　Why　do　you　say　so？　In　fact　he　thinks　most　men　are　fools。　He　fears　no　one；　Gerenko；　and　so　can　afford　to　think　so。　But　I？　No；　I　believe　I　am　one　of　the　few　men　who　he　respects…or　used　to。〃
　〃Used　to；〃　Quint　nodded。　〃But　no　more。　Surely　he　must　know　you'll　work　all　of　this　out　for　yourself　given　a　little　time？　Theo　Dolgikh　in　Genoa；　and　now　this　shambles　at　the　Romano…Soviet　border？　Unless　he　himself　is　an　idiot；　Gerenko　must　know　he's　for　the　high…jump　as　soon　as　you　get　back　to　Moscow！〃
　Sergei　Gulharov　had　managed　to　understand　most　of　this。　Now　he　spoke　to　Krakovitch　in　a　soft；　rapid　burst　of　Russian。
　〃Hah！〃　Krakovitch's　shoulders　jerked　in　a　humourless　chuckle。　For　a　moment　he　was　silent；　then　he　said；　〃Perhaps　Sergei　is　smarter　than　all　of　us。　And　if　he　is；　then　we're　in　for　trouble。〃
　〃Oh？〃　said　Quint。　〃What　did　Sergei　say？〃
　〃He　said；　perhaps　rade　Gerenko　feels　that　he　can　now　afford　to　be　a　little　slipshod。　Perhaps　he　isn't　expecting　to　see　me　again　in　Moscow！　And　as　for　you；　Carl…we　just　crossed　the　border　and　you're　in　Russia。〃
　〃I　know；〃　Quint　quietly　answered。　〃And　I　must　say；　I　don't　exactly　feel　at　home。〃
　〃Strangely；〃　Krakovitch　nodded；　〃neither　do　I！〃
　Nothing　more　was　said　until　they　reached　Chernovtsy。　。
　
　
　Chapter　Fifteen
　Back　in　London　at　INTESP　HO；　Guy　Roberts　and　Ken　Layard　had　traced　Alec　Kyle；　Carl　Quint　and　Yulian　Bodescu。　The　Devon…based　team　of　espers　had　travelled　back　to　the　capital　by　train；　leaving　Ben　Trask　to　mend　in　the　Torquay　hospital。　Having　used　the　journey　to　catch　up　on　some　sleep；　they'd　got　into　HO　just　before　midnight。　Layard　had　roughly　〃located〃　the　three　figures　in　question；　and　Roberts　had　attempted　to　scry　their　whereabouts　a　little　more　precisely。　Desperation　had　seemingly　honed　their　talents　and　the　familiarity　of　their　surroundings　had　helped　them　to　get　results…of　a　sort。
　Now　Roberts　held　a　briefing：　in　attendance　were　Layard；　John　Grieve；　Harvey　Newton；　Trevor　Jordan；　and　three　others　who　were　permanent　members　of　the　HO's　staff。　Roberts　was　red…eyed；　unshaven　and　itchy；　his　breath　reeked　of　an　endless　chain　of　cigarettes。　He　glanced　around　the　table　and　nodded　to　each　man　in　turn；　then　got　straight　into　it。
　〃We've　been　trimmed　back　a　bit；〃　he　said；　untypically　phlegmatic。　〃Kyle　and　Quint　are　out　of　it；　perhaps　permanently；　Trask　is　banged　up　a　bit；　Darcy　Clarke's　up　north；　and。。。　and　then　there's　poor　Simon　Gower。　And　the　result　of　our　outing？　Our　job　isn't　only　that　much　harder；　it's　that　much　more　important！　Yes；　and　we've　less　men　to　do　it。　We　could　certainly　use　Harry　Keogh　now…but　Alec　Kyle　was　Keogh's　main　man；　and　Alec's　not　here。　And　as　well　as　the　danger　we　know　exists…out　there；　loose…there's　now　a　second　problem　which　could　be　just　as　big。　Namely；　the　espers　of　the　Soviet　E…Branch　have　got　Kyle　on　ice　at　the　Chateau　Bronnitsy。〃
　
　This　was　news　to　everyone　except　Layard。　Lips　tightened　and　heartbeats　stepped　up。　Ken　Layard　took　up　the　briefing。　〃We're　pretty　sure　he's　there；〃　he　said。　〃I　located　him…I　think…but　only　with　the　greatest　difficulty。　They've　got　espers　blocking　everything　in　there；　far　more　concentrated　than　we've　ever　known　it　before。　The　place　is　a　mental　miasma！〃
　〃That's　a　fact；〃　Roberts　nodded。　〃I　tried　to　pin…point　him；　get　a　picture　of　him…and　failed　miserably！　Just　a　general　mind…smog。　Which　doesn't　bode　at　all　well　for　Alec。　If　his　being　there　was　all　above　board；　they'd　have　nothing　to　hide。　Also；　he's　not　supposed　to　be　there　at　all　but　here。　My　guess　is；　they'll　be　milking　him　for　all　he's　worth。　And　for　all　we're　worth。　If　I'm　cold…blooded　about　it；　believe　me　it's　only　to　save　time。〃
　〃What　about　Carl　Quint？〃　John　Grieve　put　the　question。　〃How's　he　faring？〃
　〃Carl's　where　he　should　be；〃　Layard　said。　〃Near　as　I　can　make　out；　in　a　place　called　Chernovtsy　under　the　Carpathians。　Whether　he's　there　willingly　is　another　matter。〃
　〃But　we　think　willingly；〃　Roberts　added。　〃I've　managed　to　reach　and　see　him；　however　briefly；　and　I　think　he's　with　Krakovitch。　Which　only　serves　to　confuse　things　further。　If　Krakovitch　is　straight　up；　then　why　is　Kyle　in　trouble？〃
　〃And　Bodescu？〃　Newton　asked。　He　now　felt　he　had　a　personal　vendetta　with　the　vampire。
　〃That　bastard　is　heading　north；〃　Roberts　grimly　answered。　〃It　could　be　coincidence；　but　we　don't　think　so。　Ultimately；　we　think　he's　after　the　Keogh　child。　He　knows　everything；　knows　the　guiding　force　behind　our　organisation。　Bodescu　has　been　hit；　and　now　he　wants　to　hit　back。　The　one　mind　in　this　entire　world　which　is　an　authority　on　vampires…particularly　Yulian　Bodescu…is　housed　in　that　child。　That　has　to　be　his　target。〃
　〃We　don't　know　how　he's　travelling；〃　Layard　ca