Black Ops (Presidential Agent 5)

"That implies you have access to that kind of money," she said.

"And if I did, what would it buy me?"

"Our complete cooperation."

"I don't know what that means."

"The name, for example, of the officer who is replacing Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Zhdankov," she said. "Other names . . ."

"Viktor who?"

"The man . . ." she began, then stopped. "You know very well who I'm talking about, Colonel."

"The two million is the only consideration you're talking about?" Castillo asked.

She looked at her brother. He shook his head.

Castillo said, "While you two are mulling over answering that question, Colonel, why don't you tell me the reasons that I won't believe why you'd like to defect?"

She met his eyes again.

"I'll tell you that when I think you will believe me," she said. "After we go forward with this situation. If we go forward with this situation."

"That would depend in large measure on your other conditions," Castillo said.

"You're on the train," Berezovsky challenged. "Where is your airplane?"

"Assuming Schwechat is open, it should be there by now," Castillo said.

"And is it in condition to make a long flight on short notice?"

Which obviously translates to mean that you not only want to defect, you want to defect now.

Which means that you think somebody suspects that you want to defect.

And that would further translate to "I've got you now, Tom, ol' pal."

If the Service for the Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight Against Terrorism is onto you, I don't need two million dollars to get you to change sides.

All I have to do is provide a way for you to keep running.

Where's the elation that's supposed to come with learning something like this?

Did I just fall into Svetlana's sky-blue eyes?

Well, what the hell. James Bond is always having some damsel in distress throw herself into his arms. Why not me?

"How close behind you are they?" Castillo asked, this time turning the tables on Lieutenant Colonel Alekseeva of the SVR and looking deeply and intently into her eyes.

"Are you going to answer the question?" Berezovsky asked angrily.

"We don't know that they are," Svetlana said.

"But the death of the Kuhls makes you think there's that possibility?"

He saw in her eyes that the question had touched a chord.

"Who?" Berezovsky said without much conviction.