"L'Amour, Louis - Last_of_the_Breed42" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

He took up his pipe from an ashtray. "I wish you to understand something, Arkady. Baronas and his daughter have friends, very important friends. They are to be allowed to leave the country."
"Yes, sir." Zamatev was astonished, but he hoped it did not show on his face.
"Very important friends, and as he is of no value to us, he is being permitted to leave. Do not interfere. Do you understand?"
He understood well enough, but now Kyra was in Iman and about to arrest the Baronas woman. If Natalya Baronas and her father were arrested now, there would be trouble. He, and Kyra as well, might find themselves spending the rest of their lives on duty in some such place as Chersky.
"Suvarov? Can you get a call through to Comrade Lebedev in Iman?"
"I think so, sir."
"Do it then. Tell her Baronas and his daughter are not to be arrested or interfered with in any way. Do you understand? And I want her here, now!"
Zamatev walked to the window and looked out over the bleak street and the gray blocks of concrete into the cheerless distance.
Baronas? Who would have believed it? The man was a Lithuanian, if he remembered correctly, some sort of a professor. Well, such men often made friends, powerful friends.
He shrugged. It was no business of his. He shoved his hands down in his pockets. His friend had certainly made it painfully clear. Catch the American and get something out of him, or he was through. All his dreams, his ambitions, for nothing. Once one had a mark like this against him, it was almost impossible to get going again.
He had no doubts about Kyra. She had become a tail to his kite, but if the kite would not fly--?
He walked to the door and looked into the outer office. "Let me know as soon as you have talked to Comrade Lebedev."
"You wish to speak to her?"
"Just convey my message, nothing more."
He walked back to his desk and sat down heavily. He must get into the field himself. He could not simply leave it to Alekhin, although the Yakut seemed confident enough.
On the wall, there was a great map showing the vast stretch of country between Chersky and the Bering Strait, everything from Magadan east. For a long time he stood, hands clasped behind his back, studying that map. Suvarov had placed a pin on the map at the place where the man had been seen. At least, where a man had been seen.
Suppose that man was not the American? Who could it be? And what would he be doing out in that miserable country at this time of year?
He returned to the door of the outer office. "Suvarov? I'll want a helicopter. Didn't I see a MIL-4 out there? I want it and as many men as it will safely carry with their equipment. I want it and the men ready first thing tomorrow. I am going into the field myself. And," he added, "you are going with me."
All right, he would show them what he was made of. He would have that American in his hands within hours.
He turned back to Suvarov. "That man who was seen? I want him, no matter who he is. I want him brought to me. Get some helicopters into the area. Make a thorough search. Alekhin says this is not our man, but I want to see for myself. I want to talk to that man."
Walking back to his desk, he dropped into a chair. He did not like all this running about. There were others to do that, but there was so much wasted effort, so much wasted time! Nobody really cared. That was the trouble.
No, he was wrong about that. Many people did care, and some worked very hard, for one reason or another, but not enough of them. The great problem was inertia.
By now the American was probably somewhere in the Chukchi Region or just over the line into the Koryak. It was wild country, but there were few forests, and the mountains were more icy and barren. The man would be more exposed.
They would get him now. They must get him.
The trouble was, back in Moscow they did not even grasp the sheer size of the country he had been dealing with. To find one man in all that vast area, especially one who wanted to hide and was skilled at it, was nearly impossible.
Suvarov appeared in the doorway. "Sir? I have not been able to reach Comrade Lebedev. Perhaps if I were to fly down there--?"
You would like that, wouldn't you? Zamatev said to himself. "No," he said aloud. "I shall need you with me. Get in touch with Comrade Yavorsky at my office. Tell her that the Baronas father and daughter are not to be arrested. They are to be left strictly alone. Tell her that Comrade Lebedev is now in Iman for that purpose and must be stopped, stopped at all costs."
Emma Yavorsky had never liked Kyra Lebedev, but Kyra had to be reached somehow, and he would be off searching for the American. It was a pity. Kyra was a lovely and intelligent woman, but to fly in the face of orders would be suicidal. Emma Yavorsky would not only stop her in time, she would take pleasure in it. Maybe he could straighten matters out later, but for now Kyra must be stopped at all costs.
Suppose she did arrest them and had Stegman put them to the question?