"Charles Stross - Red, Hot and Dark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

the guards opened the front door to reveal an armoured personnel carrier backed up
against it, engine running. "Glad you could make the party!"

Leningrad: Monday morning, August the 20th, 1991:
Valentina was waiting impatiently in the station lobby at the airport, a woolen coat pulled
tight around her; when she saw the uniformed officer she waved. He approached her
rapidly. "This had better be good," she said.

He looked away from her. "Maybe not," he said, so quietly that the words were nearly
lost in the omnipresent traffic roar. Louder: "there's a message for you from Moscow,
high priority. You want to read it here?"

Valentina stared at him. Just another uniformed flunky. "Give it to me."

He passed her the sealed slip and hung around, evidently pleased with himself. She hadn't
bitten his head off, which was an unexpected bonus: Major Valentina Pavlova was
notorious for expecting of her subordinates the same efficiency that she was known for
herself.

She read the message quickly, face expressionless in the gloom. The officer glanced
around, nervously; there were few people in the airport today, and when he looked at
them they turned away pointedly. "What's going on?" he asked. "First the putsch, then
this priority traffic --"

She stopped him with a brisk shake of the head. "I wouldn't worry about the coup if I
were you. It will all be over soon. I need to get to Moscow as soon as possible. Take a
message! When you see me leave, tell Major Gromov I'll report back in three days, until
then I'll be in deep cover."

"You'll be --" she stared at the messenger until his eyes watered and he looked away.

"Don't ask. Tell him it's urgent. Is that understood, sergeant?"

He straightened up: saluted. "Yessir!"

"Good." She was already moving, walking towards the check-in desk, coat billowing out
behind her.

"What is it?" he called over her shoulder.

"Got a plane to catch," she said, hurrying through the door.

"Authorisation --"

"No problem."

"Papers? Channels?"

"No time."