Charlie Muffin: The Blind Run Part 13

Chapter Fifteen.

Berenkov decided against confronting Sampson at Dzerzhinsky Square. It was the headquarters and the man knew it and Berenkov had listened to all the tapes not just the debriefing records but those from the apartment, as well and was aware of Sampson's arrogance. He didn't want the man arrogant. Although he'd criticised the att.i.tude to Kalenin, he wanted the man still anxious to prove himself, as he had been during the encounter with Comrade Fedova. So Berenkov chose the same meeting place, the peripheral road building, even utilising an office on the same floor. He was undecided about wearing uniform but in the end decided against it.

Sampson entered the office as eagerly as Berenkov remembered him from the video film, smiling hopefully, the expression growing when he saw that the interrogator had changed and that it was a man. Berenkov supposed Sampson would imagine the meeting more important: which it was, he conceded.

Berenkov made no effort at any introduction, determined to keep Sampson in the subservient role. And proceeded cautiously, as if the encounter was nothing more than a continuation of the earlier interview, actually reverting back to some of the things talked about with the woman, as if clarification were necessary. It was a worthwhile test. Sampson responded as willingly as before and there were no variations in the answers, which was important. It was a full hour before Berenkov approached the true purpose of the meeting.

'How long were you on the Russian desk?' he asked, suddenly.

'About sixteen months.'

'Precisely,' insisted Berenkov.

'Sixteen months and two weeks.'

'An a.s.sistant?'

Sampson nodded. 'There was the division director and then two of us. The other a.s.sistant had more seniority.'

'Does that mean he had greater access than you?'

Sampson shook his head. 'Our clearance was the same level.'

'I'm aware of clearances and I'm aware of how things actually resolve, in working conditions,' pressed Berenkov. 'Did you have access to everything with which the other a.s.sistant dealt?'

'We worked our own cases; our own people. But I definitely had access. I've made that clear, in the reports. I made a point of seeing what he was doing.'

'What about the division director?'

'Officially he was cleared higher than I was. It had to be that way: there again I got to what I could.'

'But not everything?'

Sampson hesitated and Berenkov knew the man was wondering whether he could afford an over-commitment. 'Of course not,' said Sampson. 'It was actually trying to get at something that I shouldn't that got me put under suspicion in the end.'

Berenkov was glad the man hadn't tried to boast stupidly. 'Give me a percentage?' he demanded. 'How much stuff did you have access to? Or could you reasonably expect to have had some awareness, at least?'

There was another pause and Sampson said, 'Eighty per cent.'

That hadn't been a boast either, Berenkov decided. Kalenin wasn't going to get what he expected from this meeting, he thought. Berenkov said, 'Did you have access to the cable traffic, coming into London from the emba.s.sy in Moscow?'

'Most of it,' said Sampson. 'It depended upon the cla.s.sification at the point of transmission, of course.'

Berenkov saw the point and s.n.a.t.c.hed for it. 'You know all the cla.s.sifications?'

'I don't know,' said Sampson and Berenkov realised the man was being completely honest and was glad of it. 'I know a lot of them.'

Berenkov pushed some paper across the desk at the other man and said, 'Give me some. From the highest cla.s.sification of which you are aware and working downwards.'

Sampson stared back at the order, the curiosity obvious. 'Is there a point to this?' he said.

'It's a debriefing,' said Berenkov. 'There's a point to everything.'

Sampson was unconvinced and showed it. if I knew a purpose, maybe I could help more easily.'

'Just the cla.s.sifications,' insisted Berenkov. He was impressed by Sampson: was sure the man was telling the truth and was even curbing the tendency to over-commitment. But this was too important to allow the slightest relaxation.

There weren't that many, so it only took Sampson minutes. As he handed the list back, Sampson said, it's an alphabetical progression. Having detected me, I'll guess they will have changed it, but it won't matter because the alphabetical designation only has dating significance anyway. I was caught in June, the sixth month. The coding that year had actually originated from A, for January. So June the sixth month was the sixth letter F. The important indicators follow that on the initial grouping of transmission letters. MD is for Wilson himself. M for main; D for Director main Director. Various division directors have the prefix, designating the station. Here for instance, the division is designated S, for Soviet. So there would be a letter, for the month, then S, then D, directing it to the director of the Soviet division. I could actually set out an example, if you want me to.'

Berenkov shook his head, not needing any further explanation. To show Sampson he understood completely he said, 'So if from Moscow in February of the year you were detected there was sent a message prefixed B for the second month of the year and then M, for main, and D, for Director, Wilson himself would have been the recipient.'

'Yes,' said Sampson. 'But not any longer. They'll have changed everything, because of my coming across. It's obvious I would tell you.'

There had been ten messages before Sampson had been detected, all addressed personally to the main Director: from the changes after Sampson's detection it would be easy for the cryptologists to cross-reference and find the new British designation code. Not that Berenkov considered it necessary. 'Tell me about Wilson,' he said.

Sampson hesitated, composing the reply. 'Aloof man, not often seen in the various divisions. Bad leg, from some accident or other. Former full time army officer, but you'll know that from the listing in Who's Who or Burke's Peerage. Fills the b.l.o.o.d.y place with roses. Grows them. Widower. Absolute professional, admired by a lot of the old timers ...' The man smiled up. 'Actually heard a suggestion that when he discovered what I'd done he didn't want the thing settled by trial: preferred a more direct and unpublic removal.'

'What about involvement?' pressed Berenkov, wanting to achieve his point. 'If Wilson considered something sufficiently important, would he become personally involved: run control himself?'

'Oh yes,' said Sampson at once. 'Ex regular officer, like I said. Baxter that was my divisional chief was always moaning that he was poking his nose in, at executive level.'

Berenkov sat for several moments, uncertain. Settled as soon as possible, Kalenin had ordered: at least he was more personally satisfied with Sampson than he had been when the meeting began. The Russian reached sideways, into the briefcase beside him and unseen behind the bulk of the desk. It didn't matter which communication it was but he glanced at it anyway, completely accustomed now to the code and able to read it as if it were ordinary Cyrillic script: it was a message about additional silo construction at Baikonur, for the protective version of the SS-20 missile, which had the highest security cla.s.sification and of which they had been sure that nothing could leak out to the West. He pa.s.sed it across to Sampson, like he had the paper earlier, and said, 'What does that say?'

Sampson frowned down, the effort at concentration and the need to succeed obvious. 'C,' he said at once. 'So it was transmitted in March, before my detection. MD, so Wilson was the recipient ...' The man's voice trailed. 'I don't understand what follows: it's a code with which I'm not familiar. Neither the actual message code. It looks like random computer choice, to me. G.o.d knows how you'd break that.'

It hadn't been G.o.d, remembered Berenkov: it had been a team of twenty mathematicians working around the clock, at their own computers. Taken four and a half months. And was still incomplete. He said, 'What do you know about Baikonur?'

Sampson shrugged. 'Soviet s.p.a.ce exploration centre, like Houston and Canaveral, in America. Why?'

'You didn't see any transmission, in the March three months before your detection concerning Baikonur?'

The Englishman looked back to the meaningless collection of letters and figures, then back up at Berenkov. 'You know everything I saw in March,' he said slowly. 'I transmitted it. In March I wasn't suspected.'

'Nothing about Baikonur pa.s.sed through the Soviet division?' persisted Berenkov.

'I was right about the spy!' said Sampson, in belated, excited awareness. 'The one I warned you about. But you haven't caught him!'

Berenkov supposed it was hardly the elucidation of the decade, after the way he'd conducted the meeting. Still sharp enough, though. He said, 'A spy operating for some of the period when you were still clear, for us.'

'I told you,' said Sampson, impatiently. In reflection he said, 'I knew Wilson and Harkness were up to something. I just knew it.'

'They ran it themselves?' queried Berenkov.

'Definitely,' a.s.sured Sampson. 'I'd have known, otherwise.' He fluttered between them the piece of paper bearing the code he could not comprehend. 'Baikonur?' he asked.

'Yes.'

'So you've broken the code?'

'Part,' agreed Berenkov. Deciding the man deserved the acknowledgement he added, 'And it was computer choice, although not quite random. We don't understand the clearance line.'

'I'll be able to help,' said Sampson confidently. 'If you make the transcripts available to me, I'll be able to decide the echelon at which they're being considered: maybe even determine the sender, from here in Moscow.'

Berenkov realised Kalenin had been right, in forcing the pace. And that he had been wrong, in arguing caution. He wondered if that would be Kalenin's feeling when he considered the films and the transcripts of the encounter. To Sampson he said, 'That's what we want: we want your help in finding the sender.'

'Conditions,' insisted Sampson, with continuing confidence.

'Conditions?' queried Berenkov, surprised.

'You know I'm genuine: you've never had any reason to doubt me. And if you doubted me now, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'll do everything I can to help, over these messages. But in return I want to be split up from that dreadful man Charlie m.u.f.fin. I want a respectable apartment. And to be treated properly, as a colleague. Not like some doubtful suspect.'

He'd talked to Kalenin about keeping them together, remembered Berenkov. He said, 'All right.'

'Immediately?' pressed Sampson, a man aware of a moment of power and determined to get everything from it.

'Immediately,' agreed Berenkov.

'This is what I came here to do,' said Sampson. 'To help.'

'We haven't caught him yet,' said Berenkov.

'We will,' said Sampson, confidently.

I hope, thought Berenkov. Having spent time with both men, Berenkov could understand easily how Charlie had offended every one of Sampson's sensibilities. To someone like Sampson, Charlie would be an anathema.

There is the closest co-operation between the radio intercept installation maintained by the British at Cheltenham officially called the Government Communication Centre and America's National Security Agency at Fort Meade. With slight variations dictated by geographical needs, the world is divided between the two monitoring stations and their impressively equipped sub-stations so effectively that they confidently expect to intercept and have the ability to transcribe once they know the code at least ninety per cent of the Soviet and Eastern bloc radio communications.

With ironic coincidence considering the chance message that Berenkov had chosen to show Sampson it was the change of code from Baikonur that was first detected, by America who did not understand the significance. Sir Alistair Wilson did, as soon as the information was relayed from the liaison officer at Cheltenham, because the British Director had made a special request to be informed immediately something like that happened. Within twenty-four hours there was confirmation, from changes of code being used along Soviet emba.s.sy microwave channels and its sea, air and land forces.

'Took them longer to break than I thought it would,' said Wilson.

'But now they have,' said Harkness. 'I'm surprised they think it might be from something as simple as intercept but it means they are reading the messages coming to us and are taking every precaution they can think of: even changing their codes.'

'Christ, they'll be worried,' said Wilson, expressing the familiar att.i.tude.

'So am I,' admitted Harkness.

Chapter Sixteen.

Sampson was tight with excitement and self-satisfaction, actually strutting around the apartment: Charlie was reminded of the proud pigeons who used to parade around Whitehall and Trafalgar Square. How long ago had it been since he'd seen proud pigeons, in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square? A million years? Two million?

'Told you how important I was, didn't I?'

'Yes,' said Charlie. What was the silly b.u.g.g.e.r on about now?

'I suppose you saw the woman again?'

'Didn't you?'

Sampson smiled, smugly. 'Gone beyond her now.'

Strut and boast, thought Charlie; strut and boast. He said 'Who then?'

'There wasn't any identification,' said Sampson. 'Clearly someone important.'

'A man?'

'Of course it was a man,' said Sampson, irritably. 'Important, too. A senior officer.'

'How do you know that, if there wasn't identification?'

'Everyone in the building was practically s.h.i.+tting themselves.'

Charlie's outward att.i.tude hadn't changed but he was fully attentive now. 'What was he like?' he coaxed, gently.

'Big man: very big,' said Sampson. 'High liver, by the look of him.'

That had been one of the first a.s.sessments of Berenkov, in the very early stages, long before the man was suspect: before they even knew his name, remembered Charlie. And Berenkov was back here: Wilson had made the point, during their meeting in the governor's office. Maybe you'd even get to him, the Director had said. Surely it wouldn't have been Berenkov! Wilson had hoped for contact because of what had happened before; their involvement. Sampson had never been involved. And then Charlie remembered something else. The Russian desk. Sampson had been number three on the Russian desk. Careful, he thought, halting the slide. Of course Sampson would be important, because of the Russian desk. But not this important, this quickly. Not days after they'd arrived. Unless there was a panic, making it necessary to abandon all the usual rules of procedure. What could cause a panic that big? The answer was obvious but Charlie didn't at first want to confront it. Which he realised was stupid and so he did. If the Russians suspected a spy they'd abandon all rules of procedure; a spy as important as Wilson had made out the unknown man to be. For someone that important they'd rewrite the whole b.l.o.o.d.y regulation book. Still desperately circ.u.mstantial, Charlie attempted to rationalise. 'High liver?' he said, as if he hadn't understood.

'Florid-faced, that sort of thing,' said Sampson, impatient again.

Berenkov had had a florid face: until jail, that is. Then he'd got the pallor that they all developed. Charlie hesitated, unsure how to proceed with the man. His conceit, he decided. He said, 'Wonder if I'll see him?'

Sampson gave a dismissive laugh, as if the idea were amusing. 'You! Why should you see him?'

'Just a thought,' said Charlie, pus.h.i.+ng ever so gently.

'I told you,' lectured Sampson. 'This is important.'

'But still only debriefing?' said Charlie.

Sampson laughed again. 'No, Charlie. This isn't debriefing. This is me being fully and absolutely accepted ...' He held out his hand, a cupping gesture. 'Right there,' he said. 'Right in the middle.'

Charlie wondered if he'd located all the bugs, during his search. If he hadn't then those listening were going to be p.i.s.sed off with Sampson's boastful indiscretion. But still not indiscreet enough. 'Bulls.h.i.+t,' he jeered, in open challenge. 'What reason would there be to do something like that?'

A look of wariness came into Sampson's face. s.h.i.+t, thought Charlie.

Sampson said, 'There's reason enough, believe me.'

'What?' said Charlie, with no alternative.