Breakthrough (The Red Gambit Series) (31 page)

“Comrade Marshall Zhukov is wholly correct. The German is a good soldier but the SS had something extra. I see no reason to believe that the
absence
of political motivation from
the
National Socialism
cause
will undermine their will and ability to fight.”

“Go on, you said somethin
g extra. Explain Comrade,” the D
ictator presiding benignly over proceedings almost purred the words.

“They had unequalled
military skills,
zeal,
comradeship
and
esprit de corps
,
Comrade General Secretary, which combined with a fanatical belief that they were without equal militarily
. That
made them the very worst of enemies.”

Beria rallied.

“Under German leadership remember that. Eisenhower and his cronies are lesser men as we have seen already.”

“That is true Comrade Marshall. However
,
Leopard identified SS officers Bittrich and Knocke as part of the command group for this Legion Corps.”

Beria contemplated saying nothing
,
but immediately understood that he would need the GRU’s agent.

“In which case
,
we will be able to interfere with their effectiveness.”

This time
,
it was Zhukov who was taken by surprise.

“How so
,
Comrade Marshall?”

“Knocke has a wife and two young girls, presently within the control of the NKVD, Comrade Marshall Zhukov.”

Pausing for the briefest of moments to permit his plan to form, he addressed Nazarbayeva in a friendly tone.

“So Comrade
PodPolkovnik
, one assumes that you can communicate with your agent in the field? Give him orders to follow, messages to deliver?”

Nazarbayeva understood perfectly.

“Yes
,
Comrade
Marshall
.”

“Then NKVD and GRU can
between us
,” he conceded, “
Affect
this SS Group
.”

“Excellent, Comrade Marshall.
Liaise with GRU and sort the SS bastards out swiftly.
Anything else, comrade?”

Nazarbaye
va passed the sole copy of the L
eopard report to Stalin.

“No
,
Comrade General-Secretary.”

“Thank you
,
Comrade Nazarbayeva. Excellent work.
You may go
,
but
wait outside so that Comrade Marshall Beria can organise the SS solution with you.”

Nazarbayeva departed the room, the faintest trace of her limp apparent.

When the door closed behind her
,
Stalin chuckled openly.

“
A formidable woman.
Would that all Russian women had balls like that, eh Lavrentiy?”

Beria ignored the obvious retort.

“She
is confident and efficient for sure
,
Comrade G
eneral Secretary. What say you
,
Comrade Zhukov?”

The bald
Marshall
ripped his eyes away from the closed doors, extinguishing the vision of the departing GRU officer.

“Would that all Russian soldiers had balls like
her
,
Comrade Beria.”

Zhukov exited the room and found Nazarbayeva scribbling out a copy of the Leopard report from memory.

She sprang to her feet as he approached.

“Relax
,
Comrade. Thank you for your input
,
but do watch Marshall Beria.
Y
ou have an enemy there.
”

Tatiana
went to reply but remained silent,
the doors open
ing
in her peripheral vision as Beria came in search of her.

Zhukov extracted a notebook and quickly penned a
message
. Folding the paper
,
he
held it out
to the
GRU officer as Beria hung back, waiting for
the
Marshall
to move on.

“My vehicles will leave in
thirty-five
minutes time. Just in case you are not with us, I would welcome your briefings in my headquarters on a regular basis
,
if General Pekunin can spare you
,
Comrade. Please give him this note.”

The paper changed hands and Zhukov nodded his goodbye to Nazarbayeva, who saluted smartly.

As the military man withdrew
,
so the NKVD chief drew near.

“Comrade
PodPolkovnik
. I need you to get a message to your agent as soon as possible.
I believe we can exert some pressure on our man.
”

A notebook appeared
,
and a second message was pressed into Nazarbayeva’s hand.

“Simple enough, Comrade?”

She read the message.

“Yes
,
Comrade
Marshall
.
I will
inform
Comrade
Polkovnik
General Pekunin
,
with my
explanation and
endorsement
,
and I am
sure he
will have it sent straight away.”

“
With your fucking endorsement? Who the fuck do you think you are?
”

Tatiana meant nothing more than she would support the concept and relay events from the meeting, but Beria heard what he wanted and interpreted it
in
the same jaundiced way.

He counter-attacked.

“Good. I was sorry to hear of the death of your son.”

The change in tack threw the woman, a fact not wasted on Beria.

“Thank you
,
Comrade Marshall. He was a soldier and took a soldier’s risks.”

“True, true.
But we should look after our sons and husbands
,
and do all we can to keep them safe from harm.”

‘
Sympathy from Beria?
’
she thought,
‘
Out of character.
’

“All we can
,
Comrade Nazarbayeva. You still have three sons and a husband in service to the Motherland. They should be kept safe.”

“That is beyond me
,
Comrade Marshall. I can but hope that victory will come
,
and they will be delivered home to me alive.”

“Nothing is beyond anyone prepared to sacrifice themselves for others.”

A chill went through Nazarbayeva as she realised that the NKVD boss was examining her form,
very deliberately
studying her breasts through the tunic, his mind obviously on matters other than Agent Leopard.

“I will ensure the agent gets this message
,
Comrade Marshall.”

Her hasty salute and departure broke Beria’s train of thought, but not enough for him to stop imagining himself
exploding
hard
inside the bitch
and inflicting pleasurable pain upon her body.

“
Sometime soon, Comrade Tatiana.
You will know what
happens to those who cross me.
”

Nazarbayeva presented herself in front of General Pekunin and handed him the note
s
from
Beria and
Zhukov.

The journey back
by car
to Ostafievo had been
relatively quiet
, Zhukov studying a new re
port on the military situation.

Once on board the
aircraft,
the two had talked for a while
,
until Zhukov called a halt and decided to get some much needed sleep.

Nazarbayeva did not inform him of what had transpired after he had left her with Beria.

Pekunin’s chuck
le roused her from her thoughts as she stood in front of his desk.

Placing the document from Zhukov on the table, the GRU commander returned to the dilemma posed by his Chinese puzzle box.

“So it appears that you have made a good impression on Marshall Zhukov
,
Tatiana. Do you know what this note says?”

Sliding one inconspicuous part across, the old man pursed his lips in triumph.

“I believe the
Marshall
wishes for a GRU raw brief at his headquarters on a regular basis
,
Comrade General.”

“That is part of it,”
he paused in his attempt to conquer the box
and the message was passed back to Nazarbayeva.

“Read it aloud
,
Tatiana. I may have misunderstood it.”

She missed the
grin on
Pekunin’s
face, clearing her throat and feeling the first wave of chills as her body
fought
the
virus.

“Comrade Pekunin, please arrange for this officer to deliver briefings at my headquarters
on a regular basis. Promote her to
full
colonel immediately or risk losing her to my personal staff. Zhukov.”

Another panel slid away, permitting Pekunin to move the final piece, exposing the interior of the box.

“
No, I did not misunderstand it. I will draft the paperwork shortly. I
n
the meantime,
you look awful. T
ake yourself off to your quarters and I do not want to see you until breakfast tomorrow. Clear Comrade
Polkovnik
?”

“Yes, Comrade General, but there is the other matter.”

Beria’s note lay unread.

“It will wait
,
Polkovnik
.”

“No
,
Sir, it wil...”

Pekunin stood and moved to the door, opening it wide.

“It will wait
,
Polkovnik
.”

“Clear, thank you
,
Sir.”

There is no victory at bargain basement prices.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

             
Colonel Thomas Bell Hood was exhausted, having been on the go
constantly
since day one of the
Soviet
attacks.

             
His
shift
had started at 013
0 hrs
,
when an orderly had awakened him with his favourite breakfast tea.

By 0200
hrs,
the
fifty-four
year old staff officer was downstairs in the centre of operations
,
examining the progress of the Russian thrusts.

The Allied troops were fighting hard
,
but the main campaign map left no doubt that the situation was dire.
Five
main
Soviet
developments
were cutting through
Allied
defensive positions
.

Around
Hamburg
, north and south, advances had been made. The British were performing miracles but
having to
giv
e
ground, their whole position weakened now that
Hamburg
itself has fallen
.