Snow Wolf (34 page)

Eisenhower frowned. "And what makes
you assume that?"

"It's rather complex, Mr. President."

"Then tell me as simply as you
can."

Dulles explained about the bodies found
by the police in the Brooklyn apartment after a shooting had been reported, and
that one had been identified as Dimitri Popov, who worked for the CIA. The body
of the second man was Feliks Akashin, a Soviet attache and KGB major. It took
Dulles several minutes more to outline the complete details of how the CIA had
been alerted by the FBI. Branigan had learned of the alert and knew Popov had
been seconded to Massey for agent training, so Branigan had decided to have the
house in New Hampshire visited for the sake of necessity.

Dulles went on worriedly, "The cabin
had been burned to the ground and Massey and his people had vanished. Branigan
called in one of our teams to check the property. As of an hour ago four bodies
have been found, three in the woods, another near the lake by the cabin. One of
the bodies is of a killer named Braun who worked for the Soviets, and the body
had a single file hidden on it-the file I referred to. Massey had been supplied
with a copy for Stanski to study. It contained details on Stalin's background,
his personality, his weaknesses, his strengths. Even his medical data. His
present necessity arrangements, as far as we can ascertain. The layout of the
Kremlin and the Kuntsevo dacha he uses. It was top secret."

"Did the file contain any details
about Snow Wolf?"

"No, sir, it did not."
Eisenhower said impatiently, "Then just how do you suppose the Soviets
could have deduced what we intend? This man Braun is dead and the file didn't
contain any suggestion of our intentions."

Dulles hesitated. "I think maybe the
Assistant Director can better answer that question, sir." Dulles nodded to
William Wallace, who sat forward.

"Mr. President, as you know, for the
sake of necessity and the extremely sensitive nate of the mission, Snow Wolf
was ultra-covert. No one knew about it but us four here in the room and the
people directly involved. By that I mean Massey, and the man we're sending in,
Stanski. Not even the woman accompanying him knew the target." Eisenhower
said abruptly, "Get to the point."

The Assistant Director looked
uncomfortable. He glanced at Dulles for support, but when none came, he said,
"our forensic people believe Braun's body had already been discovered
before we found it. We also now suspect Moscow had been watching the woman and
sent Braun to kill or abduct her. It seems the likely scenario. Braun must have
found the file in the cabin, sir, before he was killed, most obviously by
Massey or one of his people. We concluded that when Braun and the others didn't
return, the KGB sent someone, possibly another team, to check. We don't think
Kislov flew to Moscow just to report Akashin's death and the deaths of the
others-that would hardly warrant such a trip. We think he flew there because
the team sent to find out what had happened to Braun also found the file. They
examined it but left it on the body. Kislov was informed and realized what the
information might suggest. A man like Kislov is no fool-with the kind of
details in the file and with Massey being involved, it's more than likely he'll
have reasoned we intend an operation against Stalin, and soon, considering most
mission training is done shortly before a drop takes place."

Eisenhower waited silently until Wallace
had finished. There was a frustrated look on the President's face, then he read
quickly through the file himself. When he had finished he closed it with a
heavy sigh.

"It seems like we've landed
ourselves one big mess, haven't we?"

"It's pretty bad, sir," Dulles
agreed.

Eisenhower sat down and said.quickly,
"OK, first things first. Has the team gone yet?"

"No, sir."

Eisenhower sighed. "Thank God for
that. If there's one thing I've learned, it's when you're in a hole you stop
digging. At this stage, we can't be absolutely certain Moscow will know exactly
what's going on, but if there's a risk of that, then the obvious answer is for
us to abort the whole operation. It's a , damned pity. The way things are going
with us and Moscow I had hoped your people stood a chance, however slim."
Dulles went to speak again but Eisenhower put up a hand. "Let me worry
about the Soviets if they do start making noises, diplomatically, about this
man Akashin. For now, we'll just have to wait and see what develops." He
shook his head resignedly. "But God only knows where it's going to lead if
you're right. So where's Massey?"

The Assistant Director looked
uncomfortable. "Sir, despite what's developed, we know he's flown to
Finland for the final stage of the mission, but we don't know exactly where in
Finland he is."

Eisenhower stared over at Dulles. "I
thought you said the operation hasn't started yet?"

"We can really only assume that, Mr.
President, because we haven't received the "Go' code. As you know, the
operation was entirely run on Massey's discretion. We provided a rough plan, a
template if you like, and Massey filled in the details. One of our instructions
to Massey was that we receive a signal from him when the operation proceeded to
the final and imminent stage, by that I mean just before he was ready to drop
his people. It was to give us a chance to cancel the operation if we so wished.
So far, that hasn't happened. And considering the fact that Massey hasn't
informed us of his problems at the base, we can't be certain he will signal the
code."

"Jesus ... this gets worse by the
minute."

"There are also several other
factors at play that would suggest the operation hasn't yet become
active."

"Such as?"

"We believe Massey left Boston the
night before last with the two people on a scheduled flight to London, and from
there onto Stockholm and Helsinki. Going by the schedule he used, that means
he'd have arrived in Helsinki within the last fourteen hours, Washington time.
We've had the immigration departments of those countries contacted as a matter
of urgency and we've verified that the false passports supplied by our Soviet
Division were used. The Finnish authorities also confirm Massey and his team
landed in Helsinki yesterday evening. But because of the weather, our belief is
that Massey won't carry out the drop until tonight." Eisenhower said
quietly, "Then how in hell do we contact him "Like I said, contact
was left at his discretion. That's what we agreed. It would distance us if it
went wrong. Massey was simply distracted, to get in touch if there were
problems, and to call a Washington number with the "Go' code." The
Assistant Director swallowed. "Sir, we can only assume he's still intent
on going ahead with the plan, for whatever personal reasons he might
have."

Is the man dumb or crazy? I thought You
said he was one of the best we had?"

"He is the best, said Mr. Dulles he
worked with me in Europe during the war and I can attest to that. And I can't
imagine what's made him behave so unprofessionally."

The Assistant Director shifted
uncomfortably in his chair and Eisenhower stood up. He was angry, his face
whiter than ever, the eyes dark and narrow.

"The only chance of success this
thing stood was if it remained covert. That's plainly now not the case. From
what you've told me, Moscow may already have a hint something's in the wind. If
these two people make it onto Soviet soil and they're captured, there's only
one outcome for us. And that's @ possible disaster. I think we all know how the
Russians would respond once they have the evidence."

Eisenhower looked around. "We're not
just talking about a cause for a war, Gentlemen. We're talking about the war.
We're talking about a Soviet response that could put us back twenty years. they
can march into West Berlin and anywhere else in goddamned Europe on the
pretense that it's now a question of necessity or retaliation. We're talking
about the greatest potential disaster that could ever hit this country and our
Allies."

Dulles looked back at Eisenhower
uncertainly. "Mr. President, needless to say, we're doing everything we
can to locate Massey. But as you'll appreciate, because our take on the
sensitive nature of this situation, we'll need our own people on the ground in
Finland. Branigan here has already assembled a team and they're on their way.
There's a jet aircraft waiting at Andrews. As soon as he's through here, he'll
be on it to connect with his team in Finland. But we'll need your intervention
with the US Embassy in Helsinki to ask their complete cooperation as well as
that of the Finns, if necessary."

Eisenhower took a deep breath and let it
out in a long, worried sigh. "That's valuable time, gentlemen. What
happens if you're too late? Where in hell does that leave us?"

"With respect, Mr. President, we can
still locate and stop them," said Branigan.

"Then for God'@, sake tell me
how?"

"It's a question of timing,"
Branigan explained. "Most operations into Russia and the Baltic are
weather-dependent. If the weather's good, the CIA never drop by air because the
Russian radar can easily track our aircraft. The report Massey was shown
recommends an air drop for the penetration into the Baltic area and I'm certain
that's the way he'll do it. He'll most likely need a local pilot, someone with
experience of flying in Russian airspace. We've checked the weather report for
the region. It suggests a bad snowstorm moving in from the northeast Baltic area
tonight, that's eight P.M. Helsinki time. "That's around the most likely
time Massey's people would go, which gives US some leeway. With enough manpower
we could find them before that happens. And with the cooperation of the Finns
and their air force we could make it impossible for Massey's team to make the
crossing. With enough of their aircraft patrolling the area, they could make
sure the plane doesn't get anywhere near its destination."

"You mean blow it out of the
sky?"

"If necessary."

Eisenhower looked around at each of the
three men in turn. The steel that was always just beneath the surface of the
friendly blue eyes showed itself immediately.

"Then I don't care how, but I want
it done. I want Massey and the others found. Found or stopped any which way you
can. Even if it means their deaths. An unpleasant thought, gentlemen.
considering they're brave people, but the consequences are far too threatening
otherwise. You all understand that?"

The three visitors nodded in turn.

Eisenhower's face was still pale as he
looked at his wristwatch to end the meeting. His gaze shifted back to Dulles.

"Make whatever arrangements you have
to. Needless to say I want the clamps on this. And I want holy reports until
this thing is through. Just make sure you stop them, understood?"

"Yes, Sir, Mr. President."

Finland. February 23rd Stanski parked the
Volvo along the Helsinki sea front and they took a train the rest of the way
into the city. Lights were still on everywhere and they strolled around the old
harbor market and the cathedral square for half an hour before finding a small
restaurant on the Esplanadi main boulevard.

"The restaurant was warm and
bustling and they found an empty table beside the window. Stanski ordered
schnapps and Vorvchniack for both of them. They ate silently, and when they had
finished they walked back Out along the coast road toward Kaivopuisto. A wind
had come up, and it blew in off the frozen sea, bitterly cold.

Stanski stopped and pointed to a bench,
his face serious. He lit a cigarette and offered her one as she sat beside him.
"How do you feel?"

She brushed a strand of hair from her
face. "How should I feel'?'

scared." He saw the tension around
the corners of her Mouth.

@"A little, I guess."

@"It's not too late to change your
mind."

Stanski looked back toward the city.
"The Swedish Embassy is ten minutes' walk from here. You could ask for
asylum and I won't stop you. To hell with Massey. I think he'd even understand.
I could still go through with this alone."

"Why are you telling me this? Why
the sudden concern?"

There was a look like pain on Stanski's
face. "You saw what happened to Vassily. And Popov was right about what
the KGB do to women agents they arrest. I've seen it myself."

"Tell me."

He glanced away again, "Two years
back I was sent to the Baltic to organize a resistance group. One of the
partisans I helped train was a girl of nineteen. The KGB caught her when they
stormed the forest camps the partisans used. What they did to her doesn't bear
telling."

"Did you love her?"

"That hardly matters, does it? Let's
just say I repaid the bastard who tortured her. He's lying six feet
under."

Anna looked away. Out in the bay she
could make out the solid alabastard-colored walls of an island fortress, and
the small islands nearby looked like frosted moles on the sea.

"I'm afraid. But not so afraid that
I won't go through with it." She looked back at Stanski's face. "What
happened at the cabin, the way you reacted, it wasn't just to avenge Vassily,
though that was part of it. There was a look in your eyes, it was like you came
alive when you faced danger. Don't you ever feel afraid?"