Target Churchill by Warren Adler

Author:Warren Adler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2015-02-05T17:29:07+00:00

Chapter 12

Dimitrov had been urgently summoned to Beria’s office. A plane had been sent, and he had arrived in the early morning hours, surprised that Beria was already there, behind his desk, looking pale and unshaven, slightly nervous.

“Stand ready, Ivan Vasilyevich,” Beria said, his first words. “We might be activating your mole. I am seeing Stalin in an hour. Is he ready for immediate deployment?”

The reference to his American mole caught Dimitrov by surprise. He had received periodic reports that Mueller was in contact, but nothing beyond that. He could only assume that Mueller had done as ordered: Wait. Be ready. Dimitrov had no reason to think otherwise.

Beria took off his pince-nez and polished them with a cloth, then put them on again in a one-handed motion. Dimitrov waited politely for Beria to speak. He watched his face as he organized his thoughts. Then Beria slapped his hand on a sheaf of papers he had on his desk.

“We must put an end to this garbage,” Beria cried, his voice rising.

Dimitrov was confused.

“Winston Churchill will be speaking in America in six days,” Beria began, shaking his head and again slapping the sheaf of papers.

He thumbed through them, then picked out a sheet and read aloud, his words ringing with contempt: “‘However, in a great number of countries, far from the Russian frontiers and throughout the world, Communist fifth columns are established and work in complete unity and absolute obedience to the directions they receive from the Communist center.’”

Dimitrov remained silent, knowing Beria’s reactions, especially his anger, which was just entering its pre-eruption phase.

“We on one side, they on the other,” Beria offered a tight smile, another forerunner to an eruption. “So far. The man is not a fool, he knows that this is just the beginning. Soon they will not be able to hide behind their bomb. Very soon.”

Beria jabbed his finger into the text. “Here,” he said, reading aloud, his temper still brewing in the pressure cooker of his emotions: “‘No one in any country has slept less well in their beds because this knowledge, and the method and the raw materials to apply it, are at present largely retained in American hands.’” He hissed through his teeth, continuing, “‘I do not believe we should have all slept so soundly had the positions been reversed and some Communist or neo-fascist state monopolized for the time being these dread agencies.’”

Suddenly he stood up from his seat behind the large, carved desk, and holding the text of the speech, he stormed about the office.

“This arrogant bastard!” He speared his finger into the air as if he were pointing at the specter of Churchill. “Wait until we have the bomb, you stinking, fat, drunken sot! You filthy swine, you know one day we will have it and will have snatched it from under your fat ass.”

He looked at Dimitrov. “You heard his words, Ivan Vasilyevich. Now, I ask you, does this filth deserve to live? Such words are like daggers into the heart of our great Russian people.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.