Poole replied, “I don’t quite understand that either. They make such a big deal over atheism and bad-mouthing religion, you’d almost think they believed in God.”
They continued their walk along the main road, then turned left into a narrow log-stepped path that climbed a rise in the heavily treed forest. This section of the camp, Hollis noted, seemed uninhabited.
At the end of the log path was a rundown izba with a weak light in its single window and smoke coming from its stone chimney. Poole explained, “One of the last of the original structures. General Austin prefers it to the so-called American houses, though Colonel Burov would prefer it if the general would sell out like the rest of us.”
They approached the door of the log cabin, and Poole continued, “The general has not taken a Russian wife, as he says he is still married to Mrs. Austin. I believe he has remained faithful.” He added, “He has more willpower than I do. Also, you should know that the general refuses to teach classes.”
Hollis asked, “Why hasn’t the KGB gotten rid of him?”
“We made it clear that we would strike or rebel if they did. We have value as a commodity here, like any slaves when the slave trade is cut off. Also, I suspect they don’t mind giving us a small victory to let us think we’re still men.” Poole knocked on the door.
The door opened, revealing a man close to seventy, very fit looking with a grey crew cut and steel-grey eyes. His skin was too pale, but it seemed more a result of too little sun than any unhealthiness. Hollis thought he looked like a man who had borne too much, too long, and had borne it alone.
General Austin regarded them a moment, then showed them in without speaking. He went to a stereo system strewn out on a wobbly bench and placed a record on the turntable. The strings and woodwinds of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” came through the speakers and filled the small room. Austin indicated two facing wooden chairs near the crumbling stone fireplace. Hollis and Lisa sat.
Poole took a similar pine chair facing the fire. Austin lowered himself into a birch rocker.
Hollis looked around the log-walled room. It was about as large as Pavel and Ida’s kitchen, but if anything, more sparse. Aside from the rocker and stereo, there was not a bit of comfort, no easy chair, no rag rug on the floor, and no kitchen facilities. There were, however, shaded reading lamps around the room, their cords all snaking toward a single electrical outlet. A half wall of rough planking separated the sleeping area, where an electric heater glowed on the floor beside an army cot. Beside the cot were stacks of books, magazines, and newspapers.
General Austin spoke in a very soft voice, barely audible above Vivaldi. “It was good of you to come, Colonel.” He looked at Lisa, “And you, Ms. Rhodes.”
She asked, “Would you have preferred that I wasn’t here?”
“If I did, I would have said so.”
She found herself replying, “Yes, sir.”
Commander Poole said to Austin, “Colonel Hollis wishes you to know that he is here voluntarily.”
Austin nodded but made no comment. He addressed both Hollis and Lisa. “You have knowledge of the Major Dodson business?”
Hollis nodded.
“And do you have any news of Major Dodson?”
Hollis replied, “No, General,” preferring to use that form of address rather than “sir.”
Austin asked, “What do you think our government is prepared to do if Major Dodson makes contact with the embassy or a Western reporter?”
“General, I can’t engage in any discussion of that nature with a man I’ve just met. A man who is not a free agent. And, excuse me, a man who has been compromised.”
Austin stared off into space awhile, rocking in his chair. Finally he said, “I understand your reservations. However, I expected from you, at the very least, some message from the outside.”
“I am not the bearer of any message. I am an intelligence officer, and I’ve been trained and instructed not to speak to anyone on matters that they have no need to know, rank notwithstanding.”
“I think I’m in a better position than you to determine if I have a need to know.”
Hollis did not respond directly but said, “General, I have been drugged and interrogated by Burov, and I have so far not divulged more than I absolutely had to in order to establish myself to Burov as a potential traitor. That’s why I’m here and not in a cell. Whatever I know will do you little good anyway.”
Poole asked, “Colonel, can’t you at least tell us if our government knows we’re here?”
“No, I can’t.” Hollis looked at Austin. “I want you to tell me how Dodson got out.”
Austin replied, “Only a handful of men know that. Using your reasoning, you have no need to know.”
Poole added, “If they catch Jack Dodson, they will torture him the way they tortured Captain Romero and make him reveal the names of the men on the escape committee. They will then torture those men to determine if there are others. Two of those men will be me and General Austin. So if we told you how Dodson got out, we might, under torture, be forced to tell the KGB that you know the secret as well. Then they might torture and execute you and Ms. Rhodes. They tolerate a lot from us, but they will not tolerate an escape attempt. So if you still want to know how Jack Dodson got out of here, be advised you might get caught up in the bloodbath to follow his recapture.”
Hollis looked at Lisa, who nodded.
Austin spoke. “All right. A catapult.” He explained, “We cut our own wood for our fires. We designed a catapult, cut the pieces, and scattered them about in the forest. One day a few weeks ago before the cold set in, we assembled the catapult, wrapped Major Dodson in padded blankets, and sent him over the barbed wire.” General Austin added a few more details. “We intended to send three more men over in quick succession, then cut up the catapult and burn it in our fireplaces. But as luck would have it, a motorized patrol came along between the wire fences and shone a light on us, illuminating the catapult. We abandoned the rest of the escape and made it back unseen to our houses. The alarm went up, and we didn’t give Jack Dodson much of a chance.” Austin looked from Hollis to Lisa. “So you see, they already know how we got Dodson out. I was testing your courage.”
“We don’t need testing, General.”
“I don’t know that. I don’t even know what brought you two here.”
Hollis replied, “Fate and destiny brought us here, General.”
Austin nodded. “We take your presence here as a positive sign.” He leaned toward Hollis in his rocker. “I’ll tell you something, Colonel. As much as we would want to go home, I think we’d all sacrifice our lives if we thought one man could get out of here and tell the world about this place. If you are to be that man, if you have a plan from the outside, you need only give the word. We’re ready for just about anything.”
Hollis nodded in acknowledgment.
Lisa said, “That’s very brave.” She looked at Hollis. “Sam?”
Hollis made no response.
Poole spoke. “As for the catapult, Colonel, it is now behind the headquarters building under twenty-four-hour guard. No one has told us why, but since we can read the Russian mind by now, we know why. Do you know why? You, Ms. Rhodes?”
Neither replied, and Poole continued, “If they catch Dodson, he will be the first — without the padding this time. If they don’t find him and they don’t learn who is on the escape committee, they will just pick ten or so names at random. So even if you find us contemptible as traitors, don’t think we are the Russians’ docile house pets. We did do something that we are prepared to die for.”
Hollis said to Poole, “I am not judging you. I’m only reminding you that you’ve all violated the Code of Conduct for prisoners of war by collaborating with the enemy. And, yes, so did I to an extent. As long as we all understand that, then we can move on to our next obligation under Article III of the Code, which is to escape. I don’t think two men in two decades is a very impressive effort.”