Pembroke said, “Take him along, then.”
Sutter and Llewelyn grabbed an arm each and dragged the unconscious man through the storage room, preceded by Pembroke and Roth. Ann shut and locked the double doors, then followed quickly. Pembroke slowly opened the large single door at the far end of the room and peered into an area filled with pipes and ducts. The freight elevator stood to his left. Below, he knew, was the boiler room. He passed through the cluttered area and exited through another door into a long corridor, the others behind him. He turned and moved along the narrow corridor off which were the doors to the former servants’ quarters. Pembroke listened at the first door he came to, then turned the old latch handle. The door opened and he stepped inside the dark room. He motioned to the others and they followed quickly, dragging the Russian with them. Ann closed the door and knelt at the keyhole as Pembroke turned on a lamp.
The room was furnished with a single bed, a dresser, and a few chairs and a vanity. A woman’s room. Pembroke opened a closet door and saw a few dresses, skirts, and tops hanging. He turned to Roth and whispered, “Get in there.”
Roth moved quickly into the small closet and stood hunched between the clothes.
Pembroke said, “You’ve been a traitor for over forty years, Roth, but you’ve redeemed yourself by this single act. So you may live. Turn around.”
Roth turned and faced the wall. Llewelyn bound his hands with flex cable and began to place a tape gag over his mouth.
Pembroke said, “Wait. Roth, is there anything else you wish to tell us? Anything we should know that will assist us in completing this mission? Think carefully.”
Roth stayed silent for some time, then said, “No… no, nothing.”
Pembroke nodded to Llewelyn, who stuck the tape over Roth’s mouth.
Sutter stepped forward quickly, looped a piece of piano wire around Roth’s neck, and twisted it with a gloved hand. Roth gave a convulsive jerk, then slumped to the floor.
Ann stared, wide-eyed, but said nothing as she knelt by the keyhole.
Pembroke said to Ann, “The punishment for treason in my country is death by hanging. That’s the best we could do under the circumstances.” He looked down at the Russian on the floor. “Take his uniform and put him to sleep.”
Sutter and Llewelyn stripped the uniform, boots, and pistol belt off the Russian. Sutter produced a small Syrette and pushed it into the Russian’s arm, then he and Sutter stuffed the man into the closet atop Roth’s body and shut the door.
Pembroke said, “Llewelyn, you look more the chap’s size. And you have sinister Slavic features.” He smiled.
Llewelyn took off his gear, black camouflage fatigues and shoes, and dressed in the Russian’s uniform, throwing his own clothes and equipment under the bed. He glanced in the vanity mirror as he adjusted the peaked cap on his head.
Sutter commented, “You look like a bloody concierge.”
Llewelyn replied, “Fuck off.” He strapped on the Russian’s gun belt and holster.
Pembroke looked at his watch and said softly, “Well, people, we’re in.”
Sutter, too, checked his watch. “On time, more or less.”
Ann snapped her fingers and everyone turned toward her. She peered out the keyhole. The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. Ann held up three fingers, then pantomimed a pistol with her other hand: three armed guards. The footsteps halted and a man spoke in Russian. Another man replied, then there was laughter. The footsteps retreated down the hallway.
Ann turned and whispered, “Something to do with the Rumanian girl — Claudia. And a man named Kalin. They’re in one of these rooms. The detention room. Can we help her?”
Pembroke replied, “No, she’s on her own.” He added, “She volunteered to do a turn for us, and she’s more useful in that capacity.” He thought a moment, then concluded, “Also, I don’t completely trust her.”
Pembroke went to the door and opened it slowly when he was certain the Russians were gone. He motioned to Llewelyn, who walked out first. Llewelyn looked up and down the hall, then turned back to Pembroke and nodded. Ann and Sutter went out next, followed by Pembroke, who closed the door behind them. They made their way quickly back to the freight elevator and entered the large wooden car. Sutter closed the doors manually, and Llewelyn pulled the lever, sending the car creaking slowly upward. Pembroke said, “Next stop, second floor, from whence we will take a flight of stairs to the attic. ‘Nearer my God to Thee.’”
The elevator stopped. Sutter listened at the door. Pembroke and Ann leveled their automatic rifles. Llewelyn grabbed the door handle and slid the door back, exposing a small foyer.
The four people waited a full minute, then quickly exited into the foyer. Llewelyn stepped out into a long hallway stretching about a hundred feet along the north-south axis of the house. Oak doors stood at irregular intervals on both sides of the hallway. Llewelyn walked quickly to the third door on the right. He put his back to the door and assumed a parade-rest position. He listened, watched, and waited; then, still standing with his back to the door, he turned the knob. Locked. He took a spring pick out of his pocket, picked the old mortise lock, and opened the door. Pembroke, Ann, and Sutter rushed past him and slipped into the small foyer at the foot of the attic stairs.
Llewelyn began to follow, then froze. Two Russians in civilian clothing came out of a doorway across the hall.
Llewelyn closed the door and stood again in a rigid parade-rest position in front of it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the two men approach. One was a thin, bald-headed man, the other a powerful-looking man in his twenties.
Pembroke, Ann, and Sutter waited behind the door, listening.
The older man spoke.
Llewelyn knew two words of Russian, da and nyet. Keeping his head and eyes straight ahead, he replied, “Da!”
The Russians looked at each other quizzically.
Ann whispered to Pembroke and Sutter, “The Russian’s asking who posted him at the attic door and why. I’m afraid the answer isn’t satisfactory.”
Pembroke nodded and whispered, “Llewelyn’s Russian is rather limited.”
The two Russians stopped a few feet from Llewelyn and again the bald-headed man spoke insistently.
Llewelyn replied irritably, “Oh, bloody da, nyet, and bugger off!” He swung his big fist full in the man’s face, lifting him back off his feet and sending him sprawling across the hall. The young Russian, who had not said a word so far, made an exclamation and stared at the crumpled body, then turned back to Llewelyn and found himself looking into a revolver.
The door behind Llewelyn opened and Ann stepped out. She said in Russian, “Hello, Nikolai Vasilevich.” She pulled off her hood and shook her hair out. “Come in, please. I’d like a word with you.”
The young man’s mouth dropped open. Llewelyn gave him a shove and sent him through the attic doorway. Llewelyn carried the unconscious man in and threw him on the floor, faceup. Sutter closed and bolted the door.
Pembroke stared down at the man, his face barely recognizable with his nose broken and his jaw dislocated. Pembroke said, “I think this is Karpenko, the chief KGB communications officer here.” He looked at the young Russian and said, “Karpenko?”
The man nodded hesitantly and his eyes darted to Ann.