Red Rabbit - Tom Clancy [205]
"It's not their hearts that I want." Kovacs had himself another hearty laugh. He'd been hitting the Tokaji already this day, so he wasn't making a run tonight. Well, nobody worked all the time.
"I may have a task for you."
"Bringing what in?"
"Nothing. Bringing something out," Hudson clarified.
"That is simple. What trouble the határ rség give us is when we come in, and then not much." He held up his right hand, rubbing thumb and forefinger together in the universal gesture for what the border guards wanted—money or something negotiable.
"Well, this package might be bulky," Hudson warned.
"How bulky? A tank you want to take out?" The Hungarian army had just taken delivery of new Russian T-72s, and that had made the TV, in an attempt to buck up the fighting spirit of the troops. A waste of time, Hudson thought. "That might be hard, but it can be done, for a price." But the Poles had already given one of those to SIS, a fact not widely known.
"No, Istvan, smaller than that. About my size, but three packages."
"Three people?" Kovacs asked, getting a dull stare in return. He got the message. "Bah, a simple task—baszd meg?" he concluded: Fuck it.
"I thought I could count on you, Istvan," Hudson said with a smile. "How much?"
"For three people into Yugoslavia…" Kovacs pondered that for a moment. "Oh. Five thousand d-mark."
"Ez kurva drága!" Hudson objected, or ostensibly so. It was cheap at the price, hardly a thousand quid. "Very well, you thief! I'll pay it because you are my friend—but just this one time." He finished his drink. "You know, I could just fly the packages out," Hudson suggested.
"But the airport is the one place where the határ rség are alert," Kovacs pointed out. "The poor bastards are always in the light, with their senior officers about. No chance for them to be open to… negotiations."
"I suppose that is so," Hudson agreed. "Very well. I will call you to keep track of your schedule."
"That is fine. You know where to find me."
Hudson stood. "Thanks for the drink, my friend."
"It lubricates the business," Kovacs said, as he opened the door for his guest. Five thousand West German marks would cover a lot of obligations and buy him a lot of goods to resell in Budapest for a handsome profit.
CHAPTER 23
ALL ABOARD
ZAITZEV CALLED THE TRAVEL OFFICE at 1530. He hoped that this didn't show an unusual eagerness, but everyone was interested in their vacation arrangements, he figured.
"Comrade Major, you are on the train day after tomorrow. It leaves Kiev Station at thirteen hours thirty and arrives in Budapest two days later at fourteen hours exactly. You and your family are booked into Carriage nine-oh-six in compartments A and B. You are also booked into Budapest's Hotel Astoria, Room three-oh-seven, for eleven days. The hotel is directly across the street from the Soviet Culture and Friendship House, which is, of course, a KGB operation with a liaison office, should you need any local assistance."
"Excellent. Thank you very much for your help." Zaitzev thought for a moment. "Is there anything I might purchase for you in Budapest?"
"Why, thank you, comrade." His voice just lit up. "Yes, perhaps some pantyhose for my wife," the functionary said in a furtive voice.
"What size?"
"My wife is a real Russian," he replied, meaning decidedly not anorexic.
"Very good. I will find something—or my wife will assist me."
"Excellent. Have a grand trip."
"Yes, I shall," Zaitzev promised him. With that settled, Oleg Ivan'ch left his desk and went to his watch supervisor to announce his plans for the coming two weeks.
"Isn't there some upstairs project that only you are cleared for?" the lieutenant colonel asked.
"Yes, but I asked Colonel Rozhdestvenskiy, and he said not to be concerned about it. Feel free to call him to confirm that, comrade," Zaitzev told him.
And he did, in Zaitzev's presence. The brief call ended with a "thank you, comrade," and then he looked up at his subordinate. "Very well, Oleg