The Cardinal of the Kremlin - Tom Clancy [251]
"Oh? And how did you know of this place?" the Colonel wondered.
"I was here last fall with the Komsomol. We assisted the civil engineers in the blasting, and siting the mirror-pillars. I was a graduate student in lasers, and I guessed what Bright Star was. I did not tell anyone, of course," Morozov added, "But I knew this was the place for me."
Bondarenko regarded the youngster with visible approval. "How goes the work?"
"I had hoped to join the laser team, but my section chief press-ganged me into joining his group." Morozov laughed.
"You are unhappy with this?"
"No-no, please excuse me. You misunderstand. I didn't know how important the mirror group was. I've learned. Now we're trying to adapt the mirror systems to more precise computer control-I may soon be an assistant section leader," Morozov said proudly. "I am also familiar with computer systems, you see."
"Who's your section chief-Govorov, isn't it?" "Correct. A brilliant field engineer, if I may say so. May I ask a question?"
"Certainly."
"It is said that you-you're the new Army colonel they've been talking about, correct? They say that you may be the new deputy project officer."
"There may be some substance to those rumors," Bondarenko allowed.
"Then may I make a suggestion, Comrade?" Morozov asked.
"Certainly."
"There are many single men here "
"And not enough single women?"
"There is a need for laboratory assistants."
"Your observation is noted, Comrade Engineer," Bondarenko replied with a chuckle. "We also plan a new apartment block to relieve the crowding. How are the barracks?"
"The atmosphere is comradely. The astronomy and chess clubs are very active."
"Ah. It has been time since I played chess seriously. How tough is the competition?" the Colonel asked.
The younger man laughed. "Murderous-even savage,"
Five thousand meters away, the Archer blessed his God's name. Snow was falling, and the flakes gave the air the magical quality so beloved by poets and soldiers. You could hear-you could feel the hushed silence as the snow absorbed all sound. All around them, as far up and down as they could see, was the curtain of white that cut visibility to under two hundred meters. He assembled his subunit commanders and began organizing the assault. They moved out in a few minutes. They were in tactical formation. The Archer was with the lead section of the first company, while his second-in-command stayed with the other.
The footing was surprisingly good. The Russians had dumped the spoil from their blasting all over the area, and even though coated with snow, the rock chips were not slippery. This was well, since their path took them perilously close to a sheer wall at least a hundred meters high. Navigating was difficult. The Archer was going from memory, but he'd spent hours examining the objective and knew every curve of the mountain-or so he'd thought. The doubts came now, as they always did, and it took all his concentration to keep his mind on the mission. He had mapped out a dozen checkpoints in his memory before setting out. A boulder here, a dip there, this the place where the path turned to the left, and that one where it went to the right. At first progress seemed maddeningly slow, but the closer they came to the objective, the more rapid became the pace. They were guided at all times by the glow of the lights. How confident the Russians were, to have lights here, he thought. There was even a moving vehicle, a bus, by the sound of it, with its headlights lit. The small, moving points of light shone through the enveloping white cloud. Within the larger bubble of light, those on guard duty would be at a disadvantage now. Ordinarily the outwardly aimed spotlights would serve to dazzle and blind an intruder, but now the reverse was true. Little of their glow penetrated the snow, and much was reflected back, ruining the night vision of the armed troops. Finally the lead party reached the last checkpoint. The Archer deployed his men and waited for the rest to catch up, It took half an hour. His men were grouped in knots