one, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sudoplatov replied simply, glancing sideways at his superior. “I’ve recently been, you know, managing several pans on the cooker at once. Who I have to cook for, you won’t believe…”
Beria nodded; he knew that representatives of various departments turned to his favorite for advice. This man had a wealth of work experience and the talent to back it up. No, for the talent that the Devil gave him, he must have been the Devil himself. Even Allen Dulles, the head of the recently created Central Intelligence Agency, taught his specialists from the experience of this man’s operations. Pasha was famous in certain circles. They cannot take this away from him.
“Even so, your talents, Pavel Anatolyevich, will be helpful to us. Particularly the one that allowed you to eliminate, with little fuss, the most diverse functionaries around the world. Only this time, we need to put the matter on an almost scientific basis. To do this, I suggest you think about creating two new structures in the MGB apparatus. Let's call them, for example, the Bureau. Or something else.”
“Bureau № 1 and Bureau № 2,” said the saboteur without hesitation, and Beria nodded.
“We can accept that as a working version.”
“And what activities will these structures engage in?”
Sudoplatov froze almost imperceptibly in his seat. Images of the 1937 terror, the general arrests, odious 'troikas', and overcrowded camps flashed through his mind. Really, again?
Beria seemed to read his thoughts.
“Not what you’ve just thought about. Don’t shrug it off, wolfhound. You had it written all over your face. There will be no return to that, don’t be afraid. You and your guys will carry out all your actions abroad. At the same time, Bureau № 1 will be the first to undertake the search and extermination of fugitive Nazis and their accomplices. Bureau № 2 will deal with our former comrades-in-arms from the countries of the socialist camp. It's no secret that the same Croats made a lot of money, leading former SS men on their 'rat trails'. Of course, not only Croats were involved. The same socialist Bulgaria of today, as well as our fraternal Czechoslovakia, fought with Hitler on one side of the front. So there is more raking to do. And you have to start with Argentina.”
Sudoplatov raised his eyebrows in surprise:
“And why so far away?”
Beria frowned.
“That’s another conversation. We’ll not conduct it here. Right now the most important thing is this: do you agree to organize the new departments? I’ll warn you right away: this is an unusual operation,” he said as he jabbed his finger at the ceiling of the cabin, as if someone almighty was hiding above him, “and they gave us carte blanche.”
“So, it's that serious?” Sudoplatov asked quietly. Beria chuckled.
“Not the right word, Pasha, not quite the right word.”
“I agree, Lavrenty Pavlovich, but you know me. I like it hotter, and there you are…”
“I know, Comrade Sudoplatov.” The tone of the deputy chairman became dry, and the saboteur pulled himself up. “While the trial is over, there are organizational issues. Start selecting your personnel for the new apparatus. Remember, the first goal is in Argentina. You were once in charge of the Spanish department in the NKVD? You have the cards in hand, comrade leader. Go forth, and with a song, as they say.”
Sudoplatov leaned back on the seat cushions and glanced out the dark window. The March storm continued to swallow a dark Moscow. And so far, the future of the famous intelligence officer, too, appeared only in dark tones. But he also knew that any darkness leaves at dawn. He knew better than anyone how to wait.
Part 1. Archive Number One
In an era of popular upsurge, prophets are leaders; in times of decline – the leaders become prophets.
Chapter 1. Bureaucrats
There is no better way to be successful in collecting and evaluating intelligence information than the intellectual fellowship of scientists and intelligence practitioners.
May 4, 1950, morning
Moscow
Metrostroyevskaya street
Ivan Sarmatov, a final-year student of the translation department of Moscow State Pedagogical Institute, paced the square close to the institute's main building and pondered his immediate future. And on this sunny day in May 1950, it did not seem at all as cloudless as the dazzling blue spring sky.
The night before, after the last couple of classes, Lenochka, the secretary from the dean's office, jumped up to him, holding him by the button of his new suede jacket, which his father had brought to the prodigal son from the last symposium of anthropologists in Vienna, and chirped rapidly:
“Yakov Naumovich is expecting you tomorrow by 11 o'clock. Please don’t be late!”
And the dragonfly was about to flutter away, but Ivan grabbed her sharp elbow and held it.
“Wait a minute Lenochka, my little dear! Where are you going so soon? Don’t leave the most faithful admirer of your charm in the dark. Take pity! Tell me, why did our respected dean need me? I won't sleep now, dear!”
Helena hid coyly behind her fist. Why, perhaps the most eligible bachelor of the faculty, the son of the professor and academician Sarmatov himself, had just attested his admiration to her! But then, unable to contain the fresh news, she let it slip.
“Yakov Naumovich, the day before, asked for your personal file with the entire year’s ratings and your attendance history. He studied it the whole evening! So, Comrade Sarmatov, prepare to have your head washed.”
And she flew away, constantly looking back and smiling slyly.
Ivan winced. He knew perfectly well how many passes he had accumulated this year. Even the numerous donor certificates which he had received from the nearest blood transfusion station did not help. He had already been driven away from there at the end of a broom. The nurses angrily declared that as much blood as he donated simply does not physically fit in one person. They also claimed such a practice is not only harmful to his youthful body but also essentially vicious, since it allows the future teacher or translator, as will be the case, to skip out of class.
He remembered how his friend, Lyoshka Astafiev from Angren, had left the university in disgrace last year for much lesser transgressions. True, he did not have an academic dad, and they kept him last year solely for his merits on the sports path. He was an indispensable point guard in the institute's volleyball team. Yet, the time had come, and there was nothing to cover the many 'nb' marks in the register. Now, the time has come for Sarmatov to be held responsible for his walks with Tanyusha through the gardens and parks of the capital during classes and attending movie shows in the club on Pechatnikov at inopportune hours.
And now Ivan paced the square's path and concentrated on building a 'line of defense' before meeting with the dean, who was irreconcilable to truants. So far, everything came out weak. Somehow, nothing sounded convincing to his ears.
He turned up the sleeve of his suede jacket and, glancing at his watch,
