it is really not complicated.’
Webster remained silent and studied the paper again. It meant nothing to him. He could see the shape of a case with a tube and several small boxes inside it, but that was as far as his technical understanding went. ‘Mr Mikhail…’
‘Just Mikhail.’
‘Mikhail, this is of course a very serious accusation and one I will have to check the validity of before I take it further.’
‘You do not believe me; you think I am a crazy man? Perhaps I am crazy to stay in Afghanistan, but I am not crazy enough to let terrorists detonate an atomic weapon.’
Webster noted Mikhail’s unblinking eyes; there was still no reason to believe this was anything more than the imaginings of a heat-crazed Russian deserter. It wasn’t his area of interest, but surely the notion that such suitcase nukes existed was one of fiction? ‘Where exactly is the weapon?’
‘Exactly, I do not know. Roughly? It is on its way to Europe, via Iran.’
‘And what is the target?’
Mikhail shrugged. ‘If I knew that I would have told you. I do not want a nuclear bomb to go off, anywhere.’
‘Then why did you give the bomb to Al-Qaeda?’
‘I did not give it to anyone. I had been hiding it away from the world. The terrorists took it and have decided to use it, and I have decided to tell you so you can stop them.’
Webster was confused. ‘Why have you not informed ISAF before? Are you a member of the Taliban, Mr Mikhail, or perhaps Al-Qaeda?’
‘I am a Muslim. These people of Afghanistan are now my people. I had no reason to believe that the device would be discovered.’
Webster pursed his lips. The idea that the bomb existed was wild enough, but the idea that, if it did, Mikhail could have at any time prevented its being taken or alerted ISAF but didn’t was beyond him. But he couldn’t waste any time on this now. What he had to do was report back to London just in case there was a shred of truth in what the Russian was telling him. ‘Tell me everything about this weapon.’
‘This of course I am happy to tell you, but in return I want safe passage out of Afghanistan.’
‘Back to Russia?’
‘No. I want to go to the UK.’
So that was his angle, the real reason why the Russian was sitting opposite him. He wanted to escape Afghanistan? ‘I don’t know if that’s possible.’
‘Of course it is,’ Mikhail said slowly. ‘There is a bomb heading for Europe and I know who has it. What information do you need from me to confirm that I am telling you the truth?’
Webster rattled off a stream of questions. ‘I need your full name, the location of where you say the device was stored, the names of the men who took it, the names of the men who now have it, the name of your unit and where it was based, the name of your commanding officer, the name that was given to your operation, your…’
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