Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine, #1)(76)

“For business. My business.” Fabrikant reached over and tried to remove her hand but couldn’t manage it. “Do I need to call the police?” he said angrily.

“If you want to. But I think it would be better if we went somewhere and talked this out.”

“I have nothing to say to you. And I have a plane to catch.”

“Then maybe you better call the police. And then I can have a chat with them about the Society for Good actually being a place where espionage takes place.”

“That’s an absolute lie.”

“Really? Donations from sources you won’t reveal? Your people traveling the world soaking up intelligence? Oh, and one of your members is somehow caught up in a plot to maybe overthrow the government and has now vanished. And as soon as I told you about all that, you’re on a plane to Moscow? So let’s go get the cops. I’m sure you’ll be able to explain all of that in time to catch your flight to see Putin. I mean it’s not like the Russians have been doing anything lately to screw with us.”

The longer Pine spoke, the smaller Fabrikant seemed to become.

“Where do you want to talk?” he said, after she finished speaking.

“There’s a bar right over there. And I could use a drink.”

They got a seat as far away from the other patrons as they could. A waitress came over and took their orders. Pine had a beer, Blum a Coke, and Fabrikant a glass of merlot.

“So why Moscow?” said Pine. “I have it on good authority that your trip was sudden and the genesis for it was my visit.”

“I’m not sure I have to tell you anything.”

“Are you really going down that road again? At the very least I have enough to hold you on the suspicion of being stupid.”

“I have two PhDs, both from Ivy League schools,” retorted Fabrikant.

“Then start acting like it,” interjected Blum. “I mean, my goodness. We don’t have this sort of time to waste.”

No one said anything until their drinks came.

After the waitress left, Fabrikant wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead and said, “All right, look, some things you said made me believe that a trip to Moscow was in order.”

“What was that?”

“The Russians being at Ben’s place foremost.” He fell silent and tapped his fingers against the table top.

“Oscar, we’re waiting,” prompted Pine.

“David Roth.”

“Who?”

“The man you showed me on your phone. The one who took Ben’s place. I do know him. His name is David Roth.”

“And why didn’t you tell me that before?” said Pine.

“Because I wanted to think it through. In fact, that’s why I’m on my way to Russia.”

“Why? Is Roth Russian?”

“No. But he knows a lot about the country.”

“How do you know him?”

“He’s very well known in specific circles.”

“What circles?”

Fabrikant sat up straight and gazed directly at her. “David Roth is one of the world’s foremost WMD inspectors.”

Pine and Blum exchanged glances. Pine said, “Roth inspects weapons of mass destruction?”

“He has quite the storied past. You see, his father, Herman Roth, was one of the lead inspectors during the START One inspections that this country did with the Soviet Union commencing back in the nineties. Both sides agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, and that involved on-the-ground inspections and verifications. The Soviet Union collapsed during that time, but the inspections continued, and the reductions were completed at the end of 2001. And David grew up to eventually do what his father had done.”

“So why would a WMD expert want to ride a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon?” asked Pine.

“I have no idea. But it is worrisome.”

“I’d say that was the understatement of the year. I told you that an overthrow of our government by insiders might be in the works.”

“Are we sure it’s only insiders involved?”

Pine, who had been about to take a swig of her beer, slowly lowered the bottle. “What are you getting at?”

Fabrikant looked around and then said in a low voice, “The Russians tried to sway the last presidential election using a variety of tools: social media, the planting of false stories, voter suppression efforts, etc.”

“That’s been well documented.”

“Yes, but that may have just been step one.”

Pine sat forward. “Meaning their plan contained multiple steps?”

“Everything the Russians do is long-term. In that regard, they’re much like the Chinese. Now, Americans are geared to think short-term. Look at American business, for example. It exists only on a fiscal quarterly basis, because the powers-that-be on Wall Street say it has to.”

Blum said, “So you’re saying that what happened during the last election might be simply the opening salvo?”

“Look at it this way: They attacked our democratic election process, but in the aftermath of that something else has happened.”

“What?”

“Many Americans have come to distrust our institutions. They don’t trust the Congress or the media.” He pointed a finger at Pine. “Or the FBI.”