Tatiana and Alexander: A Novel(205)

"Yes," was all Bishop said, before falling completely silent. "Is he injured?"

"Yes."

"Are you?"

"No. Governor, could one of your men please give us a ride to the embassy? We need to see the consul, John Ravenstock. He is waiting for us."

"He is, is he?"

"Yes."

"Is he waiting for your husband, too?"

"Yes. My husband is American citizen."

"Where are his papers?"

Tatiana leveled a look at Bishop. "Governor," she said. "Please. Let's havethe consulate take care of everything. No use getting you involved, too. I would really appreciatea "--special emphasis on the indefinite article--"ride."

Bishop summoned two of his on-duty privates. "Would you like a jeep, Nurse Barrington, or..."

"A covered truck would be best, Governor."

"But of course."

She asked Bishop if Dr. Flanagan and Nurse Davenport had reached the American sector.

"Not without a fight, but we did get them back two days ago, yes."

"I'm very sorry. I'm glad they're back and safe."

"Don't apologize to me, Nurse Barrington. Apologize to them." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

Two privates drove Tatiana and Alexander to the embassy. They sat in the back on the floor, close together, not speaking. Tatiana tried to wipe the dried blood off his temple. He pulled his head away.

When the doors opened, they were on American soil.

"Everything will be all right, Shura," she whispered before they got out. "You'll see."

But when the summoned John Ravenstock, wearing black tie, came out of the embassy doors into the paved courtyard where they were standing, he was neither smiling nor friendly. Either he was always a serious man wearing a tuxedo or else he did not want to make a single gesture that could be interpreted as warm.

"Mr. Ravenstock, Sam Gulotta in Washington told us to come see you," said Tatiana.

"Oh, believe me, I've been hearing quite a lot from everybody these past three days, including Sam, yes." He sighed deeply. "Nurse Barrington, come with me. Have your husband wait here. Does he need a doctor?"

"Later," she said, taking hold of Alexander's hand. "Right now he needs to come in with us. We will speak privately if you wish and he will wait outside, but he has to come in. Or we speak now in front of him."

Ravenstock shook his head. "You know," he said, "it's six in the evening. My working day finishes at four. I have a reception to go to tonight. My wife is waiting."

"My husband is waiting," Tatiana said quietly.

"Yes, yes. Your husband, your husband. But the working day is over! Come in, but I'm telling you, I can't deal with this properly at the moment. I'm going to be egregiously late."

They walked through the embassy doors and up the wide stairs to the second floor, to Ravenstock's wood-paneled office. He called a guard to come and stay by Alexander in the waiting room and led Tatiana inside. Tatiana turned to glance at Alexander, not wanting to leave him, but they were inside the American embassy, and it was better than leaving him in Soviet-occupied Berlin in an abandoned building. Alexander was already taking out his light and asking the guard for cigarettes.

"Please don't sit down, we don't have that kind of time," said Ravenstock, closing the door. He was a heavy, gray-haired man in his fifties; he had a long sloping gray mustache and gray eyebrows that grew over his eyes.

Tatiana remained standing.

"Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you have caused?" said Ravenstock hotly. "You don't, do you? Nurse Barrington, you are in Berlin by privilege! To abuse your Red Cross uniform and to so incite our former allies is pure folly. But I don't have time to get into it right now."

"Sir, the consulate office in United States will authorize the issuing of a passport to my husband--"

"Passport! Yes, Sam Gulotta has been in touch with me about this. Forget about a passport. We have a very big problem on our hands, a very tough situation, you do realize that, or no?" Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

"I realize--"

"No, I don't think you do. The Commander of the Berlin garrison, the Soviet military administration in Germany, heck, the National Security Department in Moscow, have been completely overwrought about this matter!"

"The Commander of the Berlin garrison?" Tatiana said with surprise. "General Stepanov has been overwrought?"

"No, not him, he was replaced two days ago, by a Moscow man, a veteran general, Rymakov or something."

Tatiana paled.

"And they are all in unison, crying for your blood!" He paused. "For you both. Your husband apparently broke every military and civil law on their books. He is a Soviet citizen, they say, amajor in their army. First they accused him of treason, of espionage, of desertion, of anti-Soviet agitation, and when we said that we did not have him in our custody, they accused him of being an American spy! We asked if he was both, a traitor to them and a spy for us? We asked them to pick. They refused and upped the ante on you, too. You've been on their class enemies list since 1943, did you know that? You didn't just escape apparently, you deserted your Red Army post as a military nurse, and you killed five of their border troops, including a decorated lieutenant, in order to get out of Russia. They told me your brother is a..." Ravenstock scratched his head. "I can't remember the word they used. Apparently a traitor of the worst kind."