Eternal Empire Read Online Free PDF Page B

day, her memories turned, inevitably, to another man, one she hadn’t seen or heard from in years. And as she tightened her fingers around the pawn and slid it into her pocket again, she reflected that there were secrets about her past that even Powell would never know.

4
    O wen Dancy, who resembled an oversized baby in a Savile Row suit, lowered his bulk into a plastic chair. Folding his hands on the table, he leaned toward the man he had come to see. “Tell me about Rachel Wolfe.”
    The prisoner did not reply at once. Studying the plump knot of Dancy’s club tie, he found himself wondering why his solicitor was asking this now. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
    Dancy smiled. “In my role as your advocate, it’s essential that I understand the nature of your relationship with Wolfe. So far, you’ve been reluctant to speak of this, however useful you’ve been in other respects. But recent events have made it imperative that we discuss this now.”
    Ilya Severin, who had been known long ago as the Scythian, said nothing. They were seated in the interview room at Belmarsh Prison, eight feet square, with windows on all four walls.
    As he looked out at the guards, Ilya felt his gaze shift slightly to take in his own reflection. He was dressed in a striped blue shirt that hung loosely on his lean frame. As a remand prisoner, he was entitled to keep his own clothes, but it had seemed easier to go with the standard prison issue. In this regard, as in most other things, his instinct had been to blend in. “What recent events are these?”
    Dancy pressed his fingers together. “Your friend is in a bit of a bind. I imagine you know Vitaly Rogozin. A dissident who saw himself as the new Solzhenitsyn, although he lacked the requisite beard. Wolfe believes that he was an agent of military intelligence, and that he was involved with the attack last year that so clumsily tried to implicate the civilian side of the intelligence services.”
    Ilya took in this information. “So he would have been Karvonen’s handler. Was he?”
    â€œI’m curious about this as well. Unfortunately, even my sources have their limits. On the face of things, however, it does seem unlikely.”
    â€œUnlikely,” Ilya repeated. “But not, at least to your knowledge, incorrect.”
    Dancy only lifted his hands. “I’ve told you all I know. The media, not surprisingly, is calling it a politically motivated arrest, which complicates our position. For the upcoming trial, I had intended to use your cooperation with Wolfe as a mitigating factor while minimizing your interest in the intelligence services, which the Crown will use to establish motive. This is why we’ve made no effort to introduce Lermontov’s background into evidence.”
    Ilya knew that there were other reasons why Dancy’s clients had chosen to pass over certain aspects of the career of Alexey Lermontov, the art dealer and paymaster he was accused of killing, but he kept this thought to himself. “And Wolfe’s situation has changed things?”
    â€œIt presents a delicate problem. We had hoped that your work with Wolfe would be useful, but now it might even be a liability. To evaluate the situation, I need your opinion of her. And I need to know it now.”
    Ilya waited another moment before responding, aware that all their interactions were built on an unspoken understanding. The year before, Dancy had offered to serve as his advocate, despite the fact that the solicitor’s other, unseen clients had good reason to want Ilya dead. Ilya had accepted, perceiving that his enemies were willing to set old grievances aside for the sake of their present advantage. They evidently assumed that the same held true for Ilya himself. Which meant that they would continue to work together only as long as they found each other useful.
    With this in mind, Ilya began to speak.