Panspermia Deorum (24 page)

*

Having slept
fitfully, Ivan Kolorov was no nearer being able to piece together a
cogent analysis of his predicament. His greatest concern was his
former ally, Alexei Bondarenko. This man had not only been his
go-to Mr Fixit, the man knew virtually everything he knew himself.
Whatever else, he had to tread carefully if confronted with
allegations from his fellow Russian. He settled for humility and
pragmatism.

“Well?” said
Julien, “can we assume you are prepared to engage in further
discussion, or am I reading too much into your attendance this
morning?”

“I’m always
happy to explore ideas or requests, so I need to know precisely why
you think I can be of use to you when you patently do not trust me.
Of course, if you believe you have an effective means of
blackmailing me, you could coerce me to do things I would otherwise
reject out of hand. But, that will not restore any trust on your
part, so I am confused as to how I can answer your call for help,
unless you familiarise me with details of your plan. I assume you
do have a plan.”

Bondarenko was
about to speak when Julien pre-empted him.

“Very well. I
want chapter and verse on events since you identified Nina Knudsen
as the saboteur on our Kepler mission, all the way through to your
abject failure to affect the course of the asteroid. Is that going
to be difficult for you?”

“Not difficult,
perhaps foolhardy. However, as my loyal friend here is prepared to
sell out on me, I am willing to speak to you off the record, and
perhaps you could ask questions rather than me giving a boring
monologue. It would be a lot quicker and you have Alexei the lie
detector sitting in your corner.”

“Fine,” agreed
Julien, “so Nina Knudsen was working for Soyuz, just like her
sister?”

“In a way.”

“Not a
promising start, Ivan. Why would she sacrifice her life for a bunch
of bastards like yourself?”

“She had a
young son who was diagnosed with terminal leukaemia. There was a
new drug which could reduce his suffering and extend his life by a
few years, but the cost was out of her reach. As a single mother
she took the view that life was of no interest to her without him.
She agonised over killing innocent people to help her boy, but
finally made peace with herself, believing that everyone was going
to die in a few years, years which would be his whole life.”

Julien looked
at Bondarenko, who nodded in affirmation.

“I see, and you
didn’t agonise as she did? Killing the entire crew?”

“I would
dispute that, but if I had refused they would have fired me and got
someone else to take over.”

“And all of
this waste of human life was acceptable if it allowed the twin
pillars of Soyuz and Nero to get to Mars before VB Aerospace?”

“Yes, what
else? You must remember at that time, Nero was calling the shots.
And, do not diminish the motives of Volker Brandt, with his
emphasis on espionage. It was sanitised war, nevertheless a serious
war.”

“That’s one way
of looking at it. Right, tell me about your relationship with Oleg
Malenkov. Not just what I already know, the whole sordid
story.”

Kolorov smiled
and shrugged his shoulders.

“Where to
begin? I have no hesitation in telling you this man was the worst
example of a human being I ever had the bad luck to come across in
my life. He was the main driver in forming a type of oligarch
cartel to get Soyuz free from its link with Nero or any other
organisation. He sold the idea on with the patriotic card as a
cornerstone, but one which could help all of the participants to
hide assets from both government and anarchist eyes. I must admit
that he had me convinced that this twin rationale was his only
agenda. He arranged for the murder of all the other oligarchs
without a hint of remorse. He vehemently denied any part in this
massacre, but there were verifiable connections to the incident
which led back to him. Of course Alexei will have told you that he
inherited full ownership as a result of forward planning of the
death of the others. It only left me to be dealt with. Some of my
best friends died in that explosion.”

“But he needed
you, surely?”

“Only until a
time of his choosing. I was ordered to put more urgency into
destroying the asteroid, not deflecting it. He wanted resolution of
that mission before we invested too much in a primitive Martian
outpost. He saw Mars as a last resort, not for humanity, only for
him, his family and a few technicians to keep them alive until it
was known whether any life was going to be sustainable on Earth
after 2039.”

“So, that’s why
the crew of Laika was ordered to track the nuclear strike force.
But why did you ask Alexei to kill Malenkov?”

“Pure survival
instinct. I had to be with him and appear to suffer a near miss.
Otherwise his people would have eliminated me because I knew too
much. Having almost been killed myself gave me the platform to
pledge my determination to find those responsible. I had no idea he
had left the whole of Soyuz to his son. He had always said this was
not an option for any of the oligarchs, as it would put their
families in the crosshairs of the Kremlin and anarchist
agents.”

“Ok, very
interesting. And now, the truth about the premature detonation of
missile number three which ensured failure to affect the asteroid
in any way?”

Kolorov once
more looked Bondarenko full in the eyes and then folded his arms.
“Your turn, Alexei. You must know more about that than I do. The
only clue I can offer is that it was most probably set up before
the fleet was launched and before Malenkov was killed. Which means
you were still working for me. The little evidence I have uncovered
indicates an I.T. oriented trigger. You have already admitted in
front of Julien that you still had connections to Soyuz people from
your safe house. You also seem to have a motive, if your story
about being hunted by Russian operatives is true. You think it was
me who betrayed you, but what would my motive be? If I had wanted
you out of the way, it would never have been botched up like you
say it was. Are you going to say something?”

*

Sophie was
being prepped for her procedure. She looked at Eugene and
apologised.

“I know I’ve
been unreasonable lately, pushing continuously to have this
treatment, but now that the time is here I’m scared.”

“I hope you
aren’t going to change your mind about this, Sophie. We’re all set
to go. What’s the problem?”

“I really want
to get rid of being on the edge of depression all the time, it’s a
constant battle to stay on the bright side even though I’m doing
well. I just worry that I’ll wake up a different person after the
treatment. I don’t know if I want that.”

“Listen, sis,
think about it differently. The rest of us won’t let you become a
different person, nor will we put up with some of your unreasonable
behaviour. It’s going to be fine. However, if you decide to pull
out now, don’t ever raise the subject with me again.”

“For hell’s
sake, you may be a top scientist, Eugene, but your bedside manner
stinks.”

“Sophie, you
have to understand that I have to keep things in perspective. The
talk we had yesterday about your insistence to involve the police
in the missing papers is a perfect example. Although the thieves
could be interested in a cure for mental and personality disorders
in young people, it doesn’t have the same gravitas as the main
research I’m involved with. These people are driven by short term
gains, and the asteroid has seriously reinforced this greed. The
breakthrough for your condition was elusive and it came almost by
accident, from a branch of the main research programme. The
alteration of our physical capability to survive the aftermath of
an impact is the real earner for the scum who took the papers.
Ability to live with less oxygen, water, and other essentials are
key to our future in such a scenario. Then there is the problem of
our metabolism’s resistance to radiation, and massive changes in
temperature. For those individuals who survive the initial
holocaust, these implanted genetic alterations could increase their
chances of producing offspring with an outside chance of engaging
in the age-old survival of the fittest once more. We can’t trust
the police or any other potentially corrupt organisation with this
information. We just have to let the thieves try to sell whatever
booty they can. It will take them best part of a month to find out
they don’t have the full picture. Now, let’s do this procedure. You
probably won’t be so worried about the stolen papers when you wake
up.”

“And all this
is supposed to calm me down. I think it’s you who needs a
personality transplant.”

S
ince his observations regarding the current level of
distrust between the former Russian inseparables, Julien Delacroix
believed the deck was now stacked in his favour. When they
reconvened he immediately upped the stakes.

“Ivan, I know
you said you would need to consider all your options when we last
met, but I’m afraid there is only one I’m prepared to offer. Do you
have the deed of transfer of stock from Malenkov’s son to you? Do
you have it with you?”

“Maybe, I am
really not sure. I can check later.”

“No, I need to
see it now otherwise the one option becomes no dice and this is
over. Unfortunately, that means total disclosure of your closet of
skeletons.”

Bondarenko was
just as nervous as Kolorov with this unexpected aggressive
approach. He didn’t want to accrete any collateral damage from his
former friend’s sacrifice. He was about to say something when
Julien cut him off and demanded an answer from Kolorov.

“Yes or no,
Ivan. It may lead to a complex decision for you but it is a simple
question. You either have it with you or you don’t.”

“Yes, I have it
with me, now what are you up…”

“Can I see it
or not?”

“Just tell me
why you want to see such a document.”

“Last time we
talked I made a suggestion, which according to Alexei here, would
get you out from under a bad situation if you tried to offload the
company back in Russia. So, in pursuing that possibility, I would
have to check out the authenticity of the stock transfer from
Malenkov junior to your good self.”

The prolonged
eye contact between the two Russians was curtailed by Julien.

“Look, you guys
are going to have to put your little spat on the back burner if a
solution is to be found which satisfies all three of us. I don’t
have time to indulge in this cat and mouse stuff. Show me the deed
of transfer or get the hell back to Russia, both of you!”

Bondarenko rose
to his feet and leaned over Kolorov until their faces touched.

“Show him the
deed you fucking moron. There is nowhere to hide now, if you
refuse, you won’t even make it back to Russia, and that is a
promise.”

Kolorov stood
up, backed away from the table, stared out of the office window and
then slumped back into his chair.

“Ok, Julien, I
will show you the transfer deed, but I want him out of here,
now.”

“Come on, Ivan,
you know he works for me now. Even if he doesn’t see the actual
certification, I’ll be telling him what is in there. Last chance,
either give me what I want or I’ll call a taxi to get you to the
airport.”

It was a very
simple document, so brief in fact that Bondarenko said it would
have to be verified by an independent source. Julien disagreed.

“I see that the
young man received the sum of five million after deducting all
legal expenses.”

“That was all
he wanted,” said Kolorov, “he begged me to take it off his hands as
quickly as possible.”

“And the kind
soul that you are, you found it easy to help the poor kid out.
Well, that makes this discussion a hell of a lot easier. I’m going
to suggest that you accept one hundred percent profit. But you have
to split that with Alexei. Ten million is my one and only
offer.”

Again the two
Russians looked at one another, this time it was confusion which
hung in the air, rather than mutual contempt. Kolorov took back the
document.

“You cannot be
serious. I would be shot as soon as I set foot back in my
country.”

“But you won’t
be going back to your country if you accept my generous offer.”

A sickly smile
grew over Bondarenko’s face. Julien continued.

“Your lawyer
will come here. My offer is fully conditional upon you signing off
in principle now, and ratification by your lawyer within one week,
witnessed in this office by Alexei. Take it or leave it.”

“And if I leave
it?”

“Tomorrow, we,
Alexei and I, release proof of your wrongdoings over the last few
years and then throw you out into the streets of Guiana. I prefer
to acquire Soyuz, but it isn’t critical to my plan. Your fall from
grace or worse is my second choice, but at least comes with a
certain degree of satisfaction.”

“Ok, but one
final question.”

“This is
becoming tiresome. If I answer your question your agreement will be
required now. No more playing for time. Now, understood?”

“Fine,” scowled
Kolorov, “if I do agree to your offer what do you propose to do
with Soyuz?”

“It’s more of a
case of what you and Alexei do with Soyuz. That will be explained
in due course. You will both work for me, and have distinct
objectives. You won’t evaporate into the mist. I need you both
here.”

“Ah, that does
make a difference. Very well, I agree to the ten million, but only
two and a half to go to Alexei. That is more than fair, as I
already owe five with the loan to buy out Grigori Malenkov. That
would mean we each pocket the same amount.”