“You thought it best!” Tretyakov scoffed. “When I wish you to think about ‘what is best’ Novikova, I will inform you. I think being given so much responsibility has gone to your head. You need to remember that being over here is a façade, a cover story. You are employed by the Motherland.”
“I have said I will not forget that again, sir.” Ekaterina could not prevent her voice from rising an octave as she realized that she might have dug herself into a deeper hole than the one she had previously been in.
“Oh, I intend to make sure of that, Ekaterina.” Reaching forward across the shining walnut surface of the office desk, he pressed the intercom.
“Is Comrade Captain Andreytov in the building?”
“Yes, Comrade Colonel sir,” the woman’s voice replied and then added, “He is with Comrade General Belshev.”
Elena Belshev was a Major-General in the Russian Armed Forces, and she was Tretykov’s superior. The Comrade General had accompanied Colonel Tretykov on his visit to Washington.
“Excellent. Ask them both to come in here, please, if they would be so kind.”
Ekaterina drew a deep breath, before letting the disconcertion manifest in her voice. “What … I mean …”
“You see, Ekaterina, when a young girl wishes to remember something, she maybe ties a knot in her handkerchief, does she not?”
I make a note in my mobile phone, Ekaterina reflected on the Colonel’s outdated reference … but now was not the time for whimsical reflections.
“So, we are going to tie such a knot in your brain, to make sure that you never again forget who you are working for, and the rules you have to follow.”
Ekaterina gasped, she knew only too well how punishment could be inflicted by targeting someone close, her sister, her mother … now she really did feel sick.
“Not my family … please Comrade Colonel” Did it sound like she was begging?
“Ah, yes, your family. That is an interesting point Agent Novikova. Would you rather your family was punished for your errors? Or would you prefer to suffer that punishment yourself?”
Another deep breath. But she still had a weapon left. “I would prefer you to punish me.”
“Oh, good. I had intended to do that anyway, but it makes it so much simpler if you are in agreement.”
Ekaterina moistened her lips, as they were drying rapidly, she needed to think fast.
“There are people expecting me back at work tomorrow, we mustn’t alarm them, must we? I must be able to return …”
Tretykov smiled. “I would expect you to go back, Ekaterina, but you will be a wiser and more compliant girl. Come.”
The doors to the office were opened, and the two officers came in. Both wore uniform, and both stood straight in a very military style manner.
“General Belshev, you remember Ekaterina Novikova?”
The commanding officer looked at Ekaterina. “I do, Comrade Colonel. She is looking well.”
“And, we don’t want to interfere with that, do we?” Tretykov interjected, “… Her looks are one of the Motherland’s most potent weapons. However, she also seems to have forgotten who and what she really is, and must be reminded of this.”
Ekaterina closed her eyes and whimpered just a little as the Colonel now looked across at Captain Andreytov. “Comrade Captain, I would like you to remind the Agent of her primary duty and responsibilities.”
“Of course, Comrade Colonel. I shall enjoy doing so.”
Embassy of the Russian Federation, 2650 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington DC
Ekaterina tried to catch his eye; this man had almost been a friend when last she had seen him in Moscow before she left for Washington.
“May I ask exactly what you have in mind, Comrade Colonel?” Comrade Captain Andreytov enquired.
“She is to be punished for disobeying orders,” Tretyakov replied. “It is neither necessary nor desirable for you to know what those orders were. However, it is essential, as I have said, that she should suffer no permanent injury, or that any mark be left on her body that will not fade within forty-eight hours. For this reason, she should be caned, not whipped, and the blows should be strictly on her buttocks.”
Ekaterina’s head jerked. My God! she thought. He is talking about me! She remembered seeing colleagues at training school being punished for failure and screaming for mercy. Am I going to scream for mercy? Never. But she could not stop herself saying, in a voice she hardly recognized as her own, “I have done everything you required of me, Comrade Colonel. I have committed no …”
Tretyakov laid his finger on his lips. “Do not reveal your secrets to anyone, Ekaterina. You will remain silent. The betrayal of State secrets is a very serious breach of rules, and your punishment will be at least doubled.”
Ekaterina found that she was gasping for breath.
“Apart from the caning, Comrade Colonel,” Captain Andreytov said, “… what else is to be done to her?”
“Anything you like, within the parameters I have outlined. Your business is to make her feel pain to the extent that she will never wish to suffer such a punishment again. What did you have in mind, Comrade Captain?”
“Is he going to rape me,” Ekaterina whispered quietly, as her downcast eyes gazed at the carpeted floor.
Tretyakov looked at Andreytov, who grinned and replied, “Well, sir, it would seem a pity to …”
The Colonel returned his smiled, and finished off the Captain’s sentence “… Pass up the opportunity to have sex with a beautiful woman? I have said that you may do what you wish, as long as she finds it unpleasant and is not marked.”
These people are talking about me, Ekaterina thought again. And it is going to happen! Now she did have an urgent desire to scream. She was entirely at the mercy of this monstrous lout.
But the Captain was still speaking. “I was wondering, sir, if we might use electricity on her?”
“No, Comrade Captain, I do not wish her to be electrocuted. It could kill her, and will almost certainly mark her beautiful body.” ‘
“No, no, sir. The emissions are strictly controlled. But attached to certain ***********ed parts of the body, they will inflict exquisite pain. The technique is often used in interrogation, but of course it can be used for other purposes as well. The important point is that, however severe the pain, no mark is left upon the body.”
Oh my God! Ekaterina thought. Oh, my God! But God could not possibly come to her rescue; she had forsaken God when she had taken this job … spying and killing, if necessary, for the Motherland.
“Okay, we will proceed as you suggest,” Tretyakov said. “Call me when you are ready to commence, and both myself and Comrade General Belshev will come down to observe.”
He turned with a smirk to the beautiful, young Agent. “Off you go, now, Ekaterina. We will talk again later.”
In the Basement at the Embassy of the Russian Federation
“Come along, Agent Novikova,” Comrade Captain Andreytov said kindly. Ekaterina stood up, but her knees gave way and she sat down again.
“You don’t really want to be carried downstairs, do you?” Andreytov asked. Ekaterina held the arms of her chair and pushed herself up. Andreytov was actually holding the door for her. This can’t be happening, she told herself. But it was.