Saarinen suddenly felt an odd sensation,as if he were suspended in midair, and then came a second bang somewhere behindhim as the Mig exploded in a burst of violent, intense light.

The third explosion came a split secondlater, but this one tore through Saarinen's cockpit like a roll of thunder ashis own fuel tank ignited.

There was a brief, intense feeling ofsearing hot pain, and then he was consumed by a ball of orange flame.

Stanski sank through the freezing air, avicious cold cutting into his bones, icy wind rushing in his ears.

A sparkle of lights that was Tallinnglowed in the distance off to his left. He had counted to ten and now he tuggedhard on the ripcord. There was a deafening crack as he was sucked upwards, hisbreath snatched away as the parachute blossomed.

As he floated down he saw fields of whiteand patches of dark forest below. He tried quickly to find his bearings and sawa ribbon of road far off to the right, pools of light and shadow from streetlamps on either side. What appeared to be the lights of a convoy of militaryvehicles snaked along the road, and he guessed it was a highway. He craned hisneck and swung in the harness, trying to see Anna's parachute.

Nothing.

When he looked down again the snowyfields were coming up rapidly to meet him. As he braced himself to hit theground a sudden gust of wind blew him to the right. He saw the dark outline ofa bank of trees looming up and tried frantically to steer himself away, kickinghis legs and avoiding the trees just in time, holding firm on the harnessstraps until the last moment, and then he let his body tension go, hitting thesnow hard and rolling right.

He tore off his harness and gathered uphis 'chute as he stumbled to his feet and looked around him. Behind lay a tall,thick line of birch trees on top of a raised bank of earth. In front of him hecould make out the frosty Baltic in the distance, a dim expanse of gray ice. Hefigured he was a couple of hundred meters away from the drop zone.

But where was Anna?

It took him several minutes to remove thejumpsuit and bury the parachute and equipment. He decided to remove the uniformfrom the suitcase and buried it fifty meters away, digging a hole near someundergrowth, and then he tugged on his cloth cap and started to move up towardthe bank of trees, carrying his case.

As he came down the other side of thebank, he saw a narrow road below, then froze when he saw a Zil army truck withred stars pulled in by the side.

As he reached for the Tokarev he heardthe click of a weapon and spun around, A beam of light suddenly flashed in hisface from somewhere in the trees, blinding him instantly, and a voice said inRussian, "Don't move or I shoot!"

Stanski blinked. The beam of light movedslowly off his face and traced down his body. Then the light moved out from thetrees and he could make out two men in uniform, another figure between them.One of the men was armed with a pistol and the other held a flashlight."Come forward. Slowly."

Stanski moved closer. He saw that one ofthe men was a young KGB captain in his twenties, the other a burly armysergeant, and then his heart sank.

Anna stood between them. Her helmet andgoggles were gone, her hair tousled and her jumpsuit torn, and there was a lookof pain on her face as the sergeant held her firmly by the arm.

The captain with the Tokarev looked overat him and grinned. "Welcome to Estonia, comrade."

February 25th-27th 1953

Moscow.

February 25th The black Zil glidedsilently to a halt outside the Kremlin Armory courtyard at exactly threeminutes to midnight.

Major Yuri Lukin stepped out of the carinto thickly falling snow. A young captain waiting at the bottom of thecourtyard steps was dressed immaculately in a Kremlin Guard's uniform, and ashe stepped forward he said, "This way, Major. Please follow me."

The captain climbed a flight of stonesteps up to an archway and Lukin followed, two uniformed guards standing eitherside snapping smartly to attention. There was a large battery of trucks drawnup at one end of the square, crack Kremlin Guards with blue bands on their capssitting in the back, armed with machine-pistols.

Lukin felt the sweat on the back of hisneck and wondered what was going on.

The call to his apartment had come halfan hour ago. He was to be ready within ten minutes for an urgent appointment atthe Kremlin. The sleek black Zil pulled up on the street outside even as hespoke on the telephone, and three minutes later he had dressed in his bestuniform and kissed an anxious Nadia goodbye before he went down the stairs tothe waiting car.

Now, as he walked beside the KremlinGuards officer, the feeling of apprehension and confusion still had not lefthim. He guessed his summons to the Kremlin at so late an hour could only spelltrouble of some sort.

At the top of the steps two massive oakdoors were set in between the archway. Another two uniformed guards snapped offsalutes before the captain opened one of the doors. "Inside, Major. Watchyour step."

Lukin entered a long, ornate hallway. Thecaptain followed him inside and shut the door. A draft of warm air hit Lukin'sface, mixed with the smell of wax polish and damp must. The walls were pastelblue, and plush red carpets covered the floor. A glittering chandelier hungoverhead-, there was a pair of shining floor-to-ceiling doors at the end of thehallway, more guards either side. Security at the Kremlim was always tight, buttonight it seemed extraordinary to Lukin, and again he wondered what washappening. The captain's face was set in a blank stare and Lukin said quietlyas they walked, "I presume you know why I'm here?"

The young man shook his head and smiledbriefly. "I haven't a clue, Comrade Major. My orders are simply to deliveryou."

"Security seems rather tight heretonight?"

"Not my business, Major. I'm just tomake sure you get to your destination."

Before Lukin could speak again theyreached the end of the corridor and one of the guards examined the captain'ssigned pass carefully before admitting both men. They entered a large, plushouter office of red carpet and magnificent Tsarist tapestries and Bokhara rugs.A faint sound of music came from behind a pair of double oak doors directlyopposite.

A fat, pasty-faced colonel sat at amahogany desk flicking idly through some papers, his double chins spilling overhis collar. On either side of him stood a couple of armed Kremlin officers,hands resting on their holstered pistols, and at a desk opposite was amiddle-aged woman in uniform. The captain showed him the signed pass, salutedand left. The colonel smiled at Lukin. "Comrade Major, please, take aseat." He led Lukin to a chair opposite and said politely, "Some teaor coffee? Or perhaps you'd prefer mineral water?"

Lukin shook his head. He flicked a lookat the officers nearby. Their watchful eyes studied him before he looked backat the colonel.

"Am I permitted to know why I'vebeen brought here, comrade?"

The colonel shot a meaningful look at thewoman, then looked back at Lukin and grinned.

"Relax. You'll know soonenough."

Lukin sat and tried to relax, but it wasimpossible, and his stomach churned with apprehension. The stump of his handhurt, the cold metal prosthesis like a block of ice. It had been freezing inthe back of the Zil, the cold outside fifteen below. Off in the distance heheard the Kremlin clock tower chimed midnight, and at that precise moment oneof the oak doors burst open.

A colonel in KGB uniform stood half in,half out of the room, blue light flickering in the darkness behind him.

Lukin didn't recognize him, but he lookedlike a man of powerful energy, tall and broad, his muscled body straining underhis immaculate uniform.