Glen Allen - The shadow war

Benjamin tilted the matchbox and dumped the matches into his other hand. He looked inside.

"What the-"

"Yes," said Nikolai. "Not typical, is it."

"What?" said Natalya.

Benjamin was still looking at the writing and symbols inside the matchbox.

He could make out lines, squiggles, triangles, squares, and other geometric shapes-and in the center of the bottom, the words " Stzenariy 55 " were written in tiny, precise letters.

"Have you any idea what this means?" Natalya asked. She held the matchbox, still examining the interior.

Benjamin realized he was gripping the matches loosely in his fist, and he quickly opened his hand, afraid he might rub two of them together and ignite the bunch. He handed them to Natalya and then walked away a bit and began pacing back and forth in the opposite stall, his head down, his arms crossed, deep in thought.

"Well," Nikolai said, "there are some interesting points. And I have had considerable time to think it over." He smiled, went on. "You notice, on the matchbox, there is something written."

"Yes," said Natalya. "This number thirty-four."

"Well, maybe coincidence, but that is number of missiles in Uzhur-4 nest."

"But that's also the number of matches in the box," Natalya said.

"Not at first," said Nikolai. "All such matchboxes, they contain forty matches. Exactly. Everything in the nest is counted, believe me."

"Then what about this one?" Natalya held up the headless match.

"Ah," said Nikolai. "When I said thirty-four missiles, I meant there were supposed to be thirty-four missiles, when base complete. They built last silo, but never put in its sausage. So, maybe headless match means…"

"Empty silo," finished Natalya.

"Maybe," said Nikolai.

Natalya then held out the cigarette pack. "But then why give you this, with no cigarettes?"

"Well, could call Vladimir stingy bastard," Nikolai joked. "Or maybe, is what on pack is important."

Natalya looked at the lettering. "Shipka?" she said.

"You remember your Russian history?" Nikolai asked, raising an eyebrow.

Natalya thought for a moment.

"It is 1877. Russian Army defeats Suleiman's Turkish Army at the Shipka Pass, in Bulgaria." She looked at the cigarette pack. "That's the Shipka Monument," she said, "at the pass."

"High marks," said Nikolai.

Natalya shook her head. "I do not understand. Shipka is in Bulgaria. What does it have to do with Uzhur in Siberia?"

"Remember, in my story, there was relaxation area? Building near surface, but covered in dirt and trees, to camouflage? We used to joke, this was where we turn back imperialist aggressors. We called it 'Shipka of Siberia.' "

At that, Benjamin looked up from his pacing and thinking.

"So, Leverotov was telling you there was something in that building, something he'd hidden there for you to find."

Nikolai shook his head, frowning. "I look, believe me, before I'm reassigned. And KGB, after Vladimir shoot himself, they go over whole complex with, what you call, thin-teeth comb."

"Fine-tooth comb," said Benjamin, but he'd already turned and bent his head in thought again.

"And these markings inside the matchbox?" Natalya asked.

Nikolai went to her and took the matchbox from her.

"Well, Vladimir engineer. I think these are symbols for electronic circuit. Probably thought I would know what they mean. Some code for wiring, or maybe computer program…"

"And?" asked Natalya.

Nikolai looked at her, smiled sadly.

"I don't know. Could never figure them out. For circuit, doesn't make sense."

"What we need," sighed Natalya, "is one of those capitalist treasure maps, with little dotted lines pointing to where the treasure is buried."

Benjamin stopped pacing.

He was thinking of something Samuel had said, back at the Foundation, something about there was no "X marks the spot" to solve this mystery.

Or maybe there is, he thought.

He walked over and took the matchbox from Nikolai, looked again at the tiny symbols.

"Natalya," he said, "remember that mural, in the lobby of the hotel in Dubna?"

"Yes," she said. "But what does that-"

Benjamin looked up at them. He was almost afraid to say out loud what he was thinking.

"You said those geometric shapes were symbols," he said, speaking very slowly. "Symbols for places in and around Dubna. You said it was a kind of art popular in the sixties, but that it was also a map."

He looked at Nikolai. "This all happened in that period, correct? In the sixties?" Nikolai nodded. Benjamin took a deep breath.

"Then what if this isn't some odd circuit diagram that cannot be solved without a special key. What if it's simply… a map?"

Natalya and Nikolai exchanged looks of surprise.

Nikolai took the matchbox from Benjamin and looked once again at the drawing inside, walking a few paces away from them deep in thought.

"But why a map?" Natalya asked Benjamin. "Why not just write what he wanted to tell my father?"

"Perhaps he was afraid it would be found, and wanted to put it in a way only your father would understand."

Natalya shook her head, unconvinced. "But he did not understand. And why a map? They were both engineers. A circuit diagram would be much more likely, a reference to something only they knew…"

"Perhaps it is something only they knew. Some place or-"

"Tchert!" Nikolai stopped his pacing. He turned to them. "I am an idiot!"

He walked back, stood next to them.

"Here, look." He held the matchbox where they could both see inside.

"If this circle, where the diagram begins, is Shipka building-our little joke-then this squiggle could be service tunnel from it to… and then this would have to be…"

He chewed at his mustache, thinking through possibilities.

After a moment he looked up at them-but with defeat rather than triumph in his eyes.

"Yes, I know where this could be," he said solemnly. "Now I understand. And makes perfect sense. It is where I would hide something."

"And?" asked Benjamin.

"And it might as well be on the moon."

Natalya and Benjamin looked at Nikolai, stunned.

"But… why?" Natalya asked.

"Because is shakhta… how is in English… silo," Nikolai said in frustration. "Thirty-fourth missile silo. Damn headless-match silo!"

"Are you sure?" asked Benjamin.

Nikolai calmed down. "I must look at map of base to be certain. But yes, for now, I think I am sure. This…" and he used one of the matches to indicate the final symbol in Leverotov's sketch, "is where silo would be, from Shipka building."

"But if we can't get there," Benjamin asked, "how did Leverotov reach it?"

"From inside, where he could turn off alarms. Maybe he thought I would figure it out while still rocketchiki, still have access," he said. "Guess I'm not as smart as he thought."

"But that was almost forty years ago," said Benjamin. "And if there's no missile inside, even now…"

"Even if no sausage inside, on outside is still electric fence, mines, cameras… It is impossible to even get close to this silo from outside. Whatever is secret there will stay secret there."

Nikolai turned aside, looking angry and dejected.

Bejamin and Natalya looked at each other, neither knowing what to say. To have come this far, gone through this much, risked everything… all to be stopped cold now…

"Nikolai," Benjamin said, "you said even he would have had to turn off the alarms, even when he was inside. Does that mean this fence and these mines and cameras on the outside can be turned off, too?"

"Yes," Nikolai said, not turning around. "But as I said, only from inside complex. And we would never get inside. There are too many checks, too much security…"

"But if we could turn off those things," Benjamin continued, "then it would be possible to access the silo from the outside?"