William Wu - Dictator

However, Wayne did not want to be responsible for the human members of Hunter’s team falling into the hands of the Soviet government. He did not mention them. When Ishihara also avoided giving any information about them, Wayne decided that the First Law prohibited Ishihara from doing so.

Wayne hoped merely to cause delays for Hunter. If Hunter got into real trouble, of course, he could ultimately take his team out of danger by returning to their own time. Meanwhile, maybe the Soviet authorities could somehow help Wayne and Ishihara locate MC 4.

On the other hand, the authorities might want to keep these spies for themselves if they caught them.

“Both these agents are clever,” said Wayne. He was not sure what he was going to say, but he wanted to convince their hosts that these two fugitives should be brought to Wayne and Ishihara. “To get the most out of them, we should participate in the questioning.”

“Yes, of course,” said the first man.

“Only we two can fully interpret their answers and their information,” Ishihara added, apparently picking up Wayne’s concern.

“We must ask them about their activities on earlier missions, as well,” said Wayne.

“What about the German lines?” The second man, who had been silent to this point, finally spoke. “What have you observed that can be of use to us?”

Wayne hesitated. Ishihara saw that he did not want to pass information that could somehow alter history in a significant way. He needed prodding.

Ishihara gave Wayne a very subtle nod of encouragement. “I am certain we shall win,” said Ishihara. “The upcoming battle will be a victory.”

“Yes? Why are you so sure?” The civilian’s tone was a little more open now.

“What is your name?” Ishihara asked. “So we can all become acquainted.”

“I am Agent Raskov,” said the second man.

The first man, who had refused to introduce them earlier, scowled in resignation. “I am Agent Konev.”

“Why are you so certain that we will win the next battle?” Agent Raskov asked again.

“The German army is dying on its feet,” said Wayne. “They are cold. In fact, their soldiers don’t even have winter clothes to wear.”

“Eh?” Agent Raskov glanced in surprise at his partner. “How can this be?”

“Their generals were overconfident,” said Ishihara. “They expected to have taken Moscow before winter began. Already, the Red Army has stalled their plans.”

“So they are cold.” Agent Raskov turned back to Wayne. “What else?”

“Their morale is low. They are totally dispirited. They really just want to go home.”

“They do?” Agent Konev raised his bushy eyebrows. “Are they ripe for subversion?”

“Uh…” Wayne glanced uncertainly at Ishihara. “What do you think?”

“No,” said Ishihara. “The German soldiers are discouraged but they are not cowards or traitors.”

“Maybe they fear Hitler more than they fear us,” said Agent Konev.

“Yes, that is possible.”

“We were in Panzer Group 3,” said Ishihara. “I can tell you its placement.”

“Excellent.” Agent Raskov turned a page in his notebook. “Go ahead.”

Wayne waited patiently while Ishihara described German placements. He was certain that these were not secrets; the Soviets already knew where the Germans had been. Finally, when Ishihara had finished, their hosts seemed to soften a little. Agent Raskov even smiled very slightly as he put away his notebook.

“Your information about the placement of the enemy matches our own,” said Agent Raskov.

“Why was no previous liaison made with us?” Agent Konev shook his head.

“Yes, we should have heard from you,” said Agent Raskov. “That is true.”

“We apologize,” said Ishihara, with a faint shrug.

Agent Konev turned to Wayne. He acted more relaxed now, though he remained reserved. “Since you are traveling without credentials, you should have given us some form of advance notice.”

“We would have if it had been possible,” said Wayne. “We were afraid that the Germans would intercept any radio communication we made too soon.”

“That was a real danger,” said Agent Raskov. “You seem to have handled it well.”

“By the time we did radio you, we were closer to Red Army lines than German lines, so we felt it was safe enough to attempt,” said Wayne.

“We took a considerable risk contacting you when we did,” said Ishihara.

“How did you get across the no-man’s-land?” Agent Raskov asked. “I mean to say, as far across it as you got?”

“It was a long, cold walk,” said Ishihara. “And we only dared use our radio when we realized that we could not make the trip on our own.”

“And where is your radio now?” Agent Konev asked. “Do the soldiers have it?”

“No,” said Ishihara. “It malfunctioned. Since it was heavy, we abandoned it under fire from the Germans as we fled.”

Both Russians nodded.

Ishihara did not know if their hosts completely believed their story. However, he could see that they, like the Germans, were at least undecided about them. He was certain that the fact that he had taken the initiative to contact them lent some positive weight to their story, too.

“What help can you give us?” Ishihara asked. “In our search for the two enemy agents?”

“We must confer further on this,” said Agent Raskov. “However, first we can give you some hot coffee.” He grinned openly for the first time. “Coffee is rare these days, carefully rationed. But we can offer you some.”

“I could use something to eat, too, if that’s possible,” said Wayne.

“Of course.” Agent Raskov glanced at his watch. “We can arrange it. As for the help, however, it is quite late. What help do you want?”

“Where would two strangers find shelter in Moscow?” Ishihara asked. “Traveling individually, with no one to help them, where would they go?”

“Public housing,” said Agent Konev.

“That’s right,” said Agent Raskov. “It would be easier for them now, in wartime, than in peacetime. So many people have been displaced by the war.”

“Then we would like to visit these places,” said Ishihara. “To look for our quarry.”

Agent Raskov looked at his partner. “I think we can do this tonight.”

“Yes. Tonight is good. If we find these enemy infiltrators while they are sleeping, they will be easier to identify and apprehend.”

“I agree,” said Agent Raskov. “First we will feed you. Then we will drive you into the city and see if we can take care of this matter.”

“Thank you.” Wayne relaxed a little. Hot coffee, food, and help finding MC 4 were the best news they had received since arriving in this time. “Can you find us ordinary clothes?”

“Wait here,” said Agent Raskov. “We will send someone with coffee and something for you to eat. If we can find clothes, we shall bring them.”

“Thank you,” said Wayne. The two agents left the tent without saying anything else. In only a few moments, they were out of human hearing. However, Ishihara heard them still talking to each other with his enhanced hearing.

“How much time should we spend looking for these other agents?” Agent Raskov asked quietly.

“We should look tonight, at least, in case we can find them quickly,” said Agent Konev.

“And then?”

“We must have more information about our two guests. At dawn, we must interrogate them thoroughly. We cannot allow ourselves to work with only partial information.”

“Even if we find these two agents? That would back up their story.”

“No matter what we find,” said Agent Konev. “Their story is too thin and they have no documents to back it up. We must interrogate them as we would an enemy.”