Fall Revolution 4: The Sky Road

couldn’t.’ She might have been talking
about cheating at cards.
    ‘But they don’t know we couldn’t,’
Myra said. ‘We do have a hard reputation, after all. Most
of the new countries, not to mention the settlements, probably
think we’re some kind of ruthless Bolsheviks.’
    They shared a cynical laugh.
    ‘I’m sure Reid is disabusing them of that
notionright now,’ said Andrei. He seemed to have picked up
on what they were talking about; and as for Denis Gubanov, he was
leaning back with a smug smile, as if he’d known it for
years. Probably had.
    ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Myra said.
‘He’s a devious son of a bitch. He says his side
don’t know what we’ve got, and he might still hold
out a hope of winning us over – or using us as a threat to
keep his own side in order.’
    She inhaled again.
    ‘Besides,’ she added, ‘he doesn’t know
all we’ve got. Or so I gathered. He thinks it’s all
in Earth orbit.’
    ‘It isnW Denis’s smile faded instantly.
‘So where is it?’
    ‘Good question,’ Myra said. ‘See if you can
find out.’
    Valentina was intently studying the reflection of the
chandelier in the bar mirror.
    ‘Is this a joke, or what?’ Denis demanded.
    Myra shook her head, laid her palm on the back of his hand.
‘Easy, man. Don’t waste too much time on it -just
treat it as an exercise, see what you can find out about what
people know or suspect – ’
    ‘And I’m not to know myself?’
    ‘Double-blind,’ Myra said firmly. ‘And
double-bluff. I’ll let you know after you’ve brought
back some results, but I don’t want your investigation
dropping any inadvertent hints.’
    Denis scowled. ‘OK,’ he allowed, ‘I see the
point of that.’ He looked at his watch, sighed and stood
up. ‘Three-fifteen,’ he said. ‘Time I was back
at the office.’
    ‘The unsleeping sword of the Cheka,’ Myra said.
‘Time we all went back, I guess.’
    ‘No,’ said Andrei. Tou and Valentina stay hereand
get drunk.’ He pushed back his chair and raised himself
ponderously to his feet. ‘ We Russian men will take
care of the rest of the day’s business.’
    ‘Sure?’
    ‘Sure.’ He put his hand on her shoulder.
‘Relax, Davidova. The coup won’t come today, or
tomorrow.’
    ‘I know that,’ she said. ‘But we just lost
one more commissar today – ’
    ‘Alex, huh, son of a bitch. No loss. I cleared his
desktop and locked him out the second he mentioned he was leaving
us.’
    ‘He was good at his job, and we don’t have a
replacement’
    ‘The economy can get along fine without a commissar for
a while,’ Andrei said. ‘The free market, don’t
knock it. It’s all in Ricardo.’
    The two men walked to the bar. Andrei gallantly laid a wad of
currency on it, indicating Myra and Valentina with a glance,
nodded to them and left with Denis.
    ‘So,’ said Valentina, looking after them,
‘what do you suppose they’re up to?’
    ‘Anything but going back to work, I hope,’ Myra
laughed. ‘Hitting the spaceport bars, or plotting our
demise. Whatever. What the fuck.’ She downed another vodka;
stared at the tip of a cigarette that had burnt down, unregarded;
lit another.
    ‘You’re drunk already,’ Valentina
accused.
    ‘And bitter and twisted. Yeah, I know.’
    ‘I’ll tell you why they left,’ Valentina
said. ‘Apart from the space-port attractions, that
is.’
    ‘Yeah?’
    ‘They’re giving us space, my dear. For a
caucus.’
    ‘Women’s caucus? Bit dated, that.’
    Valentina loosened her uniform jacket, removedher tie and
rolled it up carefully. ‘Not – what was it called?
– feminism, Myra. Socialism. A Party caucus.’
    ‘But I’m not even in the Party!’
    ‘Are you so sure about that?’ Valentina asked. ‘I’ve never seen a resignation letter from
you. And I would have, you know. I’m sure you’re at
least a sympathiser, even if -’ she giggled ‘ –
you’ve been missing branch meetings lately.’
    Myra had to think about it. She supposed there was still a direct-debit mandate paying her dues to some anonymous
Caribbean data-haven account. She still got the mailings, filed
unread. She still wrote for Analysis, the
International’s online theoretical journal. (Its
contributors had nicknamed it Dialysis, because of its
insistent theme that everything was going down the tubes.)
    Myra frowned at Valentina. The noise in the bar was louder
than it had been. People were