Skeleton Key

accused him unfairly.
    “The nuclear bomb…” Alex said. “What are you going to do with it?”
    “Are you afraid?”
    “I want to know.”
    The general considered. “I will tell you only this for now,” he said. “I do not imagine that you know a great deal about my country, Alex. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as it was once called. The USSR. Russia, as it is today. I do not suppose these things are taught to you in your Western schools.”
    “I know that communism is finished, if that‟s what you mean,” Alex said. “And it‟s a bit late for a history lesson.”
    “My country was once a world power,” Sarov continued, ignoring him. “It was one of the most powerful nations on the earth. Who put the first man into space? We did! Who made the greatest advances in science and technology? Who was feared by the rest of the world?” He paused.
    “You are right. Yes. Communism has been driven out. And what do you see in its place?” A flicker of anger appeared on his face—there only for a second and then it was gone. “Russia has become second-rate. There is no law and order. The prisons are empty and criminals control the streets. Millions of Russians are addicted to drugs. Millions more have AIDS. Women and children find work as prostitutes. And all this so that the people can eat McDonald‟s and buy Levi jeans and talk on their mobile telephones in Red Square!”
    General Sarov walked over to the door.
    “You ask me what I am going to do,” he said. “I am going to turn back the page and undo the damage of the last thirty years. I am going to give my country back its pride and its position on the world stage. I am not an evil man, Alex. Whatever your superiors may have told you, my only wish is to stop the disease and to make the world a better place. I hope you can believe that.
    It matters very much to me that you should come to see things my way.”
    “You have a nuclear bomb,” Alex said, speaking slowly. “I don‟t understand. How is that going to help you achieve what you want?”
    “That will be revealed to you … in time. Let us have breakfast together at nine o‟clock. Then I will show you around the estate.”
    General Sarov nodded and left the room.
    Alex waited a minute before slipping out of bed. He looked out into the courtyard, then went and tried the door. He wasn‟t surprised by what he found. Sarov had described the Casa de Oro as a prison and he was right. There was no way Alex could climb down into the courtyard. And the bedroom door was locked.

THE HOUSE OF SLAVES
    Alex was let out of the slave house the following morning. It seemed he was going to be allowed to spend the day at liberty in the Casa de Oro … although not on his own. An armed guard had been assigned to watch over him. The guard was in his twenties, roughly shaven. He spoke no English.
    He led Alex first to breakfast, which he had on his own in the kitchen, not in the dining room where he had eaten with Sarov. While Alex ate, he stood at the door, watching him nervously, as if he was a firework that had just failed to go off.
    “Como se llama usted?” Alex asked. What‟s your name?
    “Juan…” The guard was reluctant to part with even that piece of information and answered the rest of Alex‟s questions with monosyllables or silence.
    It was another blazing hot day. The island seemed to be caught in the grip of an endless summer.
    Alex finished his breakfast and went out into the main hall, where a few of the servants were, as ever, sweeping the floor or carrying supplies into the kitchen. The guards were still in place, up in the tower and around the perimeter. Alex made his way to the stables. He wondered if he would be allowed to go riding again and was pleasantly surprised when the guard brought out his grey for him, already saddled and prepared.
    He set off a second time, with Juan just a few paces behind him on a chestnut mare. Alex didn‟t particularly want to go riding. His thighs and backside were still sore from the day before. But he was interested in the perimeter fence that Sarov had mentioned. He had said that it was electrified. But even electric fences sometimes pass trees that can be climbed. And Alex had already decided that he had to find a way out.
    He still had no idea what Sarov was planning. He had talked of changing the world. Making it better, stronger, healthier. He obviously thought of himself as some sort of hero—but he was a hero armed with a nuclear