The Charm School

instructed to land in Minsk. Nothing to be concerned about. We’ll be on the ground in fifteen minutes, and hopefully airborne again shortly. Please fasten your seat belts for an approach to Minsk. Thank you.”
    The seat-belt lights and no-smoking lights blinked on.
    Salerno said, “It looks like our farewell to Russia was premature.” He looked at Hollis and smiled.

 
30
    The Pan Am 747 touched down at Minsk Airport, its rollout bringing it near the end of the short runway. The sky was still overcast, but Hollis noticed it hadn’t snowed here. Lisa had slid the paper off the icon and was staring at it. Hollis asked, “How are you?”
    She didn’t reply.
    The aircraft taxied toward the small modern terminal building, and Hollis saw four mobile stairways coming out to meet them, which was not normal for a routine deplaning. Behind the stairways were four buses. Hollis also noted that the 747 was some distance from the terminal.
    Hollis looked back at Lisa. “It can be restored. A museum restorer can do it. You’d never know.”
    She looked at him blankly.
    Salerno turned the icon toward him. “Goddamned shame. Who would do something like that?”
    Hollis replied, “I can think of one outfit right away.”
    “You mean the KGB?” Salerno plucked at his lip. “You mean they got the embassy penetrated? Hey, remember the ambassador’s Steinway? What a bunch of shits. But I thought you were all secure there now. Maybe it was that gardener you guys got. Vanya?”
    Lisa took Hollis’ hand. “I feel so… violated.” She looked at him. “
Why?
Why, Sam?”
    “You know.”
    “Yes… but it’s so senseless. So petty and vengeful.”
    “That’s them.”
    “Those bastards… bastards!”
    The four Germans looked over at them.
    Salerno said, “It probably
can
be fixed up. A little wood filler, paint brush, good as new. Could have been worse.”
    Lisa looked at the icon. The hammer and sickle had been gouged into the wood with a rough tool, the sickle’s curved blade running around three edges of the painting. The hammer’s handle slashed diagonally across the body, and the hammerhead was a rectangle of raw splintered wood where the angel’s face had been. Lisa took a deep breath. “I’m going to keep it just as it is.”
    Hollis squeezed her hand. “Good.”
    “Just the way they gave it to me.”
    Salerno shrugged and glanced out the window. “Never been to Minsk.” He looked at Hollis. “You?”
    “No.”
    Salerno’s lips formed a thin smile. “Hey, guys, is your diplomatic immunity good here?”
    Lisa looked up from the icon. “You know that it’s good all over the Soviet Union. But why would we need diplomatic immunity?”
    “You never know.”
    Before the 747 came to a halt, Jo stood near the forward galley door. She announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the electrical repair might take a while, so what we’re going to do is deplane. Please take all your personal things. Okay?” She opened the closet and handed out coats and bags. The aircraft came to a halt.
    The pilot, Ed Johnson, appeared at the door between the galley and cockpit and motioned to Hollis. Hollis said to Lisa and Salerno, “Go ahead.” He went over to Johnson, and they stood in the small galley. Johnson said, “It’s not an electrical problem. We got a radio message directly from Sheremetyevo tower saying they got a bomb threat.”
    Hollis nodded.
    “The Soviet civil aviation authorities instructed me to set it down in Minsk, which was the closest airport that could handle this craft.”
    “So why aren’t we sliding down the emergency chutes?”
    “Well, that’s the thing. As we’re making our final approach, Sheremetyevo calls again and says they have information the bomb is an altitude device, so we’re safe. That’s pretty screwy. I mean, do they actually have the guy who made the threat? Are they believing him about what kind of bomb it is? They wouldn’t answer any questions, they just said to land at Minsk and no emergency evacuation. They said they didn’t want to upset the passengers or have any injuries on the chutes. I demanded four stairways and got them.” Johnson looked Hollis in the eye. “I think it’s a hoax. Somebody wants this plane down in Minsk.”
    “Could be.”
    “Does this have anything to do with your problem?”
    “Quite possibly.”
    “Anything I or the crew can do?”
    “Not without jeopardizing yourselves. If I don’t get to Frankfurt with you, call a General