The Charm School

icon, they’d let you keep it. They probably think the Kellums did that. The real icon is safe.”
    Lisa stood quietly a moment and looked from one to the other, then moved close to Alevy. “Do you know what they
did
to me here?”
    “I’m afraid I probably do. That’s the point: what they do to people.” He said to Lisa, “Bert Mills is outside. He, I, and Sam have a few things to take care of here. You will have to make your way to the helipad by yourself. Brennan is in the radio shack there. He could use some help with his Russian if anyone telephones him. Captain O’Shea is on the pad with a helicopter. We’ll be along shortly.”
    Lisa replied, “Forget it, Seth. Sam and I have come this far together, and we’re not separating.”
    Hollis said to Alevy, “Don’t even bother to argue with her.”
    Alevy nodded. “I know.” He drew two 6.35mm Tokarev automatics with silencers from the inside pockets of his greatcoat and handed them to Lisa and Hollis.
    Hollis got his parka and reached for the door.
    Alevy held his arm. “One last thing, and I guess we can spare sixty seconds for it.” Alevy drew a small leather box from his pocket and handed it to Hollis.
    Hollis opened it and saw inside the silver star of a brigadier general.
    Alevy said, “There are orders signed by the President, but I couldn’t bring those along, for security reasons of course. Congratulations, General.”
    Hollis closed the box, wondering briefly if this promotion could be considered posthumous, or perhaps pre-posthumous. He wondered too how the government was going to get his death benefit back from his wife if he actually made it home or if they’d increase it if he didn’t. The last thing he allowed himself to wonder was if the general’s star was a reward or a bribe. He said, “Thank you for delivering it.”
    Lisa kissed him on the cheek. “Congratulations, Sam. General Hollis.”
    “Thank you.”
    Lisa turned off the tape player and the lamp, and they left the cottage quietly.
    Bert Mills stood with his hands in the pockets of his green KGB coat. “Hi, folks. Ready to go home? For real this time.”
    “Hello, Bert.”
    Alevy said, “Lisa is coming with us.”
    They moved quickly to the lane and headed back toward the main road. Hollis whispered, “Directional microphones. Talk low and talk Russian.”
    Alevy nodded. He whispered in Russian, “Are there patrols out?”
    Hollis replied, “Tonight there are.” He explained briefly about the curfew, the reason for it, and the morning executions.
    Alevy shook his head. “That bastard. Eleven people…? We did get here just in time.”
    Hollis said, “But tonight you have to watch for curfew patrols.”
    They came to the main road near the VFW hall, which was now dark and quiet. Hollis whispered, “Where do you want to go?”
    Alevy replied, “Headquarters.”
    Hollis pointed to the right.
    They hurried at a jog along the road and within a few minutes saw the lighted facade of the grey concrete structure. They stopped and knelt in the drainage ditch by the side of the road. Alevy remarked, “There’s no Soviet flag or markings.”
    Lisa said, “This is America. Inside the building, however, is another story.”
    Hollis asked, “What do you have in mind, Seth?”
    “We have to knock out the headquarters and all their communications and listening devices if this thing is going to work. Then we need two more passengers for the helicopter.”
    Hollis thought of the Landises and knew their son wouldn’t make much difference in an already overloaded helicopter. He also thought of General Austin and Commander Poole. He said, “That’s a tough call, Seth. But I have a few candidates.”
    “I’ll make it a little easier for you. Is Burov in the camp?”
    Hollis looked at Alevy and nodded. “I guess that’s the professional thing to do.”
    “Sure as hell is. Not to mention my personal annoyance over the ‘dirty Jew’ remark. I’ll bet you guys have a few things to settle too.”
    Lisa replied, “This is not a vendetta, Seth, but if you need him, we know where he is.”
    Alevy nodded. “The second person I want is the ranking man here.”
    “That would be General Austin,” Hollis replied.
    “And you know where to find him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good.” Alevy poked his head over the drainage ditch and looked at the headquarters building. He said, “Tell me about H.Q.”
    Hollis answered, “There’ll probably be a guard in that booth. There will