The Charm School

for the record, you and Seth shouldn’t have waited for me. But thanks.”
    Hollis turned back to the front and scanned the instrument panel, his eyes resting on the fuel gauge. “How far are we from the gulf?”
    O’Shea replied, “Based on average airspeed and elapsed traveling time, I estimate about a hundred and fifty klicks. I have a land navigation chart, but I can’t see any landmarks below. We’re on a heading for Leningrad. When we see the lights of the city, we’ll take a new heading.”
    Hollis looked at the airspeed indicator and the altimeter. They were traveling at 150 kph at 1,600 meters. He read the torque gauge and tachometer gauges, then checked the oil pressure and oil temperature, battery temperature, and the turbine outlet temperature. Considering the load weight and the distance already traveled, the helicopter was performing well. The only problem he could see was with the fuel: there didn’t seem to be enough of it. He tapped the fuel gauge to see if the needle moved.
    O’Shea thought Hollis was drawing attention to the problem and said softly, “I don’t know.” He forced a smile and using an old pilot’s joke said, “We might have to swim the last hundred yards.”
    Hollis replied, “You burned some fuel coming back for me.”
    O’Shea didn’t reply.
    No one spoke for some time, and Hollis noted that for all the euphoria they must have felt over a narrow escape, the mood in the cabin was anything but jubilant. He suspected that everyone’s thoughts were flashing back to the Charm School and forward to the Gulf of Finland. The here and now, as Brennan was demonstrating, was irrelevant. He said to Mills, “If I understand you correctly, you, Brennan, and my former aide here are still in Helsinki and most probably will not be returning to Moscow to resume your duties, diplomatic or otherwise.”
    Mills replied, “That’s a safe assumption.”
    “And Burov and Major Dodson will disappear into the American Charm School.”
    Mills nodded tentatively.
    “And Lisa and I will get a ticker tape parade in New York.”
    Mills stayed silent for a moment, then said, “Well… did Seth speak to you?”
    “Yes. I know that Lisa and I were not supposed to be on this helicopter. But now that we are…”
    “Well… I suppose we can say your helicopter accident was a case of mistaken identity. I guess we can work out your resurrection.”
    “Thank you. You worked out our death real well.”
    Mills smiled with embarrassment.
    Lisa looked from one to the other. “I’m not completely following this, as usual.”
    Hollis looked at her. “It wasn’t sleeping gas. It was nerve gas. Poison.”
    “
What…?
”
    “There will be no negotiating or swap for the others. Everyone back there, including Seth, is dead.”
    “No!”
    “Yes. You and I were supposed to be dead too.”
    “Why…?” She looked at Mills. “Seth… dead? No, he can’t be
dead
. Bert said he would be taken prisoner and exchanged for Burov. Bert?”
    Mills stood. “Sit here.” He took her arm and moved her into his seat. Mills squatted on the floor and drew a deep breath. “It’s very complicated to explain, Lisa.”
    Hollis said, “No, it’s not, Bert. It’s very simple. You just don’t want to say it out loud.” Hollis said to Lisa, “The State Department, White House, Defense Intelligence, and the CIA cut a deal. Mrs. Ivanova’s Charm School is closed forever, and Mrs. Johnson’s Charm School is about to open.”
    Mills said, “I don’t think you should say anything else, General. I don’t think Seth would have wanted her to know any of this.”
    Hollis ignored him and continued, “The two seemingly insolvable problems were, one, how to identify the Russians in America, and two, how to deal with the Americans held prisoner in Russia. A man named General Surikov provided the solution to the first problem, which allowed Seth to provide his solution to the second.” Hollis related to Lisa what Alevy had told him.
    Lisa stared at Hollis’ reflection in the Plexiglas window as she listened. When Hollis finished, she said in a surprisingly strong voice, “And that was all Seth’s idea?”
    Hollis nodded. “To his credit, he felt remorse over the consequences of his finest moment. And he couldn’t bring himself to let you die. He was ambivalent about me right to the end. I shouldn’t even tell you that, but you have a right to know everything.” He added, “That’s what you always