Panspermia Deorum (19 page)

W
hen Kolorov sent the captain of Laika details of the
new plan, there was disbelief, which was quickly followed by anger,
and finally a flat refusal to comply.

Amelie
Kuznetsov discussed the situation with the other two crew members
on board, Polish-born first officer Pavel Lot, and engineer Roman
Dimitrov. At first, they were simply perplexed by the content of
the transmission, and then they realised that if Soyuz did not send
another vessel to Mars immediately, the instruction to leave orbit
and track the missile fleet would effectively become a death
sentence for themselves and the scientists on the surface of Mars.
It was plainly a sacrifice dressed up as a duty of martyrdom. When
Kolorov responded to their refusal to comply, he tried to talk up
the deteriorating situation back on Earth. The crew knew nothing of
Soyuz being wholly owned by one oligarch. He erred in trying to
explain this to Kuznetzov, and the exchanges became extremely
hostile. The crew was absolutely dedicated to the Mars programme,
and had accepted there was a distinct possibility they would
forfeit their lives, but this sudden change of plan grated with
such dedication. It was merely a self-serving order from one man.
Kolorov then compounded his first error of judgement when he
reminded Amelie Kuznetsov exactly how ruthless people like Malenkov
could be.

“It is not only
me who will face elimination, you and your crew have families, and
unless you want to put their lives at risk, you simply have to do
this.”

The scientists
on the surface of Mars were informed of the new edict and
accompanying threat if the orbiting crew refused to carry out the
task. After a long discussion they supported their captain’s
decision to ignore the order to track the missiles. Captain
Kuznetsov authorised the scientists to prepare to return to orbit.
She then sent Kolorov the message he desperately wanted to
receive.

‘After
considerable debate, and taking into account our families, we
acknowledge that Mars has become very much a secondary objective.
We will follow the missiles until we have to turn back due to
energy and life support constraints. We would like you to confirm
that a rescue vessel will be on standby to bring us home in the
event of such difficulties. Please transmit the date when this can
be ready. If we comply with this new objective we must now prepare
for bringing the scientists on Mars back to Laika’.

Kolorov
breathed a sigh of relief and forwarded the transmission to
Malenkov. It partially placated the oligarch, who’d been
continually pressing Kolorov for information, and the ‘storm’
subsided. Meanwhile, with the scientists aboard, Amelie Kuznetzov
gave the order to return to Earth without delay.

*

Sophie’s rate
of recovery was, as expected, quicker than that of her mother. She
had been moved to the same room as Elise. The surgeon had already
told both patients what they could and could not do in the next few
days. The prognosis for Elise was quite positive. The procedure had
gone well and there were no signs of an adverse reaction as yet. It
would be a while before the anti-rejection regime could be
finessed. Sophie’s medical stats were very encouraging and her time
in hospital would be much shorter than that of Elise.

Julien and
Geraldine arrived with the usual flowers and grapes, forgetting
that both patients were on a controlled diet. Sophie was busy
lecturing her mother about the new house design, and repeatedly
suggesting that she should consider staying in Guiana. Elise was
tired and such stress was ill-advised, so Julien asked his daughter
to ease off until Elise was feeling better. Geraldine smiled
through the tears and made a declaration.

“Elise, we can
discuss this later, as Julien has just said, but if it makes your
decision any easier, I will come and live here too. I know I said I
wouldn’t, but with this damned asteroid thing, and your narrow
escape – made possible because of Sophie’s bravery, I want to spend
whatever time I’ve got left with all of my remaining family. We
don’t have to speak about it again until you are ready.”

Julien closed
the subject by saying if that’s what Elise wanted, he would give
Geraldine a slice of the plot and build her a bespoke cottage.
Elise, despite her weakness, nodded her approval, saying she wished
Eugene could have been there. Sophie reminded her that he was very
much like his father, a slave to his passion, and wouldn’t mind
being told by text.

*

It didn’t take
long for Kolorov to query the course set by Amelie Kuznetsov.

‘Your link up
coordinates to the missiles were quite explicit. Why have you
deviated from the plan?’

She’d already
anticipated such a reprimand.

‘On studying
your coordinates more carefully we noticed that the intercept
course would consume more fuel than necessary. And, as we are the
ones who have to make it back to Mars orbit, we ran several
computer simulations and realised that there was a more
fuel-efficient observation trajectory. The missile fleet heading is
not that much different from the Mars-Earth path at present. The
divergence from that trajectory will increase, so we chose to
mirror that divergence, but coming from the opposite direction. It
will take a little longer to get within observation range for the
fleet, but what does that matter? It is still a long way from the
asteroid, and our fuel savings may allow us to shadow the fleet for
longer than your plan would permit. If you don’t concur, we will
alter course’.

Kolorov
digested this and felt he needed to speak with Malenkov, feeling
sure the oligarch would agree to Kuznetsov’s suggestion. He set up
a meeting.

“Would you like
me to come to your Dacha?”

“No, as I’ve
said many times, that is only for giving any eavesdroppers
sanitised information. We should meet at my favourite restaurant in
Moscow. I’ll reserve a quiet booth so we can be undisturbed. Be
there at seven sharp.”

*

Eugene had been
forced to take the reins from Sophie for the new research wing. It
was in truth a matter of bullying building contractors and
scientific equipment suppliers on a daily basis. In Guiana it was
the only way to get things done and Eugene was more calculating
than his sister when it came down to the bluffing game. Sophie
admitted that she would have cracked by now, and offered her
congratulations to Eugene, albeit grudgingly. The complex was
taking shape and Julien decided to throw more capital at the
project to recruit a facilitator, whose remit was to complete the
wing ahead of schedule. This person would earn a heavily
incentivised bonus even to get the building back on schedule again.
Somehow, Elise’s recovery having at last picked up pace made the
other family members more tolerant of each other’s little foibles.
They were pulling together on all fronts for the first time in a
long while. The primary patient was almost ready to enter a short
regimen of zero dialysis to evaluate the true measure of the new
kidney’s capability.

*

When Kolorov
arrived at the Moscow restaurant, Malenkov was already halfway
through a bottle of expensive red wine.

“Tell me more
about this insubordination of our infuriating Captain Kuznetsov. Do
you trust her?”

“I was
suspicious at first, but she has a point when she explained her
proposal more fully. She can give us more observational time of the
missiles by applying the curved trajectory. It was an oversight on
my part.”

“How did you
let that happen? Just tell me in plain language, do not blind me
with science.”

Malenkov still
seemed suspicious, as anticipated by Kolorov, who decided to bend
cosmic rules to make his case for the delay in picking up and
tracking the warheads.

“The asteroid
is travelling at circa 40,000 miles per hour, or 64,000 kilometres
per hour. We initially wanted to strike it inside the asteroid belt
itself, which separates Mars and Jupiter. However, as you are well
aware we decided not to wait until it had cleared the asteroid
belt, because that might act as a kind of filter if the damn thing
fragments completely or bounces off any number of other asteroids.
That could produce a very complicated outcome, similar to the cue
ball on a snooker table heavily populated with reds. And I remind
you that you wanted to get these warheads on their way as soon as
possible. Anyway, to reach any object in space we can’t just follow
a straight line, so Kuznetsov is correct, we should arrive at the
missile space coordinates a little later, but by using less
fuel.”

“Ok, ok, I
understand that, but why did she refuse to follow your orders
before suggesting this method? I need to…”

Kolorov noticed
a man approaching their booth on the way to the toilets. It all
happened in a flash. He produced an automatic pistol, gunned both
men down, and ran for the exit. Everyone else in the restaurant
dived for cover. When it was obvious the shooter wasn’t going to
return, a waiter ran to the aid of the two men who’d been shot.
Malenkov had a clean bullet hole at both the front and back of his
head, and died instantly. In the split second Kolorov had noticed
the shooter approaching, a sixth sense had afforded him the chance
to become a moving target. He had been shot in the shoulder, but
was alive. He subsequently became unconscious and was rushed to
hospital.

K
olorov’s surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his
shoulder had gone well, and despite the surgeon telling the police
they would have to wait to speak to him, the patient declared that
he wanted to help in any way he could.

Two officers
stood at his bedside. One from the precinct where the shooting took
place, the other from the Intelligence agency. The latter waited
until the precinct detective had taken a full statement from
Kolorov and then left before asking any further questions. The
Intelligence agent spoke quietly.

“When you say
you saw the gunman approach the toilets at the rear of the
restaurant, did you notice any other suspicious person in the
place?”

“No, I wouldn’t
even have paid any attention to the gunman if he had not been
wearing that hat. It is not usual, is it? I mean, going for a piss
with a Homberg on your head. That is what alerted me, and then when
the gun came out of his pocket, I tried to dive to the floor,
otherwise I am sure I would be dead as well. Malenkov had no chance
to move, he was facing away from the gunman”

“Ok, I am only
asking this because it was Malenkov. Such a professional hit is
rarely carried out by one man. Also, the status Malenkov enjoys in
the underworld would normally mean he would have minders with him.
But you told the precinct detective that there was nobody else with
him. Who knew of the meeting at the restaurant?”

“How the hell
would I know that? He needed me to answer his questions about the
current Mars mission, and didn’t want anyone to overhear the
answers. It was his choice of restaurant, apparently one of his
favourites. As far as I know he was driven there by his private
chauffeur, maybe you need to speak with him.”

“Yes, I will do
that. Please understand why I am asking these questions. I have to
determine if you are still in danger. If Malenkov did not want any
eavesdropping on your meeting and he was asking the questions, you
were providing the answers. That makes me think you could have been
the main target.”

“I have no idea
why that would be the case. The gunman shot at Malenkov first, and
apparently caused a fatal wound. I was a moving target but I
thought I was going to die. Maybe he thought he had killed me as
well.”

“Mmm, well
thank you for seeing me and the precinct officer. I would like to
talk to you again when you are feeling better, if that is
acceptable to you.”

“Of course,
especially if you really think I could still be a target when the
gunman hears I am still alive.”

*

Two days later,
Kolorov had another visitor he’d never met before. It was Grigori
Malenkov, the eldest son of Oleg. The family lawyer had dumped an
unwelcome surprise on his youthful shoulders. The agreement between
the nine original oligarchs had been carried out to the letter,
especially with respect to provision of a last will and testament
that in the event of any member’s demise, the family would not
receive shares in Soyuz, but a substantial sum in a side clause. It
had been intended to protect the families from enemies of the
oligarchs, from rival gangs in the underworld.

When Oleg
Malenkov became the sole inheritor of all Soyuz shares, he had
swiftly but quietly changed his will. Grigori was now the legal
owner of a juggernaut organisation he had absolutely no intention
or desire to accept. He simply asked Kolorov to make the problem go
away, but the injured patient had no idea what he was talking
about.

“Wait a minute
please,” said Kolorov, as he pressed the button to attract a nurse,
“just calm down, we can talk this through.”

After speaking
with the Intelligence Agent, he was very nervous about a strange
young man apparently out of control in his private room. How did he
get past security to see him? Who was he?

A male nurse
appeared and asked the young man for some ID. When the kid produced
this, Kolorov relaxed sufficiently to ask Grigori to sit down. The
nurse left them to start the conversation again.

“Right, son,
what exactly is the problem you want to go away?”

“My father’s
will leaves a lot of money to my mother to keep us safe. My brother
is only seventeen and gets nothing, but I do and I want out of
here. He left me all these shares in your company, but I do not
want the job that goes with them. I just want a lump of money so
that I can disappear to somewhere they will not find me. I just
want to become a full time surfer, a nice warm country would do
everything for me. Look, Just sell the shares for me, a few million
is all I want. You would never see me again. Come on please, my
father would want you to help me out.”