Jayewardene nodded. “And what are you proposing, Ms. Baden?” the Secretary-General asked. “The Committee has already lost several aces trying to control the crisis at Talas. That was a failure—and I’m very sorry that Klaus is one of those currently missing.”

He’s not dead. He can’t be. “It was a failure,” Barbara admitted. “And no one is taking that loss harder than myself.” That is more true than I want to admit. “But we can’t afford the loss of the Cosmodrome on top of Talas.”

“I’ve spoken directly to President Putin,” Jayewardene said. “He assured me that the troops already on the base are doing everything they can to remove critical equipment from the Cosmodrome and render the site harmless. A full Russian brigade is also on the way to help. He believes the Cosmodrome will be secure before the disturbance reaches them.”

“I’ve also taken the liberty of speaking directly to President Putin,” Barbara answered. “He gave me much the same story. I’ve also reached out to President van Rennsaeler in Washington, and with the intelligence she allowed me to see, I’m afraid I find President Putin’s claims difficult to believe. At the request of Prime Minister Karimov, President Putin sent a good portion of the Russian division based at the Cosmodrome to Talas when this all started a few days ago. He sent yet more as the crisis escalated. All those troops have effectively been neutralized. The soldiers the Russians have left there are demoralized and frightened, have heard rumors of Talas, and are too few to keep control of the compound or to move away more than a fraction of the nuclear material and weapons stored there. I believe—and understand that I am very reluctant to say this, Mr. Secretary-General, but it’s what the NSA chatter has indicated—that President Putin intends to use the nuclear missiles at the Cosmodrome to take out Talas.”

Just saying the words made Barbara pause. And if that happens, there is no hope for Klaus, and if that Russian woman is right, no hope for anyone at all. “I don’t need to remind everyone what Baba Yaga has told us: if Tolenka dies, then the beast inside him will fully emerge, and what we’re looking at now will be only a mere taste of what’s to come.”

“And you believe her?” said Jayewardene.

“I do,” Barbara answered. “She had no reason to lie to me. My staff has verified most of the information she gave us, and Officer Black has backed up the rest. Putin has no intention of neutralizing the Cosmodrome; he intends to use it, and within the next thirty-six hours. We have no time to waste. His brigade, from the satellite photos we’ve seen, are still mobilizing in Russia; the transports are still on the ground, and are going to stay there because President Putin already knows he’ll lose those as well. We don’t have sufficient UN troops to put between the Russians and the Cosmodrome.” Barbara saw Jayewardene nod at that. “But a Committee team might be able to stop them. The decision, Mr. Secretary-General, is yours, but we need authorization from the UN now.”