A water bottle opened with a snap. Madeline placed her lips against grooves of plastic and drank.

“Thank—”

She stopped herself. She didn’t want to show a captive’s helpless gratitude toward the captor. Then she realized Katerina was a captive, too.

“Let me see your face again.”

The lighter flared a second time.

“I can’t see you clearly,” said Madeline.

Katerina moved the lighter closer to her face. “How do I look?” she asked.

“Exactly the way you looked in Lisbon.”

“How do you know about Lisbon?”

“A friend of mine was watching you from across the street. He took your picture.”

“Allon?”

Madeline said nothing.

“It’s a shame you ever met him. You’d still be living like a princess in St. Petersburg. Now you’re here.”

“Where is here?”

“Even I’m not sure.” Katerina extracted a cigarette from her packet and then inclined it toward Madeline. “Smoke?”

“God, no.”

“You were always the good girl, weren’t you?” Katerina touched the end of her cigarette to the flame and allowed it to die.

“Please,” said Madeline. “I’ve been in the dark for so long.”

Katerina reignited the lighter.

“Walk around,” said Madeline. “Let me see where we are.”

Katerina moved with the lighter along the perimeter of the shed, stopping at the door.

“Try opening it.”

“It can’t be opened from the inside.”

“Try.”

Katerina leaned against the door but it didn’t budge. “Any other bright ideas?”

“I suppose we could light the hay on fire.”

“At this point,” said Katerina, “I’m sure he’d be more than happy to let us burn to death.”

“Who?”

“Eamon Quinn.”

“The Irishman?”

Katerina nodded.

“What’s he going to do?”

“First, he’s going to kill Gabriel Allon and Christopher Keller. Then he’s going to ransom me back to Moscow Center for twenty million dollars.”

“Will they pay?”

“Perhaps.” Katerina paused, then added, “Especially if the deal includes you.”

The lighter went dark. Katerina sat.

“What should I call you?” she asked.

“Madeline, of course.”

“It’s not your real name.”

“It’s the only name I have.”

“No, it isn’t. We used to call you Natalya at the camp. Don’t you remember?”

“Natalya?”

“Yes,” she said. “Little Natalya, daughter of the KGB general. So pretty. And that English accent they gave you. You were like a doll.” She was silent for a moment. “I adored you. You were all I had in that place.”

“So why did you kidnap me?”

“Actually, I was supposed to kill you. Quinn, too.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Quinn changed the plan.”

“But you would have killed me if you’d had the chance?”

“I didn’t want to,” Katerina answered after a moment. “But, yes, I suppose I would have done it.”

“Why?”

“Better me than someone else. Besides,” she added, “you betrayed your country. You defected.”

“It wasn’t my country. I didn’t belong there.”