The simplicity of the task seemed to steel my resolve. As we trotted back towards the camp I realised that for the past few days I’d been postponing the insertion of Apple on the grounds that there was no hurry. Now I’d swung round to Whinger’s point of view: the sooner we got both devices squared away, the better.

‘You’re right,’ I panted. ‘There’s no reason to hang about. We’ll go for the Kremlin tomorrow night.’

Chapter Ten

TEN

We planned everything in as much detail as we could, but the timings inevitably remained untidy. I arranged with the Chargé d’Affaires that we’d remove some of our stuff from the lock-up during the evening. We’d be bound to arouse suspicion if we swept into the compound at midnight; equally, it was quite possible that watchers in the Kremlin had the Embassy’s entrance under continuous video surveillance from across the river – if anyone saw a car emerge from the gates and vanish straight into the churchyard down the road, the forces of law and order would be on the scene within minutes. The same would apply if we attempted to move the Apple components on foot. We couldn’t trudge out of the Embassy gates lugging heavy containers and struggle with them along to the churchyard: video cameras or not, somebody would be bound to notice. The only safe way of shifting the device to the old stable was to load it up, drive off, disappear for a while and then return from the opposite direction, cruising in through the gateway arch and straight past the church door.

Our earlier visits had shown that there were people about until quite late in the evening, and we reckoned that 10.00 p.m. would be a safer time to kick off than 9.00. That meant we’d have nearly an hour to kill.

For the tunnel team I’d nominated Toad, Pavarotti and myself. Rick would man the head of the shaft: with his reasonable Russian, he might be able to bluff his way through if anyone accosted him while we were down. During our recce Whinger had stood off in the car, and this time I wanted him in command on the surface once again; but we were going to need two vehicles, because we would never fit five guys and the Apple components into one of the Volgas. That meant I had to detail Mal as our second driver, leaving only Dusty, Johnny and Pete in barracks.