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Cherny's words to those not fortunate enough to be close to his hero. Gallikov, as an aide to Cherny, had fought Kalinin, as Moscow's Air Defense Commander, tooth and nail when the military budget was being considered. He is my natural enemy, Kalinin thought. On Cherny's left sat Natalya Renkova, a judge of depressing rectitude from the Ministry of Justice. Cherny had appointed her to the Supreme Judicial Council, a group of time-wasters who had been fumbling about since Yeltsin's era trying to amend the new Russian constitution to no one's satisfaction. |
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I'll get no mercy, Kalinin thought despairingly. Not from that dried up old sow, nor from a friend of the Jew so recently planted in the Kremlin wall. And certainly not from Cherny. I wonder if he knows that Kondratiev intended to get rid of him, execute him. |
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Marshal Suvorov, the Minister of Defense, of all people, was just seating himself in the first chair on the side of the table to Kalinin's left. What was he doing here, apparently and implicitly supporting Cherny? General Kondratiev had as much as promised that Suvorov was a member of the conspiracy. Had he turned when he saw that Cherny knew of the plot? If so, there was no hope. |
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Two chairs remained empty, one beside Suvorov, beckoning in its upholstered comfort, promising safety, the prospect of seeing the dawn in freedom. But for whom was the third metal chair being held? |
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Cherny regarded Aleyev and Kalinin gravely. "You know Judge Renkova. She will be my adviser. Academicians Oleg Yadanov and Stepan Lykov, members of the Russian Academy of Science and consultants to the naval cadre of the GKNT." |
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Kalinin caught his breath in despair. Now he understood why these two were here. Not only did Cherny have knowledge of the planned putsch, but the Soyuz Device had been compromised. Aleyev expelled a long, fetid sigh and tried to get up. "I should be in Vladivostok," he mumbled. |
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