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Page 154
basement of an apartment building north of the Neva River and near the Finl'andskij Vokzal, for Kondratiev's clandestine visits to St. Petersburg. The building superintendant was a loyal member of Soyuz, and no one would think of looking for the general in such mean quarters.
''The Red Banner shall wave again over the Kremlin,'' Korchilov said haughtily. "We have chosen Nikolai Rostov to be our candidate for General Secretary of the Party when the riffraff is swept from our streets. You would do well to join us, put off your attempt until we can make a concerted attack on Cherny. That is the only way to succeed."
Kondratiev glared at Korchilov. This upstart, this discredited member of the old nomenklatura, trying to wriggle in so as to take credit, supplant Soyuz, resurrect the Communist corpse. He started to speak just as the telephone on the desk rang once. Just as well, Kondratiev thought, I was ready to insult him and his whole worm-eaten group. Better not to burn those bridges just yet. String them along, until we see if we need them. The telephone rang again, twice this time, and Kondratiev picked up the receiver. He said hello, then put his hand over the receiver and motioned with his head for Korchilov to go into the next room.
After Korchilov had marched out and closed the door after himself, Kondratiev said, "Go ahead. What happened? Was his invitation well received?"
"I don't know why you sent Aleyev, Piotr," said the disgusted voice on the other end of the telephone. "I did as you asked, babied him, drove him to Morskaya Pristan, and kept him almost sober until we got there, but the man's a fool and a sponge. He babbled. Those naval officers just sat and looked at him, not responding, wondering, I should imagine, just how such a fool could get to be an admiral of the Fleet. Then he broke and ran. I could hear laughter from those youngsters all the way to the car. They think the man is a joke."
"Never mind, Mikhail," Kondratiev said thoughtfully. "You did well. You never knew him when he was young. He

 
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