Free Black Pearl by Peter Tonkin Page A

mendacity opened before his inner eye. ‘Lavrenty Mikhailovich,’ he said. ‘Don’t tell me. The federal prosecutor has a finger in the Bashnev/Sevmash pie!’
    â€˜You were bound to find out eventually. Or work it out, now that Ivan has arrived. I’m surprised you didn’t know – you or your spies at London Centre. But what’s to tell? He was born, what, twenty-seven years ago. Brought up at home until his mother died. Sent to school by his busy father. Came back to Max’s in the vacations, friends with Max’s two …’
    â€˜Anastasia and Ivan Asov, yes.’
    â€˜Indeed. Anastasia and the two Ivans. Until Ivan Asov died.’
    â€˜Drugs overdose at his eighteenth birthday party. Yes. London Centre was on top of that one.’
And more than that, too
, thought Richard – who was little short of Anastasia’s godfather.
    â€˜In the meantime Ivan Yagula had transferred to the Moscow Military Commanders Training School. Then into special forces. He resigned three years ago and now runs Risk Incorporated, one of Moscow’s most successful security firms. It is a subsection of our business, of course.’
    â€˜Risk Incorporated,’ said Richard. ‘Catchy.’
    Felix just gave a curt nod and continued. ‘Anastasia and Ivan Asov had gone to private school in Moscow too – The Hope School, before you ask – so the three of them continued to meet. But the parental trajectories were different. Ivan Yagula was being trained to take on a military career and parallel what his father had done in the law-enforcement world. Ivan Asov was always going to take over Bashnev/Sevmash – especially as I have no children. It was a dynastic – Russian – thing. Passing the keys of the kingdom from father to son. When he wasn’t at school, Ivan Asov was being shown how to run our business and Anastasia just went along for the ride because the two of them were inseparable, as you well know. The three of them, in fact, when young Yagula came home from Commanders Training School.’
    â€˜Then Ivan Asov died.’
    â€˜And Max blamed Anastasia – she arranged the party, employed the entertainment, a band called Simian Artillery which was briefly notorious back in the early noughties. And they apparently supplied the drugs that killed Ivan. So Max became increasingly isolated from her. Disowned her in the end. Hasn’t spoken to her in years, as far as I know. You probably know as much as I do. And he has been trying to replace his son and heir ever since.’
    Richard thought of the number of nubile – fertile – women Max had slept with during the years of their acquaintance. ‘Drug overdose. Tragic,’ he said. ‘So young Ivan Yagula has, what, replaced the deceased heir-apparent in the scheme of things? Until Max manages to make another baby boy?’
    â€˜To a certain extent. His father has always been … Something of a …’
    â€˜Sleeping partner?’ suggested Richard innocently. ‘The only kind that Max isn’t trying to get pregnant?’
    Felix gave a grunt of laughter. ‘You could put it like that. What do the French call it?
Eminence grise?
The man behind the scenes who pulls the strings. Yes, Yagula would approve of that. He is our
grey eminence
. And his son, in this expedition, given the size and importance of the objective, will be the grey eminence’s eyes.’

Ivan
    I ’
d have known you anywhere, Ivan Yagula
, thought Richard. And, unless your late mother stood six foot six in her stocking feet, was bald as an egg and built like a Ukranian combined harvester, then you are most definitely your father’s son. After his conversation with Felix, he had half expected camouflage cargo pants, green sleeveless vest, dogtags and a range of military tattoos. But the young man huge in statue standing serenely surrounded by well-armed soldiers and outraged