Free Doctor Gavrilov by Maggie Hamand Page A

was not sufficient motivation… perhaps they thought he must have other reasons.
    Dmitry cleared his throat; they gave him some more coffee and he drank it down. As he did so he was aware that his hands were shaking slightly. He saw that they noticed it too and said, ‘You understand… I am a little nervous. This is a big step for me to take. Look, let me explain… when I came here I did have something in mind. Gas centrifuges are all very well… but there are other ways to enrich uranium, ways which haven’t been tried out in Russia or in the West and which would require equipment which might not be recognised by the relevant agencies… I could write you a proposal if you were interested.’
    The Libyan was watching him, his eyes intent, shrewd. He said, ‘Yes, indeed; I am sure we would be very interested.’
    A silence fell. Dmitry stared gloomily at the carpet. So far he had failed to elicit any of the information on Rozanov’s list; he must try harder. He said, ‘Of course, I will need to work with uranium hexafluoride… only small quantities to begin with, of course, but I assume you have the facilities to produce this…’
    The Libyan shrugged. He became instantly vague. He said, ‘I’m afraid I don’t know any of the technical details… these you will have to get from my superiors… But I am sure you will have everything you need. It will take a little bit of time, of course… Well. You must do us this proposal. How long will it take you? A week? Two weeks?’
    â€˜I don’t know… it will take time to work it out… it depends how much detail you want… I imagine you will have to give it to someone at Tajura to assess…’
    â€˜Indeed, of course. You must put in as much detail as you are able.’
    â€˜Well then… I don’t know…’ When was he to do this? He plucked a figure out of the air at random. ‘Perhaps two, three weeks.’
    â€˜Very good. You will send us this formal proposal… You will contact me when it is ready and we will arrange for its collection. A preliminary payment and a contract will be forthcoming as soon as the proposal is received and scrutinised and if it seems to be viable… In the meantime we would like to offer you a small retainer, for your work on this… there’s no commitment, you won’t have to pay it back. Would £5000 seem reasonable?’
    He opened a briefcase; he had the money in cash, in crisp £50 notes which he counted out. Dmitry stared at it; the sight of all this money had a strange effect on him. He felt an overwhelming relief that it would enable him to settle the credit card debt. Of course, Rozanov would be paying him soon as well, but even so… he accepted it.
    The Libyan shut the briefcase with a snap and gave a smile of satisfaction. ‘It may be necessary to have another meeting, perhaps in Geneva. Once you have signed a contract, funds will be paid into a bank in Switzerland every four weeks… Of course, I don’t need to remind you that this meeting must remain entirely confidential…’
    Dmitry got to his feet, stuffing the money awkwardly into his inside pocket, surprised at how slim the bundle was. It was obvious there was no more to be said. He asked, ‘But how may I contact you… I don’t know your name.’
    The man smiled. He said, ‘My name is not important… Sometimes, you will understand, a certain delicacy has to be observed in such matters… You may contact me as before, through my friend and colleague here.’ He held out his hand; Dmitry had to shake it. They opened the door and let him out.
    He left the hotel, reaching inside his coat pocket to switch off the transmitter in his pen. Damn the thing; what was he to do with it now? It was now quite dark with a clear, starless sky and suddenly very cold; he shivered even in his coat. The traffic