Free December by James Steel

shouted at himself: Get a grip, Devereux!
    Lara switched the smile off and continued in her matter-of-fact way. ‘I’ve also moved into doing some soft news; it’s mainly interviewing celebrities, but I’m sure I can do a good job on reporting the news of the coup and fronting Raskolnikov.’
    Sergey nodded approvingly and turned to Alex. ‘So, that’s the media side. In terms of troops we are confident of support from a key regiment.’ He looked at Fyodor.
    Fyodor cleared his throat. He spoke quietly, with his head down and his hands clasped on the table in front of him. ‘Yes, the 568th Regiment is stationed in the northern suburbs of Moscow and is having some problems.’ He coughed selfconsciously before admitting, ‘It’s not an unknown fact that Russian army life is very brutal: bullying is a part of the conscription process and commanding officers refer to their men as “slaves”. Far more men die from accidents and suicides every year than in combat.’
    He glanced defensively at Alex, who couldn’t tell if the Lieutenant-General was just embarrassed to admit this to a former NATO officer or if he was just a cagey character.
    Fyodor continued, ‘Krymov has pushed for a return to what he calls “the old values” that made the Red Army great. What he means by that is an increase in brutality. He appointed a new commanding officer to the 568th last year—Colonel Karenin, a friend of his—and he has been so sadistic that his men have been pushed to the edge. Sergey has been in touch with junior officers in the regiment who say they are ready to rebel. We believe that they will come out for us.
    ‘The 568th will be vital because they will help us hold on to the Ostankino TV tower—all the TV and radio stations in Moscow broadcast from there and then relay to the whole of Russia.’
    Alex nodded but Fyodor could see that he needed some background. ‘The tower, you know, it looks like the Telecom Tower in London but it’s three times as high,’ he stretched a hand up above the table, ‘five hundred and forty metres. It used to be the tallest building in the world.’
    Sergey interrupted him. ‘Everything is bigger in Russia!’ he said grandly with his arms spread wide, and then leaned towards Alex and said in a confidential tone, ‘Although, didyou know that Russian scientists have recently invented the world’s finest microcomputer?’ He looked at him with a raised eyebrow and nodded meaningfully.
    This complete change of direction flummoxed Alex and he looked back at Sergey, unsure as to what he should say.
    The Russian exploded, throwing his arms wide again and shouting, ‘It’s the biggest in the world!’ He burst out laughing, looking round the table to see if they got the joke.
    Lara and Fyodor both smirked and shook their heads, while Grigory bellowed with laughter.
    An obsession with being the biggest in everything was all part of their country’s general insecurity complex but some of the more intelligent Russians enjoyed poking fun at it. Sergey grinned, pleased to have made people laugh. ‘It’s good, yeah?’
    Alex smiled and nodded appreciatively.
    Sergey was finally satisfied and continued his former line of thought. ‘So, the tower is about five miles north of the centre of Moscow but there was a lot of fighting there in the revolt against Yeltsin in 1994—about thirty people got killed.’
    Alex looked surprised. ‘I didn’t realise it was such a big fight.’
    Fyodor seemed to take a gloomy pride in the event. ‘Well, I was there as a junior staff officer. It was a big deal. We had six hundred armoured vehicles out in Moscow. Tanks shelled the presidential palace and burned it down.’
    Sergey nodded. ‘So, that’s the plan. We get Raskolnikov to Ostankino, do the broadcast with him and Lara, call the crowds out onto the streets and win over the 568th Regiment—simple.’
    Again he shrugged off the enormous risks with a smile. Alex was already thinking of a hell of a