Black Ghosts by Victor Ostrovsky Read Free Book Online

maybe nine.”
    â€œDoing what?”
    â€œI’m a freelance reporter.”
    â€œYou’re a reporter?” Edward asked in amusement. “How does a reporter get involved in this business? Don’t tell me—you’re working on a story.” His voice had a hint of irony.
    â€œWell,” she paused, looking down and tilting her head to one side, “I am, and I’m not. After I graduated from journalism school, there weren’t that many jobs. I had this idea that I could go somewhere where things were happening, be a freelancer. I speak Russian, you see, so it was Moscow.”
    â€œAnd that’s where you met Larry?”
    â€œNo, no, no. I had a roommate who worked for him, and she put me in touch with him. You see, I wasn’t doing as well as I had expected, so I asked Sarah—that’s my roommate—to see if she could get me some work.” She raised her eyes and looked at Edward, a sad smile on her face. “I thought they were also working for some wire service or something. Sarah introduced me to Larry over the phone. Several days later Sarah had an accident.” Natalie stared at the floor. “She was killed.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œShe was in this old elevator that was over its capacity. The cable broke and the elevator fell nine floors. Larry asked if I could take over for her. I worked for him for a couple of months, just sending him bits and pieces, looking up odd facts in the library, that kind of thing. Somehow Larry believed there was a Russian connection to this thing he was working on.”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œThen one day Larry wanted me out of there. He didn’t explain much, but I understood it would be better if I left. I got back to the States and worked with him here. When I got to Washington, Larry made it clear that I would work only with him, no one else. I ran all kinds of errands for him. Then he told me we had to come down here.” She looked over Edward’s shoulder, her eyes glazed, her thoughts seeming to drift away.
    â€œSo, when did you find out what he was really doing?”
    â€œWhen I got back to the States, although I had my suspicions a little before. But when I got back he told me as much as he could and he said that he’d got me out because I was no longer safe in Russia.” She paused for a moment. Straightening up, she ran her fingers through her hair again. “How about you? What’s your connection with Larry?”
    â€œWe go back a long way,” said Edward. “We met in hell, I guess . . .” He was interrupted by a shout from Kelly below.
    â€œYour friend’s here!”
    â€œOkay,” he called back. “Ask him to wait in the office.” Edward suggested Natalie get a coffee or a bite to eat in the restaurant. She agreed. He took her downstairs and introduced her to Kelly, who looked her over with a practical eye. Seeming to like what she saw, she took Natalie by the arm and led her into the restaurant. Edward opened the door to the office where the medic was waiting.
    Wearing a dark blue rescue team uniform under a bright orange ski jacket, the man looked more like a Boy Scout than a Delta Force veteran. But Edward knew looks can be deceiving. The young man was all business. After a short inspection of Larry’s wound, he washed his hands, pulled on a pair of latex gloves, and returned to Larry’s side. He cleaned the entry hole which had swollen and turned purple with a reddish ring, oozing pus at the slightest touch. As though it were a daily occurrence for him, the medic used a hypodermic to administer a sedative into Larry’s vein. After waiting a few more minutes for the sedative to take hold, he went to work, his poker face remaining sealed.
    Using a scalpel and a pair of long tweezers, he extracted the bullet and cut away the dead tissue. Before the hour was up, Larry was stitched, bandaged, and loaded with antibiotics.