took off the raincoat and draped it over the back of a chair and sat.
âPerhaps I can tempt you with something from the kitchen.â
Volsky hadnât eaten a real meal all day. He eyed a hillock of black caviar set in a bowl surrounded by ice. The roe was fat and glossy, as big as ball bearings. âYou can tempt me with some answers,â he said as he dredged a piece of bread through the caviar and popped it into his mouth. âI have a friend who says that in Russia theyâre rarer than diamonds.â
âItâs an odd thing to say.â
âI find heâs usually right.â
Petrov filled his own glass, took a sip. âIâve heard you have some thoughts about the state diamond stockpile.â
That was fast. How?
Volsky wondered. Heâd only arrived this afternoon. âI have no thoughts.â He loaded his toast with a thousand rublesâ worth of roe, ate it, then said to Petrov, âI only have demands.â
âDemands?â Petrov took a sip of vodka. âWhat sort?â
âYouâve blocked an agreement with the diamond cartel for almost a year now.â
âIf two parties disagree, which one is guilty of blocking?â
âI donât care. What matters is that the cartel isnât buying our diamonds. That means no money is going to my miners.â
â
Our
diamonds?
Your
miners? Youâre the Siberian Delegate. Not the delegate from Mirny. You donât speak for them.â
âIâll fight for them. Winterâs coming in case you forgot.â
âYou traveled all the way here to beg?â
âTo inform. Itâs time for you to do your job before any more miners die.â
âSomeone died?â
Volsky stared at the Prince of Diamonds, then said, âAsk your friends in Kristall what happened in August. See if theyâll tell you the truth. Fifty dead, and itâs just the start.â
âI heard nothing about an accident.â
âWho said it was an accident?â
Petrov looked disappointed, as though a puppy heâd petted had turned around and nipped. âIâm sorry, but mine safety is not my responsibility. My job is to obtain the most value for the stones so that your miners, as you would say, can live.â
âWhat have you obtained for them lately?â
âListen. I understand your concerns,â said Petrov. âI share them. But Iâm like a general. I have compassion for my troops, but I must never hesitate to use them to win the war.â
âLet another week go by without sending the miners their pay and youâll have a
real
war.â
Petrovâs expression hardened. âForgive my bluntness, but the sale of Mirny diamonds is not your affair, Delegate Volsky.â
âThe survival of the people who dig them
is
. Theyâre already rationing electricity. Do you have any idea what itâs like when the lights go off in the middle of a Mirny winter?â
âIâm sure that life will become more normal when . . .â
âWhen thereâs
no fucking heat and no fucking electricity
because some fat-faced prick in Moscow is keeping four million carats under his warm ass?â
Petrov looked surprised. âWho gave you that number?â
âTbye ne nuzhna znat.â
It wasnât necessary for Petrov to know. âNow
you
listen. Iâm going to Mirny in a few days to bring them their money. Every ruble theyâre owed. Iâll do it with your help or over your head. Itâs up to you which it will be.â
âYou donât need to make threats. The miners will be paid.â
âAll right.â Volsky crossed his arms over his barrel chest. âWhen?â
âEventually.â
âEventually weâll be dead.â
Petrov wagged his finger at Volsky. âI have more faith in Siberians. You know how to survive. Fishing, trapping, the
dacha
garden. Youâre good at making do. Making do is