The Kremlin Letter

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Ah, bonjour, mademoiselle. Bonjour, monsieur.

Une valise? Ah, oul.

Merci. Merci, monsieur.

So, the man in moscow's

agreed to send back the letter.

For one million dollars. Oh?

For that kind of money we're

entitled to know his name.

And then? What further

need would you have of me?

When do you go back to paris?

One week. Ten days.

I see. Well, you have one

week to recover the letter.

Seven days, polakov.

There's your million.

I watched him all the time, colonel

kosnov. I watched him every minute.

Polakov could not have committed suicide.

There was no way.

Then i must assume he is still alive.

How are they, grodin? All right.

The mother and sister? No.

Polakov's wife.

Kill them.

"Lieutenant commander charles e. Rone,

"You are hereby informed as of

1400 hours today, october 10, 1969,

You will no longer be under the

jurisdiction of the department of the navy."

Excuse me, sir? "You are further informed...

"That as of 1400 hours,

today, october 10, 1969,

"Your commission as an officer in the navy

of the united states will be suspended.

"And concurrent with said suspension,

"All rights and benefits accruing to you

in the past or due to you in the future,

"As either an officer in

the naval establishment...

"Or a member of the armed

forces of the united states,

Will forthwith and forever

be revoked and canceled."

Not that it makes a goddamn bit

of difference to you, i suppose.

But- But, sir- I- You will

no longer address me as "sir."

Under what authority have i been separated?

I'm sure your new friends in

washington can explain. What friends?

Your friends in c.I.A. Or c.I.C.

Or o.N.I. How the hell would i know?

I do know that a good many

regular army and navy officers...

Are damn sorry those bastard

organizations ever came into existence.

Why aren't you in civilian clothes?

Only officers in the united states

navy are entitled to wear that uniform.

Once upon a time, legend has

it, some men even died for it.

Dismissed, mr. Rone.

By what authority was my commission revoked?

The very highest authority.

You can have it back though.

But you'll give up a

quarter of a million dollars.

Maybe double, even triple that.

You probably made the wisest choice.

It's safer back in the navy.

All right. When do i begin?

Here. These'll give you some

background on what you're in for.

Tell me how you feel about them.

These are antiques.

The kinds of things that

were used 10, 20 years ago.

Someone called the pepper pot is

dead. He failed an important mission.

Washington and 10 downing

street in an uproar.

They're turning to someone

called the highwayman for help.

He's being given all the money

he wants and complete autonomy.

And someone connected to the

highwayman has died from natural causes.

They're sending in new talent

- A virgin.

That's me. And you're probably sweet alice.

Well, well, well. 100%.

- What agency we with?

- Oh, no government agency.

The job's being farmed out.

Subcontracted to the highwayman.

How sturdevant would have crowed.

- Robert sturdevant?

- That's right.

Do you know him? I knew him.

He was a brutal, sadistic,

conscienceless assassin.

He was also individual spy sans pareil.

- And why would sturdevant be crowing?

- To see them eating humble pie.

- Who's "them"?

- You see, before world war ii,

Intelligence operations were

conducted by independent agents.

They knew one another.

They played ball together.

They traded information.

They even split fees.

But, you see, after the

war, bureaucracy took over.

Where before there had been a dozen agents in

the field, there were now thousands of them,

Gathering information and

feeding it into computers.

Certain restrictions were

placed upon the old-Timers.

Sturdevant couldn't or

wouldn't change his ways,

And finally, every major

agency turned its back on him.

The group disbanded, and

sturdevant dropped out of sight.

Then, in 1954, he was

reported dead in istanbul.

How'd he die? He committed suicide.

Supposedly the highwayman handed him the

gun and watched him blow his brains out.

Oh, yes. You

- You've got some fine playmates.

You'll be delivering this to

the highwayman in the morning.

Mr. Charles rone? Yes.

Right this way, sir. Your train was late.

You've missed most of the service.

Nephew charlie?

Unto almighty god, we commend

the soul of our brother,

Raymond hatfield, departed.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Who was raymond hatfield? Your predecessor.

Scooter. Had a real good memory.

Want some coffee? Mmm.

I don't hold much with what

folks call total recall,

But i guess you and him come

pretty close to having it.

See, you're his backup man, his replacement.

Sort of like football. Everybody on the

first string gotta have a substitute.

Well, he up and died. Heart.

So off the bench you come. Get the idea?

I think so. Sorry to call you

out so sudden like, but, uh,

Old scooter didn't give us much warnin'.

Nephew charlie,

Now, you wouldn't take it

unkindly if every now and again...

I was to offer you some little

odds and ends of advice, would ya?

Oh, no. Not at all.

Well, my face is bothering ya.

It had a skin graft. Sure. Long time ago.

One of those postwar retread

jobs. It is not a thing of beauty.

But if you are going to look at me,

Look at me.

Don't check and recheck me

the way you've been doing.

Your file says you're as smart as they come.

But smart don't matter a damn unless

you're quick too. You gotta be both. See?

Yes. Good.

Good.

Nephew, did you ever read

through that file of yours?

No. Well, i don't recommend it.

It might just turn your head.

How many languages is it you

speak without an accent? Seven?

Eight. Hoo-Wee.

Only fault they can find with you

is in the psychiatrist's report.

They speculate about a death wish,

uh, originatin' from your boyhood...

When you saw your mama and papa and

brothers killed in a plane crash.

- What do you say to that, nephew?

- I say it's a lot of rubbish.

I got a different idea about, uh, why

you dove off that cliff in acapulco...

And why you stuck your

neck out so far in korea.

Nephew, they say that...

Heroes can't imagine their own

death, and that's why they're heroes.

You go 'em one better. You

imagine you're immune to violence.

Not only that, but you've taken

the trouble to collect the proof.

Now, which theory do

you go with? Neither one.

Neither one? Well, now, what do you think?

I think i'm a superior combination of

intellect and physique, athlete and scholar.

When a risk is to be run, i

formulate the ideal procedure...

And calculate the chances

involved with exquisite precision.

If the percentages are sufficiently

in my favor, i put myself into motion,

Having absolute confidence in

the performance of my reflexes.

Nephew, the truth is

you are full of yourself.

How much you got there? $480,000.

Right.

30,000.

Keep it.

You've been with the highwayman

a long time. Long enough.

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