Yes, Ilanskiy, he thought. That was what this whole affair between Volkov and Karpov was about. Two men from the upper floor were having a nice little tussle for control of that stairway. They know the power it represents, even as I do. I used it to see tomorrow-to see this time from where I was on the bottom floor, and I used that knowledge to eliminate my enemies and take control of the revolution. But I did not count on Ivan Volkov, and I certainly did not count on this man Karpov.
Yes, he’s every bit as dangerous as Volsky said, a bit of a viper, this one. Can I keep him in a basket if I join with him now? He has Ilanskiy…
“What’s to stop me from sending ten divisions east to do what Volkov failed to do?”
“Don’t be foolish,” said Karpov. “You would have to start from as far away as Perm, and its 2500 kilometers from there to Ilanskiy. No force on earth is going to take that place from me. Understand?”
“So what do you propose to do, Karpov? Are you going to sneak up those stairs and bring back these terror weapons you spoke of?”
Karpov smiled. “I suppose I could do that, but that stairway goes two directions, does it not?”
Now the full implications of what Karpov was saying struck Kirov like a hammer. My god, he thought. That is true! What if this man were to start on the upper floor and go down those steps? Why, he could do what I did with Stalin! He could do that to any man alive in that time… even me…
“Unfortunately, the place was destroyed, Karpov. You said as much yourself.”
“Yes, it is destroyed,” said Karpov, deciding to play his Ace, “a nice pile of rubble-for the moment.”
“For the moment? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that if an inn was built in that place once, an inn with a nice back stairway leading to heaven and hell, then one can be built there again. Yes, their little mission was successful and they destroyed the stairway. But I could rebuild it.”
Karpov knew it was dangerous to reveal this, for it would show Kirov the full breadth of the power he had at his disposal. What would he do now? Here I sit, right in the heart of the Kremlin, and with no more than a company of security men and the Tunguska hovering overhead to protect me. Kirov could lock me away in a heartbeat, or worse. Yet if he would do that now, then he would also do it later, under other circumstances. Yes? So I must measure the man, and find out where he stands. He will either be my enemy, or my friend here. The die is cast.
“Rebuild it?” Now it was Kirov who leaned forward. “Would it still work?”
“Perhaps. That remains to be seen. I have found the original plans and construction diagrams, though the builder is long dead. That said, I have skilled men on the job this very moment.”
“I see… Then you intend to use that stairway again? In which direction will you go, Karpov, back to your upper floor to fetch a devil’s brood of new weaponry for your army, or back to the time of the early revolution?”
Karpov smiled. Now he had this man’s full attention, but he had to be very careful here. Kirov could be sounding me out to determine what to do about this situation, he thought.
“I have not decided to use it at all, except perhaps to test and see if the gateway still remains open. Once I learn that, simply having it there presents me with a final option should things ever go wrong for me. Think of it, Kirov. That stairway represents ultimate power-the power to pluck out any weed that might one day bloom in your garden, and long before it ever gets rooted and goes to seed. I have ringed Ilanskiy with my best troops, and stationed three airships there now. That and the vast distance any army must march to reach the place make it a castle I can easily defend and hold.”
“I suppose that is true. You would see any threat coming long before it could reach you. But what if Volkov were to throw his entire airship fleet against you, with every ship carrying a full battalion? He has twenty four Zeppelins! That could carry over two full divisions of his best troops to that place, and your air defense could not stop him.”
“He has twenty-two Zeppelins, remember? And now I have nine. Yes, he might still win that air duel, but he could not win the battle on the ground-he learned that the first time he tried to raid that site, and he would be foolish to try again.”
“What if he were to use other means? Assassination could solve his problem easily enough. One good man with a rifle could do what all his airships might not accomplish. You know how good his intelligence service is.”
“I’ll match my security forces against his any day,” Karpov folded his arms, confident he could prevent such an attack.
Now it was Kirov’s turn to smile. “Suppose I have you taken out and shot this very moment, Karpov. I could eliminate your little security contingent, and then turn every flak gun in Moscow on that overinflated balloon you have out there.”
