Page 175 of Cry Havoc

Lavrinenko grunted in response.

“His capture puts us in a perilous situation,” Lavrinenko continued. “I do not assess him as someone who will remain silent under pressure. And who knows what mind-altering substances the CIA will administer. The sooner we get him back, the better. We can then ascertain the depth of the breach.Do you have a list detailing the information and projects he could potentially compromise?”

“I do,” Penkovsky said, handing the director a file.

Lavrinenko set it on his desk, unopened.

“And at the top of that list is the POW program?”

“That is correct, Director. We must assume that Major Dvornikov has, or will, reveal it to the CIA. We must also assume that our network of assets in Saigon has been exposed.”

“They will, of course, propose a trade; Dvornikov for the American POWs.”

“That is probable,” Penkovsky said.

“If we admit to having them, it poses difficulties not just for Soviet-U.S. relations, but also for us here at the GRU.”

Lavrinenko did not need to state the obvious—that the Politburo might decide to sacrifice, and even disappear, GRU leadership responsible for the failure.

“I think there is a way out of this, Director.”

“Yes?”

“We deny the existence of the POW program. We tell the Americans it is the crazy rantings of a GRU officer willing to say anything to save himself.”

“We still need him back.”

“Yes. And to get him, we give the Americans something they desperately need.”

“And what is that?”

“An end to thePuebloincident.”

A slight smile crept to the corner of Lavrinenko’s mouth as his deputy offered him a lifeline.

“Continue.”

“We propose a trade. The crew of the USSPueblofor Major Dvornikov. ThePueblo’s crew has been captive for over six months. I have been reading the interrogation reports from Korea. The captainand his crew have outlived their usefulness to us and the DPRK. We have successfully reverse engineered their cipher machines and are using them to collect what the Americans believe are secure communications across the globe. And the Koreans have wrung them dry for internal propaganda purposes. They have all signed coerced confessions. The timing could not be better.”

Lavrinenko rolled his fat knuckles across his desk, thinking through potential fallout.

“We also have two sources of keying material from Desmond and Walker in the United States,” Penkovsky reported. “We shift the focus off Major Dvornikov’s information regarding U.S. POWs in Siberia and redirect with promises of solving their most pressing international dilemma—that of thePueblo.”

“And timing?”

“That is where we demand stipulations. The Americans release Major Dvornikov now, and then in a few months the Koreans release thePueblocrew. There cannot be a repeat of the public negotiations that took place with the Gary Powers and Rudolf Abel exchange in ’62. No press. No media. We get Dvornikov now quietly. Then, before the end of the year, thePueblocrew is released with great fanfare framed as a victory of international diplomacy.”

“And why would the Americans release Major Dvornikov before they have the crew of thePueblo?”

“For a variety of reasons, Director, not the least of which is they need the crew of thePueblomore than we need Major Dvornikov. They can’t afford not to take the gamble. One man in exchange for even the possibility of getting all eighty-two men from thePuebloback? ThePueblocrisis has been a disaster for the administration. They will jump at the opportunity for a trade, especially one that is kept from the public. If the crew is released and it is not tied to a prisoner exchange, it is a diplomatic win for the Johnson administration. A public trade negates that win and at the veryleast makes it look like a draw. They will go for the foreign policy success. Trust me. I know the Americans.”

“It would save us great embarrassment,” Lavrinenko said.

Penkovsky knew there was no need to affirm the director’s statement.

“When I give up this chair to you, Anatoly, you will be a more than worthy successor. My hope is that we will then see greater cooperation between this agency and the KGB.”

“I give you my word, Director.”