Читать книгу The Patsy Returns - J. Thomas Ford - Страница 5

Oswald wanted me to understand what happened when he decided to defect to Russia.

“On the one hand, I was curious and I wanted to improve my ability to speak the Russian language.”

“Did you have a reason for wanting these things, Lee?”

“Of course, I had a reason, more than one, as a matter of fact. But, the main reason, I suppose, was that I was looking for adventure. After all, I was only nineteen at the time. What did you want to do when you were nineteen, Timothy?”

I thought about it for a minute.

“I guess you could say that I was interested in girls.”

“There you go, same as me. I was a virgin and I wanted to sleep with as many Russian women as I could find willing to put up with my behavior which, at the time, had a tendency to be obnoxious.”

“How did that work out for you?”

“Pretty good, if I don’t say so myself.”

“What about the KGB?”

“What about them?”

“Did they interfere with your plans?”

He smiled.

“No, as a matter of fact, they helped me along by sending girls over to my apartment to find out what they could about me.”

“Why, were you a danger to them?”

“Not really, but they thought I was, I guess.”

“What did you expect? You did go there under certain pretenses, didn’t you, Lee?”

“At that age, I did a lot of things that I regret now.”

“Why didn’t they just torture you and find out whatever it was they were looking for?”

“They tried interrogating me, keeping me awake, threatening me, but none of it worked. Besides, I was a Marine and I was beyond stubborn.”

“Did you tell them anything?”

“Yes, of course. I told them a bunch of lies, details I made up and other stuff that was no longer secret. In fact, I got so good at hiding the truth from them they were convinced that I was connected to American intelligence.”

“What did that do for you?”

“At first, nothing. In fact, they said they were going to send me back to the states.”

“Why didn’t they?”

“I slit my wrists and was sent to the hospital.”

“What was their reaction to that, Lee?”

“It confused them, and when the Colonel who was in charge came to visit me in the hospital, he asked me why I had done that. Was I depressed?”

“I told them that I was because I was a Marxist and I really just wanted to stay in their country.”

“What did he make of that?”

“He yelled at me, and told me that I was making his job harder than it had to be.”

“What did you say to that?”

“I told him that I couldn’t help myself and that I was sorry for the trouble I was causing him.”

“What else did he ask you?”

“What intelligence agency was I working for?”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told them I wasn’t part of any agency, but they were all interested in me. He was very curious about the CIA.

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them the truth.”

“How did he react to that?”

“He found it hard to believe, but I think I might have worn him down.”

“What do you mean?”

“He threw up his hands and told me, it was against his best nature, but that he was going to give me a chance. He also warned me that I would be sent back to the states if I got into any trouble or did something that displeased them. I think it helped that I was just a teenager and he realized that I was simply curious.”

“Then, what happened?”

“He came to see me and told me he was sending me to Minsk and he hoped that I could keep my nose clean.”

“Did he ever hurt you?”

“No, that wasn’t his job. He was there to find out what made me tick, because he told me he had a degree in psychology so I just put two and two together. In the end, I think he thought I was a little bit out of my mind, and he was right. I was on the brink of being insane. I mean, I never would have gone there if I had been totally sane. Of course, it took me a long time to realize that.”

“So, how was it in Minsk?”

“It was great, and I had a ball. I made friends. I slept with a lot of women and they all thought I was cool. It was the first time in my life when people my own age thought that way about me.”

“Why is that, do you think?”

“I don’t know, maybe it was because I was so relaxed and happy for the first time in my life. I mean, a part of me didn’t have a care in the world. I had a job that I liked, an apartment that most people would die for and I was getting laid just about every night of the week. What more could a guy ask for? I had so much built up testosterone I could almost taste it in my mouth. Horny doesn’t cut it. I was beyond horny. A day didn’t go by when I wasn’t trying to talk a Russian lady into my bed.”

“How much success did you have in that capacity, Lee?”

“In a way, it was easy because I was so different. The women were curious and they wanted to get to know me. They wanted to know what it was like in America. They wanted to go there and see for themselves. I took advantage of their curiosity and gave them all I could while they were with me.”

“In bed?”

“Yes, of course. It was the least I could do for them,

Timothy,” the old man said, with a huge grin on his face.

“What else happened when you were in Russia, Lee?”

“You wouldn’t believe it even I told you.”

“Try me.”

“Maybe some other time.”