Kolya smiled as he turned a page of his newspaper. ‘But if I know Elena, she’ll still want the boy to go to college, and then get what she’d call a proper job.’
‘No doubt about that,’ said Dimitri. ‘But he’s hell bent on becoming a millionaire. He even talked me into investing three hundred and twenty dollars in his latest venture.’
‘Does he know why you can afford it?’
‘No, I just told him there’s not much to spend my pay on while I’m away at sea.’
‘It can only be a matter of time before he finds out. But I have to admit I’d invest in the boy myself, if I had any money,’ said Kolya. ‘He’s got his father’s self-confidence and his mother’s common sense. Whoever this Rockefeller is, he’d better watch out.’
Dimitri laughed. ‘I’ll keep you briefed on how my investment turns out.’
‘I can’t wait,’ said Kolya. ‘Give them both my love.’
‘Of course. And is there anything you’d like me to pass on to my friends?’
‘Yes, it looks as if I might be the next convener of the dockers’ union and therefore follow in Konstantin’s footsteps, though without the same size shoes.’
‘He’d have been proud of you.’
‘Not quite yet. There are still a few more problems to surmount, not least Polyakov, who has his own candidate for the job. A fully paid-up party member who would report directly to him.’
‘So despite Polyakov being at the docks when Elena and Alex escaped, he somehow managed to keep his job?’
‘He actually turned the whole disaster to his advantage,’ said Kolya. ‘Told the commandant that he didn’t go to the cup final because he’d been tipped off that someone might be trying to escape.’
‘Then why didn’t he arrest both of them?’
‘Said he was on his own when a dozen men took him by surprise, and that if it hadn’t been for him, a lot more dissidents would have been on that ship.’
‘And they believed him?’
‘Must have. But I hear he’s unlikely to be promoted in the near future.’
‘Did he try to pin anything on you?’
‘No, he couldn’t. I was back at the stadium well in time to watch the second half of the match. I drifted around the north terrace for the next hour, so by the time the final whistle went, over a thousand of my workmates were able to confirm they’d seen me, so I was in the clear.’
‘That’s a relief.’
‘Not altogether,’ said Kolya. ‘Polyakov remains unconvinced, which is another reason why he’s so determined to stop me becoming convenor of the trade union.’
‘And who won?’
‘Won what?’
‘The cup final. Alex keeps asking me to find out.’
‘We beat Moscow two–one, despite the referee being a KGB officer.’
Dimitri laughed. ‘Anything else you want to tell me?’ he asked, aware that their time was running out.
‘Yes,’ said Kolya, turning another page of his newspaper. ‘Alexander might be interested to know that his old school friend Vladimir has been elected to the committee of the university Komsomol. Don’t be surprised if he’s chairman by the next time we meet.’
‘One last thing,’ said Dimitri. ‘Elena wants to know, if I was able to fix a visa for you, would you consider coming to New York and living with us?’
‘Thank her for her kindness, but Polyakov would make sure I was never granted a visa. Perhaps you could try and explain to my dear sister that I’ve still got important work to do here.’ He folded his newspaper, the sign that he had nothing more to say, just as a train shunted into platform 17 and screeched to a halt.
Dimitri rose from his place, joined the jostling passengers now crowding the platform, and began the long walk back to the ship, making the occasional detour to be sure no one was following him. He couldn’t help worrying about Kolya, and the risks he was willing to take because he detested the communist regime. Unlike most of Dimitri’s other contacts, Kolya never asked for money. Some men can’t be bought.
14
SASHA
University of Cambridge
Once Sasha had read through his essay and made a couple of alterations, he glanced at his watch, then hurriedly pulled on his long black scholar’s gown, ran downstairs and across the court. He charged up another staircase, stopping at the third floor, just as he heard the first of ten chimes.
He couldn’t be even a minute late for Dr Streator, who began his supervisions as the great courtyard clock struck, and finished them when it chimed again an hour later. Sasha caught his breath, knocked on the door and walked in on the tenth chime, to find the two other scholars already sitting in front of the fire enjoying toasted crumpets.
‘Good morning, Dr Streator,’ said Sasha, handing over his essay.
‘Good morning, Karpenko,’ said Streator in Russian. ‘You’ve missed out on the crumpets, but then, being on time doesn’t appear to be one of your strengths. However, I can still offer you a cup of tea.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
Streator poured a fourth cup before he began. ‘Today, I want to consider the relationship between Lenin and Stalin. Lenin not only didn’t have any respect for Stalin, he actively despised the man. However, he recognized that if the revolution was to be a success, he needed money to make sure that his political opponents were removed one way or another. Enter a young thug from Georgia who was only too happy to carry out both tasks. He raided banks, and didn’t give a second thought about murdering anyone who got in his way, including innocent bystanders.’
Sasha took notes while Dr Streator continued his discourse. It hadn’t taken him long to realize how little Russian history he actually knew, and that his teachers in Leningrad had parroted words from a book that had been vetted by the KGB in a blatant attempt to rewrite history.
‘I am only interested in proven facts,’ said Streator, ‘with reliable evidence to back them up; not mere propaganda, endlessly repeated until the gullible have accepted it as the truth. Stalin, for example, was able to convince an entire nation that he was in Moscow in 1941, leading from the front at a time when the German army were within twenty miles of the city. Whereas it’s far more likely that he actually fled to Kuybyshev, and only returned to Moscow once the Germans were in retreat. Why do I say far more likely? Because I don’t have irrefutable proof, and for a historian, odds of ninety per cent should not be good enough.’
Sasha enjoyed his twice-weekly supervisions, and never missed a lecture, although Ben Cohen kept trying to persuade him there was a life beyond academia. Ben had recently joined the Union and begun to take an interest in politics. After much arm-twisting, Sasha had agreed to attend the next debate with him. Sasha rarely ventured beyond the walls of Trinity unless it was to spend time with Charlie in Newnham. But then, Dr Streator had made it clear at their first supervision that he expected all three of them to be high Wranglers. Nothing less would be acceptable. While others excelled on the playing fields, Streator considered it his duty to stretch his students’ minds, not their muscles. However, Sasha felt a trip to the Union couldn’t do any harm.
The hour went by so quickly, that when the clock chimed again, Sasha closed his notebook and reluctantly gathered up his papers. He was about to leave when Streator said, ‘Can you spare me a moment, Karpenko?’
‘Yes, of course, sir.’
‘I wondered if you had anything planned for this evening?’
‘I was going to the Union.’
‘This house would not fight for Queen and country.’
‘Yes, sir. Will you be there?’
‘No, I’ve had enough of war,’ said Streator, without explanation. ‘But when you’ve got a free evening, perhaps you could join me after supper for a game of chess, where kings, queens and knights are not imprisoned, executed or assassinated, but simply moved across a board and occasionally removed.’ Sasha smiled. ‘But I must warn you, Karpenko, I have an ulterior motive. I’m the don in charge of the university chess team, and I want to find out if you’re good enough to be selected for the match against Oxford.’
*
‘Have you slept with her yet?’