Kolya dropped into the kitchen to see his sister at the end of the day. Elena turned on the water in the sink before she gave him a blow-by-blow account of what she’d had to endure that afternoon.
‘There’s nothing any of us can do about Polyakov,’ said Kolya. ‘Not if we want to keep our jobs. While Konstantin was alive he wouldn’t have dared lay a hand on you, but now . . . there’s nothing to stop him adding you to a long list of conquests who’ll never complain. You only have to ask your friend Olga.’
‘I don’t need to. But something Olga let slip today made me realize she must know why Konstantin was killed, and who was responsible. She’s obviously too frightened to say a word, so perhaps it’s time you told me the truth. Were you at that meeting?’
‘It was a tragic accident,’ said Kolya.
Elena leant forward and whispered, ‘Is your life also in danger?’ Her brother nodded, and left the kitchen without another word.
*
Elena lay in bed that night thinking about her husband. Part of her was still unwilling to accept he wasn’t alive. It didn’t help that Alexander had worshipped his father, and had always tried so hard to live up to his impossible standards. Standards that must have been the reason Konstantin had sacrificed his life, and at the same time condemned his son to spend the rest of his days as a dock labourer.
Elena had hoped their son would join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that she would live long enough to see him become an ambassador. But it was not to be. If brave men aren’t willing to take risks for what they believe in, Konstantin had once told her, nothing will ever change. Elena only wished her husband had been more of a coward. But then, if he had been, perhaps she wouldn’t have fallen so helplessly in love with him.
Elena’s brother Kolya had been his third in command at the docks, but Polyakov clearly didn’t consider him a threat, because he kept his job as chief loader after Konstantin’s ‘tragic accident’. What Polyakov couldn’t know was that Kolya hated the KGB even more than his brother-in-law had, and although he appeared to have fallen into line, he was already planning his revenge, which wouldn’t involve making impassioned speeches, although it would take every bit as much courage.
*
Elena was surprised to see her brother waiting for her outside the dock gates when she clocked off the following afternoon.
‘This is a pleasant surprise,’ she said, as they began to walk home.
‘You may not think so when you hear what I’ve got to say.’
‘Does it concern Alexander?’ asked Elena anxiously.
‘I’m afraid it does. He’s begun badly. Refuses to take orders, and is openly contemptuous of the KGB. Today he told a junior officer to fuck off.’ Elena shuddered. ‘You must tell him to knuckle down, because I won’t be able to cover for him much longer.’
‘I’m afraid he’s inherited his father’s fierce independent streak,’ said Elena, ‘without any of his discretion or wisdom.’
‘And it doesn’t help that he’s brighter than everyone else around him, including the KGB officers,’ said Kolya. ‘And they all know it.’
‘But what can I do, when he doesn’t listen to me any longer?’
They walked in silence for some time before Kolya spoke again, and then not until he was certain no one could overhear them. ‘I may have come up with a solution. But I can’t pull it off without your full cooperation.’ He paused. ‘And Alexander’s.’
*
As if Elena’s problems at home weren’t bad enough, things were becoming worse at work, as the major’s advances became less and less subtle. She had considered pouring boiling water over his wandering hands, but the consequences didn’t bear thinking about.
It must have been about a week later, as she was tidying up the kitchen before returning home, that Polyakov staggered in, clearly drunk, and began to unbutton his trousers as he advanced towards her. Just as he was about to place a sweaty hand on her breast, a junior officer rushed in, and said that the commandant needed to see him urgently. Polyakov couldn’t hide his frustration, and as he left, hissed at Elena, ‘Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back later.’ Elena was so terrified, she didn’t leave the kitchen for over an hour. But the moment the siren finally sounded, she pulled on her coat and was among the first to clock off.
When her brother joined her for supper that evening, she begged him to tell her the details of his plan.
‘I thought you said it was far too great a risk.’
‘I did, but that was before I realized I can’t avoid Polyakov’s advances any longer.’
‘You told me you could even bear that, as long as Alexander never found out.’
‘But if he did,’ said Elena quietly, ‘can you imagine what he might do? So tell me what you have in mind, because I’ll consider anything.’
Kolya leant forward and poured himself a shot of vodka before he began to take her slowly through his plan. ‘As you know, several foreign vessels unload their cargo at the docks every week, and we have to turn them round as quickly as possible, so any waiting ships can take their place. That’s my responsibility.’
‘But how does that help us?’ asked Elena.
‘Once a ship has been unloaded, the loading process begins. Because not everyone wants bags of salt or cases of vodka, some vessels leave the port empty.’ Elena remained silent while her brother continued. ‘There are two ships due in on Friday, which after they’ve discharged their cargo will leave on the Saturday afternoon tide with empty holds. You and Alexander could be hidden on one of them.’
‘But if we’re caught we could end up on a cattle train to Siberia.’
‘That’s why it’s important to take our chance this Saturday, because for once the odds will be stacked in our favour.’
‘Why?’ asked Elena.
‘Zenit F.C. are playing Torpedo Moscow in the final of the Soviet Cup, and almost all of the officers will be sitting in a box at the stadium supporting Moscow, while most of the workers will be cheering on the home side from the terraces. So there’ll be a three-hour window we could take advantage of, and by the time the final whistle blows, you and Alexander could be on your way to a new life in London or New York.’
‘Or Siberia?’
3
ALEXANDER
Kolya and Elena never left for the docks in the morning at the same time, and they didn’t return home together at night. When they were at work, there was no reason for their paths to cross, and they were careful to make sure they never did. Kolya came down from his flat on the sixth floor every evening, but they didn’t discuss what they were planning until after Alexander had gone to bed, when they talked of little else.
By Friday evening, they’d gone over everything they imagined could go wrong again and again, although Elena remained convinced something would trip them up at the last moment. She didn’t sleep that night, but then she hadn’t slept for more than a couple of hours a night for the past month.
Kolya told her that because of the cup final, almost all the dockers had opted for the early shift on Saturday morning – six until midday – so once the noon siren blasted the docks would only be manned by a skeleton crew.
‘And I’ve already told Alexander I wasn’t able to get him a ticket, so he’s reluctantly signed up for the afternoon shift.’
‘When will you tell him?’ asked Elena.
‘Not until the last moment. Think like the KGB. They don’t even tell themselves.’
Comrade Akimov had already told Elena that she could take Saturday off, because he doubted if any of the officers would bother to come in for lunch, as they wouldn’t want to miss the kick-off.
‘I’ll pop in during the morning,’ she told him. ‘It’s just possible they might not all be football fans. But I’ll leave around midday if no one turns up.’
Uncle Kolya had managed to pick up a couple of spare tickets on the terraces, but he didn’t tell Alexander that he’d sacrificed them to make sure his deputy loader and the chief crane operator wouldn’t be around on Saturday afternoon.