YURI STAMPED HIS feet as he smoked outside the front door of London. Light snow was falling, lit up by the street lamps. His face was getting damp as the flakes stuck to his skin. The end of his cigarette was soggy. It was ruining the enjoyment of it, so he stubbed it out on a wall.
The way Anya had behaved the previous night had been unusual. Gentle, philosophical, apologetic, concerned. None of her usual traits. He liked this Anya and wished he saw her more often. He had spent the day wondering what had brought on this sudden change in her.
She had said that she had something else to do that evening, but when she failed to appear at all he decided to go and visit her in Paris. As chief engineer, he had the key to the main entrance. He knocked on her apartment door and called her name. She didn’t answer, and when he tried the door handle, it was locked.
He was going to leave and look for her elsewhere, but a feeling made him walk back and knock again. After calling her name once more, he was sure that he heard her voice inside. He decided to force the door. The flimsy lock broke on the second push. The room was in darkness but he saw her lying awkwardly on her bed. He knelt beside her. She was semi-conscious, and mumbling incoherently. She didn’t smell of booze, but Yuri noticed a bottle of pills on the table. He put his hands under her back and pulled her up, trying to get a sense of how she was. Her head lolled to one side, and her eyes rolled back. After letting her down gently, he read the label on the pills. It was a name he did not recognise, and there was no description of what they were for.
He ran out into the hall and thumped on the nearest door. One of the women from the administration office answered.
‘Get the doctor. Hurry,’ he said.
The woman did as he asked, running down the hall in her slippers, with a coat thrown over her nightgown. Yuri went back into the room and tried to get Anya awake. He pulled her up towards him again until her head was resting on his chest.
‘Let me sleep,’ she murmured. ‘I just want to sleep.’
Ten minutes later, although it seemed twice that, the doctor and a nurse arrived, dressed in their civilian clothes. They decided she would have to go to the hospital. Yuri helped to carry her down the stairs on a stretcher. She wasn’t dressed for the cold outside so they wrapped her in blankets.
At the hospital, the nurse insisted that he wait outside in the corridor. Moments later, he heard Anya retching violently as they pumped out her stomach. It was hard to listen to. And then all was quiet. He eavesdropped at the door and heard the nurse trying to calm her. The doctor came out into the corridor, almost hitting him on the head with the door.
‘She was lucky to survive,’ he said. ‘We managed to get a lot of it out of her system. Any later and who knows.’
‘What was it she took?’ Yuri asked.
‘They are for depression. Did you know she was taking them?’
‘No,’ said Yuri. ‘She never mentioned she was on medication, and I never saw her taking anything.’
‘Well, she must have brought them with her from Moscow, because I didn’t prescribe them. I think she is over the worst.’
‘Thank you,’ said Yuri. ‘Can I see her?’
‘Yes, you can. But you won’t get much sense out of her for a while. She did it on purpose, you know. No one takes that many pills by accident.’
Yuri nodded. He did not need to be told. This had been coming for months, although he had never thought that she would actually do something as extreme as this. He thought it was just her thing to be down and then come out of it in an endless repeated cycle.
In hindsight, last night seemed to have been her way of saying goodbye. Their last night on earth.
He went inside the white-tiled room and sat beside her on a chair. She was a light shade of green but looked comfortable. The nurse had cleaned her up, and all evidence of what she had just been through was gone.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, when she opened her bloodshot eyes.
‘Awful,’ she said, with a half-smile. ‘How did I get here?’
‘My fault,’ he said. ‘I suppose you’d rather I had left you.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m glad you didn’t. Maybe you should have.’
‘What were you thinking?’ he asked. ‘What if I hadn’t come to find you?’
The nurse waved her finger at him to indicate that it was too soon for him to be interrogating her.
‘Got tired of waiting,’ she replied faintly. ‘I’m glad you came.’
She reached out and squeezed his hand gently. Yuri heard the door behind him, and he turned and saw Grigory standing in the corridor, looking in through the glass panel. Anya had closed her eyes again, so he got up and walked outside.
‘The news has already spread,’ said Grigory. ‘The parents are up in arms. They won’t let her teach their kids again.’
‘How nice,’ said Yuri. ‘Did any of them ask if she was alive?’
‘What do you expect?’ asked Grigory. ‘She’s unstable. This is the end of it. She’s finished at the school.’
‘She’ll be sent home in the spring?’ Yuri asked. ‘It’s decided?’
Grigory paused, and looked up and down the corridor. ‘No, I’ll get her away sooner than that. On one condition only. If you’ll help.’
Yuri was confused. It took him a moment to understand. When he did, he grabbed Grigory by the shirt and yanked him into an empty room.
‘It’s you! You’re the one she’s been waiting for? All this time, it was you.’
‘Keep your voice down!’ said Grigory.
If it had been anyone else, Yuri would have punched him.
‘Why the hell didn’t you tell her before?’ he demanded. ‘You’ve left her dangling on a hook for months.’
‘Because she’s a drunk, that’s why!’ said Grigory. ‘I didn’t trust her to keep her bloody mouth shut. And I was right. I bet she’s already told you her whole life story, about how her partner defected and never told her. But now wants her back. I didn’t get into this game to reunite Romeo and Juliet. If I’m going to stick my neck out for her, it’s going to be my way. Rule number one is that she doesn’t get to know that it’s me. Otherwise, you can forget it.’
‘Oh no. You’re going straight in there and you’re going to tell her.’
‘Let go of my shirt,’ said Grigory.
Yuri allowed him to push his hand away.
‘If you want me to help her,’ said Grigory, ‘we do things my way, or not at all. You’ll have to do most of it.’
‘Me?’ said Yuri, ‘I’m not getting involved in a defection. Are you kidding? They shoot people for less. Besides, I don’t even want her to leave.’
‘Selfless to a fault, as always,’ said Grigory. ‘I thought you liked her.’
‘I don’t like her. I love her,’ protested Yuri. ‘You get it?’
‘But not enough to give her what she wants,’ said Grigory. ‘Fine, if you don’t want to help her, then we’ll forget the whole thing. Believe me, I’d much prefer it that way.’
The nurse opened the door and looked at them.
‘Everything all right in here?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ said Grigory. ‘We were just leaving.’
The nurse left them alone again, and Grigory tried to follow her. Yuri grabbed hold of his arm.
‘We’re not finished.’
‘Tonight we are,’ said Grigory. ‘Let’s talk again when you are less emotional.’
Grigory walked out the door and back down the corridor, adjusting his crumpled shirt on the way. Yuri returned to Anya’s bedside and sat watching her sleeping as monitors beeped around her. He was afraid to leave her alone in case she decided to finish what she had started, although in her present exhausted state she didn’t look capable of very much.
And when she woke, would he tell her he had met her contact? Not yet. Not until he had figured things out with Grigory. Of all people he would never have guessed that it would be him. He supposed that was part of the job of an agent, to seem like the last person in the world who could possibly be one. For Yuri to get involved in this in any way would put at risk the life he had established for himself here. He would do it for her. But was it the best thing for her? He didn’t know the answer to that question.
He had considered Grigory a friend, up till now. That man didn’t exist any more. Perhaps had never existed. He guessed that in this matter, which would put them all to the test, their past friendship could not be relied upon to count for much.
He fell asleep in the chair, and woke in the early morning to find the nurse had put a blanket over him. She was now checking the monitors on the other side of the bed. Anya was still out for the count, but some of her former colour had returned to her cheeks.
‘Morning,’ said Yuri. ‘Thanks for the blanket.’
‘Good morning,’ said the nurse. ‘She woke up for a while in the night.’
‘Oh,’ said Yuri. ‘Did she say anything?’
‘Not much. She just lay there looking at you. You should probably go and get some proper rest. She’s not going anywhere today. Why don’t you come back later?’
Yuri nodded. He did need to get some proper sleep. But he also wanted time to think, alone.
‘If there’s any problem, can you get someone to find me?’ he asked.
‘There won’t be any problem,’ said the nurse. ‘It’s all under control.’
Yuri believed her. If he was ever sick, he wanted her looking after him. He decided against returning to his apartment; he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep with so much on his mind. Instead, he arranged to meet Grigory at the Blue Lagoon reservoir.
The reservoir, a man-made lake just outside town, provided all of Pyramiden’s drinking water.
He arrived first, on foot. Grigory had chosen the meeting point. There were no buildings or workers stationed here. Yuri heard a noise behind him, but he didn’t turn around. Below a thin layer of ice, the fresh water shimmered in the darkness, even though it was three in the afternoon.
‘I like it here,’ said Yuri. ‘I don’t want to be sent away.’
‘You won’t if we do this right,’ said Grigory, from ten paces behind him. Yuri half turned, but Grigory did not come any closer. His eyes were scanning the terrain in all directions. Was he really checking to see if Yuri had sold him out so soon?
‘How?’ Yuri asked.
‘I don’t know yet,’ replied Grigory.
‘You don’t have a plan!’ said Yuri. ‘But you’ve had months to organise it. Who’s in charge of this?’
Grigory frowned, ‘There was only me, and now there is you. Anya has not been a priority for anyone, except her husband. Apparently, he’s been hounding them for this for five years, and they finally gave in.’
‘Who’s them?’ asked Yuri.
Grigory smiled. ‘The other side.’
‘And are you one of them?
Grigory did not reply and his expression gave nothing away.
‘How about by land?’ Yuri suggested.
It was fifty miles south-west to Longyearbyen, the nearest Norwegian town, but it may as well have been a hundred. There were no roads between them, just snow and ice. The boats would return in the spring, but the arrivals and departures of Pyramiden staff were closely watched by Timur.
‘The land route is risky,’ said Grigory, ‘but possible. So you’re going to help her?’
‘Somebody has to,’ replied Yuri, ‘and you don’t exactly fill me with confidence.’
He looked back in the direction of the southern end of town where the helipad was located.
‘I can fly a helicopter,’ he said.
‘Can you?’ said Grigory, with a complete lack of excitement. ‘You see the trick with this is to do it without anyone knowing that you’ve done it. She has to disappear as if by magic. If you make an unusual trip the same day she’s gone then Timur will have your head on a chopping block before you know it. Unless, of course, you want to go with her and not come back. Why not do that, if you love her, as you say?’
The thought of going with her had occurred to Yuri, but now he dismissed it immediately.
‘Anya, her husband and me, one big happy family. No thanks. What’ll I say to her?’
‘We could not tell her anything,’ Grigory suggested. ‘And wait till the last moment.’
‘No,’ said Yuri, shaking his head. ‘I’m not doing that to her. She needs to know.’
‘Fine,’ said Grigory. ‘Tell her the bare minimum then. But don’t tell her it’s me. Tell her I’ve made contact, and that we’re putting a plan in motion. Most of all, tell her I said it would help a lot if she stayed fucking sober.’
Yuri studied Grigory for a moment. ‘Why are you trusting me? How do you know I won’t inform on the both of you?’
‘Because you like her,’ said Grigory, ‘More than like.’
‘But I’m not in love with you.’
Grigory smiled. ‘To harm me is to harm her. Go ahead if you want.’
Yuri nodded. He was new to this game.
‘You ever hear of Flight Lieutenant Belenko from the Soviet Air Force?’ asked Grigory.
Yuri shook his head. ‘No, why?’
‘Last year he was testing one of our new planes. The MiG-25. It goes at Mach 3, three times the speed of sound. Had the Americans scared shitless. They’ve been dying to get their hands on one. Anyway, last September Belenko takes off from Chuguyevka airbase, and instead of the mission he was supposed to do, he flies 400 miles straight to Japan. He was going so fast nobody knew where he was. Until he crash-landed at Hakodate airport, and defected.’
‘Nice story,’ said Yuri. ‘And your point is?’
‘My point is,’ said Grigory, ‘that he did it all himself. And he didn’t put a whole bunch of other people in danger by asking them to help him. Unlike Anya.’
‘We’re short on MiGs around here,’ said Yuri. ‘So how did you end up involved in all this?’
‘Which answer are you more comfortable with?’ said Grigory. ‘The one where I do it for the money. Lots of it? Or the one where I believe the world we live in is wrong and that I want to do something about it? Take your pick.’
Yuri nodded, ‘Money then. The wages of sin.’
As Grigory walked away, a thought occurred to Yuri. He turned and shouted after him.
‘Timur is interested in you. He had Semyon informing on you.’
Grigory nodded. ‘How do you know that? On second thoughts, I don’t want to know. I remember those conversations. I imagine they didn’t make for very exciting reading.’
‘You think he suspects you?’
Grigory shook his head. ‘Probably just looking for information to use against me, if he needed to. He’s ambitious, that one. Be careful around him.’
‘My late assistant was ambitious too,’ said Yuri. ‘You didn’t by any chance kill Semyon, did you?’
‘I thought that was an accident,’ said Grigory.
‘Unlikely,’ said Yuri. ‘So it wasn’t you?’
‘I don’t kill people,’ said Grigory. ‘I’m not that sort of spy.’
Yuri lingered on his own at the lagoon for a few more minutes, giving Grigory time to get back to town first. He had never been here with Anya, even though it was the most romantic setting in Pyramiden. He resolved to bring her here when she had recovered. It seemed that they had little time left together and he was determined to make the most of it. What an idiot he was, looking forward to telling his lover that he had found a way for her to leave him.
Anya was released from the hospital after five days. Being out was not easy for her. People stared, and avoided her company, particularly the irate parents of the children she had been teaching. She was annoyed to have lost her job, insisting she was fine now. But after what had happened there was zero chance of a reinstatement any time soon.
Yuri considered not telling her anything about meeting her contact, but it was not long before she sought solace at the bottom of a glass. Hoping to avoid another self-destructive breakdown, he told her in the way that Grigory had instructed, while they were out getting some fresh air. He had been approached, the contact wished to remain anonymous, he would act as go-between.
To his surprise, her face flushed with anger.
‘What are you doing? You think it helps me to give me false hope like that?’
‘But it’s true,’ he said. ‘I was contacted while you were in hospital.’
‘By who?’ she asked. She searched his face to see if he was lying.
‘I can’t say,’ said Yuri, realising how ridiculous it sounded. He regretted agreeing to Grigory’s condition.
‘They want to keep their identity secret. They’ll only talk to you through me.’
‘Why? Why won’t they talk to me?’ she demanded. ‘I have to meet them.’
‘Sorry,’ said Yuri, shaking his head. ‘This is the only way it’s going to work. If I hadn’t agreed, the deal would have been off.’
‘What deal?’ she said. ‘You made a deal about me?’
‘Look, they are going to try and get you away. If I agree to help.’
She digested this information for a moment. ‘And did you agree?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re not making all of this up?’
‘No.’
When he eventually convinced her he was telling the truth, her mood changed completely to a mix of relief and elation. She bombarded him with questions.
‘When am I going? And how? Why won’t they speak to me in person? It’s her, isn’t it? That English woman. Your friend.’
He supposed it was a natural conclusion to reach. A foreigner, newly arrived in town, had spy written all over her.
‘I can’t answer any of your questions yet,’ he said. ‘But I will soon, when it’s all in place.’
He could see that the arrangement was frustrating for her.
‘You trust this person; I mean with me?’ she asked.
Before Grigory had revealed his secret to him, he would have considered him to be one of the few people he could count on in the world, if he needed help. Now he was not so sure. Nothing had been as it seemed.
‘As far as it goes, yes,’ he said, ‘but I make a habit of not trusting anyone too much. Life is easier that way.’
Anya frowned. ‘If I’m going, I might never see you again.’
There was no ‘might’ about it. They would never lay eyes on each other again for the rest of their lives. Unless they were caught, and sent to the same prison.
‘I know,’ said Yuri, ‘but this is what you want, isn’t it?’
She thought for a moment before saying, ‘Yes, it’s what I want.’
‘Perhaps we should stop seeing each other now then?’ he suggested.
She shook her head. ‘Not yet. I don’t want to. Do you?’
He pretended to consider the question before answering.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I want to keep seeing you.’
He knew he should probably tell her that it was a good idea. A clean break for both of them would be the best thing. And he knew it would certainly save him from a lot of pain, which he knew was coming down the track.
Anya froze when she saw a group of schoolchildren with flashlights approaching them across the playground. They stopped in front of her, and a girl stepped forward and handed her a bunch of tiny yellow flowers.
‘We hope you get well soon, Miss,’ she said.
Anya took the flowers and held them close to her chest.
‘Thank you. That’s very sweet of you.’
‘When will you be coming back?’ asked a boy.
Anya looked to Yuri for help.
‘That’s up to the doctor,’ lied Yuri. ‘Right now she needs lots of rest.’
The children nodded. They looked expectantly at Anya but she seemed lost for words. They turned and shuffled off.
‘See,’ said Yuri. ‘They like you.’
Anya seemed genuinely surprised. When they eventually found out that she was a defector, they would probably send special teachers into each classroom to stop the traitor virus spreading among these impressionable young minds. Yuri could already see the look of horror on the parents’ faces. Not only was she a drunk, and suicidal, but an enemy of the state too.
‘I’ve had enough air,’ said Anya.
They walked back to his apartment together. Inside, she put the flowers in a jar of water. They had obviously been cultivated by one of the parents in an apartment. Nothing grew outside at this time of year.
Yuri helped Anya undress and got into bed beside her.
Despite the fact that he was now planning their eventual separation, he was pleased their affair would continue for the time being. In the meantime, he thought, circumstances might change, which would mean she could remain with him. This was only partly selfish on his part. He considered that staying with him really was her best option; the one that would bring her happiness.
If she was really going, then the clock had already started ticking.