The Reluctant Contact

by Stephen Burke

  ‘It makes sense to me,’ countered Yuri. ‘Given the circumstances, it is a reasonable request. Would you give up everything to be with someone who left you five years ago without so much as a goodbye?’

  ‘I wouldn’t even consider getting back with them in the first place,’ said Grigory. ‘And what is she giving up? She has no life any more. She was a scientist, which she messed up by not keeping tabs on her partner. Then they did her a huge favour by getting her a job as a school teacher and now she has messed that one up too. If I were her I wouldn’t be asking too many questions. I’d keep my mouth shut, thank my lucky stars and do as I was told.’

  ‘Well then she’ll be staying here. Because when she gets something into her head, there’s no way to talk her out of it. And if she does stay, I can guarantee you that she’s going to hit the bottle again, big time. Is that what you want? Her wandering around, shouting about the spy who wouldn’t help her. The contact she never met, who is hiding among the good people of Pyramiden.’

  ‘She doesn’t know who I am,’ said Grigory. ‘For that very reason.’

  Grigory took out a cigarette and lit it with what Yuri was sure was a shake in his hand. He did not utter another word until he had taken the first drag.

  ‘No. But she knows who I am,’ said Yuri. ‘And I know who you are. She could tell that to Timur. How long do you think it would take to find you then? A week? Less? A day?’

  Grigory cursed under his breath. ‘I told you this bloody woman would be nothing but trouble. I knew I should have stayed out of it. Why didn’t I listen to myself?’

  ‘Honestly, you should have,’ said Yuri. ‘I wish you had. Your intervention has not been helpful for anyone. But now we’re all in this together. So what do you say? Can you get her husband on the other end of a radio?’

  Grigory sighed. ‘I don’t know. I can try. It’ll take me a few days, at least.’

  Yuri was intrigued and waited for more information.

  ‘I’m not going to tell you how I contact them,’ said Grigory. ‘Are you kidding? I’ll get a message to them. And we’ll see. What about our end? I suppose you already have a plan.’

  ‘I do. The radio station,’ said Yuri. ‘It’s not manned at night.’

  ‘Good idea,’ said Grigory.

  ‘Anya thought of it, actually,’ said Yuri.

  Grigory frowned. ‘And you can get in there?’

  ‘I have keys for nearly every building in town, including that one. And I know the layout. They ask me to fix their equipment when it breaks down. I can get us in no problem. We just have to do it without being seen. But the main thing is we need someone at the other end who is willing to take our call.’

  ‘Let’s talk again in a day or two,’ said Grigory.

  He still did not look happy.

  ‘Tell her that if we do it, there will be this favour, and nothing else after that. OK?’

  ‘I’ll pass that on.’

  ‘I mean it. She better not even dream of asking for anything else.’

  ‘You really don’t like her, do you?’ asked Yuri.

  ‘It’s not about liking,’ said Grigory. ‘She’s not to be trusted.’

  ‘I trust her,’ said Yuri.

  ‘Yeah, well love is blind. Isn’t it?’

  ‘And you trust me?’ asked Yuri.

  Grigory paused for a moment before answering. ‘Let’s just say, of the two of you, I have more faith in you not to stab me in the back.’

  Yuri laughed. ‘I don’t think this spy game is doing your blood pressure any good.’

  The news gave Anya a visible boost, although the idea of finally speaking to her husband in person after all this time did make her nervous. Yuri assured her that she was right to do it, and that it couldn’t do any harm.

  ‘You must have questions you want answered?’ he said.

  ‘I do,’ she agreed. ‘Lots of them.’

  ‘Maybe write them down,’ he suggested. ‘It will be a rush. We’ll have to get in and out of the radio station without raising any eyebrows. So, you’ll have to make the most of what little time you have.’

  Anya nodded but she wasn’t listening. She took his advice and started writing out questions on a piece of paper. The first leaf was full in under a minute, and then the second. On she went until it started to resemble one of Catherine’s questionnaires. He was not pleased that she had so much to say to this man. He tried to take a look over her shoulder but she hid the page with the palm of her hand.

  Yuri decided he needed a break from her. He grabbed his coat, made an excuse and left.

  Outside, a strong wind was blowing from the north, carrying any loose snow with it down through the town. He hurried across from one side of the square to the other, with the wind doing its utmost to knock him over. Keeping close to the relative shelter of the buildings along the way, he made his way to the wooden radio station. Lights were on inside and he could see two of the staff moving about. The main radio room was not visible from the outside, so the principal danger was being seen going in or out. On a night like tonight that wouldn’t be a problem. The weather front was keeping everyone indoors. But he couldn’t control the winds at will, so this sort of help was not something that could be relied upon.

  The lights went out in the radio station, and the two staff came outside. They chatted on the doorstep as one of them locked the front door with a key. Yuri had one of those, on a ring with dozens of others, which he kept at the power station for emergencies. He noted the time. 9 p.m. From then until six in the morning, they would have the place all to themselves. They would just need flashlights so that they could keep all the lights off. And of course they needed Grigory to play his part and deliver the man at the other end of the line.

  Grigory’s mistrust of Anya did give Yuri pause for thought. But he was going into this with his eyes open. He was pretty sure he had the angle on everyone involved, their hidden agendas and what they were after. Everything seemed clear-cut. The safety net was that they all needed each other or else they wouldn’t get what they wanted.

  The weather front passed after three days and the next morning the town was greeted by mountains of snow, in all the wrong places. Anyone with non-essential tasks was given a shovel and set to work. Yuri and Catherine had to dig their way to the power station door, which was almost obscured from view. Heart-attack work. From the moment of her arrival, Yuri had noticed that she was in a bad mood. As much as he liked to see failure brewing between her and Timur, he did not like to see her unhappy. She attacked the snow with sharp jabs, like she wanted to hurt somebody.

  ‘Slow down,’ Yuri advised. ‘Pace yourself.’

  ‘I don’t need to pace myself,’ Catherine said. ‘You just worry about yourself.’

  When she was not looking, Yuri threw his next shovel-load at her head. It was a direct hit and some of it slid down the inside of her coat.

  ‘Oh, you’re in trouble now,’ she said, and proceeded to bombard him with shovel-loads of snow.

  ‘OK. OK,’ he said, accepting defeat through a mouthful of snowflakes. ‘Stop behaving like a child.’

  ‘Me?’ she protested. ‘You were the one who started it.’

  Yuri had to use his fingers to extract a compacted plug of snow from his ear.

  Once they managed to get inside, they hung up their dripping coats to dry.

  ‘Coffee,’ offered Yuri. ‘I think we deserve a break after that, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ said Catherine.

  They warmed their red hands on the hot mugs. After a while, Yuri noticed that Catherine had fallen silent. He was about to ask her if everything was all right, but she spoke first.

  ‘Could I ask your advice on something?’

  ‘Sure,’ he said.

  ‘It’s just I don’t know too many people here, and I don’t know who else I could talk to. You see, it’s me and Timur. I know he’s not your favourite person.’

  Yuri tried not to smile as he hoped this would be the g
ood news he had been waiting for – that they were finally splitting up.

  ‘He asked me to move in with him, to his apartment,’ she said.

  This just kept getting worse and worse. It was impossible for him to feel any guiltier than he already did.

  ‘I see,’ said Yuri. ‘And you’re not sure?’

  ‘Not sure. Yes,’ said Catherine. ‘Things are going well though.’

  ‘Then don’t do it,’ said Yuri, knowing he was responding too quickly, but unable to stop himself. ‘If you’re not sure then that’s always the best option, isn’t it?’

  Catherine was taken aback by his decisiveness. ‘That’s it? No discussion.’

  ‘You asked my advice, and I gave it to you. Follow your first instincts. You’re not sure. That says a lot to me. If it was the right thing to do, you would be sure.’

  Catherine looked doubtful. ‘I don’t know if that’s always the case.’

  ‘Don’t listen to me then,’ snapped Yuri.

  ‘Why are you getting annoyed with me?’ she asked. ‘I was just looking for your opinion. Nobody is asking for you to go and live with him.’

  ‘I should hope not,’ said Yuri, wondering how he could salvage something from the wreckage of this conversation.

  ‘You’ve always been against us going out,’ she said. ‘Why is that?’

  Yuri sighed. ‘You’re right. I don’t like him. And I don’t think he’s good enough for you.’

  ‘Well, I’m an adult,’ said Catherine, ‘and I’ll decide.’

  ‘Fine,’ said Yuri. ‘You do that.’

  ‘You know, if I knew this conversation was going to go like this I never would have asked you. I should have known better.’

  What an idiot I am, thought Yuri. He had just thrown away the opportunity to influence her decision. And now she might never confide in him again.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked, in a calmer voice.

  Catherine stared at him, with an angry expression.

  ‘Either you care a lot, and you aren’t saying,’ she said, ‘or else you don’t care at all. Which is it?’

  Yuri sighed and looked her in the eye. ‘I do care.’

  Catherine’s anger subsided. ‘Let me do this, OK? If I make a mess, then it will be my own fault, nobody else’s. Back home, when you are my age and involved in protest politics, people treat you like you’re some sort of a loon. But I’m no crazier than anyone else here, am I?’

  Yuri smiled and shook his head. ‘Saner than most.’

  ‘So, I will make my own decisions, for myself. All right?’

  Yuri reluctantly nodded his agreement.

  Chapter 18

  ON THE APPOINTED night for Anya to talk to her husband, the weather did not play ball. There was hardly a breeze in the air, and the moon and stars lit up the snow, meaning visibility was as far as the naked eye could see. Earlier, Yuri had taken the radio building key from the bunch at the power station. Now, he collected Anya from Paris. She looked nervous, and remained silent as they made their way to their destination. Grigory never tired of telling Yuri how big a deal it had been for him to set up this call.

  Halfway there, they had to crouch behind a truck as they saw Timur walking across their path in the direction of the Gagarin sports centre. Many of the town’s residents were already there for a basketball match. Yuri was happy to see the KGB man alone. It meant he was not with Catherine. For a moment, he was tempted to abandon his night’s mission in favour of dispatching Timur from this world. They managed to stay out of sight until he was gone. As they drew nearer to their destination, Yuri kept his eyes fixed on the radio station building. It was in complete darkness, and he could see no movement inside or out. They stopped some distance away and waited, just to be sure.

  ‘OK,’ said Yuri, when he was satisfied. ‘Just walk casually up to the front door, like we’re going about our normal business. If anybody sees us, we’ll let them think we’re just two lovers looking for somewhere new to make love.’

  Anya smiled. ‘We could come back another time, if you like? It’s been a long time since we did anything like that.’

  ‘Yeah, well let’s just get through tonight first,’ he replied.

  At the front door, Yuri turned the key, while Anya scanned the streets. No one was around. They hurried inside and Yuri locked the door behind them. He clicked on his flashlight and led the way down the corridor. Once inside the radio room, he flicked a switch and the overhead lights blinked into life. There were no windows, so there was no danger of their activity being noticed from outside.

  Anya looked at the large radio set with apprehension.

  ‘What now?’ she said.

  ‘Now we wait,’ said Yuri. ‘It’s arranged for twenty minutes from now. I’ll get everything set up in the meantime.’

  He pulled out a piece of paper with the radio coordinates Grigory had given him, and set the tuning dial to match. He sensed Anya behind him watching his every move. For now, there was only silence from the other end. He would prefer if it stayed that way, but then he would have to deal with Anya’s disappointment.

  ‘When it’s all set, will I be able to speak to him in private? I’d rather you didn’t listen in on our conversation.’

  ‘Sure,’ said Yuri. ‘I don’t know how many people will be at the other end, wherever that is. But I’ll show you how to work it, and I’ll leave you alone until you are finished. All right?’

  She nodded, still looking nervous.

  ‘Where will you be?’ she said. ‘In case I need you.’

  ‘Outside in the corridor. Don’t worry, I’m not going to run off and leave you.’

  Anya folded her arms around her body.

  ‘You’re cold?’

  ‘No, I’m fine. It’s just been a long time. I can’t imagine what this is going to be like.’

  ‘Just relax,’ said Yuri. ‘You did the right thing by insisting on this.’

  Anya nodded and stared at the radio set again.

  ‘You sure you want to do this?’ he asked. ‘We can call it off if you want to?’

  She paused and then took a deep breath. ‘I’m sure. What harm can it do to talk? I can decide what to do afterwards. You’ll help me then, won’t you?’

  ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘All right then. Come closer, and I’ll show you.’

  Yuri demonstrated how she should speak into the microphone and how to control the volume of what she was hearing back.

  ‘I understand,’ she said. ‘Thank you for doing this.’

  ‘No problem,’ he said. He checked his watch. ‘It’s almost time. You’d better put the headphones on.’

  She sat down in front of the radio set, adjusted the headphones over her ears and listened.

  ‘You hear anything?’ asked Yuri.

  ‘No,’ she said in a loud voice. ‘Just some interference.’

  Yuri hoped that her husband was at least going to fulfil his part of this bargain, and not let her down again. He could see in her eyes that Anya was thinking much the same thing. The fallout if she didn’t get to speak to him, after all this anticipation, would be grim.

  ‘Nothing’s happening,’ she said, with a worried expression on her face. ‘There is no one there.’

  ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Give them a chance.’

  He checked his watch once more. They were now ten minutes beyond the appointed time. He did not tell Anya that. Didn’t her husband know it was rude to keep a lady waiting? After five years, ten minutes looked like the hardest part for Anya to bear. She put her hands up to the headphones, pushing them closer to her ears. Yuri saw her expression change and she turned and caught his eye.

  ‘Yes, yes, I’m here,’ she said, with a smile. ‘Yes. I can hear you. I can hear you.’

  Yuri could not hear what was being said by this man, but he saw her eyes turning glassy. She looked up at him, and he nodded and left her alone. He went out and sat on the floor in the corridor for a while but could not stay easy. He hoped Anya�
�s husband was being nice to her. She deserved this much after everything he had put her through.

  After pacing the length of the corridor a few times, curiosity got the better of him. Breaking his promise, he went into the smaller radio room next door, where he knew it would be possible to listen in. He told himself it was not spying; it was just to protect her. If he knew exactly how she had been treated on this call, it would be easier to deal with her afterwards. The rear room contained a smaller back-up radio, in case anything went wrong with the first. He plugged in a set of headphones, set the radio volume to barely register, and then he switched it on.

  ‘I can’t wait to see you,’ he thought he heard her say. ‘It’s been torture, all this time. I am angry it has taken so long. I have told them.’

  ‘Where will I be living?’ Anya asked.

  Yuri was confused by what he was hearing. Anya had definitely just spoken. But the first voice he had heard, a woman’s, was not Anya.

  ‘It’s a little village,’ said the first woman. ‘They gave me a nice cottage. White, with yellow roses in the garden. There’s a river at the back. It’s beautiful. You’ll love it.’

  ‘In England?’ Anya asked.

  ‘Yes, yes, England.’

  Another voice murmured something in the background at the other end of the line.

  ‘Is someone there with you?’ Anya asked. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Yes,’ the woman said, with a touch of remorse in her voice. ‘One of the people who looks after me.’

  ‘He’s listening to us?’ Anya said, annoyed.

  ‘Yes. I had to agree to do that, or else they would not let me talk to you. I’m sorry. Is it OK?’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Anya said, her voice calming. ‘I understand. And what will I do there in England?’

  Yuri had to stop himself from storming in there and asking her what the hell was going on. One thing was clear: there was no husband waiting for her in England. Anya had been lying to him all this time, and about more than that, it seemed. He was risking his own neck in order to reunite her with another woman.