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.
When Alexander came into the kitchen for breakfast the following morning, he was surprised to find his uncle had joined them, and wondered if he’d managed to get hold of a spare ticket at the last moment. When he asked him, Alexander was puzzled by his reply.
‘You could be playing in a far more important match this afternoon,’ said Kolya. ‘It’s also against Moscow, and one you can’t afford to lose.’
The young man sat in silence as his uncle took him through what he and his mother had been planning for the past week. Elena had already told her brother that if Alexander didn’t want to be involved, for whatever reason, the whole enterprise would have to be called off. She needed to be certain that her son wasn’t in any doubt about the risks they were taking. Kolya even offered him a bribe to make sure he was fully committed.
‘I did manage to get a ticket for the match,’ he said, waving it in the air, ‘so if you’d rather—’
He and Elena watched the young man carefully to see how he would react. ‘To hell with the match,’ was his immediate reaction.
‘But it will mean you having to leave Russia, perhaps never to return,’ said Kolya.
‘That won’t stop me being a Russian. And we may never get a better chance to escape from those bastards who killed my father.’
‘Then that’s settled,’ said Kolya. ‘But you have to understand I won’t be coming with you.’
‘Then we won’t be going,’ said Alexander, jumping up from his father’s old chair. ‘I’m not leaving you behind to face the music.’
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to. If you and your mother are to have any chance of getting away, I’ll have to stay behind and cover your tracks. It’s no more than your father would have expected.’
‘But—’ began Alexander.
‘No buts. Now I must get going and join the morning shift so I can supervise the loading of both ships and everyone will assume that, like them, I’ll be at the football this afternoon.’
‘But won’t they become suspicious when no one remembers seeing you at the match?’ asked Elena.
‘Not if I get my timing right,’ said Kolya. ‘The second half should begin around four o’clock, by which time I’ll be watching the match with the rest of the lads, and with a bit of luck, by the time the final whistle blows, you’ll be outside territorial waters. Just make sure you report for the afternoon shift on time, and for a change, do whatever your supervisor tells you.’ Alexander grinned as his uncle stood up and gave him a bear hug. ‘Make your father proud of you,’ he said before leaving.
As Kolya stepped out of the flat he met Alexander’s friend coming down the stairs.
‘Have you got a ticket for the match, Mr Obolsky?’ he asked.
‘I have,’ said Kolya. ‘In the north end terrace with the rest of the lads. So I’ll see you there.’
‘Afraid not,’ said Vladimir. ‘I’ll be sitting in the west stand.’
‘Lucky boy,’ said Kolya as they walked down the steps together, and although he was tempted, he didn’t ask what he’d had to do in return for his ticket.
‘What about Alexander, will he be with you?’
‘Sadly not. He’s having to work the afternoon shift, and I can tell you, he’s pretty pissed off.’
‘Tell him I’ll drop by this evening and give him a blow-by-blow account.’
‘That’s good of you, Vladimir. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Enjoy the game,’ he added as they went their separate ways.
Once Kolya had left for the docks, Alexander still had a dozen more questions for his mother, some of which she couldn’t answer, including which country they would be going to.
‘Two ships will be sailing on the afternoon tide around three o’clock,’ said Elena, ‘but we won’t know which one Uncle Kolya has chosen until the last moment.’
It was clear to Elena that Alexander had already forgotten about the football match, as he paced excitedly around the room, preoccupied by the thought of escaping. She looked on anxiously. ‘This isn’t a game, Alexander,’ she said firmly. ‘If we are caught, your uncle will be shot, and we’ll be transported to a labour camp, where you’ll spend the rest of your life wishing you’d gone to the match. It’s not too late for you to change your mind.’
‘I know what my father would have done,’ said Alexander.
‘Then you’d better go and get ready,’ said his mother.
Alexander returned to his room while his mother packed the lunch box he took to work every morning. On this occasion it wasn’t filled with food, but with all the notes and coins she and Konstantin had scraped together over the years, a few pieces of jewellery of little value, other than her mother’s engagement ring, which she slipped on next to her wedding ring, and finally a Russian — English dictionary. How Elena now wished she’d spent more time concentrating when Konstantin and Alexander had spoken English every evening. She then packed her own small suitcase, hoping it wouldn’t attract attention when she turned up for work later that morning. The problem was deciding what to include and what to leave behind. Her photos of Konstantin and the family were her first priority, followed by one change of clothes and a bar of soap. She also managed to squeeze in a hairbrush and a comb before forcing the lid closed. Alexander had wanted to take his copy of War and Peace, but she had assured him he’d be able to get another copy wherever they landed.
Alexander was desperate to get going, but his mother wasn’t willing to leave before the agreed time. Kolya had warned her they couldn’t afford to draw attention to themselves by arriving at the dock gates before the siren sounded at twelve. They finally left the flat just after eleven, taking a circuitous route to the dockyard where it was unlikely they would run into anyone they knew. They arrived outside the entrance just before twelve, to face a stampede of workers heading in the opposite direction.
Alexander battled his way through the advancing army, while his mother, head bowed, followed in his wake. Once they’d clocked in, Elena reminded him: ‘The siren will go at two for the mid-afternoon break, then we’ll have twenty minutes, no more, so make sure you join me at the officers’ club as quickly as possible.’