“Wow – that’s an interesting idea. That would mean moving back to London, I suppose – but where would I be for the next month until the trial?” she asked.
“We have an exchange arrangement with our counterparts in the States – how would you fancy a few weeks in Florida?”
Marina’s eyes lit up even more. “Are you serious?”
“They have a section there which teaches foreign languages”, Tom continued. “And we could probably get you a place there to start learning Russian – perhaps as a future trainee in our section. That could be very useful to you and us in the longer term. No-one else needs to know where you are or what you are doing. In fact, it will be better if no-one knows. Who would you need to tell?”
“My parents and a few friends in Portsmouth would wonder where I was – and then there are the people at the office in the Dockyard. Then there is my flat and the neighbours there… but that’s about all, I think.”
“Don’t worry about the Navy, we can deal with that. But for the rest, we would need to work out a good cover story with you – and you won’t be surprised to know that we are quite good at that in MI5. Above all else, remember you signed the Official Secrets Act, and the department you will be visiting in America is hush-hush and top secret, not to be revealed to anyone, before or after. You will understand this better when you get there. Anyway, give all this some thought and we will catch up again later.”
The long session ended, and Patricia returned to collect Marina, who was thoughtful and feeling apprehensive as they went to have lunch together in the staff restaurant. Marina was not sure how much to share with her new friend, and the American trip was never mentioned. However, it became obvious that Patricia had been briefed about the plan to offer Marina a job in London at some time in the future, and she was very encouraging and supportive. “We have a great team here, and I am sure you would love it,” she said. And afterwards, she took Marina for a planned meeting with another officer in a different department who began by saying that he had “a bit of experience in arranging cover stories” and had some ideas to talk through with her.
19.
INTRODUCING “MARY”
That evening, and alone for a while, Marina had much to think about. She decided to ring her father and told him she was now in a flat in London. It had been provided by the authorities, she explained, while she was being interviewed about the Russian affair, and she asked whether he had heard anything further.
“Yes,” he replied. “I am glad you called because I have been visited here today by two different reporters. They mainly wanted to find out where you were, and I couldn’t tell them anything.”
“Well, don’t tell them,” interrupted Marina.
“The press also wanted to interview me and asked me things about my background as well as yours. I just told them a few things about your early days in London and then about my business, and luckily, they were not still here a bit later on because a man from the Russian embassy arrived at the house, and that could have been difficult. I didn’t tell the press anything about the calls I’ve had from the Russian embassy.”
“So why are they interested in you, Dad?” she asked. “Have you had any dealings with them before?”
Victor Peters sounded very cautious. “Nothing important,” he replied. “It’s just that they have people there who like to stay in touch with me and my brother because of our background, I suppose. Just in case they can be of any help to us.”
“What did he say about me and my contact with the Russian navy man?”
“Not much. Except that he wanted to know more about it and thought I would have known more from my chat with you at the weekend, but I said that my only concern was to know that you were all right – so are you? What’s happening now?”
“Yes, don’t worry, Dad – and tell Mum I’m OK. I really rang to let you know that I may be away for the next few weeks. The people here are very anxious that I should stay out of sight from the press and the Russians – really out of sight. So I’ve been in touch with an old college friend who now lives in Canada, and I’ll be flying off for a holiday there in the next few days. I’ll stay in touch with you when I get there, so don’t worry, and please, please don’t tell anybody.”
Victor then handed over the phone to his wife, and Marina told her the same story and tried to be as comforting and reassuring as she could.
“I do worry about all this,” said Shona Peters. “Do take care of yourself.”
The next morning, Patricia was up early and over their shared breakfast of cereals and fresh fruit, Marina said she had thought more about a cover story and had worked out an idea about going to stay with an old school friend in Canada, if that would be acceptable to the boss?
Patricia thought that sounded good as she went to the office, asking Marina to wait for further news about what would happen next. By 9 am, Patricia was back at the flat and surprised Marina by handing over round-trip airline tickets to Orlando, Florida, a new passport in the name of Mary McMasters, documents for immigration and a wallet containing a credit card in Marina’s new name, and a wad of US 20 and 50-dollar bills. There was also a new mobile phone.
“Pack your belongings quickly,” said Patricia. “You have a flight at 11.45 this morning. Can you give me the keys to your flat in Portsmouth, and don’t worry, we will make sure everything there is secure. Feel free to use the credit card and cash for any clothes or anything else you may need. It will be quite warm in Florida still. And by the way, I will take you to the airport and you will be met and looked after by our American friends when you arrive.”
A somewhat bewildered Marina could only go with the flow, and within 20 minutes, a waiting car drove them to Heathrow. Patricia then stayed with Marina until she had checked in, done some essential shopping for toiletries and a current affairs magazine in the departure lounge, and chatted reassuringly as they shared a coffee until the Orlando flight was called.
Marina, now Mary McMasters, was soon trying to relax at last with a glass of orange juice in the new experience, for her, of a comfortable business class seat for her eight-hour flight.
20.
MEANWHILE IN PUTNEY
While Marina/Mary was in the air, Victor Peters had another visit at his home in Putney from the Russian embassy agent, “Jack”. Shona greeted him cautiously, and when he was alone with Victor, he began by thanking him for helping them with information in the past.
“Without your help, we would not have known about your daughter’s job with the British navy,” he began, which rather alarmed Victor. “Jack” then went on to suggest that there could be “substantial rewards” for Victor if he could also get some further help now from his daughter. Victor realised for the first time that he been unwittingly trapped by a conversation he’d had a few months earlier at Embassy reception for expat residents in London. He now recalled saying how proud he was of his daughter and that he may have mentioned what she was doing.
He told “Jack” that he would need time to think about such an important matter, and the conversation turned to the story about the Peters family business. The subject of Marina was not raised again until the Russian was about to leave, with a reminder of the offer he had made. Shona overheard this final conversation at the door and asked her husband to tell her more because she was concerned about his contact with the persistent embassy man; she urged Victor to take care and not get involved. Victor decided to have another chat with his brother, who had already been in touch over the weekend after reading about Marina in the newspapers.