The Red King of Helsinki

by Helena Halme

  Without saying a word, the trainer stepped back and let Maija into the coach. ‘You stay here,’ Iain said to Heikki. The boy hesitated, but stood still when Iain stepped inside.

  Maija ran along the isle of the coach and shouted, ‘Pia, Pia!’

  Iain walked behind Maija, past two serious-looking muscular men, one of them the man who’d opened the door. They sat at the front, and behind them, along rows of seats were the frightened, upturned faces of the Russian girls. Iain looked closely at their faces. No Pia.

  The back of the coach was nearly empty.

  Iain heard the trainer say something in Russian behind him, but then Maija screamed, ‘Pia, what have they done to you?’

  Iain ran to the last but one row of seats and looked down at Maija, who had her arms around an unconscious girl. She was wrapped in a blanket, and when Iain pulled it away to reveal her face, he saw Maija was right. Pia’s eyes were half-open, and she looked drowsy. She was dressed in a white jogging suit, with the Soviet hammer, sickle and star sewn onto its chest. ‘Mum,’ she muttered and put her head in Maija’s lap. Iain turned around to face the Russian trainer. She had her hand covering her mouth, staring at Maija and Pia. Behind her, the two men looked equally astounded. ‘As I thought,’ Iain said. Addressing Maija, he said, ‘I’ll carry her out of here, follow me.’

  As they left, Heikki nodded to the trainer, but said nothing.

  23

  When Leena came to, she realised she was hunched up on the floor of the car. There were angry voices. She saw Vadi was leaning towards the front, his body filling the middle space between the two front seats. Leena didn’t understand a word of the Russian Vadi and the woman were speaking, but she could tell it was bad. While her father was arguing the girl was very quiet. Leena wasn’t sure but she guessed they were arguing about her, because every now and then Vadi glanced angrily at Leena. She tried to pray, but it wasn’t helping. She couldn’t for the life of her remember the words of the Lord’s Prayer, even though she’d learned it as a child and always followed the pastor word for word in church. Leena leant her head against the seat in front of her, and suddenly she remembered. ‘Isä meidän joka olet taivaassa...’

  The slap came as a surprise. ‘Quiet!’ Vadi hissed. His eyes were blacker than Leena had ever seen them. Leena tried to crouch further into the corner of the floor and continued praying silently.

  Suddenly the car came to a halt. Vadi got out. Leena was shivering. She tried to be silent, but kept hearing a noise. She realised it was her own whimpering. Vadi opened the door to her side and took hold of Leena’s arm. ‘No, no,’ she whispered. Vadi held the gun close to Leena’s head. Leena stopped breathing and felt her bladder weaken. She sobbed as she felt the warm liquid flow between her legs. Vadi said something in Russian and sniffed the air, disgusted. The woman and the girl in the front seat looked behind them. Their eyes were wide and still.

  Vadi pulled her out of the car and flung her onto the ground. Leena felt cold snow hit her face. She tried to sit up. She was surrounded by darkness, broken only by the bright headlights of the car. Leena saw how Vadi brought his daughter gently out of the car. He hugged her and placed something over her mouth. The girl went limp in his arms. Hurriedly, he laid the girl in the back seat and closed the door. Leena could hear the woman shouting loudly in Russian. She got out of the car and started screaming, and hitting Vadi. But Vadi punched her hard in the face, and threw her down on the ground. Her limp body landed on Leena’s stomach. Vadi was holding a gun, pointing it at Leena and the woman. Leena shut her eyes, and continued her prayer, ‘tapahtukoon Sinun tahtosi …

  * * *

  ‘Are you just going to let them get away with it?’ Heikki said when Iain had been driving for a while. They’d not waited to see whether the border police were alerted. Iain wanted to get away. He hoped the Colonel would not get to know how close they’d come to involving the Finnish police.

  Heikki and Maija had changed seats in the car. Heikki was now next to Iain while Maija was sitting in the back seat, clutching her daughter.

  ‘No,’ Iain said, keeping his eye on the road. ‘I’m not going to let him get away with it!’ He glanced at Maija in the mirror, ‘Is she waking up?’

  ‘No, but she’s breathing normally. What has he given her?’ Maija’s voice was trembling.

  ‘Maija, I need you to trust me.’ Iain turned half around and took hold of Maija’s hand. She looked at him, with tears running down her face. ‘We need to get to Kovtun before he reaches the West. He needs to pay for this,’ Iain said.

  Maija nodded.

  Iain thought about the Russian Maija had been speaking. Then he remembered how Maija had called Linnonmaa by his first name.

  ‘I didn’t know you spoke Russian,’ Iain said.

  Maija was staring at him through the rear-view mirror.

  ‘I was a Russian translator at the Vaalimaa border before Pia was born.’

  Iain nodded to himself, ‘And Linnonmaa?’

  ‘He worked there, too, but not with me. He was some kind of Internal Affairs official.’

  Iain glanced at Heikki. The boy had been unusually quiet.

  ‘You know anything about this?’ Iain said.

  The boy shook his head.

  ‘Iain, my work for the Customs has nothing to do with this!’ Maija said. Iain glanced at the mirror again and saw Maija had tears in her eyes.

  ‘Maija, it’s OK.’

  Maija nodded. ‘I don’t think the Russians will report any of this.’

  ‘Why?’ Iain tried to keep his eyes on the road while watching Maija’s face through the rear-view mirror. She looked pale and spoke quickly.

  ‘They were very embarrassed. The two men said no one was to know and the trainer agreed. They just wanted to cross the border as soon possible. I guess she’ll pay for it when they reach Moscow. Poor woman.’

  Iain sighed and turned to Heikki, ‘And you, how come you’re here?’ The boy looked at Iain. ‘Though I’m glad you are. Goodness knows how long I would have been lying there, unconscious…’

  Heikki’s face was earnest when he spoke. ‘I was in the audience. When I saw Kovtun leave and then couldn’t see you anymore, I came to investigate. I was worried when I didn’t see the Lyceum team turn up at the prize giving.’

  ‘Good lad,’ Iain said, and tapped Heikki’s shoulder.

  * * *

  Just before they reached Töölö, Iain heard Pia stir. Maija spoke to her in hushed tones. Iain overheard Pia tell her mother about being tied up, and the smell of the cloth that Kovtun had put against her mouth. Chloroform? That would wear off in time, but still the girl should be looked at by a doctor tomorrow morning. You never know with the Russians, they could be using something new. Iain looked at the clock on the dashboard. They only had an hour before Newcastle was due to sail back to the UK.

  * * *

  Pia felt incredibly cold. Iain had insisted she wear his new winter coat, but underneath she had only her jogging suit over the gym costume. Heikki too had offered her his leather jacket, but Pia had turned him down. She was ignoring him. In the car Heikki had asked how she was feeling. Pia wanted to say ‘What’s it to you,’ but hadn’t had the energy. She’d just closed her eyes.

  Iain pulled the car up to the jetty. There were a number of cars parked up by the ship. ‘Can you walk?’ he said. Pia nodded.

  Iain hurried Maija, Heikki and Pia along the dark jetty towards the ship. The upper deck lights of the frigate were shining brightly against the Helsinki night.

  As they climbed the narrow gangway up to the flight deck, Pia wondered what she must look like with the large coat on. She put her hands inside the pockets and felt something heavy and cold against her fingers. She pulled her hand away quickly and looked at Iain. He was speaking to a man who touched his cap in a rigid salute when they stepped onboard the ship. There was a breeze coming from the sea.

  ‘Welcome onboard, Sir’ the officer said. He led them through a doorway and they were
inside the ship.

  The Colonel didn’t look pleased to see them. Iain stammered when he introduced Maija to the Colonel. The Colonel ignored Pia and Heikki when he offered his hand to Pia’s mother and said, in English ‘How do you do, so glad to meet you.’ He wasn’t glad at all, Pia was sure of it. But he asked them all to sit down in the small cabin. Iain, Heikki and Pia had to perch on a bunk, while the Colonel and Maija had seats opposite.

  ‘Sir,’ Iain began, ‘Kovtun tried to kidnap Pia today.’

  ‘What?’ The Colonel said.

  Iain told him everything, how the Russian had drugged Pia, and then wrapped her in a blanket and smuggled her into the Russian coach. ‘If we hadn’t got to her she’d be on her way to Moscow by now, Sir,’ Iain said.

  It felt to Pia as if they were talking about somebody else completely. She put her hands around the gun inside the pocket of Iain’s coat. She watched Iain and the Colonel intently as they argued about the Russian while ignoring the others. Heikki adjusted himself on the narrow bunk, but his face was fixed on Iain and the Colonel. Slowly Pia lifted the gun out and placed it inside the waistband of her trousers.

  ‘I believe he was planning to swap the two girls, so that he can take his daughter to the West. The Russians wouldn’t have noticed the swap until they were safely over the border. And, I believe, by then they would have been too embarrassed to admit to the error.’

  The Colonel sat with his hands over his belly. He didn’t seem at all surprised. ‘I think it’s best we show the ladies, and this young man, into the wardroom, or perhaps the captain’s sea cabin if it’s free,’ he said.

  Pia looked at Iain. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

  Iain looked at her with a puzzled face, ‘It’s alright, Pia.’

  The officer, who’d shown them in, appeared in the doorway again and led them out of the Colonel’s cabin.

  * * *

  ‘But Sir, surely you must see that he is a psychopath!’ Iain stood before the older man. He knew he had raised his voice and tried to calm down. He could see from the Colonel’s expression that his mind was set. Iain sat down and started to explain, again, ‘Sir.’

  The Colonel put his hand up to silence him.

  ‘Collins, calm down. He’s already here, with his daughter.’

  Iain shook his head

  A tall man in a civilian dress came to the door. He ducked his bald head as he stepped over the bulkhead. Seeing Iain, he raised an eyebrow. ‘Sir’ he said to the Colonel.

  The Colonel rose from his seat. ‘You stay here, Collins. Do not move, do you hear?’

  Iain didn’t reply. He watched as the Colonel got his cap and followed the man out of the cabin. It’s going to be a crowded passage home, he thought. There must be more than one MI6 officer onboard for the debriefing. Then there’s Kovtun’s daughter and the woman from the InterContinental. Who was she? Iain remembered seeing her in the driver’s seat in Kovtun’s car. He’d forgotten to tell the Colonel about her.

  Iain picked up his coat, which Pia had discarded on the bed, and checked for the gun. It wasn’t in his pocket. He checked all the pockets of the coat. Iain looked underneath the bunk, the small desk and the two chairs. He opened a couple of drawers. Perhaps the Colonel had taken it while he saw the women and Heikki out of the cabin. But one drawer was full of the Colonel’s personal stuff, and the other one was locked. Iain cursed under his breath.

  The Colonel would be back soon and then he would not be able to do anything. It would be over. Kovtun’s defection would be hailed as a great coup against the Soviets by MI6. At least they now had the crypto key. But Iain would get the sack. Back to Whitehall, if he was lucky. He had to get away.

  Iain looked along the gangway. An older couple were being shown off the ship by a proud-looking sailor. They were on their way up the ladder. When their feet disappeared from view, Iain headed in the opposite direction, below.

  The quarterdeck was deserted. Iain listened to the distant voices of the ship’s company getting ready to sail. He estimated he had around fifteen minutes before he needed to find Maija and Pia, and Heikki, if they were all still onboard. He assumed they’d been taken off the ship, and he hoped the Colonel had ordered them a taxi.

  Iain walked on the slippery surface of the quarterdeck in the semi-darkness. It was bitterly cold down here, too, even though it was sheltered by the flight deck above. A chill, icy breeze was blowing from the sea, which was frozen solid, nearly touching the ship’s sides. Iain wondered how long it would take for the ship to be engulfed by the relentless ice and snow.

  Iain saw that the low guardrail at the edge of the deck was also frozen. And there was a section missing. They must have had a ship alongside, and forgotten to replace the rail. Someone would be told off for it, he thought. He went to stand by the missing section of the rail, and regarded the icy water below. Once again, he realised how much he missed being at sea, being part of the camaraderie, having a defined set of duties, being confident in his position.

  Iain sighed and walked slowly back. He stopped and stood with his back to the bulkhead, in the shadow between the two doors running on either side of the ship. This was his last resort, a mere chance. He would soon be discovered, once the Colonel realised he was missing. But there was a possibility that the debriefed man would come for a break here, for a swig from his flask of vodka, or a cigarette. Iain settled against the bulkhead and waited.

  Iain’s knowledge of the ship and of Kovtun’s habits paid off.

  The Russian, in his long black coat and boots, walked loudly and confidently along the starboard side. Iain watched his back. He went to stand by the guardrail, almost exactly where Iain had stood a moment before. He coughed and dug something out of his pocket. Iain stopped breathing. Kovtun took his right hand glove off and lit a cigarette with a match. He inhaled deeply and without turning around said, ‘How long are you going to stand there hiding, British agent?’

  It took a moment for Iain to recompose himself. The bastard still had to show off and make Iain feel small and incompetent as a spy.

  Kovtun turned around with a short, sharp laugh. ‘You not going to speak with me? We on same side, comrade.’

  Iain walked closer to Kovtun. He needed to see the man’s eyes. ‘We saved Pia, you know,’ he said.

  Kovtun was quiet for a moment. ‘What she to you? You not worried about the gymnast teacher!’

  Iain couldn’t bring himself to speak. His mind was racing, ‘Why?’ he said in spite of himself.

  ‘She was a very good, how do you say it, at fucking, very nice body, but…’

  Now Iain understood what the man was telling him. ‘What have you done to Miss Joutila?’

  ‘Aah, you English, you are so polite, Miss this, Mrs that. I knew her only as Leena. The Finnish women, as I am sure you yourself know, are very easy. They are like little peasants, simple and very grateful. But she got difficult. She had to be…’ again the Russian hesitated, ‘taken care of.’ Kovtun flicked his cigarette over the side. He regarded Iain, and continued, ‘But, you, you are English, you must soon leave this cold place in hell, eh, and go back to London, and we can have drinks, yes? No woman fucking good enough to stay here, eh?’

  ‘You disgusting Russian pig!’

  Iain turned around and saw Pia walk slowly towards Kovtun. She was holding Iain’s gun and pointing it at the Russian. ‘No, Pia, don’t!’ Iain shouted. Pia squeezed the gun.

  Nothing happened.

  Kovtun leaned back against the guardrail and took hold of it. ‘Crazy, you are all crazy.’ Then he started laughing, knocking his head back.

  Pia was crying. Iain was now by Pia’s side and had taken the gun out of her hand. He saw the safety catch was still on.

  ‘Throw it overboard,’ Kovtun said.

  The Russian was fumbling in his pocket. Bloody hell, didn’t they take away his gun, Iain thought. He threw his own gun away and pulled Pia down to the deck. He covered the girl’s head and his own underneath his arms and waited
for the shot.

  Instead Iain heard a strange moan. He looked up. Kovtun was struggling with his left hand. It had stuck to the frozen guardrail. He was swearing in Russian, pulling at his left wrist and waving the gun in his right hand. His eyes darted from the frozen hand to Iain and Pia. He raised the gun again to aim at them. Iain saw Kovtun’s foot was inside the loop of a rope that reached up to Iain. He leapt up and pulled at it. The Russian lost his balance. He toppled slowly and the gun flew out of his hand into the air. The heavy bulk of Kovtun’s body started to lean over the side of the ship and his frame disappeared unto the dark. There was a loud splash.

  Suddenly the quarterdeck was quiet and empty.

  ‘Did you kill him?’ Pia whispered.

  Iain looked around him. Faint voices came from around the ship but no one had come down to the quarterdeck. He picked up his own gun and walked slowly up to the missing section of the guardrail. A frozen piece of flesh stuck to the rail. The dark water below looked deep and undisturbed.

  ‘They’re going to find him.’ Iain said, almost to himself.

  Pia put her hand in his and said, ‘Not until the ice melts in the spring, and by then he might have drifted back to Russia.’

  24

  Next morning the weather turned. The temperature was just below freezing and Pia left her hat and scarf at home. She’d decided to go to school even though her mother tried to convince her to stay away for a day. ‘After everything you’ve been through, you need a day’s rest!’ But Pia wanted to get back to normal and her mother didn’t insist. Unusually, she didn’t mention the absence of the hat and scarf either.

  The world looked different when Pia stepped out of the flat. The snow had started to melt, and there were dark brown puddles of slosh and sand on the pavements as she walked up to the tram stop alone. Maija took another day off work. Iain had stayed the night with them. He was still in bed when Pia and Maija were drinking coffee in the kitchen. That was another reason Pia wanted to go to school. She didn’t need to be there when Maija and Iain ‘discussed things’. Pia realised she’d stopped worrying about what he meant to her mother. If her mother wanted to marry, that was her affair. Soon Pia would be going to university and moving away from home anyway. She’d talk to Anni about that today. Of course, Pia wanted to see Heikki too. Though what she’d say to him she didn’t know.