Tatiana and Alexander: A Novel(16)

"I think that's wise," said Alexander.

Ouspensky was watching Alexander with amazement. Alexander ignored him. "Come on, all of you. On three. Run to your jeep before it's blown up." Aside from wanting to keep alive, Alexander wanted to remain dry. His life wasn't worth much to him wet. He knew that whether he was in Volkhov or Morozovo he would get dry clothes when donkeys flew. The wet clothes would remain on his body until after they'd given him pneumonia and killed him, and still they'd be wet on his corpse in the March damp.

All six men crawled to the jeep. The three NKVD troops ordered the men to get into the back. Both Ouspensky and Maikov glanced at Alexander with considerable anxiety.

"Just get in."

Two of the NKVD men got into the back with them. Ouspensky and Maikov breathed out in relief.

Alexander took out a cigarette and passed one to Nikolai and to white-faced Maikov who refused.

"Why did you do that?" whispered Ouspensky to Alexander.

"I'll tell you," said Alexander. "I did it because I just didn't feel like getting promoted."

Back on shore, the jeep proceeded to headquarters, passing a medical truck heading for the river. Alexander spotted Dr. Sayers in the passenger seat. Alexander managed a smile as he smoked, though he noticed the tips of his fingers trembling. It was going as well as could be expected. The scene on the lake genuinely looked like the aftermath of a German onslaught. Dead men on the ice, one truck down. Sayers would write out the death certificate, sign it, and it would be as if Alexander had never existed. The NKVD would be grateful--they preferred making their arrested parties invisible anyway--and by Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

the time Stepanov learned of what had really happened, and that Alexander was still alive, Tatiana and Sayers would be long gone. Stepanov would not have to lie to Tatiana. Lacking any actual information, he himself would believe that Alexander, with Ouspensky and Maikov, had perished on the lake.

He ran a hand over his capless head and closed his eyes, quickly opening them again. The bleak Russian landscape was better than what was behind his closed lids.

Everybody won. The NKVD would not have to answer questions from the International Red Cross, the Red Army would pretend to mourn a number of downed and drowned men, while Mekhlis still had his paws on Alexander. Had they wanted to kill him, they would have killed him instantly. Those were not their orders. He knew why. The cat wanted to play with the mouse before he ripped the mouse to pieces.

It was eight in the morning by the time they got back to Morozovo, and since the base was coming to life and since they had to be hidden until they could be safely transported tounsafety , Alexander, Ouspensky and Maikov were thrown into the stockade in the basement of the old school. The stockade was a concrete cell just over a meter wide and less than two meters long. The militia ordered the three soldiers to lie flat on the floor and not move.

The cell was too short for Alexander; there was not enough room to lie down on the floor. As soon as the guards left, the three men crouched on the ground, drawing their knees up to their chests. Alexander's wound was throbbing. Sitting on the cold cement wasn't helping.

Ouspensky kept on at him. Alexander said, "What do you want? Stop asking. This way when you're questioned you won't have to lie."

"Why would we be questioned?"

"You've been arrested. Isn't that clear?"

Maikov was looking into his hands. "Oh, no," he said. "I've got a wife, a mother, two small children. What's going to happen?"

"You?" said Nikolai. "Who are you? I've got a wife and two sons. Twosmall sons. I think my mother is still alive, too."

Maikov didn't reply, but both he and Ouspensky turned to stare at Alexander. Maikov lowered his gaze. Ouspensky didn't.

"All right," said Ouspensky. "What did you do?"

"Lieutenant!" Alexander pulled rank whenever and wherever necessary. "I've heard enough from you."

Ouspensky remained undaunted. "You don't look like a religious zealot."

Alexander was silent.

"Or a Jew. Or a skank." Ouspensky looked him over. "Are you akulak ? A member of the Political Red Cross? A closet philosopher? A socialist? A historian? Are you an agricultural spoiler? An industrial wrecker? An anti-Soviet agitator?" Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

"I'm a Tatar drayman," said Alexander.

"You will get ten years for that. Where is your dray? My wife would find it very useful for hauling onions from nearby fields. Are you telling me we were arrested because we had the f*cking bad luck to be bedded next to you?"

Maikov emitted a whimper that bordered on a wail. "But we know nothing! We did nothing!"

"Oh?" said Alexander. "Tell that to the group of musicians and a small audience that used to gather in the early thirties for an evening of piano without clearing it first with the housing council. To help defray the costs of the wine, they would collect a few kopecks from each person. When they wereall arrested for anti-Soviet agitation, the money they had collected was deemed to have gone to prop up the nearly extinct bourgeoisie. The musicians and the audience all got from three to ten years." Alexander paused. "Well, not all. Only those who confessed to their crimes. Those who refused to confess were shot."