Red Moth

The sun was not yet up

The sun was not yet up when Kirov drove Pekkala to the airfield.

The props of the twin-engined Lisunov cargo plane were already roaring like thunder.

Since that moment in the office, when Pekkala had spoken of the burden of their fragile lives, it was as if a wall had gone up between them.

Anyone looking at them from a distance, as they got out of the car and, with a stiff formality, shook hands, would have thought that the two men were strangers.

One of the plane’s crew, his body swathed in a fur-lined flight suit, approached the Emka. ‘Inspector?’

‘Yes,’ replied Pekkala. ‘Where is Lieutenant Churikova?’

‘She’s already on board. We take off in two minutes. Follow me.’

Without another word to Kirov, Pekkala set out with the crewman. But halfway to the plane, he stopped.

‘Is something the matter, Inspector?’ asked the crewman.

‘Yes,’ replied Pekkala, as he turned and ran back to the car.

Kirov was already behind the wheel. He had just put the Emka in gear when Pekkala appeared out of the dark and rapped a knuckle on the window.

Kirov rolled down the window. ‘What is it, Inspector?’

‘I was wrong,’ said Pekkala. ‘About Elizaveta. In spite of the risks we take‚ it would be an even greater risk to turn away from something that could bring you happiness, even if you know it might not last. I can’t change what happened to me, but I know what I’d have done if I could. I’d have boarded that train with her back in Petrograd and I would never have looked back. This may be the last order I ever give you, Kirov‚ and it may be the most important. Don’t make the same mistake as I did. Will you promise me that?’

‘Of course, Inspector, but don’t let us speak of finalities.’ He clasped Pekkala’s hand, and suddenly they were not strangers any more. ‘I’ll see you again soon enough.’

‘Inspector!’ The crewman stood in the doorway to the cargo plane. ‘We must leave now!’

Pekkala turned and headed for the plane. This time, he did not look back.