The two guards ushered Mary into the rear of the barracks where the jail was located and brought her before Captain Poltava.
“Well, well, what have we here”, Captain Poltava said in Russian. “Another woman and a very pretty one at that! This one is quite different from the other. She is dressed like she is some sort of spy. What do you say to that?”
Mary didn’t answer and the guard said that he didn’t think she spoke Russian. Poltava changed to English. “Who are you and what is your business here?”
Mary was terrified. She felt it was best if she said nothing at all, which turned out to be the best thing she could have done. “So we have a tough one here, do we? She must have come to get Tishinsky out. Probably her CIA contact. Major Boshnikoff will interrogate you in the morning. I will not waken him until then. There is no sense in depriving the Major of his sleep.” Looking at the two guards, he said, “Take her to the cell next to Tishinsky and then continue your patrol. I will notify the Major in the morning and give you the credit for such vigilant work.” The two guards did as they were told and shoved Mary into the cell next to Vicky’s. They left the building and continued their rounds.
Kurt watched the men leave the building. He knew he needed to move fast. He had no idea as to when they would return. When the men rounded the corner, he ran across the street and to the back of the barracks where the jail was. He peeked through the window and saw the Captain sitting at his desk playing with his sidearm. Just then two new guards came through the door on the other side of the room and started talking with the Captain. They were reporting in from their patrol of the flight line. Kurt decided the 9mm automatic would make too much noise and bring down the entire garrison upon him if he used it. It did not have a silencer and would be heard easily without one. He remembered the gift from the kind old Russian at the inn and turned and ran the route back to the drainage ditch and made his way along it to the fence. He unclipped the chain link and went through it.
Mary sat on the mattress in the cell and looked over at Vicky. She was awakened because of the noise the guards made bringing Mary to her cell. Mary saw the bruises on Vicky’s face and also saw that she was shivering in a blanket. When the guards left the room, Mary took off her coat and handed it through the bars to Vicky. Vicky reached for the leather coat and said, “Bla’shoye spasiba”, Thank you very much. She dropped the blanket on the mattress and quickly put the waist-length jacket on and zipped it up. She then grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her waist like a skirt and sat back down on the mattress. Apparently, the only thing she had in the cell with her was the pair of gray pumps she had on and a blanket. Mary was aghast. This poor girl had gone through a lot of abuse. She decided not to ask.
Mary said, “Izvinitye, ya ni gavar’ u pa-ruski.” I’m sorry, I don’t speak Russian. Vicky was fluent in English and said, “I am very grateful. My name is Victoria
Tishinsky. My friends call me Vicky. You may call me Vicky if you like.”
Mary thought for a minute and decided to give her real name. “My name is Mary, the guards don’t know my name yet. I’d appreciate it if you would not call me by my name if they come back.”
“Of course, Mary. I am pleased to meet you, only I wish it could be under better circumstances.”
“Me too, Vicky. I don’t like being put in jail. I just hope Kurt and Victor got away safely.”
Vicky lit up when she heard the name Victor. “You couldn’t by any chance be talking about Victor Panin, would you?”
Mary became alert instantly. She thought, How could this girl know about Victor Panin? Was she put here as a plant to get information from me? No, that’s silly, how could they know that they would capture her and have someone in a cell waiting for her? Got to think straight. This has to be just a weird coincidence. “How do you know Victor Panin?”
“He is, or perhaps I should say, he was my boyfriend. I do not deserve him now. I have tried to use him to climb the political ladder and now look at me. Not only have I lost my boyfriend who I know really loved me, but I have managed to become a suspect of treason. I have been humiliated, stripped of my clothing, beaten, brutally and repeatedly raped and now I am in jail awaiting a firing squad.”
Mary was horrified by Vicky’s story and said, “If you don’t mind my asking, how did you use Victor?”
“An Inspector Boshnikoff came to me because they suspected Victor was working for the CIA. He asked me to try to find out if Victor really was a spy since I was his girlfriend. Like a stupid young girl, I thought that since the authorities were suspicious of Victor, he must be guilty. I decided that since he must be guilty, I would use that to help them and earn their favor and perhaps gain a more respected position in the government. How stupid I was! Look what they have done to me. I was used by them and betrayed by someone else. I have no idea who set me up as a traitor and I cannot understand why, even though I probably deserve what I got for trying to betray Victor and move up the political ladder. I’m no better than the rest of the communists who only think of themselves and how they can gain favor and become one of the privileged. I even let the Major make love to me to gain his favor. What a slut I am! I deserved to be raped by the guards. I am a miserable excuse for a human being.” She hung her head down and started to cry.
Mary’s heart ached for Vicky. Kurt had told her about the plan to cast suspicion on her, but that was only to draw off the KGB from Victor and have them follow her to a dead end road as far as getting information