Helena Halme - The Red King of Helsinki - Lies, Spies and Gymnastics

‘Why?’

‘She has very bad friends.’

Leena looked at Vadi. He finally sat down in one of her comfy chairs, but was still wearing his overcoat. He leaned back with his long legs apart and looked at her with the kind of intensity that she’d only seen in his eyes when he was undressed.

‘She’s friends with Anni, you know, the girl whose father is a diplomat, apart from her…’

‘No, no, not at school, you stupid woman.’

Leena sat a little more upright in the other of her comfy chairs. There was no need to insult her; that she would not take from any man. She looked down at her hands. ‘I will help you, I said I would, but there’s no need to be rude.’

Vadi was silent for a while.

‘Ah,’ Vadi said, and after a while, still looking at Leena, he again said, ‘Ah.’

They were both silent for a long while, Leena thinking of how she’d got herself involved in this. She looked at Vadi who also seemed to be deep in thought. He was calmer now. Suddenly Vadi got up and knelt down next to Leena. ‘You not stupid, Vladsislas stupid.’ He took hold of Leena’s chin and kissed her. She closed her eyes. There was a taste of vodka on his velvety lips.

‘The man Pia meets, I worried. You know this girl, Pia, she very nice,’ Vadi said and looked down at his hands. ‘She remind me of my daughter.’

Leena knew how much Vadi loved his daughter. She’d seen it in Moscow, even if she hadn’t known his relationship to her then.

‘My very beautiful Alyona,’ he said quietly and stood up. Vadi flung his coat onto the bed and settled his large frame in front of Leena, ‘This is why I want to protect your gymnast girl!’ He stared intently at Leena.

‘Oh Vadi,’ Leena said.

Vadi took Leena’s hand and led her to the bed. He pulled her top and jeans off and entered her swiftly; his black eyes on her the whole of the time.

Afterwards, Leena thought about Vadi’s daughter. He’d been very secretive about her mother. Leena didn’t know if she was dead, or not around for some other reason. Surely a mother would have a problem with what Vadi planned? She looked at him. Vadi was already out of the bed, pulling on his shirt. She needed to approach the subject gently, from another direction.

‘So who is this man Pia is friends with?’

Vadi flashed his eyes at Leena, ‘He very, very bad. But Pia with him all the time!’

‘But it’s OK. She has a mother after all. Her mother won’t let her…’

‘It no good, no good for girl! No good for Tournament!’

‘I don’t understand,’ Leena said, though she was afraid of questioning Vadi too much.

‘He English pig! He want sabotage Tournament!’

Suddenly Leena had an idea, ‘Do you want me to talk to him?’

‘No!’ Vadi came over to the bed and placed Leena’s hands between his, ‘you must not talk to him!’

‘Of course not, I promise.’

‘Leena, you must watch this girl, Pia. Make sure she keep away from the man, OK?’ Vadi was now looking at her bare breasts, his face less serious. Leena pulled the sheet closer to her body, but leaving enough flesh for Vadi to admire. He bent over and kissed Leena’s neck. ‘You beautiful Finnish woman,’ he said. ‘Remember. Keep close to Pia, yes?’

Leena smiled and nodded. She could not resist this man. She watched his muscular back as he got dressed and wondered if she’d dare to approach the subject of the mother of his daughter.

‘Vadi,’ she began.

‘What?’ Vadi snapped.

The moment had gone.

Five minutes and Vadi was out the door.

Heikki was waiting for Pia outside the Council entrance. He looked cold. He had his school bag flung across his back and was stamping the ground to keep warm. He looked sheepish. Pia wasn’t sure whether she was glad or angry to see him. Iain had confused her. Why would the British want a man like Kovtun? And what did Kovtun have to do with Anni’s father? And why was he keeping an eye on Pia? Iain hadn’t been able to give her any answers. She’d have to find out what was going on herself.

She walked slowly towards Heikki. It was already dark, but the fresh snow was shimmering against the street lights. Suddenly she felt a shiver. She put her hands in her jacket pockets and looked around. No Russian that she could see. Iain had promised to keep an eye on her from a distance. He’d said he couldn’t be seen with her too much, especially if Kovtun was following her. He’d told Pia to be very careful who she spoke to. Pia was afraid for herself but even more afraid for Anni. Pia knew Iain had finally told her all he knew, but had the Colonel? Pia wasn’t so sure the Colonel didn’t know exactly what was going on between the Russian, her and Anni’s family.

Pia was wondering how she could get to talk to the Colonel without Iain knowing about it, when she saw a tram approaching. She wondered briefly whether she should run for it and leave Heikki there. Instead she decided to confront him too.

‘Why didn’t you tell me you’d been to the Council?’

‘Dunno,’ Heikki said, kicking at the snow with his boots.

Pia saw they’d still make the tram. She took Heikki’s hand. ‘Come with me.’

They found two seats together. Pia looked at her watch; it was well past six. Her mum would just have to get used to her being out a bit later. At least she no longer believed the story about the drugs. She looked at Heikki sideways. ‘Do you want to help me?’

‘Yeah, of course.’ Heikki said. He took Pia’s hand and added, ‘I’m sorry about not telling you…’

Pia had her lips on Heikki’s mouth before he could finish the sentence. She slid her arm around the inside of his down jacket. She hadn’t spotted anyone remotely Russian in the tram, but you never knew who was listening.

‘Mmm, I liked that, but what was it for?’ Heikki said when Pia pulled her lips away from his.

‘Nothing,’ Pia said, looking ahead and smiling. How easy it was to distract men!

When they were at Anni’s stop, Pia got up and hurried Heikki out of the tram.

In the cold, Heikki turned around and said, ‘What’s got into you?’

‘C’mon, I want you to come with me.’

Pia started walking down Kasarminkatu and up Tehtaankatu, past the Soviet Embassy. She walked briskly, hoping Heikki was following her. She glanced around; there was no one else on the street.

Heikki caught up with her and asked, ‘Where are we going? To get to your place shouldn’t we have gone the other direction?’

Pia didn’t reply, but looked up at the second floor windows. There were no lights on, just as she suspected. She took hold of Heikki’s hand and crossed the street to Anni’s block. When they reached Anni’s door, Pia pressed a button on top of the intercom.

‘That’s not Anni’s,’ Heikki said.

A buzzer sounded and the door opened. She ran through the door, and pulled Heikki inside. ‘Shh,’ Pia said, walking gingerly up the stone steps. Heikki followed. His boots made such a racket, Pia had to turn around to tell him to stop and listen for any noises in the stairwell.

‘Hello, who’s there?’ a woman’s voice came from the top of the stairwell. Pia and Heikki hid behind the stone steps. ‘Bloody kids,’ the woman said and banged her door shut. Heikki sniggered and Pia had to tell him again to be quiet.

When they reached the second floor Pia put her ear against Anni’s door. Then she gestured for Heikki to hide behind the pillar supporting the spiral staircase. She stood flush against the wall, hiding from the spy hole and rang the bell.

No answer.

Pia tried again. Again there was no reply, or movement behind the door. The echoes of the bell rang up and down the three-storey building. Gingerly, Pia lifted the flap of the letterbox and peered inside. She could see the legs of the hall table, but not the mat. She could definitely remember Anni’s parents having a beautiful old red rug running the length of the hall. Though she couldn’t see very far through the narrow opening, she knew there was no one inside. She could feel its emptiness.