The Darkness Below

Chapter Fifty Two - 1970

After successfully completing the pick-up of the Dead Drop Vince felt certain he was not being monitored by the British Security Services. He would still maintain all precautions as if he were being followed without his knowledge but Vince was still pleased to have got away with murdering a man and being able to carry on his duties as a spy for the KGB.

This enabled Vince to focus on the meeting with the KGB handler as per standard protocol. If this meeting went badly there was the possibility of a recall to Russia which would no doubt result in a stay in a Soviet Gulag, for how long who knew.

Vince had to be very careful as if his meeting with the Soviet Embassy official was observed it would compromise his cover as an average Joe but at the same time if the Soviet official became overly suspicious of Vince's behaviour he could end up dead or imprisoned courtesy of Mother Russia.

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Vince had a set routine, as per his extensive KGB training, to follow prior to setting off for the meeting. He wanted to make sure everything was as it should be in his flat and also at the Photography Studio. The meeting was one of the highest risk ventures he had so far undertaken as an undercover KGB agent and as a result he had to make sure if he was arrested he left nothing incriminating to be found. If Vince was captured his chances of being exchanged in a spy swap were severely diminished if he was thought to have been complicit in aiding the enemy through carelessness. This would be interpreted by KGB Moscow Centre as a deliberate act of treachery.

Vince looked out the window scanning to see if his flat was being watched and noticed the gloom of a cold afternoon with the sun slowly making its way across the sky at a lazy angle, as was common for the sun this far north on the Earth. The dark was a great tool for any spy and spies much preferred winters as the days were shorter which meant more darkness.

The winter was particularly reassuring for many Soviet spies as it reminded them of Mother Russia although British winters were very tame in comparison to the harsh Soviet winters. Despite this due to typical Communist efficiency and construction quality winters were particularly harsh in Russia due poor quality housing and insulation in conjunction with poor quality fuel for heating.

Vince could see why KGB Moscow Centre were particularly paranoid about Soviet Agents in the West who had seen the reality of the benefits of Capitalism and why they might want to defect.

This was a fact he was always careful not to make too heartily to his superiors but also equally cautious not to rail against it too strongly or categorically as that it itself was a warning flag, when one doth protest too much as was once famously said by some long dead English writer. Vince headed out the door and made his way to the station to catch a train up to London.

Walking through the village to the station Vince crossed the road making sure not to get run over by a car but at the same time allowing his expert eye to linger ever so slightly longer to check behind him and look to see if he was being watched at all. As he did this quick sweep he noticed a figure asleep in the bus stop and decided he must be a drunk sleeping off a heavy night.

Once he arrived at the station Vince looked around him discreetly to see if he was being followed and then went to board the train, then stepped off at the last minute and rushed to the bathroom feigning a desperate need to go to the toilet. Vince noticed nothing unusual.

The next train to depart Vince border casually, he couldn't afford to make too many strange manoeuvres to lose any potential tail as they would only confirm their suspicion that he was a Soviet Agent. That was the true art to Espionage, not to just find out secrets but to uncover secrets but for it to appear as if you know nothing at all. More specifically in Vince's case to be a spy and perform his duties whilst being covert without it being detected that he is employing counter measures. Be a spy remain undetected but act in every way like a normal member of society. Easier said than done because as soon as you think too much about acting normal you are no longer acting normal.