Cold Victory

When the WingCo arrived as usual at 7:30 am, he found Galyna and Boyd waiting in the anteroom of his office. Priestman looked terrible. His eyes were sunken in their sockets, and he hadn’t shaved well — as if he didn’t care about looking smart any more. The look he gave them made Galyna quail. He was terrified of bad news, and Boyd’s request for a meeting only intensified those fears.

Nevertheless, he replied, “Of course,” and continued into his office, leaving the door open for them to follow. Galyna closed the door behind her and joined Boyd in front of the station commander’s desk. Priestman gestured for them to sit, and they sank into the visitor’s chairs. Priestman gave them no encouragement but waited stoically for the blow.

“Corporal Borisenko has been reading and re-reading the press releases about the crash, sir. She has brought something to my attention which, I’m ashamed to admit, I should have noticed myself.”

“Please come to the point,” Priestman urged in a stiff tone that suggested he was at great pains to retain his composure.

“Based on Corporal Borisenko’s analysis, we believe that the Soviets only have three people in custody.”

The WingCo shook his head. “There were four people in the aircraft.”

Galyna sat tensely on the edge of her seat, bursting with the information she wanted to share, while Boyd patiently explained, “We know that, sir, but the Soviets have no reason to know it. Civilian Wellingtons usually fly with a crew of just two, pilot and co-pilot; there is no requirement for a flight engineer. An analysis of the Soviet press confirms that they have consistently talked about a nurse, a female spy and a pilot, and no one else. There is no mention of a flight engineer or a second pilot.”

“Presumably because they are referring to the second pilot as a ‘spy,’” Priestman replied, exasperation creeping into his voice despite his efforts to retain his self-control.

“Maybe, but none of the photos show more than three people: the nurse is easily identified by her uniform and race, then there is a woman in flight gear —”

“The woman in flight gear with the broken leg is Jan Orloff, the second pilot,” Priestman told them brusquely.

Boyd and Galyna exchanged a startled look. They had not been sure about that. Boyd took the lead in answering, saying a little dubiously, “If you are confident of that, sir, then there is good reason to believe they do not have Mrs Priestman.”

“She is most likely the one on the stretcher with her entire head in bandages!” The WingCo snapped, his emotions getting the better of him.

The second photo revealing the injured person on the stretcher had not been released until late yesterday afternoon, and Galyna instantly understood that this was what had ruined the WingCo’s night. “Please hear me out, sir,” Galyna pleaded, and the WingCo visibly drew a deep breath to get a grip on his emotions as he shifted his attention from Boyd to Galyna.

“In all the articles the Russians refer only to three crew members: the nurse, the woman spy, and the pilot. In the caption to the most recent photo, the person on the stretcher is specifically identified as the pilot, but in Russian nouns have gender. The pilot is always referred to in the masculine. I went back and checked all the Soviet texts, and they are consistent. The pilot is masculine.”

This information sparked a reaction. The WingCo eyes instantly became alert as he drew the conclusion, “You’re suggesting that the Russians think the flight engineer was the pilot.” He glanced at Boyd for confirmation.

The Intelligence officer confirmed, “Yes, sir. The pilot is always referred to in the masculine, the ‘spy’ and the nurse in the feminine, and there has been no mention of a fourth crew member whatsoever. If, as you say, Mrs Orloff is the woman in the photos, then that might explain why they have persisted in referring to Moby Dick as an ‘American’ spy plane, dismissing the British registration of the aircraft as a red herring. Mr and Mrs Orloff and Miss Savage are all US citizens.”

“Then where’s my wife?” Priestman countered in a tense voice. “She was in command of the aircraft at take-off and presumably still at the controls when it made a forced landing in the Soviet Zone. Could she have died in the crash without the Russians mentioning it?”

“Very unlikely. They have always been quick to report casualties.”

“Which means she’s probably alive but has been sequestered away and is being treated differently from the others,” Priestman concluded.

“Why would they do that?” Boyd asked, baffled.

The WingCo looked Boyd straight in the eye and answered in a slow, measured voice heavy with implications, “To blackmail me.”