The Ustka Crossing: Part One
Marek Nowak glanced nervously over his shoulder and increased his pace. It was the middle of the night. The street was abandoned, illuminated only by soft splotches of light from a few old streetlamps.
Marek stayed close to the storefronts, where the awnings shielded him from the moonlight. He wondered if it did him any good; he was sure the click of his shoes could be heard for miles. He noted the storefronts as he passed them. 317. 311. 308. He glanced down at the paper in his hand, then up again. 303. This was it.
Beyond this storefront, there was a narrow alley. Marek stuffed the paper into his pocket and took a deep breath. Then he turned down the path. Ten feet ahead was a grate that blocked the passage. Here he waited.
Sandwiched between tall walls on either side, he felt trapped and vulnerable. This was crazy. He should be at home, in bed with Joanna.
He tried to remind himself why he was here. His mind wandered to the national parades, a veneer of unity and pride that hardly hid the fear of dissent. Black-clad patrols roving the sidewalks. Waking up one morning to find that Ivan, their neighbor, was gone. No one dared to ask what happened. This was no place to build a future. All Marek wanted was to give a better life to the woman who had given him so much. A place where she could laugh without lowering her voice.
But in this cold, dark alley, he suddenly wanted to abandon the fairytale. What good is peace and safety if you don’t live to see it? Sixty seconds was all he would wait. He began to count down in his head.
Suddenly, a face appeared on the other side of the grate. Marek startled. He hadn’t even heard footsteps! The man had a bulbous nose and rounded cheeks but lingered away from the grate to avoid being fully seen.
“Alexei?” Marek asked tentatively.
“Yes. What do you have for me?” the man asked curtly.
“I need to get out of the country. Me and my wife.”
Alexei chuckled. “What can you give me?”
This caught Marek off guard. It hadn’t occurred to him that he might have to pay. “We have some money put away-”
“You work as a Starszy Referent, Section II, Counterintelligence” Alexei cut him off. “You have access to everything they know. We suspect there are double agents in our organization. Tell us who they are. Then we will get you out of the country.”
Marek was both stunned at the request and disconcerted that Alexei knew this about him. He glanced back towards the alley’s exit.
“Well?” Alexei pressed.
“You want me to spy for you?” Marek asked, wringing his hands. He had come looking for a way out, not this.
“This is the business,” Alexei answered matter-of-factly.
Marek paused. Then, he exclaimed “They would kill me!”
Marek noticed Alexei’s eyes scanning, analyzing. His gaze flickered to the alley, the street, the rooftops. Nothing escaped him.
“If you change your mind, you know how to contact me,” Alexei said as he stepped back into the darkness.
Instantly, Marek felt a pit of regret in his stomach. He had risked too much to give up now. He thought of Joanna.
“Wait!” he exclaimed, reaching out his hand. “Wait. Okay. Okay.”
Alexei’s face reappeared at the grate. “Here’s what you must do.”
Continue The Story
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Deepwood Fiction House
Created by Adrian Vale