Sir Geoffrey Fender and Romana Tarasova felt very comfortable in each other’s company and Sir Geoffrey was happy to spend the rest of the evening talking to Romana. She was almost as tall as he and had unusual ice blue eyes, which contrasted, beautifully with her glossy black hair. She had a figure that made women envious and men lose their composure. Her physical attributes combined with her seductive accent and obvious intelligence made Sir Geoffrey forget why he was in St Petersburg. 

He was surprised how open she was with him. She told him that she had worked for Petrov for two years but confided that she didn’t like her work at all. She had agreed to work for the oligarch because he had promised to look after her mother and sick father. They were poor country people and her father was unable to work because of continuous ill health. 

Petrov had met her family when he had been engaged in a propaganda exercise to demonstrate how the Russian government was supporting the poor. She confessed that Petrov had been good to her family, but she had paid dearly for this help. 

“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this,“ she said with a tears in her eyes, but you seem to be sympathetic and understanding.”

Sir Geoffrey was surprised by her candor. He guessed that things had been welling up inside her and, with the aid of a few glasses of champagne, all the emotions had come bursting out. He guessed that she felt more comfortable confiding in a stranger, who she thought she would never see again.

The thought of this woman, young enough to be his daughter, being physically and mentally abused by Petrov made Sir Geoffrey feel protective. He wished he could release her from her predicament.

 “I can help get you and your family out of Russia and settled in Britain,” he said.

It was a sincere and spontaneous outburst. He really meant it, although he didn’t really know how he could do it! She was overwhelmed by his suggestion and they arranged to meet for dinner the following day.

Sir Geoffrey would be in St Petersburg for another four days. During the day, he was busy with meetings at the Embassy; in the evenings, he had dinner with Romana. She was insistent that he should say nothing about their meetings to Petrov; he would be angry and would make her pay. At Romana’s suggestion, they always met at a small restaurant near the Grand Hotel. The restaurant was frequented by local working class people, who paid no attention to the couple.

Sir Geoffrey found her extremely attractive a physical relationship had not entered his mind. They were both happy to have someone to talk to and share an evening. It got her away from the gloom of the tiny family flat in an ugly concrete, graffiti daubed, five-storied tenement building.

In the meantime, he had organized everything with Petrov and the vases were due to arrive in the next twenty-four hours. Sir Geoffrey was completely oblivious to the fact the vases contained illegal drugs. Petrov had already been supplied with a sample of the cocaine and was satisfied that it was of the highest quality.

Once the shipment arrived in St Petersburg they would go to customs together to claim it. One vase would be removed and the rest would be signed for on the basis that local transporters would be collecting them. 

After they had left the custom’s depot Petrov checked the vase and its contents and confirmed that the cocaine was of the same quality. What he didn’t know was that particular vase was the only one that contained cocaine—the rest contained laundry detergent! He gave the word for the transfer of funds and Sir Geoffrey was able to sign the release papers to the transporters. He returned to the UK the following day.

He was at his office desk when the phone rang. It was Romana.

”Geoff, you are in a lot of trouble, the consignment did not contain what it was meant to contain and my employer is looking for you.”

She didn’t mention any names nor the significance of the words “looking for you” but it wasn’t difficult for Sir Geoffrey to guess what she meant.

 He had no idea who may be listening, so he was careful with his words and simply said, 

“I understand. Thank you for the message, I’ll be in touch.” 

He immediately dialed Carlos’s number.

No thoughts on “Chapter 19”