Outfitted with new clothes made in Poland, new identity documents, quite a bit of Polish money, and emergency re-contact procedures in case he had any trouble before reaching Canada, Ivan Kalin – now Stephen Closki – made his way via Aeroflot to Warsaw. When his bride-to-be met him at the airport, Stephen was surprised. The KGB certainly has an eye for beautiful women, he thought. In American English this woman is a knockout. I’m already in love.

Marie Karmosi was tall, with hair that was almost black and contrasted strikingly with her fair skin. Her posture was erect and her full-figured body showed beneath the light trench coat. Stephen guessed they had both been instructed on how to act at this first meeting. Undoubtedly, both intelligence services were watching and recording the meeting.

Her father was a high-ranking Party official. The civil marriage service was elaborate and the following reception was large, featuring a huge sit-down dinner and flowing vodka. The noise and celebrations rose with the non-stop serving of vodka. Only the Catholic Church was missing. Marie whispered to her husband as they left the celebration to begin their honeymoon that she would have preferred a church wedding.

Armed with KGB-provided papers that gave them new Polish identities as Marie and Georgi Wasneski and with all the necessary documentation, including University student identity cards from Warsaw University, drivers’ licenses, a military status card for Georgi, medical records, and a collection of pocket litter that breathes authenticity into cover stories, they made their way across Poland and Czechoslovakia into Austria, where they joined with other refugees in the endless processing. Eventually, they got their Canadian immigrant visas and arrived in Canada. The journey was not hard. The KGB had planned well and was always watching in case they needed assistance. The papers were perfect.

Georgi had money for small bribes and telephone numbers committed to memory, so that he could initiate emergency meetings with KGB operatives along the way. The trip from Poland to Canada was the easiest part of the whole journey.

All of Barry Kelly’s novels are available in print and digital formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore. Visit www.factsandfictions.com for more by the author.