Saviour’s Gate by Tim Sebastian

Author:Tim Sebastian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
Published: 2021-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Deep inside the Arctic Circle the wife of the base commander locked herself in her bedroom with the same feelings of hurt and hatred as any number of other wives in places less remote, less windswept, less primitive.

For a while her husband listened to the radio, read a book, then dozed on the sofa.

He awoke an hour later feeling cold and angry. All the blankets were locked away in the bedroom and he was damned if he were going to ask for any favours. Through the thin walls he could hear the occasional pitiful whimpering – well, let her cry. For years she’d been an argumentative bitch, carping, moaning, changing her mind – never satisfied with anything.

Of course she had hated the Arctic – but then no one had made her come. On the contrary, he had provided all the inducement he could to keep her where she was. Even to the extent of joking to a few younger officers that if they had a free afternoon they could do worse than take her out, lay her on the back seat ‘… and, you know, all for the fatherland, and no questions asked.’ But none had obliged. He could hardly blame them.

If only he had listened to his father’s premarital advice, things might have been been different. ‘Look at the mother,’ the old man had warned. ‘If that’s the kind of creature you want to live with in thirty years’ time, go ahead. If you listen to me, you’ll look elsewhere.’

Well, he hadn’t, had he? Damned fool! Anyway who could blame him for casting his line at that female supply officer who came up twice a month from Murmansk? No oil painting either – well, she wouldn’t be, in the Army, would she? – but no less willing for all that. And there was no messing around. No commitment. No luvvy-duvvy nonsense. They just got on with it. Did the business, had a bloody good time over it, and then went back on parade. If only they were all like that!

God, she was still crying. He got up and went over to the bedroom door. ‘Look, why don’t you come out, have some tea. Let’s talk. Maybe we can work something out.’ Anything to quieten her down.

The response was muffled. She must have been yelling through the pillow. ‘Fuck off and get out of here,’ said the strangled voice. ‘Now!’

Obligingly the base commander reached for his jacket and retreated to his office. He was about to lay his head on the blotter when he noticed the jottings he’d made earlier. The Belayeva woman had been in, that tart of a duty officer spouting some silly story, told her by a pilot.

He turned the pad upside down and reread his scrawl. Only, what if she’d been right? What if the bloody man did turn up here? What sort of hellish trouble would he be in?

He looked at his watch, determined to get a call through to his friend at the Air Force Academy in Moscow.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.