sit at the bus stop down the road. She was simply trying to make it appear as if she was just an old woman, who was waiting there for the bus to arrive,” Harry said convincingly.
“You’re probably right, but it’s still hard for me to comprehend that my kind, gentle mother, was the one that caused all this havoc. I know she did some awful things during the cold war, which were necessary for her to do. But I never ever imagined that I’d someday have to come face to face, with some of her work,” I said shakily.
“No, of course, you didn’t. But your mother is a brave woman, Susan. She’s also a woman of honour and integrity, that I’m proud to call my friend,” Harry said.
“Thanks for that Harry. I’ll try to remember your kind words, when my mother and I are alone in the dark and trying desperately to fend off both the imaginary, as well as the real, bogeymen, that we might encounter in the future,” I told him.
Looking alarmed, Harry said, “Susan, I know this is difficult for you my dear, but you need to understand that in this business, we all do what we have to do, no questions asked. Mostly, we’re dealing with wicked people who’ll stop at nothing to gain control. If we didn’t continually keep up the pressure, chaos would prevail and the entire country would come under threat. So instead of putting everyone at risk, people like my men and your mother and me, put our own lives on the line for the country.”
“Sorry, I apologize for that, Harry. I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful. It’s just that I’m having a hard time getting my head around why my mother was here all alone, and unprotected,” I told him.
“It was her choice, Susan. We tried to talk her out of it, but she wanted you to have a normal life and this was her way of giving it to you,” Harry explained.
“You mean she did all of this for me?” I asked in alarm.
“Yes, she wanted you to be away from the rest of us; the people who’d worked with her, who knew what she was capable of,” Harry said.
“Look, I’m sorry for what I said earlier, but I need you to promise me, that your people will take care of her. Take care of us, in fact. Unless, of course, there’s no longer any need for us to be protected,” I said.
“I promise we’ll do whatever it takes to protect both of you. Personally though I think the threat is over for you and your mom,” Harry said confidently.
“But do you only think it’s over? Or do you actually know this for a fact, Harry?” I asked.
But Harry just shrugged; shook his head, and then slowly walked away from me and this made me realize that he still had his doubts regarding the threat to my mother.
This is the reason why, after six months of therapy at the British Government’s expense, my mother and I slipped quietly out of the country and came to live on this small Greek island, a million miles from nowhere.
We wanted to get away from where all the action was and felt we’d be safer if we could go into hiding again, the way my mother had once done in Ireland, when I was a child.
This time around, we undertook some research together. We looked at various localities using internet sites at several cyber cafes and always covered our tracks very carefully. We also never talked about our plans at the safe house and once we felt satisfied with our chosen locality, we began to make plans to leave the safe house, by simply walking away, seemingly empty handed.
We never gave anyone any reason to suspect we were up to something and we usually made our visits outside of the complex very short, and we always returned with a shopping bag full of fruit and groceries.
My mother still had a stash of money holed up someplace safe from her spying days and all her previous experience in moving around unseen and unnoticed, came to the fore when we needed it most. She also helped me to move my own savings to a safe place that we could get to when we needed cash and this meant that when we finally made our move, it went smoothly and nobody suspected a thing.
We purposely planned a devious route through several countries and by using several fake passports obtained through a contact she’d trusted in the past, our journey to our chosen island home was hassle free.
We travelled separately at times and under different names and then only came together for the final ferry crossing to the island.
Life is simple here in our remote Greek island home and the people are kind. They began to accept us, after we’d been living here for around two years. And now some eight years on; we’re part of the local community and we’ve learned to speak the local dialect.
I’m grateful that these have been happy years for my mother, especially once I’d married Jorge and gave her two beautiful grandchildren to love called Kiki and Nitsa.
Now, on days when Jorge and the men are out tending the fruit trees and olive trees and my mother is reading fairy stories to the girls, while they sit together under the shade of a huge spreading olive tree out in the back garden, I quietly sneak down to the beach.
Taking the direct route, I walk down a steep pathway hewn out of the ancient rocks, until I reach the soft white sand below. I usually look back at this point, to see if anyone has followed me. Then I plunge my fingers into the damp sand and build a childish sandcastle, before swimming out to a huge rock, that’s surrounded by sparkling blue water.
I then sit on the sunbaked rock and watch the tide, as it gently moves back and forth along the pristine white shore. Then I close my eyes, and pray that even MI6, -doesn’t know that we’re living here.
All the drama my mother and I went through after that awful incident, when members of the dreaded Russian mob came after her, at her home in Ireland, has since faded into the distance. Even our time back in England at the safe house, when the British Government took care of our safety, has become nothing more than a blur to me.
I seldom thought about it any longer, but then one day, about two years ago, when my mother suddenly said, “Today is the sixth anniversary of the slaughter, Susan. Even so, we must never become complacent, or ever let our guard down, dear,” –it made me realize that she still thought about the incident.
This is why I now regularly take up my lonely vigil here on my rock, far out in the ocean, from where I can see far into the distance and almost into the future.
Some days when I sit here on my rock and pray for our continued safety, I get a positive feeling about the future. But on days like today, when I feel a little edgy, I begin to imagine things.
For some time after feeling this way, I usually refuse to go into town for weeks on end, until supplies finally run out and I’m forced to do some shopping. Then while I’m walking around, I wear a headscarf and my sunglasses as a temporary disguise, and also look at any strangers in the small town with a jaundiced eye.
This is why I’m hoping and praying today, that even MI6 doesn’t know that we’re living here on the island. -Because if they’re unaware of our idyllic lifestyle here on this unique private island, where we live using different local names, speaking either Greek of the local dialect, and under the protection of Jorge’s extended family, who all live here, - then hopefully, the dreaded Russian mob won’t be aware of our existence here either.
The End
MY MOTHER, THE SPY
By Joy Bassetti Kruger
Email:
[email protected] Part 2 and 3 are available now
Part 4 will be available in early 2015
Author’s Note:
Part 2 of My Mother, the Spy – Set on a small Greek island hopefully a million miles from the trouble, -or will the trouble follow the two women who just want to settle down and make a home?
Part 3 of My Mother, the Spy – Still on the island and with her daughter now married to a local man, the two women begin to imagine that something is about to happen there that will shake up their lives all over again. Are they right and who is the man that has been asking about them in the village?
Part 4 of My Mother, the Spy – We see Harry, the head of MI6 returning to their lives briefly. He is about to r
etire, but he says he has no definite plans. So maybe he will join them on the island? Or will he be too afraid that he will bring more trouble with him to do this to the two woman he loves?
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