Chapter 6: Escape and Avoidance

I was sure by now the military and the authorities were looking for us. I discussed it with the others and we thought it would make sense for us to get off the roads. We needed to find a place to hide and regroup. I started the bike back up and we went closer to the coast. It was then when I spotted a lane heading off into the forest; I took it and followed it into the forest. The lane was almost a kilometer long and it ended in front of a cabin and several out buildings.

I quickly looked around, noting no one had been there in quite a while; there were no fresh tire tracks that I could see. We all three climbed off the bike and sidecar and slowly approached the cabin with guns at the ready. I had enough excitement for the day and just wanted to calm down before we did anything else. Randy checked out the cabin thoroughly, there was no one at home. It had been a while since anyone had been there from the looks of things. I used my long bladed knife to jimmy the lock; I had the door opened in less than a minute.

We searched inside the cabin and found all sorts of supplies. If need be, we could stay hidden here for a couple of days. There were cooking utensils and some canned foods in the pantry. Combined with what I insisted we carry with us, we would stay fed and out of sight. I looked around the cabin and found there were two bedrooms and a study by the look of it. There was no electricity but there were plenty of lanterns and lamp oil. We had a wood cooking stove to heat our food.

Andi went to check out the outbuildings and reported that the one building was a combo bathhouse and outhouse. Another was a sauna beside the stream. The last was a storage building full of wood and some fishing gear. The biggest surprise was an older style Mercedes sedan with a full tank of diesel. That news could prove to be most interesting. If it ran, we could use it as a means of escape. The only problem was someone notifying the authorities about the stolen car.

I went out to look at the car behind the cabin. Someone maintained the car in excellent condition. Not a Mercedes fanatic but I estimated the car to be less than 15 years old. It did not have many miles on the clock and looked well maintained. I speculated we were at a party member’s summer place and were looking at his Mercedes. I looked in the glove compartment and in the trunk. Bless his pointed communist head; he kept his Mercedes well stocked. There was a road map in the glove compartment and another 5 gallons of fuel in the trunk. We could go more than 400 miles I estimated, with the diesel in the tank and the contents of the Jerry can. If we could come up with the fuel, we could make the drive to Leningrad in 3 days if we drove straight through. From there maybe we could steal a fishing boat and make it to Sweden or Denmark, both friendly territories.

We needed to rest and eat. No one disagreed with me. I suggested we get a hot shower and some food in us. Afterwards we could discuss what we should do. We checked out the Russian canned food in the pantry. It was meat dishes; buckwheat and beef, salted canned pork, and canned meat that looked like spam on the label. There were also some cans of whole grain biscuits. We decided to take some of the can goods with us when we traveled. There also was canned fish that did nothing for any us, we decided to leave that. Andi found some additional cans in the hall closet. It was fruit puree and canned cheese. I opened one of the canned cheeses. It was stinky but had a great flavor. We decided on a couple of those too, as well. Digging around further in the closets, we found a simple butane camping stove with some extra butane fuel canisters. With what we had and what the homeowner contributed to us, we should be able to eat quite well for a couple of days.

Since we all wanted to take a shower, I decided to investigate exactly how the hot water system worked. It was quite simple actually. Water was hand carried to a water tank on the roof of the bath/outhouse and poured into a copper lined water tank. The force of gravity worked to cause the water to flow. A wood fire directly below the tank in turn heated the water. From experience, I would say it would not take much of a fire to heat the water. A valve activated by a pull cord regulated the flow of the water. It took me ten trips to fill the tank. I started a small fire in the firebox under the tank and went inside to see how the preparations for eating were coming along. Andi and Randy out did themselves. They had a warmed up meat dish that reminded me of a pot roast without the potatoes. Doing some more digging, Randy found some pickled canned vegetables, which were an excellent side dish to complement the meat dish, and the fruit puree as dessert. We were not sure what the fruit puree was but Andi thought it was currants. While I never had them before, they turned out to be quite good.

After eating I went first to take my shower. The shower was warm maybe too warm but with some adjustments, I got a nice soothing shower. I changed into my running suit that I had brought along in my messenger bag. In the morning, I planned to do laundry so I would have clean clothes to wear. The others decided to follow my lead and do the same. Andy and Randy both found clothes they could change into and do laundry in the morning. Leaving the clothes to dry all day tomorrow we all would have clean clothes to change into.

After taking out showers and putting on fresh clothes. We sat down to plan what our next moves would be. Of course, we all wanted to get Mike for betraying us, but we first had to get out of the USSR. We all agreed that getting out of the USSR was our first priority. Getting out of the country via the way we came in was not an option. The submarine was submerged and was out of radio communication. While it was crazy, I suggested to my companions the only way out of here was by driving out. If we could leave tomorrow evening and travel the first several hundred miles after dark, we could make our way to Leningrad. Then, from there we could make our way to the coast and find a fishing boat to make our way to Sweden or Denmark. With the Russian authorities looking for us, it left us with few choices. I then told them we had about 1200 miles to drive to get close to a border.

While the others were taking their showers, I explored more of the cabin. Looking at the collection of books on the shelf, I would say this family has a very eclectic collection. Though I could not read Russian, I could see a couple were home published similar to a scrapbook.

I thought it was a good idea to keep a watch schedule for the evening. A 3-hour rotation would work best. I would take the first watch, then Andi and finally Randy. At first sign of trouble we would be ready to deal with it and fresher than if we had not slept. I told them about my idea for keeping watch they agreed. While the others went to find a bed to sleep in I lit a lamp and settled down to keep watch. I grabbed the scrapbooks off the shelf to look at while I was on watch. I sat down for part of my watch time and scanned the scrapbooks. Whoever this person was, he was sure in love with himself. All the articles cut out of the papers were all about him and his accomplishments. It was funny how big some people’s egos are.

After my time was up, I left the scrapbooks out in case Andi needed a distraction to stay awake. I woke her up, wished her a good evening, and went to get some sleep. It did not take me long to fall asleep. In the morning, the sun light streaming through the window woke me up. According to my watch, it was close to 6:30 AM when I woke up. I had not felt this good in the morning in a long time. I got up and went out to the outhouse/bathhouse to take care of business. When I came back in, I went to check on Randy. He was there sitting looking at the same scrapbooks I had earlier last night.

He greeted me and said I needed to talk to Andi about the scrapbooks this morning first thing. He suggested that we reconsider our escape strategy. I gathered up my dirty clothes and went to the bathhouse to wash my clothes I had been wearing. I filled the sink with warm water from last night and grabbed the soap we used and started scrubbing away. It did not take long to turn the water in the sink a dark dingy gray. I drained the sink and once again filled it with clean water. I did this for two more times until the clothes did not show any soap residue. After the last rinse, I wrung them as tight as I could and went to hang them on the rope that I had found and rigged between two linden trees that were nearby.

I went back to the house to see how breakfast was coming. When I walked into the cabin, it smelled wonderful. Whatever they found to prepare made me salivate. Andi was in the process of dishing it up when I went to sit down. I complimented her on her selection and asked what it was. She had opened two cans of that buckwheat porridge with beef. As an extra taste treat she had opened another can of the black currant puree. The buckwheat porridge with beef was different. I cannot say I would want it every day but it was not bad. I was developing a taste for black currants.

The discussion at the breakfast table this morning was the scrapbooks I had found. It would seem our local communist party chief was more than what he seems. Andi says the articles portrayed him as a local crime boss. Nothing could happen without him getting his cut. That was probably why he had such fine things here at his summer place and we in turn could avail ourselves to them. His being a local crime boss made me change my plans.

I said, “Once you guys have your laundry hung out to dry, I would like you to join me in the house. We can play find the crook’s secret stash to help pass the time.”

“That sounds like fun,” Randy added. “The Godfather part IV, the Don of the Kremlin.”

That brought a round of laughs from everyone.

While those two were out in the bathhouse, I was examining the furniture carefully. I did not find any cash but I did find some firepower. When I flipped the couch over to check for a secret hiding place, I found two Browning automatic 12-gauge shotguns. Within 25 yards, the shotguns were a very effective defensive weapon. Looking in a nearby drawer, I found shells, mostly buckshot along with some slugs. One of those would be accompanying us on our road trip. At a roadblock, the shotgun would even out the odds.

When Randy and Andi came in, we gave the place a once over and not finding any hidden stash. I was becoming discouraged when I noticed the throw rug on the floor underneath the dining table. I asked Randy to help me move the table and for Andi to remove the area rug. With the rug removed, we all saw the handle to lift for a trapdoor. We had found the stash, when I lifted the trapdoor there was the stairs in to a cellar. I grabbed one of the lanterns and lit it. I used it to look around before we went down. We found Aladdin’s cave I thought. There were all sorts of valuable trinkets down there; jewelry, watches, household items, tools, and money, lots and lots of money. The money was in multiple denominations. Of course, that is where we hit the hardest. We took several thousand in rubles, even more in British Pounds and American dollars. All in all, we hit him up for about $300,000. One way or the other we were going to get out of the USSR. I took a Submariner watch I saw in the collection.

Just before noon, I suggested Randy and I take a walk to see what the traffic was like along the highway. It did not seem to me to be a large amount of traffic but there was enough to make sure we left after dark to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Middle of the afternoon our clothes were dry and I suggested we change into them and wash the ones we had been wearing. This way we would have a change of clothes if needed until we get somewhere where we could purchase some clothes. The rest of the afternoon, I tried to rest because I wanted to leave as soon as it became dark.

At dusk, I moved the Mercedes around to the front of the cabin where we could load the car more easily. Thirty minutes later the car was loaded and I was taking the first turn behind the wheel. Shortly after eight pm, I pulled out of the lane of the cabin and on to the road toward Murmansk. I stayed on the main road and got through town as quickly as possible. The overall drive took a little over an hour to complete. I had both Randy and Andi watch for anything unusual in the traffic around us. They kept a vigil for an hour after we passed the Murmansk and did not spot any tails.

We drove through the night and I stopped after midnight so we could empty the diesel fuel from the fuel can into the fuel tank. That would give us additional hundred and twenty miles on top of what we had left in the tank. I had Randy take over driving as we drove south on the route. Most of the road passed through scrub forested land. It was hard to see other than what the headlights picked up.

It was just after 2AM local time when we came across a gas station that was lit up and open. I suggested to Randy to pull in and see if we could get fuel. I wanted to fill the tank as well as the spare can in the trunk. When Randy pulled into the pumps, an attendant came trotting out, took the fuel nozzle off the pump, and was ready to fuel the Mercedes when Randy shut off the engine. Randy and I both got out stretching our legs and Andi remained in the car with her Skorpion at the ready. As the attendant was fueling up the car, I opened the trunk and got his attention by pointing at the fuel can. I went walking toward the building when I spotted a Soviet Security Services road patrol car with two patrol officers in it. They saw me and I almost panicked. I simply nodded to them and the driver nodded back. I kept my hands away from my body and made a slow arc back to the Mercedes.

When I got back to the car, I looked over at Randy who was leaning against the car watching the road in case someone pulled in. He causally looked over at me and he immediately knew something was up when he saw my face.

“Cops!” was all I said. I walked away from the car in the direction away from the car and the security services car I had seen. If we needed to be in a shootout, I wanted to be able to get them in crossfire.

The Security Police car pulled out and went in the direction we came from in a hurry. I let out a sigh of relief and started walking back toward the Mercedes. It was at that time the attendant was done with the refueling and had replaced the fuel cap on the car and I went to check on the Jerry can we had in the trunk. He had filled that as well. I made sure the can was secure and closed the trunk lid.

The attendant said something with his hand out as if he was asking for payment. I pointed to the back window where Andi was sitting. He went to the window and Andi rolled it down. He repeated what he had said earlier and Andi handed him out some cash. When he received the cash, he got a huge smile on his face and started jabbering away in Russian. Both Randy and I got in and we drove away going the same direction, as we were earlier.

“What did you do Andi? Flash the guy when you gave him his money.” I asked trying to be funny. “He seemed real happy when you paid him.”

“No, I didn’t flash him. The bill was thirty-eight rubles and I gave him fifty and told him to keep the change. Money in these parts is hard to come by and the poor guy needed it,” Andi said perturbed.

I thought better than to continue along those lines and sat silent for a while. Randy drove for another hour and a half then I took over. Several times, we had to take restroom breaks, gents to the left and ladies to the right. Along the way Andy would open some of the snack food I had us bring along in our messenger bags. We nibbled on some tinned cookies and nuts. I suggested that we could stop at the next village we came to when it became daylight and see if we could buy some local bread, cheese and vegetables. While the snacks kept us full, our bodies needed the real nutrition that we could get from fresh food.

We were just going round a bend when we saw a village ahead and there was a line of cars stopped at a checkpoint. I looked at the map I had kept in my lap and saw where we were. It was the border between two Soviet states. Randy was frantically looking around, deciding if he should continue or make a run for it.

“Randy, listen to me. Stay calm and do everything I tell you. Get out your Makarov and place it along your right leg. Place your coat over it so that it is not visible to the guard. Above all, keep your mouth shut and keep looking ahead. Do not make eye contact with anyone. Do you understand me? Oh and roll down your window. Andi, the same for you, keep your Skorpion handy. If things go south, I want you to hose down where the most border guards are. Also, get out your ID papers so you do not have to dig for them. The faster we can get through the border check the better.” I said relieving some of the tension I sensed and felt.

When we were next in line the guard at the gate looked down at the Mercedes’ plates came to attention and saluted. He hollered to the other guards and they raised the gate and all the guards came to attention and saluted. The head guard saluted and motioned for us to continue. We continued on our way without any challenge from the guards.

“Holy crap, whose car did we swipe?” Randy asked with a slight tremor in his voice. “He must be way up there in the ruling class that is for sure.”

“Ah, guys when we get to Leningrad we need to find a quiet place to park this car and walk away from it.” I said. “No need to press our luck further.”

I got two head nods in agreement to that. I was still hungry and wanted to stop somewhere to buy some fresh bread, cheese and vegetables. Andi suggested we stop at the next town that had a train station. Some of the time locals sell bread, cheese, and fruit to train passengers when they get on and off the train. I was agreeable to that. Randy said he was tired and needed a break. We were on an open expanse of road with at least an hour to the next community along the route. Randy pulled over got in the back seat. Andi took over driving and we were once again on our way toward Leningrad.

I unfolded the map some more and looked at my watch and thinking about the border crossing just a few miles back I thought so far so good.

“Guys, I just thought I would share with you. We are about halfway to Leningrad. If we don’t do anything stupid and keep to ourselves, we should get there around dusk. That gives us a whole night to get some rest and plot out our next move.” I said with some relief.

It was around 9AM local time I was getting concerned. We had been driving now give or take eight hours. I looked over at the fuel gauge, what we had in the trunk was enough fuel for maybe 200 miles. Looking at the map and seeing nothing but lots of nothing on it, I was worried but I did not want to share my concern with the others. If my guess was right, we would run out of diesel in the middle of nowhere and I do mean nowhere. The closest town would be at least 100 miles in either direction. Maybe our bright idea was not so bright. If we had taken the motorcycle with sidecar, we would have faced the problem just a lot sooner. If they had looked up to me as the leader, then I have failed them. I did not want to show my worry so I decided to act as if I was going to take a nap.