hand on her arm, halting her.
'I think I left my wallet in the office. If Kolja’s in there I’ll send him out to you.'
Ulla looked impatient. Her voice was firm.
'Nein… danke.'
She turned her back on me and walked on ahead. I hurried after, trying to think of something that might delay her, hoping I was wrong. We reached the office almost at the same time and I placed my hand across the door.
'I’ll save you the trouble.'
Ulla pushed me away, walked into the room and turned on the light.
Kolja looked like an illustration from a Soviet poster expounding the health of communist ideology. A young pioneer, or a red-kerchiefed Stakhanovite. He stood straight and silent in the centre of the room, his broad chest flung out, muscular arms by his side.
But the men in the posters had animated faces, full of joy at their role in the construction of the socialist nirvana. Kolja’s face was serene, staring into the small mirror that was tucked amongst the framed pictures on Ray’s wall. He turned his glazed eyes on us, a slight smile touched his lips then he shoved the source of his serenity from her knees and onto the ground.
Sylvie looked up at us from her position on the floor. Her eyes were glassy. She smiled unsteadily. Kolja started to button himself away; his mouth took on a grim set.
'Hey, William, Ulla… Happy birthday …’ Sylvie wiped a gloss from her lips. 'You come to join the fun?'
There was a hiss as Ulla leapt at my assistant, wrestling her to the floor. Sylvie let out a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a groan. Kolja stepped neatly to one side and I bent into the fray. When I managed to pull the girls apart I could feel the scratch of a fingernail down the side of my face and Ulla had a bunch of Sylvie’s sleek hair clutched in her fist. I shoved the struggling girl at her boyfriend and he put his hands on her shoulders, still smiling. I glanced at Kolja, unsure of whether he was stoned or merely enjoying the sight of the two women fighting over him, then looked at Ulla’s stricken face, and felt sorry for her humiliation. I managed to make my voice gentle.
'Can you not see she’s out of her head?'
Ulla turned on me.
'You knew this was happening. You tried to cover for her. Your whore.' Her face screwed into a mask of grief; there was a keening in her shrill voice. 'You wanted me, so you sent her to make trouble.'
'No… I swear… I didn’t know…'
My voice faltered against the accusation.
Sylvie was still on the floor.
'William?'
Her voice was thin and confused.
Ulla spat on Sylvie.
'She’d open her legs to a dog if it sniffed her.'
I looked at Ulla, and wondered what I’d seen in her.
'She’s so drunk she can hardly see.' Sylvie looked at the spit glistening white against her lovely black dress as if wondering how it got there and I realised the truth of what I was saying. 'Into a bit of necrophilia is he, your athlete boyfriend? Look at her, she can hardly move.'
Ulla said, 'You disgust me.'
'Not as much as he disgusts me, your fucking boyfriend’s no better than a fucking rapist.'
Kolja spoke for the first time. His voice was hesitant and it sounded like he had summoned up the total of his English vocabulary.
'It was nothing. It meant nothing, like a drink or a cigarette.'
Ulla saw what was going to happen and moved to stop me, but she was too slow and too slight. I pushed her aside with my left hand, balled my right fist and hit Kolja square in the centre of his handsome weak face. The big athlete was caught by surprise. He lost his balance and fell against Ray’s desk, which spewed a blizzard of files and documents onto the floor. Sylvie batted at the spray of papers as they drifted around her. Her voice was soft with awe.
'William, you just hit Kolja.'
I grinned at her.
'Aye, I did and you know what? I’m going to fucking hit him again.'
Ulla shouted something in German. I leaned in to pull Kolja upright, all the better to get a shot at him, and she leapt on me, clawing at my back. Kolja was beginning to rise from the desk of his own volition and suddenly I realised that if the athlete made it to his feet I was finished. I grabbed Ray’s computer keyboard and slammed it into Kolja’s face. The keyboard was too heavy to make a good weapon, but I stuck with it, amazed at how quickly the white keys became spotted with red, wondering if Ulla’s screams really were in time to the offbeat rhythm of my assault.
It was a relief to hear the strong German voices of the men who pulled me off. I gasped for breath, not bothering to struggle against their hold, hoping I hadn’t killed him. Then Kolja’s fist crashed into my face. The sound went out of my ears and my eyes filled with red.
I reeled against the person holding me, and would have fallen if they’d not braced against me. The pain was blinding. I waited for Kolja to take another shot, but it never came. A man I didn’t know shouted something I didn’t
