The Spy Who Outran the KGB | The Chase | 3

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0:17May 1985, Moscow. KGB colonel turned MI6 informant Oleg Gordievsky rides in a chauffeured car. Beside him is Viktor Grushko. Grushko is head of the Soviet Intelligence Service's foreign department. The atmosphere in the car is cold The two men have barely exchanged any words Gordievsky hasn't been told where he is being taken But the car is headed out of the city His stomach churns It's been eight days since Gordievsky returned to Moscow from London And it's clear he is under suspicion His apartment has been bugged and searched Colleagues have started to keep their distance whatever awaits at the end of this journey cannot be good

1:24the car pulls up before a small white bungalow isolated among the trees on the outskirts of the city two men stand guard outside he does not recognize them. Come, Oleg, a drink will warm us.

1:43The two men sit. Gruszko pours brandy into two glasses from a crystal decanter. Then he raises his glass with a smile and a toast. Za vasi zdarovje. And to your good health too. Gordievsky raises the glass and swallows. Gruszko places his glass back on the table, still full. The brandy burns Gordievsky's insides as it trickles down into his stomach. All of a sudden he feels the room tilt. Colours smear, sound distorts. He realises his drink was spiked.

2:27Good, you admit it. You are a British agent. Yes, thank you for your kind cooperation, Oleg. Your family will thank you for it. Now tell us all the things you've talked your hand. Gordievsky tries to steady his mind. He does not remember admitting to being a spy. So why are his interrogators talking like he did? No, you are mistaken. I am loyal. You have the wrong man. But you were about to tell us the name of him. Come on, Ole. Your bravery will be rewarded with mercy. The questions come faster, sharper, drilling into him. Admit it. Tell us. Admit it. Where did you meet? How many times? What's his name?

3:14What did you give him? Gordievsky thinks he might vomit. He gulps down the feeling and focuses on the simple mission, deny, deny, deny. Do you have the wrong man? You have to have a role.

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5:10From Wondery, I'm Indra Varmer and this is The Spy Who. In the last episode, KGB colonel turned MI6 spy Oleg Gordievsky alerted the West to how a NATO war game almost sparked nuclear war. But just as he was about to be confirmed as the KGB's top man in Britain, he was summoned back to Moscow. And now he's under suspicion of betraying his country. You're listening to The Spy Who Outran the KGB. This is Episode 3, The Chase.

5:54The following day. Gordievsky wakes in a narrow bed, his head pounding. The bungalow's curtains are drawn. He lies still, waiting for the sound of a pistol being cocked. Execution feels inevitable. How did they discover his betrayal? The bug department? A careless word in his sleep? His mind flits through every possibility. His interrogators return. One leans over him, his face scrawled with concern. How was your head? Nasty fall you had there. Gordievsky says nothing. He tries to reconstruct last night's interrogation. What did he reveal? What do they have on him? Calm now, Oleg. We got off on the wrong footing.

6:44You said some truly awful things, but I'm sure it was just the alcohol talking. Gordievsky meets the eyes of his interrogators with a puzzled look. You said we were acting like Stalin's lackeys. A scandalous accusation, comrade Gordievsky. Nobody had breakfast in bed during the purges, did they? One of the interrogators presents Gordievsky with a plate of warm toast. Gordievsky doesn't move to take it, so the man rests the plate on top of the sheets. Here, eat. And when you're feeling yourself, we will bring you through to the sitting room. You see, we have a few more questions for you. Questions about what you told us.

7:26The thing is, Oleg, we know everywhere you've been. Your shoes and clothes were sprayed with radioactive dust. You've been leaving a trail for weeks, and we've been following. As the men leave the room, Gordievsky feels a flicker of hope mixed in with his splitting headache. These mind games must mean they don't have enough evidence yet. If they did, surely by now he would be dead. Or something worse. The relief is fleeting. Sooner or later, they will find their evidence. And he is trapped in a police state. No suspected spy has ever escaped the Soviet Union while under KGB surveillance, let alone one held in a safe house under armed guard.

8:20Four weeks later, Moscow. In their apartment, Oleg Gordievsky watches his three-year-old daughter play with her toys. Two weeks ago, his family was summoned back from London, an obvious sign the KGB is still circling and has no intention of letting him return to Britain. Unaware of the danger they are in, his wife Leila is preparing to take the girls to visit her family in Azerbaijan. Since being allowed to walk free from the interrogation house in the woods, Gordievsky has resolved to trigger the British escape plan. It may prove fatal, but at least this way he can control the schedule of his destiny.

9:03Papa, look! His daughter holds up her toy train, showing him how its wheels spin. Gordievsky smiles kindly. Inside, however, he feels torn. Should he take his family with him? He has yet to reveal anything to Leila. He trusts her, but only to a point. She is the daughter of a KGB colonel. If he makes her choose between a familiar life here in Russia and an unknown future in Britain, where will her ultimate loyalties lie? It is time for a test. Darling, join me for a moment.

9:48Gordievsky ushers Leila onto the balcony. There they can speak freely, away from the microphones that are surely hidden in the apartment. My love, there is something you must know. There's a plot against me within the KGB, here in Moscow. Is this about us, the divorce? I thought things had blown over. No, no, it's not that. They love you, of course. How could they not? No, these are jealous people, powerful people. It's serious and we are in danger. I've tried everything, but I think there is no other solution. We must flee. What? What are you talking about? Hush! Don't be afraid. I've worked it all out.

10:35We can escape once we're in Azerbaijan. We'll cross the mountains into Turkey. Mountains? Don't be idiotic. You've been reading too many novels. They've made you paranoid. Hearing their child cry for her, Leila hurries back into the apartment, leaving Gordievsky dismayed. His heart aches. He knows the truth. He will never again see his family.

11:12Sunday, June 30th, 1985. For three hours, Gordievsky has wandered the streets of Moscow trying to shake his tails. Now he believes he slipped the KGB, he steps into Red Square in the city centre. The plaza heaves with sightseers, bodies among which he can easily disappear. For the past few days, Gordievsky has wavered on whether he should initiate MI6's exfiltration plan. But he knows that that plan carries fatal risks. so instead he's decided to let MI6 know that he is in trouble and to be on standby. There is only one way in which Gordievsky can pass a message to MI6 via a brush pass on a stairwell inside St Basil's Cathedral.

12:03Every two weeks, without fail, a female MI6 officer descends the stairs at a set time ready to receive a written note. Gordievsky slips into the cathedral. The note already held tight in his hand inside his coat pocket. Its message is clear and desperate. Am under strong suspicion and in bad trouble. Need exfiltration soonest. Beware of radioactive dust and car accidents. But the staircase where the exchange is supposed to happen is barred. A small sign hanging on the rope declares it's closed for renovations. No, no, no. Gordievsky feels a panic rise in his chest. The plan, already so fragile, has crumbled.

12:57He drifts back out into the crowded square, uncertain of his next move. Fearing he's being tailed again, he descends into the metro. On the rattling journey home, Gordievsky surreptitiously pulls the note he planned to pass to MI6 from his pocket. Slowly and methodically, he tears it into scraps, then puts them in his mouth, pretending it's gum. He chews the note to a pulp, then swallows. His plan to alert MI6 has failed. He can only hope that if he triggers the escape plan, someone is still watching.

13:45Two weeks later In his Moscow apartment Gordievsky reaches for his old copy of Shakespeare's sonnets Valerie Petit, the architect of MI6's escape plan Handed him this book seven years earlier In the kitchen sink He slips the book into warm water where a few cups and pieces of cutlery are currently soaking. Moments later, Gordievsky retrieves the sheet of cellophane that has been hidden inside the book's back cover. It has been worked loose by the warm water. He dabs the sheet with a tea towel, then spreads it flat and studies the faint writing. The sheet spells out every detail of MI6's elaborate plan to smuggle him out of the Soviet Union.

14:36He committed it all to memory years ago, but the failed brush pass at the cathedral has him scared. Only one lifeline remains, the prearranged signal outside a central Moscow bakery. The signal for extraction is convoluted. He must be seen with a plastic bag while wearing specific clothes. Then, to know that the signal's been received, he must watch for someone in grey trousers eating a chocolate bar while carrying a Harrods bag. After that, he needs to get to a highway lay-by near the Finnish border for pick-up by MI6 at a pre-arranged time. With so many moving parts, one slip-up is all it would take for the KGB to catch them red-handed.

15:23He cannot afford to make a mistake.

15:30He knows he should read Petit's instructions, then burn them But he cannot yet bring himself to destroy them He fears he might misremember some crucial detail Besides, what if the signal tomorrow fails And he needs to refer to the instructions again? So he barricades the front door Dragging a chair across the floor and wedging it beneath the handle Then he bolts every lock

15:59Then, with a bottle of rum, he forces himself into uneasy sleep Beside his bed on a tin tray, the sheet of cellophane rests next to a box of matches Should the KGB storm his apartment in the night, he will burn it

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17:01The next day, July 16th, 1985, Moscow. Arthur Gee, second in command at MI6's Moscow station, nudges his Ford Sierra forward in the evening traffic. He is a few dozen metres away from the little bakery which he and his colleagues have patrolled faithfully whenever Gordievsky is in Moscow. Guy's eyes skim the pavement outside the shop in a ritual that has become a natural habit He is expecting nothing Suddenly his chest tightens There, by the doorway, stands a man in a peaked grey cap In his hand, he clutches a plastic Safeway bag Its bright red logo clearly on display It's Gordievsky Guy's adrenaline spikes Everything narrows to a single, terrible focus.

17:56Back at his apartment within the British Embassy compound, Guy drops his briefcase in the hallway and calls out to his wife. Ah, I forgot to buy bread. So sorry, darling. Let me quickly change and I'll head right back out. Guy's wife looks at the two loaves of bread already on the table and then back at her husband, wide-eyed. wordlessly she hands Guy a green Harrods bag inside there is a single Mars bar the couple have rehearsed this moment many times Guy looks at her stoically as he pulls on his grey trousers

18:38Guy exits his apartment resisting the urge to run and heads towards the bakery He watches Oleg Gordievsky from across the street. The Russian leans against the wall, a cigarette smoking between his fingers, Safeway bag in hand, its red logo facing outward. Guy steps forward. He unwraps the chocolate bar and takes a slow bite, long enough to ensure Gordievsky has time to catch the signal. The two men's eyes meet for a moment. They do not nod, but their glance is a flaring, silent confirmation. Guy returns to his apartment feeling breathless, as if he has sprinted a mile. It seems extraordinary to him that so grave a sequence of events has been triggered by such a mundane gesture.

19:28Operation Pimlico is on.

19:36Two days later, Balmoral Castle, the highlands of Scotland. Charles Powell, private secretary to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, arrives at the Royal Gates bone-tired. Earlier that day, he was briefed by MI6 about Operation Pimlico, the escape plan to extract one of their most valuable agents out of the Soviet Union. But it's a plan fraught with diplomatic risk, and so requires the Prime Minister's personal approval. But Mrs Thatcher is in Scotland on her annual visit to the Queen. Phoning ahead was out of the question. Security protocols would not allow it. So Powell has spent the day travelling.

20:21First by plane to Aberdeen, then by car through the driving rain. He is in no mood to be held up at the castle gates by some royal courtier. Sir, you understand we can't have people wandering around the estate without knowing why they are here. You're going to have to. I need to see the Prime Minister now. Why? My good man, were you in a position to receive that information, you would not be manning a booth in the wilderness. Well, I'll have to pass this up the chain. Wait there, please. I am the chain. I'll find her myself.

21:02Minutes later, Powell stands dripping in the doorway of Margaret Thatcher's room, catching her just as she prepares for bed. She stares at him, surprised. Prime Minister, the Russians suspect our man. MI6 has a plan to get him out. It needs your approval. Now. Thatcher listens as Powell explains the next steps, her lips pressed thin. She has been following the case of Gordievsky, an agent she knows only as Mr Collins, carefully. Even so, the decision is not simple. There is no telling what the Russians will do when they discover Britain has intervened. The diplomatic fallout will be severe even if everything goes to plan.

21:45Even worse if it fails and MI6 officers posing as diplomats are arrested with a fugitive spy in tow. Years of delicate trust-building with the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev could collapse. Do it. We must honour our promises to our agents. Mr Collins has taken grave risks for us. We must do everything we can to save him.

22:15The next day, Moscow. The day of escape has come. Gordievsky shuts the door of his apartment, knowing he is also shutting the door on his life and family. He loves his wife. But years living in a state of paranoia have eroded his capacity for trust. He must act alone.

22:42At the entrance to his apartment block, the KGB watchers are in place, as they have been for weeks. Gordievsky wears a tracksuit. A typical middle-aged man at war with his gut, or at least that's how he hopes he appears. He has 90 minutes to shake the tail and catch his train.

23:06after stretching Gordievsky jogs away casual at first then faster and faster still pounding into the woods branches wick past his heart hammers the watchers he hopes cannot keep up at least not without giving away their game

23:27he tears back onto the city streets maintaining his speed before reaching the loitering crowds at the train station. Just as he climbs aboard the train to Leningrad, he sees them, riot police advancing down the platform. His chest seizes.

23:49But they pass by. Gordievsky sinks deep into his seat, his lungs burning, the sweat cold on his back.

24:00The train jolts forward. There is no turning back now. He has no excuse for travelling north toward Finland. And it's there he will meet freedom. Or capture.