St, Petersburg. December 1987.

Nikolai Marakova stared blankly at white knuckles as they gripped the steering wheel of his stationery car. Despite the persistent ringing in his ears, the susurration of the falling snow onto the car roof was almost deafening. His hat rested on the biscuit leather passenger seat and Nikolai felt discontent rise as his gaze washed over it and up to the house he was parked outside of. Smoke was billowing from the chimney and Nikolai knew that his wife, Alyona would have lit the fireplace as soon as she had woken. Like always she would have muttered to herself about how it was too cold to bear in the winter months and not much better in the summer. It was just a year-long battle trying to keep warm. Nikolai was often at work before the sun rose over the horizon and so he missed out on her daily protests at the weather. Though he could agree that she was not completely unjustified. The sun never rose high over St. Petersburg, always failing to burn away even the fine top layer of snow under its feeble heat. Instead, its light reflected off the blanket of white that always coated the city. Alyona was from Sochi and still hadn't adjusted to the difference in climate despite moving to St. Petersburg five years ago as Nikolai's new wife. However, upon being presented with her own home and not an apartment like the thousands that stretched above the city skylines, she knew they were both incredibly lucky.

Nikolai sighed as he pulled himself from his car and placed his hat back atop his head. Though the house was identical to the other nineteen in the street, being small and compact, it was still somewhere they could call their own – as much as you could call anything your own in Soviet Russia. Yes, the government gave you a home to raise your children and a job, so you could feed them, but it could easily take away anything it gave. As Nikolai walked up the small path to the front door, snow crunching under foot, he couldn't help but think about how it had felt when he had returned from the Afghan War to a new and unplanned baby to greet him. He had been terrified from the moment the letter had been delivered to him in Afghanistan but as soon as he saw Elena, the tiny perfect combination of him and Alyona, all hesitation vanished. However, an honourable discharge was not as honourable as they tried to make it sound. Yes, Nikolai had walked away from major conflict with his body relatively intact and the Order of the Red Banner to adorn his chest, but army pensions were not generous unless you died on the battle field. And so, when the KGB had approached him with a distinguished job offer, he had few other options. He couldn't deny that the job hadn't been entirely terrible, they paid well, and he was respected throughout the community, respect that extended to both Alyona and Elena. But events could change their course with little warning, he had learnt that on the frontline, and again today.

Alyona greeted her husband the same way she did every other evening, but her kiss to his cheek was not reciprocated and instead of the usual dashing smile she had fallen in love with seven years ago, she was met with a sombre look that caused unease to rise in her stomach. Nikolai looked straight over her shoulder to the small redheaded girl that was sliding down the steps to greet her father with her favourite arctic wolf teddy in hand, causing Alyona to do the same.

"What is it?" she questioned, her voice barely above a whisper – Elena was an incredibly intuitive child and Alyona had a feeling it was better she didn't know something was wrong.

Nikolai said nothing but guided his wife into the living room, softly closing the door behind them. Away from the prying eyes of his toddler, Nikolai's agitation became clear and he began to pace the room, briefly stopping only to explain his concerns to his wife before his feet began their repetitive distressed movements.

"But what could they possibly want with her?" Alyona questioned, her voice strained and a delicate hand resting on the only photograph of the small family. Nikolai could only shrug in response to Alyona's concern grew from not only fearing for her child but for her whole family. If Elena's safety was at risk then so was theirs, she found her grip tightening on the wooden mantelpiece. Alyona remained silent as Nikolai removed his hat and callously tossed it to the floor.

"I don't know." He finally replied, "But they have a file on her. Her name, a recent photograph, I only caught a glimpse, but it looks like they took it whilst you were both out walking. They've got her date of birth; our names were there too. And a stamp across the front sheet, 'VIABLE.'"

"Viable? What does that mean? Viable for what? Is that why they promoted you so quickly? To get to Elena?" Prior to this evening, Alyona had disregarded the hushed rumours she'd heard about her husband; that he wasn't deserving of his title, that better men had missed out on the opportunity so he could have it and now she would give anything to have some other family have this calamity in their home.

Nikolai shrugged in response to her questions, unable to find any answer that would soothe his wife. Suddenly the weight of his jacket was too much to bear, he harshly pulled it from his shoulders before letting it drop onto the floor alongside his hat, the Red Star emblem contrasting heavily against the khaki green of the fabric.

"I didn't get a proper look at it. I don't think the commander even realised he had it open. But it said something like, Kree positive? What is that supposed to mean?"

Alyona watched cautiously as her husband pulled his fingers through his now thinning hair. She couldn't help but remember how much thicker it had been when they'd met and how much healthier he had been overall. Even upon his return from the Afghan War, there had been more life in his eyes. However, his job had taken a lot out of him over the years and there were often evenings when he refused to discuss what he had done during the days he had been gone. Alyona knew this night marked Nikolai's breaking point when he approached the living room door and silently opened it, watching silently as their daughter mumbled to her wolf on the stairs, patiently waiting in her own fantasy world, completely unaware of the imbroglio unfolding around her.

"What are we going to do?" Alyona questioned, tears beginning to sting her eyes as she noticed her throat was suddenly dry. Neither had ever discussed Nikolai's work in too much detail but they both knew that what the KGB wanted, it got. Families had often gone missing before and whilst the community would fabricate stories to explain the strange disappearances to themselves, everyone's thoughts were the same – though no one ever dared to voice them.

A few moments of thick apprehension passed whilst Alyona waited for her husband to make his decision. Whilst unsure of what it would be, she knew that things were going to change very drastically for them. Eventually, he turned to her, a silent but steely determination on his face.

"We leave." He answered, barely above a whisper. "Tonight."

Alyona scraped her long blonde tresses back into a ponytail as she began to rifle through her wardrobe, searching for the lightest and yet warmest clothes to travel in. Nikolai hadn't said much as he'd marched out of the front door to make plans for their getaway, only telling her to pack the essentials. As Alyona closed her bedroom door, knowing she would never sleep in her own bed again, she was confronted by her toddler, clutching her wolf and pulling a small red suitcase behind her.

"Are we going on holiday?" Elena questioned. Alyona nodded and knelt in front of her, tucking several stray red hairs behind her ears.

"Yes. Papa surprised us with a holiday. Isn't that exciting?" Elena nodded enthusiastically as she followed her mother down the stairs and into the kitchen where a pot of Solyanka had been bubbling all afternoon.

"Are we having dinner before we go?" Elena asked, and Alyona nodded again, placing her daughter at the kitchen table before beginning to take family photographs from their glass frames and wrapping them between layers of clothing. She didn't see Elena's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the odd choice of holiday packing.

The sun had dropped below the horizon and a heavy darkness had engulfed the outside world when Nikolai returned, a consuming darkness, howling wind and flurry of snowflakes accompanying him through the door.

Dinner was eaten in relative silence that night. Only the low hum of the refrigerator and the static from the radio as it faded between stations invaded the strained silence as Elena's gaze shifted between her parents, each of them smiling falsely when they caught her questioning blue eyes.

"Papa?" Elena finally questioned, pulling her Father from the far-away place where his thoughts were running riot. Alyona gripped her fork tightly as she glanced hesitantly between her husband and daughter.

"Yes?" Nikolai answered, his voice cracking from being quiet for so long.

"What did you do at work today?" It was not an unordinary question, one that was asked most nights. But it invoked different feelings in her Father tonight, he considered the answer as he massaged a lump out of his throat and absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck where an unsettling itch had begun to grow.

"Oh, boring, grown-up things really. I bet your day was a lot more interesting, what did you do?" Elena's mind had been easily side-tracked and Alonya couldn't help but smile briefly – one thing Elena was always guaranteed to do was talk about herself. Alyona expected her daughter to one day write an autobiography and be able to make money from doing her favourite thing.

"We went to the market to buy the meat for supper and the bread man had some old loafs that he let me take so we fed the ducks at the lake and then we came home and made Ptichye Moloko. Do you want some?" Elena abandoned her dinner and jumped down from her chair to retrieve the sweet desert from the fridge. She watched her father closely as he bit into it and waited patiently until he was finished, smiling as he pulled her onto his knee. Nikolai pulled her loose ponytail tight and smoothed her fiery hair before pressing a kiss to the top of her head whilst she ate her own desert.

"Are you excited for our holiday?" Nikolai asked, Elena nodded eagerly, her mouth full of chocolate-covered marshmallow. Alyona and her husband shared silent looks of trepidation laced with determination as they began to clear their dishes for what would be the last time.

It was always a risk, travelling at night. Riots had been erupting in the countries under Soviet Rule in the recent decade and the government had responded by enforcing strict curfews. Nikolai and Alyona could only be relieved that St. Petersburg had remained relatively calm during the outbursts, allowing them to pack their essential items and slip their only child, tightly wrapped in a blanket, into the backseat of their car. As Nikolai turned the key in the ignition, Alyona glanced over her shoulder to their lit home, a dim glow coming from the couple's bedroom. Their plates from dinner would still be drying on the rack and Elena's colourful scribbles were still on the coffee table where she had been unable to show her Father. Nikolai had said leaving the lights on would attract less attention, it looked like they were still at home and she could only agree, knowing they needed to get as far away as possible before anyone noticed they were gone.

The roads of St. Petersburg were relatively empty, much to the relief of the couple as they both glanced to the backseat where their child still slept. Working women and soldiers stumbling from bars to use their services were the only bodies that stood in the cold night. Eventually they left the city and the roads began to thin into bleak countryside.

"Who is this man you're entrusting to get us out?" Alyona asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"An old friend from the Army, we fought together in Afghanistan and he was given an honourable discharge the same time as me." Nikolai answered quietly, paying more attention to the empty road than was necessary. "He has an old plane, a gift from the Army for his services. He says he can get us to France and he has a contact there who will get us seen by the US embassy."

Alyona's hands were clenched in fists in her lap. Defectors were executed, everyone knew it. Few people had ever successfully left the motherland, and none of those that did were carrying a small child, but Alyona refused to let the KGB take her only daughter and use her for their own sick gains. She had often overheard the wives of other high-ranking officers discussing the international operations their husbands were assigned to and it was the stuff of nightmares.

The drive was not a short one and before long, Alyona had succumbed to the soothing sound of the engine, resting her head against the cool glass of the window, unable to fend off sleep. Nikolai was left in silence to contemplate the severity of what they were doing. They were already too far gone to return - if a neighbour had seen them leave they had probably already reported them and their home would be crawling with KGB officers. The lights of St. Petersburg were tiny specs in the distance as Nikolai glanced in his wing mirror. He knew that his old army friend would live off the grid, but he hadn't anticipated for Matvei to live so rurally and alone. It was clear the lifestyle had taken a toll on him when Nikolai finally arrived and switched off the car engine.

Matvei Ivanakov was a tall and thin man. His mother had died when he was a baby, succumbing to the famine Stalin had enforced on Ukraine, leaving Matvei and his Father no choice but to move to Moscow where his grandparents lived. His Father had died not long after the erection of the Berlin Wall, his final military services were spent guarding it. He had served his country for the entire duration of the Second World War and had even bragged at how he had been one of the troops to have stormed Hitler's bunker when the Red Army had finally broken Berlin, and yet his final act of service to his country was to shoot a fifteen-year-old boy trying to jump the Berlin wall to be reunited with his mother. When Matvei had received the news of his father's death, he was also gifted the small shed he now called his home. Nikolai was glad for the lack of lighting, Matvei's eyesight had been deteriorating in Afghanistan and Nikolai couldn't help his look of pity, it was clear to see Matvei didn't have much.

"You are either extremely brave, or extremely stupid." Matvei grimaced, as he shook hands and waited as Nikolai gently shook Alyona awake who then lifted a still-sleeping Elena from the back seat. She cast a cautious glance at Matvei, untrusting him herself, but understanding he was their only chance to get out of Russia. Nikolai retrieved their bags from the boot and loaded them into the small plane as Matvei climbed to the cockpit and began to go through the take-off procedure. Alyona strapped Elena tightly onto the seat before joining her husband back at their car.

Nikolai handed Alyona a can of petrol and the two of them splashed it over the outside and drenched the inside, before leaving a trail away from the car. Nikolai scratched the sulphur layer away from a match and dropped it the floor, the fumes igniting with a metallic sheen that gave way to burning orange heat. The pair watched the car disintegrate for a few moments, the orange flames breaking the darkness of the wilderness and offering them momentary escape from the bitter cold.

"No going back." Alyona reminded him quietly. Nikolai sighed as he wrapped an arm round his wife's shoulder.

"There never was." He assured her. "As soon as I saw her name, I knew we were getting out. I love our country and I've given everything, but they can't have our daughter."

Alyona nodded in silent agreement and no more words were exchanged as the pair climbed into the plane and took to the skies. Soviet Russia was dark, as were the countries that had joined the expanding empire. She recalled that some Western politician had referred to the divide through Europe as the 'Iron Curtain' and it was easy to see why. She only knew they had reached Germany when she saw a single line separated the darkness from the streetlights on the other side of the wall. Elena remained fast asleep whilst Alyona stroked her hair in a soothing fashion – reminiscent of the way her own mother had soothed her in times of trouble - silently praying her toddler would stay asleep until they landed. Alyona was prepared for her to be scared when she woke, she had fallen asleep in her own bedroom in her own home, a place she would never see again.

The landing was a bumpy one, and the youngest passenger was finally beginning to stir from her sleep. Alyona welcomed the warmer air than she was used to, despite it being 3.30am. A sleek black car waited to the edge of the airstrip and when the propellers of the plane stopped rotating, a man in a black suit stepped out and approached the small family. Elena stirred awake on her Father's shoulder and her eyebrows furrowed at the unfamiliar temperature.

"Welcome to Paris, Mr and Mrs Marakova." The man smiled, Elena pushed herself up, so she could see the source of the voice and she watched closely as her father shook hands with the man before he ticked her under the chin. She scowled heavily at him, and buried her face in her father's collar, inhaling the smell of his cologne.

"My name is Senator Warren." The suited man said, smiling at the toddler. "I have been informed of your situation and understand that you wish to officially defect from the USSR and the KGB, and be granted US Citizenship for yourself, your wife and daughter, is that correct?" Nikolai nodded as he passed Elena to Alyona. He pulled their three passports from his coat alongside his KGB ID card. The Senator took all four documents and examined them closely before tucking them in an inside pocket of his coat.

"You are aware, that if my government agrees to offer you refuge in our country, and give you each a new identity, something will be expected in return." Nikolai nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, I understand. Whatever they – you want, I will tell you. We can't go back. They want our daughter." Senator Warren cast a speculative glance at the three-year old drifting back off to sleep.

"What on earth would the Soviet Government and the KGB want with a harmless three-year-old girl?"

"We do not plan to find out Senator." Alyona stated sternly causing both men to look at her with an air of surprise. "We will tell you everything we know."

Senator Warren nodded slowly and gestured for the family to get into the backseat of the car whilst he joined the driver in the front. Nikolai nodded in silent thanks to Matvei as his friend returned the gesture before starting his engines again and taxying down the airstrip.

As the car glided through the streets of Paris, heading for the US Embassy, Senator Warren turned in his seat.

"I can't make any promises. At the end of the day, the information you provide must be deemed useful to the U.S Government, otherwise they won't take you."

"I understand." Nikolai replied.

Elena gazed out of the window of the small plane that they had all to themselves. Alyona had told her it belonged to the man in the suit and so she had to make sure she didn't put her feet on the chairs. He had formally introduced himself as Senator Warren the day they arrived at the embassy, but she had been too preoccupied with the attention from the secretaries to pay much attention of him. She couldn't help but laugh at their excessively big hair and stiff shoulders in their oddly coloured suits. She had started a whole new collection of drawings with the pencils she had been given at the embassy and her father had given her a brown satchel to keep them all in.

Her attention was diverted from the clouds as she heard Senator Warren speak.

"These will be your new passports." He handed them three small blue books. "If you don't hold up your end of the deal, these will be revoked, and you will be removed from U.S soil.

"Senator, do you have children?" Nikolai asked, Warren sat back in his seat and nodded.

"Four girls. I always wanted a boy, but it just hasn't happened. My wife is pregnant with our fifth and I'm just hoping I get a son this time round."

"Is there anything you wouldn't do for them?"

"Nothing."

"Then you know I will hold up my end of the deal."

"Leyna, come here." Alyona held out her hand for her toddler as she pulled her onto her lap. She pointed out the window and as a cloud drifted away Elena saw a huge statue standing in the water, holding a book under one arm and a flame torch in the other. She had seen statues in St. Petersburg, honouring the dead and fallen from past conflicts, but nothing like this.

"What is it?" She questioned.

"Lady Liberty." Senator Warren answered as he began to put his paperwork in his briefcase. "Welcome to New York, young lady."