As she returned to her apartment, Kim felt an odd emptiness inside, different from all the times before when Andrei had departed on an airplane. Whereas those other flights had been mostly local, this one was halfway around the world. She found herself already longing to hear his voice, thinking what a happy surprise it would be for him to call her when he reached his destination just to let her know that he had arrived safely, but she supposed that that would be too much to ask.

Instead of having nightmares, Kim found herself unable to sleep at all for the first few nights after Andrei's departure. The bed seemed entirely too big as she tossed and turned in a vain attempt to find a comfortable spot. She wondered about women Andrei might encounter while in his homeland, how strongly they might tempt him, whether or not the novelty of bedding an American woman had worn off and he might, after all, be more compatible with a woman of his own people.

To help take her mind off things, Kim began to perform with the bedraggled band of renegade actors and actresses once again. She had just returned from an audition with them when she received the news that Mark Samanov wanted to meet with her. Totally unprepared for what was to come, she quickly made her way to his office.

"Miss Ballard." General Samanov was a slight man with white hair, a little taller than Andrei and perhaps a generation or so older, as his predecessor had been. "Come in and sit down. Make yourself comfortable."

Kim did as he asked and sat waiting expectantly as he took his seat behind his desk.

"Unfortunately, I have some very distressing news," Mark began. Kim felt the muscles of her stomach begin to tighten. "Colonel Denisov was severely wounded while attempting to break up a street fight in our nation's capital. Regretfully, he did not survive his injuries."

Suddenly the room was spinning around faster and faster. Mark was still talking, but Kim couldn't hear a word he was saying. She tried to speak but couldn't, and then everything went black.

The next thing Kim was aware of was lying on a sofa with the worried face of Mark Samanov hovering over her.

"What...what happened?" she asked.

"You passed out," Mark told her.

Suddenly Mark's previous words came rushing back to her. "Andrei..."

"I'm so very sorry," Mark said softly.

"No! No! No!" Kim screamed.

"Easy." Mark held her by the shoulders as she tried to stand.

"I can't believe he's really gone..." Kim collapsed into a torrent of helpless tears.

"I'm so sorry," Mark repeated. "I'll have someone take you home."

"That's all right," Kim mumbled. "I can make it back myself."

Upon her return to the apartment, Kim threw herself across the bed and cried her heart out. She just couldn't bear the thought that she would never see Andrei again.

Only later did it occur to her that her period was over three weeks late.

Andrei heard the sound of the trumpet and knew that it was time to get out of bed. With every muscle in his body aching so badly that he could barely move, he struggled to his feet and joined the rest of the prisoners on the way to the cafeteria for their morning ration of watered-down cabbage soup that might contain a few fish bones. In the past he'd been responsible for sending others to gulags, but never in a million years had it ever occurred to him that he would someday end up in one himself.

He knew that the charges against him were false. Never had he spoken a word against the government of his country or any of its workers, yet he had been accused of crimes against the state. Protesting his innocence had accomplished nothing whatsoever, and here he was amongst political prisoners.

Andrei's thoughts turned to Kim, and he wondered whether she was thinking of him, whether she was worried about him, what, if anything, she had been told about him. He remembered the lust that had appeared in Mark Samanov's eyes every time Kim's name had been mentioned, and he wouldn't put it past Mark to make a move on Kim, now that she was alone and vulnerable. He knew that Kim would resist the older man's advances and had no idea what the consequences of that would be to her. He found himself patting his clothing and realized that he was searching for his non-existing rosary beads. His face burning with shame, he forced himself to think of something else.