Chapter 8

"Well, this place is…quaint," Ezra stated as they walked into the tiny bar. He had already lowered his standards to make Inez's saloon one of his regular bars of his chose, but this was below even that. The place looked like it hadn't been updated since the eighties. There was one beat-up pool table in the middle. Four tables circled around it. Only one of the tables was occupied by what appeared to be construction workers off duty. At least it was clean.

"Well Ellie, I haven't seen you around here in a while," the bartender greeted. He was bald and looked like he would have made a good linebacker in his day. Now, what had once been muscle now disappeared. Still, this was a man that no one would want to run into in a dark alleyway.

"Hey Javier," Ellie said with a smile. "Javy's got two kids that come to the teen center. Selina plays on the hockey team." Ellie explained. "Javy, there are my friends…"

"I know who you are," the man interrupted good naturedly. "Selina hasn't stopped talking stopped talking about the hockey practice since Thursday." He shook hands with the men. "Any friend of Ellie is a friend of mine."

"You are quite a popular young lady," Josiah said to Ellie. Ellie shrugged her shoulders.

"She and Brad have done a lot for the kids around here," Javy stated. "There's a lot of bad people on this side of town, but there's a lot of good people too. Most people aren't willing to take the time to tell the difference. They did." He paused. "And from what I heard, you gentlemen are willing to too. Whatever you want tonight is one the house."

"That's a nice offer," Chris started to say, "but…"

"I insist," Javy answered menacingly. Nobody was going to argue with him.

"Three beers for all of us. Whatever you have on tap is fine," Vin said. "Ezra, what do you want?" Ezra doubted that Javy had his usual choice of spirits behind his bar.

"A beer sounds delightful," Ezra answered, mustering a brave face.

"The usual for you Ellie?" The bartender turned to the woman.

"Yup,"

Javy filled up four glasses than reached under the counter and pulled out a dark bottle with a white label.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ezra asked Ellie.

"If you're thinking its Stolichnaya Elit vodka that you are correct," she laughed. "I do enjoy hamburgers," she laughed. "But nothing beats the mother country for a smooth alcohol that packs a bunch."

"I don't normally carry this stuff here. My usual people don't normally ask for vodka and when they do its mixed with Coke or something else so it doesn't matter if I pour them the cheap stuff. This little lady, on the other hand, likes hers straight." He turned his head slightly and nodded a good bye as the other patrons left the bar. They were now the only ones inside.

"Anyone else want some?" she asked.

"Last time I drank Vodka I couldn't move the next morning," Josiah laughed. "But thanks for the offer." The others politely declined.

"Ezra?" Ellie asked, turning towards him.

"I would love some," Ezra responded. "Pour me a glass good sir." Javy reached behind the bar and brought up two of the largest shot glasses Ezra had ever seen. He felt his stomach get queasy as the bartender filled them both to the top. Ellie picked her hers up. Ezra did the same with a shaky hand.

"Cheers," she stated. The agents and the bartender picked up the beers and raised them, Ezra hesitated.

"What's wrong Ez?" Vin asked.

"I apologize, but I cannot take this shot. You will have to carry me out of this place if I do," he said feeling himself get red in the face. Ellie's laugh only made it worse.

"Oh Ezra," I'm sorry. I just sip it. I think it would kill you if you tried to drink all that straight right away.

Now everyone else started to laugh. Ezra had no choice but to join in.

"In that case," he said, raising his glass.

"Cheers,' they all said and clinked their glasses.

"This really is quite good Ellie," Ezra answered.

"You could say I'm a bit of an alcohol snob,' she answered. "I'm used to only drinking the best."

"You and Ezra will get along well then," Vin answered.

Just as they were about to sit down, the door to the bar flung open. A teenager rushed into the bar with a terrified look on his face. Ezra and Vin both recognized him as the youth that had escaped them earlier.

"Ellie I need to talk to you," the youth exclaimed. "There was…" he froze when he saw Ezra and Vin. "What's going on?"

"Conner, what are you doing inside a bar. You know better," Ellie scolded in a harsh voice. The teen did not answer right away. He was still looking warily at Ezra and Vin.

"We're not going to arrest you," Vin said, trying to calm the boy's nerves. "You've obviously got something important you want to tell Ellie so you might as well say it."

"We let your friend go," Ezra added when the boy still hesitated. That seemed to clam the boy.

"Ellie, I think there was a guy looking for you and Nick. He talked like you do and he was angry

He gave me a description that matched you and your brother. I'm pretty sure he was talking about you.

Ellie didn't answer right away. Her already pale skin had gone even whiter.

"This was the guy in the car from earlier?" Vin asked.

"Yeah," the boy answered. "The one who gave Mike the drugs." Now that the boy realized that he was not going to get into trouble, he was more than willing to talk.

Ezra saw what was about to happen, but he could do nothing to stop it. The shot glass slipped out of the young woman's hand and crashed to the ground.

"Ellie, why was Misha Lebedev looking for you?" Ezra asked. She didn't answer him. She acted like no one else was there.

"What did you tell him Conner?' she asked desperately.

"What do think?" Conner scoffed. " I don't share that kind of information with nobody I don't trust."

Ellie sighed in relief.

"You didn't give him your phone number or anyway to contact you?" she asked.

"Nope," Connor answered. "I made sure nobody else told him anything either."

"Good," Ellie stated. "I appreciate that and you coming and telling me what happened. Now I want you to home and tell everyone to stay away from where that car was for a while."

"What about you?" Connor asked. "If that bastard is trying to hurt you or Nick…." He growled.

"I promise I'll call you if I need any help," Ellie answered. "Now get out of here before I have these cops arrest you," she laughed, but there was an edge to her voice. The boy eyed the agents nervously as he walked out the door.

"Ellie…" Ezra started to say.

"Have to go get Nick and get out of here before he finds us," she mumbled to herself. It was if she had forgotten the others were there.

"Ellie!" Ezra said loudly. This time he grabbed hold of her right wrist. He was caught completely off guard when she twisted his arm back. The pain in his arm erupted and she started to see stars. He was forced to let go to keep conscious. When his vision cleared a few seconds later, she was looking at him with a terrified and apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry Ezra. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I have too…."

"You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on," Josiah said gently, but firmly. He reached out and put his hands on Ellie's shoulders. For a brief second, Ellie looked like she was going to try and escape. He thought about the move she had just used on him. Only someone with martial arts training would know how to do that. Ellie had the look of a caged animal on her face and it was slightly terrifying.

"Relax," he told her." He was worried about Josiah's safety. "Let us help you. I promise we won't let anything happen to Nick, but you have to relax," he said calmly and comforting.

It was a few seconds before Ezra seemed to comprehend what he was saying. He watched as the wild look left her eyes. It was replaced by one of resignation. Her whole body still remained tense.

"I'm okay Josiah," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. Josiah looked at her for a second then let go.

"Ellie what the hell is…" Chris started to say.

"Please," she pleaded. "I will explain everything, I promise. But first I need to get to Nick. I need to make sure that he okay.

"How about I go pick him up from Brads?" Josiah suggested. "Would that make you feel better?"

"I'd really appreciate it," Ellie said, looking at him thankfully. Josiah got an embarrassed look on his face.

"I don't know where…"

"I do," Javy said, saying his first words in a long time. "I'll come with you.." He walked over to the cash register and pulled out two keys. He handed one to Chris.

"This is the extra key," he explained. "I'm going to lock the door behind me." He put a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"I don't know what kind of trouble you are in sweetheart, but you and Nick are part of this community. Like Connor said, we protect or own in these parts."

"Thanks Javy," Ellie answered, forcing a smile on her face. The big man gently squeezed her shoulder before following Josiah out the door.

"You've got nothing to worry about, "Vin laughed. "Nobody's going to mess around with Nick when those two giants are with him."

Ellie showed no reaction. She was staring at something on the wall in her own little world. She sat down heavily in the chair. Chris reached for Ezra's shot of vodka and set it down in front of her.

"Drink," he ordered. Ellie picked it up and with shaking hands and took an impressive gulp. In a few seconds, the alcohol had its intended effect. Her hands stopped shaking and she appeared slightly calmer.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"How about you start with why a drug lord is looking for you and your brother?" Chris answered. Ezra thought for a moment about the limited information that he knew about the woman.

"You are trying to hide from him aren't you?" he asked.

Ellie set her head down in her hand and looked down at the table.

"He's my uncle," she stated unemotionally. She looked at the men before continuing. "He and my father worked for the Soviet government for a long time. Misha had him and my stepmother killed because they knew too much. I'm sure that's why he's after my brother and I as well."

Ellie's statement left Ezra at a temporary loss for words. Judging by the look on his friend's faces, they were just as confused as confounded as he was.

"My family's history is so linked to the tragic history of Russia, that's almost impossible not to describe the two of them together," she said with a half smile. "And that is quite a long story,"

"We're not going anywhere." Chris told her, reaching for his beer and taking a drink. Ellie took a small sip from her own drink and began talking.

"My father and uncle were recruited into the KGB as teens by Nikita Khrushchev himself."

"How did they…" Chris started to say.

"My grandfather had met Khrushchev during World War II on the Eastern Front. He was a low ranking officer and Khrushchev served as commissar. The two became very good friends. My grandfather died of some disease. Obviously, Khrushchev survived. After the war, he hired my pregnant grandmother as secretary and he took special interest in her sons when they were born. He almost became like a father to them. Khrushchev's own son had been supposedly shot down during the war."

"Supposedly?" Vin asked.

"There are rumors that the son defected to the Germans and Stalin had him shot when they caught him despite Khrushchev's pleas," Ezra stated, knowing the story. "But there was never any proof."

"Proof has a funny way of disappearing in Russia," Ellie said darkly. "Whatever happened, Khrushchev took an instant liking to the boys and got them involved in the security organization. They both instantly rose through the ranks and were involved in counter intelligence during the Cold War. My dad often boasted about how he had been adopted by the French people while still feeding information to the Kremlin."

"Were they responsible for arresting civilians as well?" Chris asked rather coldly. He knew that the original and real purpose of the KGB had been to root out and oppress political dissent.

"Not at first," Ellie stated. "Khrushchev was somewhat lax on freedom of speech. It was much better than it had been under Stalin. Not many realize that Khrushchev, although still a ruthless dictator, had began making some positive reforms .Besides my father and Misha served with the First Chief Directorate which was in charge of espionage. All that changed when Yuri Andropov was put in charge. He began bringing back many of Stalin's old policies. Authors began disappearing, artists died under unusual circumstances. Hell, if he had stayed in power any longer, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Gulags started showing up again." The men could feel the anger rising in her voice. I remember whole families just disappearing…." She stopped and forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing.

"At this point my father was looking for ways to get out of the KGB. The signs of the Soviet collapse were all over and he wanted nothing more than move to the West. You see while in France he had a met a beautiful Romanian woman who had defected to Paris, got her pregnant, and was now in love her and with his baby daughter. This was not the case with my uncle. He quickly rose through the ranks and was known for his ruthlessness. When I was older, I heard stories that he never married a woman because he was in love with the KGB.

"My father was planning to stay permanently in France with his family , but that was never going to happen. You see my mother had been a plot by Misha to get my father to stay. My father never believed in Mother Russia the way my uncle did and was he was considered a liability As soon as my father threatened not to move back, she ran to Misha and deposited me with him. I was basically held hostage until my father was forced to move back to Russia."

"What?" The men asked at the same time.

"What kind of woman would take her child and…" Chris thought it had been Adam…He shook his head to get rid of the thought.

"You mean to say that your mother…." Vin asked.

"She never really cared about me," Ellie stated, sadness evident in her voice. "She lied to my father and I for four years and as soon as Misha asked, she turned me over and took her money. I haven't seen or heard from her since."

"I still don't understand how someone could just betray their family," Vin stated.

"It was a strange mentality back then Vin," Ezra explained. "A true communist believed that their main loyalty was to the state. Nothing else really mattered. Am I right?" he asked Ellie. Her lack of response was the answer he needed.

"I lived with Misha while my father was forced to work in Hungry. I was returned with a promise that I would be taken again no matter where he tried to run. We didn't really have much to worry about once my father returned from working in the Eastern Block. The Communist government was a mess and they spent more time working on its survival then spying on other countries. My father even met and fell in love with another woman, Katiya. She became the mother I never had. Not long after Nick was born." Here Ezra noticed her voice lightened. "Those were the best years of my life."

"My father thought about staying. He wanted to be part of the rebuilding of Russia. He thought there was a future for us. After everything that it had been through, Russia was going to achieve a glory it never had before," she smiled at the idea, then shook her head. "He couldn't have been more wrong. Freedom of opinion and speech was in illusion Papers with dissenting opinions were allowed to exist, but life was so unbearable for those that managed to speak out, that they either shut up or moved out the country. Under the masquerade of Democracy, old communist leaders began sneaking into positions of government. Those who didn't make it to government started their own businesses and became millionaires through corruption. They started telling the government what to do."

None of what Ellie was saying was new to the men. This part of history they were all aware of. They had dealt with Russian crime lords masquerading as businessmen before.

"And your Uncle?" Chris pushed.

"He had skills and a work ethic that were valued by all. He worked for whoever would pay him the most money. Sometimes he worked for the government. Sometimes for the a business or the mob. Often times he played them against each other."

"And now?" Vin asked.

"I haven't had any contact with him since Nick and I ran way," Ellie answered. "I have no idea what he's involved in now."

"You mentioned that your father and stepmother were murdered," Ezra stated. A pained expression filled Ellie's face. Ezra reached out and put his hand on yours. "I'm sorry to bring it up, but…"

"No, it's an important part of the story," she stated. "My father realized his mistake shortly after. After what he had done for the soviets, he knew that no country would willingly take us in. He secretly started searching for foreign governments that would give my family asylum in exchange for information. It seemed like the Germans were willing to take us in when….." she stopped and gulped. Ezra squeezed her hand, hoping to give her confidence to continue. "The explosion happened when I was gone and Nick was staying at a friend's house. Nobody knows if they died in the explosion or the fire afterwards, but by the time I got home there was nothing left by their charred bodies."

"Where were you?" Vin asked.

"What?" Ellie asked caught off guard by the question.

"You mentioned that Nick was at a friend's house. I was just wondering where you were.."

"Well I was, umm I was still at school in France," Ellie stuttered. Ezra thought is strange that such an easy question would trip Ellie up, but he decided it must be the stress of telling the story. Apparently Chris thought the same way. His eyebrows scrunched up like he wanted to ask more, but decided against it.

"What happened after that?" he asked. Apparently Chris had decided to drop the subject.

"I knew right away who had set the fire," Ellie answered. "I don't know if MIsha was afraid what my father would tell about him or if he was hired by someone to set the explosion, but I knew that Nick and I were a liability. I ran to Germany,…." She paused as if she wasn't sure what to say. "They were not much help there. Nick and I have been hiding and running from Misha for the last two and half years. So far we've always managed to stay one step ahead of him…until now."

"Now you see why I need to get out of here. If Misha finds me, he will kill me. I don't know what he'll do to Nick, but I'm not willing to find out."

"Where did you get the last name Gordon?" Vin asked.

"Fake passports," Ellie answered. "I suppose you have an obligation to the law so to arrest me for that."

'Not necessarily," Ezra said, looking at Chris. Chris looked like he was deep in thought.

"Ellie, some things that you are saying just don't….."

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. There was a knock on the door. Chris walked over to open it and Nick came barreling in straight at Ellie.

"Ellie what's wrong?" Nick asked. "You are as white as a ghost. You are never scared, the only thing is…." He stopped and his one face turned white. "He's here isn't it?"