Julia Rothman.
'That's all very well, Mrs Rothman,' said Yassen, trying to keep his voice emotionless, 'but I don't have time to talk with you at the moment.'
'Oh, Yassen, what are you doing then? I'm sure I could help you with it,' said Mrs Rothman. Yassen wanted to chuck the mobile phone on the floor and break it, or hang up, but maybe Julia Rothman was right.
'Have you heard of a girl called Anya Gregorovich?' asked Yassen.
'Anya Gregorovich…' said Mrs Rothman. 'Daughter of Igor, your cousin? Yes, I have,' said Mrs Rothman. Yassen held his breath for a moment. 'Didn't Igor die recently?'
'Yes,' said Yassen. 'Do you know anything about the whereabouts of the child?'
Mrs Rothman smiled in her office. A plan was formulating in her head, and it was a good one, too. She giggled to herself, holding the mobile phone away from her mouth so that Yassen couldn't hear.
'Why do you ask that, Yassen?' she asked sweetly. Yassen hesitated for a moment before telling her, but if Scorpia knew about Anya, maybe they could help him find her, and he'd need to tell Mrs Rothman why he wanted to know where the child was for her to tell him anything.
So he told her.
'Igor left the girl to me. She's under my care now,' said Yassen.
'Oh, Yassen! You didn't lose her, did you?' asked Mrs Rothman, laughing lightly. Yassen felt an intense dislike for the woman at that moment, but forced himself to keep his emotions in check.
'I think something may have happened to her,' he said calmly.
'Yassen, it just so happens that I'm in London at the moment!' said Mrs Rothman, 'So I might get some agents on her trail for you, just as a favour between old friends.'
Yassen knew she wasn't doing it just for a favour. She wanted something from him, and after she did this for him, she'd get it. Yassen didn't care. If anyone could find Anya, it would be Scorpia.
'Thank you,' said Yassen, actually meaning it for once in his life.
'Would you like to meet up for, let's say, afternoon tea, so we can discuss this in person?' asked Mrs Rothman. 'The café on Kent Street, let's say?'
'Yes,' said Yassen. The last thing Yassen wanted to do was to meet Mrs Rothman again, or have any contact with Scorpia, but he knew he had no choice.
Mrs Rothman clapped her hands together.
'That's wonderful! I'll see you there in half an hour, let's say? So good to hear from you again, Yassen!' she trilled, hanging up.
Sighing slightly, Yassen started driving to Kent Street.
x.x.x
'Hello, Yassen,' said the soothing voice of Julia Rothman. Yassen had run away as he'd intended, and now found himself at the heart of an organisation called Scorpia.
'Hello,' said Yassen stiffly.
'I'm sorry to hear your parents have died. You have my condolences,' she said, looking him in the eye. Yassen didn't answer. She continued. 'I hear you would like to work for us? We'll take good care of you.' She smiled sweetly at Yassen, but he was not to be fooled. The woman reminded him of a snake. Yassen could tell she didn't give a damn about his parents, or him, for that matter.
Mrs Rothman continued, flicking stray strands of hair out of her face.
'I'm always glad to welcome new recruits,' she said. 'And from what Max tells me, you're very talented.' She let out a tinkling laugh.
Yassen wasn't fooled by the flattery.
'So, will you accept our offer?' she asked, flashing another smile at Yassen.
It was with great difficulty that Yassen said,
'Yes.'
x.x.x
'Yassen!' called out Julia Rothman, as she saw him approaching. She ran to him, hugged him and kissed him on either cheek. Yassen reluctantly did the same.
There were a few men standing behind her, with the stern look that people carrying guns usually wore. Yassen assumed they would be the agents helping to find Anya. He gave them a polite nod.
'So, Yassen, a father now, are you?' she said, laughing and sitting in a seat. With a lazy flick of her hand, she called a waiter, which came to her immediately.
'I'll have an iced coffee with cream, and a croissant. What would you like, Yassen?' she asked.
'Nothing.'
'Oh, come on, Yassen!' said Mrs Rothman. 'It's on me.'
Yassen didn't say anything. There was no time to be wasted while Anya and Alex were missing. He wanted to strangle Mrs Rothman for being so dense. Though, maybe dense wasn't quite the right word. Yassen suspected that she wanted to torture him by making him wait. It would be so typical of her.
'And a cappuccino,' she said, ordering for Yassen.
The waiter nodded and left.
'So, Yassen, how have you been?' she asked, smiling sweetly.
'Very well, thank you,' said Yassen, knowing he would have to play her games if he wanted to get anywhere. Yassen knew Mrs Rothman well after working for 20 years with her.
'So what actually happened with that awful job with Damian Cray? I hear he died, didn't he?' said Mrs Rothman. The men were still standing behind her; they were gaining many suspicious looks from passers-by.
'He shot me,' said Yassen truthfully. 'Alex killed him, but I don't know how. Something about a trolley.'
'You got shot?' said Mrs Rothman, faking sympathy.
'Yes,' said Yassen, wanting to add 'that's what I said' at the end of the sentence.
'Oh, you poor thing!' exclaimed Mrs Rothman. 'Did it hurt?'
Yassen suppressed he urge to punch Mrs Rothman in the head. Of course it hurt! It was a bullet wound, for heaven's sake!
'Pain is irrelevant. So what do you know about Anya?' asked Yassen, trying to get to the point without offending Mrs Rothman.
'Always to the point, aren't you, Yassen?' she said, laughing. 'Alright then.' She lowered her voice so that only Yassen could hear her. 'Her father was a scientist, and from what we know, he was employed by a terrorist group called &. They generally want world domination. What a silly goal!' She laughed. 'Why bother with controlling the world? I think it would be a hassle more than anything, don't you, Yassen?' she said, smiling at him.
Yassen nodded, wanting her to go on.
'Anyway, Igor had been developing a deadly poison that was undetectable before or after the time of death. As you can imagine, there would have been a great desire for this among many criminal groups.'
'Did you want any?' asked Yassen. Mrs Rothman laughed.
'Of course we wanted some, Yassen, but he died just as soon as he'd perfected it, and no one knows where he performed his experiments and kept the poison. We suspect that & had him eliminated to clear up loose ends.'
Yassen felt sick. Anya's dad had been killed 'to clear up loose ends.' The girl was put through something no child should be, simply because of the whims of a terrorist group that wanted to be careful. What made Yassen feel really repulsed was that he could have caused destruction like that during his assassinations. He'd never thought about it that way before. He used to think that death was everywhere, and it did not matter whether the people he killed were dead or alive, apart from the generous benefits he would receive if they were dead. But now, he knew that each person had someone, somewhere, who loved them more than themselves, and losing that person would cause them much grief and sadness. Yassen hated to think about what he'd done.
'Yassen, are you alright?' asked Mrs Rothman, bringing Yassen back to reality.
'Yes, I'm fine,' he lied. He wanted to throw up.
'It's been a while since Igor died, and we still haven't seen any action from &. They could be planning a long term mission, but I doubt it. They are a very proactive group, and do not like waiting. No, I suspect that Igor had not given them the real poison, for whatever motives he had. Naturally, & would be enraged. And since Anya is the last link to Igor, that is where I suspect she is.'
'In the hands of &?' asked Yassen. Everything fitted perfectly. Yassen was happy that he had found the cause but that was suppressed quickly by a blanket of anxiety. Anya hadn't just gone to a friend's house, or been kidnapped for money from Yassen. They wanted to get information out of her – information she almost certainly did not know. Which would result in death, evidently.
'Yes. Michael Smith, the head of &, is currently stationed in London. As we were school friends, we've kept in touch over the years. I know his address. I'm sure we could find Anya for you, Yassen,' said Mrs Rothman, smiling.
'Thank you,' said Yassen. 'And what do you want from me in return?' he asked.
'Oh, Yassen, never one to accept a favour, were you? I said this was a favour, but if you mention that, we'd be delighted to have our best agent back…'
Yassen knew that was coming, and he guessed he'd have to accept it.
'Alright, Julia,' he said. Mrs Rothman clapped her hands together.
'Good! Paul, William and Jeremy here will help you,' she said, indicating to each of the men behind her. Yassen nodded.
'Thank you, Julia,' said Yassen, sincerely, as he stood up.
'Anything for an old friend, Yassen,' she said in honeyed tones. Yassen gave her a polite, fake smile, and left with the men.
