Abe
3 Months Later
Berdsk, Russia
SMACK! That was the sound he made as he hit the floor face first. His shaved head already showing signs of bruising like a piece of rotten fruit. The sniveling weasel that had the nerve to deny me the information I sought. There may have been a follow up sound of breaking teeth but who keeps track of those things? Janine, my goddess, tossed him like a rag doll. She was truly an artist when it came to violence. It was one of the things that made me fall in love with her in the first place.
"Kolya, my old friend. After all our dealings together, all the money you have made through my influences. I'm disappointed it has to come to this. All I asked was a simple question. Where is Dimitri Belikov?"
His limbs were like limp noodles as he tried to bring his body upright. Janine kicked him in the balls and he fell back down; yet another noodle that would be limp until further notice. I stood up from my chair and buttoned my suit jacket.
Janine held him in place by putting her boot on his neck. When I reached his side he spit a wad of blood all over my Prada loafers and the leg of my Gucci suite pants. Now I was really pissed. "Janine, let him go, I've got it from here." I kissed her hand and she backed off. I bent down, taking a handful of the back of Kolya's shirt like one would grab a naughty puppy by the scruff of it's neck and dragged him to the closest wall. Once within range I held him up, turned slightly away and donkey kicked him into the wall where he bounced into a sitting position. I dropped into a squatting position by his side and grabbed his throat.
"Listen you Arian piece of shit. You are lucky that my business here is of a sensitive personal nature. Other wise I would make you lick the blood off my shoe then imbed it up your ass. Since I happen to have a life insurance policy on you I can honestly say they cost more than your life. " I took a breath, time for a little soft ball.
'You may find this hard to believe but until recently I had a daughter. A beautiful brilliant daughter with a future ahead of her, and that Strigoi son of a bitch killed her. Now, I happen to know you are a family man yourself. You and your wife have two children and a third on the way. Your boys, Kolya Jr. is 5 and Pietro is 2, the baby your wife is carrying is a girl. Daddy's little girl. What would you do if I said once I finish here, I'm going to break into your house and make it so you never see your children again? That you will never hold your daughter, Katarina, that's what your wife wants to name her right?" Kolya's eye's filled with panic,
"Abe, please? Not my family. Do what you want to me but don't hurt my family."
"You hear what you just said? That's exactly what I prayed for when I was told my daughter was dead. I'm not going to hurt your family. I pride myself as a ruthless man but there is a line that I won't dare to cross," Kolya relaxed some, "Unless I leave here without the information I seek. You see I am on a mission. I was a terrible father to my little girl. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change that. But I will get revenge for her. If I have to set the world on fire I will get revenge for her. That line I mentioned will go up in smoke if you don't tell me where he is!" I screamed in his face.
"They will kill me, kill my family. If I tell you, you must swear to help me hide my family. I'm only alive now because they need ally's from all sides."
"I am aware of the underground. My dealings with Boris are not unknown in these parts." This was nothing I didn't already know about though it would be quite a shock to many others. The Strigoi in Russia had built their own criminal empire, dealing in drugs and women for the most part. But they kept to themselves. They were not organized enough to be a threat outside the city of Novosibirsk.
"Boris is dead, all the leaders are dead. The underground is dead."
This was news. Janine and I had arrived in Berdsk this afternoon. I realized we would be in for a few surprises but this was not one I was expecting.
"What do you mean the underground is dead?"
"I mean it is no more. But the Monarchy is rising."
"I don't like riddles Kolya, What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Lord Belikov, the Strigoi King! The one you say is responsible for your daughter's murder! He has killed all the clan leaders, formed an army who are loyal to him to the death. They say he has powers unlike any Strigoi has ever had before. More Strigoi come every night to follow him. Even Moroi and Dhampir are turning to follow him. He is promising a new world order for any who choose to join his kingdom. You have to get my family out of here. They will kill them if they knew I talked to you."
"Where is he hiding?"
"He isn't hiding. He walks in plain sight, fears no one. They say he can even walk in the sun…"
"Bullshit!"
"It's true! He rules from a mansion just outside the city. His army guards it from all sides day and night. You will never get to him."
"If he walks in plain sight, I should be able to get to him just fine."
I stood up and reached into my back pocket retrieving a folded stack of bills held together by a platinum money clip. I tossed the wad onto Kolya's lap. "$10,000 American, the clip is worth more than that. Your family is on my jet on their way to a monastery in Moscow. The people there are friends of mine, they will be safe. There is also a doctor there who will look after your wife should she give birth before all this is over."
"Thank you Abe," the look of a man ready to face his death crossed Kolya's face. He knew his family would be protected and that was enough for him to face whatever would come next.
After a tense moment I put him out of his misery "Downstairs there is a car waiting. It will bring you to the field where another plane is waiting to bring you to Moscow to join your wife and children. You are to stay there until I send word that it is safe to come back."
Kolya looked confused, then annoyed, then finally relieved. On unstable legs he stood to his feet and straightened his clothing. "Thank you my old friend. Good luck avenging your daughter." He held out his hand. I shook it firmly. Before he left his office he nodded at Janine, "Her mother?" he asked.
"Yes"
"I'm sorry for the loss of your child. My prayers and the prayers of my family are with you both." A looked passed between them, acknowledging he bore her no ill will for beating him. Then he swiftly left the office.
Left alone in Kolya's place of business Janine and I had a moment to plan our next move. She spoke first. "It's not possible for Dimitri to have powers like that."
"Of course not, this is propaganda. He's trying to make the vampire world fear him enough to follow him. The Strigoi King, please. The Strigoi will never have a king. They're too self-serving. The fact that where were able to keep the underground as long as they had was a miracle. You knew him before all this, tell me again about the man he was. We will need every bit of information we can get. We cannot do what Rose did and chase after a ghost. We need to know the man to find the monster."
"Only 4 hours of daylight left, we should find someplace safer to have this conversation."
"St Basil's, it's a 2 hour drive north. I've already made arrangements for us to stay in their guest housing. That will be our base of operation for now."
"You know it would be nice if you shared these plans with me before I had to ask about them. We are supposed to be a team."
"We are a team, but if I had to tell you every thing I do as or before I do it, things would take forever. You fell in love with me because I think of everything remember?"
"No actually I…"
"We are wasting time, let s go. You can profess your undying love to me in the car." I walked out of the room and towards the stairs. Leaving an irate Scottish woman seething behind me. "Are you coming? Only 4 hours of daylight after all." I shouted. Her footsteps, heavy with rage, echoed in the hallway. I stood holding the door to the stairwell open for her. As she passed she opened her mouth to insult me further. Before she could say anything I played my charming card "Did I ever tell you how sexy you look when you're infuriated with me?" I followed my complement up with a kiss to her cheek, which was boiling hot from the blood that was rushing to the surface. Her skin was nearly the same color as her beautiful red hair. We stood there face to face for an edgy second. "Waiting on you," I said, my smirk acting as the exact opposite of her scowl. She let out an exasperated huff and entered the stairwell. I had to restrain myself from slapping her tight ass as she passed. That would be too much… for now. I mouthed a silent though triumphant 'I win' behind her back.
So rarely did I defeat my beloved Janine in our banter. But I was reminded of quote from Oscar Wilde's 'An Ideal Husband.' Lord Arthur Goring, my favorite character tells his father 'If we men marry only the women we deserve, we shall have a very bad time of it.' When I asked Janine to marry me all those years ago, I spoke the quote telling her I knew I didn't deserve her or our child but that I wanted them both anyway. She told me no of course. But I guess if she had said yes, she would be a different sort of woman. One I did deserve, and that thought frightened me more than death itself. Janine was noble and honorable, she was good. She was everything I wished I could be and everything I hopped Rosemarie would have been. Ultimately that was the reason I gave in and agreed to stay away for my daughter but only under the condition that I get annual updates on her. I sent gifts on her birthday every year though I have no idea if she ever received them. I also set up a trust fund for her that she would have access to when she turned 21; should she have chosen not to pursue a life as a Dhampir Guardian like her mother.
When Janine contacted me that Rose was in Russia looking for her boyfriend I pulled all my resources to keep an eye on her. I had spies everywhere watching her. When I saw her myself, it took all my strength not to tell her who I was or who we were to each other. It was one thing seeing her grow up through pictures and videos. It was quite another to see her in person. She had my mother's features. The very same one's that I inherited: Dark hair and eyes, olive skin, high cheekbones. We looked so much alike I worried seeing me would trigger the question I would not be able to answer dishonestly should she have asked. But she did not ask. I wanted her to ask it, willed her to ask it, even prayed for her to ask it. But she did not ask, so I did not tell.
I was mad with rage when she ran off with those foolish children who thought themselves unpromised Strigoi hunters. Stupid punk kids, that's all they were. That was when I lost track of her. My only connection at that point was Sydney. She kept getting calls from Rose after she and the band of un-productives killed a Strigoi and needed it to be cleaned up. After each call I was torn between terror for my little girl and pride in my kick ass daughter. When I finally had a lead on her when she disappeared. The children she was hunting with had been slaughtered. Fear gripped my heart like it never had before. The only hope I felt was that hers was not among the corpses left behind by the monster we were hunting now.
The car ride to St Basil's was in silence. Janine still fumed from our little tiff. We were sitting in the back seat, each looking out the window lost in our thoughts till I felt something on my hand. Janine had put her hand on mine. I squeezed it and brought it to my lips. We never said things like I'm sorry because honestly we never were. But we did make peace with moments like this. With her hand still in mine I pulled her to me. She rested her head on my shoulder as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Sleep Janine, I will wake you when we get there. There's no one to battle in this car but me and I'm tired as well." She said nothing as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. When I was sure she was out, I smelled her hair and kissed it. She smelled like the vanilla bath products I'd gotten for her when she arrived in Turkey. The scent left an ach in my heart. Awake she would never let me show her such tenderness.
No woman could ever top her. With all the joy and tragedy we shared in our lives together, any other woman would just be to pass the time until she returned to me. I whispered into her hair "I love you" and took another inhalation of vanilla before closing my eyes and joining her in a much-needed nap.
When we reached at the outer gate of St Basil's Academy the sky had just started to turn orange. Sunset was eminent. I gave my name to the gatekeeper and we were let in with no argument. My driver brought us to the parking lot closest to the guest housing building. The whole campus was originally a medieval era fortified town with stone built walls that were designed to keep out the deadliest of invaders, human invaders that is. To get into the actual building, we had to go on foot through a series of maze like interior walls. We took our bags from the trunk and I instructed my driver to find Sydney and have her meet me at first light, then he was off.
The interior walls were a relic from when the town had been active centuries ago; tall, grey, covered with ivy and moss. None of the entryways met up with the next. To get through we had walk through one gap turn right or left, walk 200 feet through a narrow passage then through another gap and so on. The walls were so high they keepd the temperature in the passage ways cool and rather damp. When we finally reached the interior I had a headache. "This place is worse than a maze. When will they teardown those ridiculous walls." I said allowed to no one in particular.
Janine knew this but answered anyway, "Never, the school feels the walls serve as one of their lines of defense against Strigoi should they ever get passes the wards along the outer gates."
"My dear, if Strigoi were ever to penetrate the wards this school would be doomed. No tangle of an entry way will save anyone."
"They got passed the wards in St Vladimir's, our daughter and some of her friends saved the school from being destroyed."
"Exactly, They don't have a Rose Hathaway here to protect them. They'd be doomed." Janine smiled sadly at the complement I paid our daughter.
"Hence the walls never being torn down." She replied.
A lifetime later, or so it felt like to me, we reached the guest housing building. A tall Dhampir girl with an earpiece and an iPad looked for my name on the reservation. In Russian she said "Welcome Mr. Mazur. I am Guardian Zolin. I must apologize for the inconvenience but your Guardian will have to share your accommodations." This was no problem for me but I knew Janine would not be pleased. She spoke perfect Russian and I knew she was already making a face behind me. "I requested separate accommodations for my Guardian. She is well respected and I don't want her reputation to be tainted by having to stay in my lodgings, you understand." I could see the girl starting to crack under the harsh glair of Janine. She continued, "I completely understand, but we have a political event happening this weekend. The Queen will be in attendance, so we are a bit overbooked. We can only afford you one lodging."
"What event?" Janine asked.
"The founders if the Moroi Defense program are presenting their results to the school board and the counsel members based here. Queen Tatiana has shown favor for the movement and made it a point to be present for the demonstration."
"What founders?" Janine continued her questioning.
"The Dragomir Princess, Lady Natasha Ozera and Lord Christian Ozera. They arrived yesterday. The event is set to take place tomorrow evening once everyone departs I will be able to accommodate your request for separate quarters."
I was about to protest on Janine's behalf but she spoke first. "That will be fine. Will you please send a message to the Princess that I would like an audience with her when she is available? She and my daughter were once very good friends and I would like to wish her luck on the demonstration."
"Absolutely Guardian Hathaway, and my I say, I am so sorry to hear of your daughter's death. Her devotion to her mentor's honor is to be commended, regardless of any surrounding circumstances. Guardian Belikov has some family in the area and a sister in attendance here. If you like I can arrange a meeting for you with them as well. As I understand your daughter spent some time with them."
It was my turn to cut off Janine, "That would be wonderful Guardian Zolin, I'm sure Guardian Hathaway would love to meet them." With that she escorted us to our room. When we reached the door Guardian Zolin asked us if there was anything else she could do for us. "Yes, I would like to know what time the event will take place and if there are and available seats for myself and my guardian. It sounds like a truly auspicious occasion, one I would not like to miss." I said. I did love making the royals sweat with my very presence. I made them all nervous, mostly because they all had dirty little secrets that I not only knew about but also have exploited for my benefit on several occasions. Other than that, people who had been close to my Rosemarie put this program together. Part of me wanted to see that her memory was being honored properly, and if necessary I would throw some financial weight behind the organization.
"The event starts tomorrow promptly at sundown. I will reserve two seats for you Mr. Mazur" I thanked Guardian Zolin and she took her leave. Now it was time for a much needed shower and food. Starting tomorrow Janine and I were sure to have our work cut out for us.
