Chapter 12

Aleksandr glared at the sociopath sitting on the end of his unmade bed as he wiped water off of his face and arms. He watched as she leaned down and retrieved the water gun from the floor, and jammed it back in her purse. Twisting the damp towel between his hands, he gave serious consideration to strangling her with it.

The predawn light illuminated Kristina's silhouette through the curtains behind her; her arms were crossed tightly across her chest, and she was tapping her foot in obvious agitation. He scowled at her; she scowled back.

"Give me one good reason not to toss you out that window!" Aleksandr demanded as he stomped through the bathroom door and flung the wet towel into sink with unnecessary force, irrationally pleased when it landed with a wet slap against the white tile.

Kristina narrowed her eyes as he stormed across the room, around the bed, and dragged duffel from beneath it.

"You've been avoiding me, and we need to talk!"

"Avoiding you…I can't imagine why." He grumbled acerbically as he dragged a t-shirt out of the bag and tugged it over his head. "Did it ever occur to you Kristya that I was avoiding you so that I didn't lose my temper and knock you into next Friday?"

"Next week Sasha, not next Friday…" she said with a sigh and rubbed a tired had across her eyes "Do you know how much trouble you've caused? Do you have any idea how complicated this situation is now? You were supposed to stick with one of the stories we came up with in Moscow! I told you which one to use at Jakes! We were just two friends who met in Europe last summer, stopping to say 'hi' as you passed through town…that was it; we go our separate ways as far as anyone else is concerned! What happened to your 'never deviate from the plan' rule!"

"That was the plan." He snapped, again circling the bed to loom over her, his accent heavier in his anger. "That was a great plan, but I never deviated…you changed the game Kristya! You did, and now we've got new rules for new game! No! Don't shake your head and me, you spoiled little brat! You know exactly what you did!"

Kristina leapt to her feet, and then glowered when she had to crane her neck to make eye contact. With a huff she turned and stepped up to stand on the bed, then turned to glare at him…eye to eye.

"Stop trying to intimidate me Sasha! And I never deviated from the plan…I followed it to the letter. Do you hear me! To the letter!" When he gave her a skeptical look Kristina held up her hand, counting off…one finger at a time. "We did our recon, we swapped Intel in Moscow, we scattered…"

"And you deviated!" He thundered, grabbing the third finger she'd held up between his thumb and forefinger, wiggling it meaningfully. Kristina snatched her hand back in annoyance. "What part of our plan entailed you sneaking off to Helena's compound in Kazan before returning to Port Charles?"

"That has nothing to do with what we're doing Aleksandr! She wasn't even supposed to be there!"

"But she was! The plan Kristya was for you to get to the Kolyma region and do some digging, then return to Port Charles. Not to get caught rifling through the witch's office in Kazan! What part of the plan was that?" he demanded, green eyes accusing.

"She wasn't supposed to be there!" she snapped, "I got new Intel that she was going to be out of the country, and I couldn't reach you, so I went on my own. Besides, it's not like she didn't already know that I was looking into her activities! It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up, but it won't affect anything we already have in motion."

"Not affect…you got caught!" he snarled, grasping her upper arms he gave her a little shake. "She would have killed you for the break in alone Sestrenka, killed you because you were an annoyance, and to hurt your family! But you cut her face, you disfigured her! She considers you as less than nothing, a gnat to be swatted at her leisure, and you humiliated her, wounded her...don't you understand! She isn't merely going to kill you Kristya, she isn't that compassionate! Trust me…there are worse things than death, and she knows them all!"

Kristina yanked herself free of his grasp and pushed hard against his shoulders, knocking him at least two full stumbling steps back. She stepped forward, down and off the bed, jabbing her finger into the center of his chest.

"You think I don't know? I've told you, you know what she's done, what she's capable of! I can't let her keep doing this, ruining innocent people, destroying their lives…she keeps doing it, keeps getting away with it, she has to be stopped! Your brother, my family, and now what she's doing to Nikolas…he's…she can't…"

Hearing the tears and despair in her voice, Aleksandr felt the anger drain out of him, and buried his fear for her…then he reached out and wrapped his arms around her tightly, and felt her do the same.

"We'll stop her Kristina, I promise. We'll move forward with our plans, but we have to be more alert now, take more precautions. Stop crying Sestrenka, we have to iron out a few things, and make some adjustments, but we're still on track." He patted her back absently, and let her cry herself out. Kristina didn't allow herself to break down often enough, often she bottled things up inside until she couldn't take it anymore, which typically ended in an emotional outburst.

Clearing her throat, Kristina used the heel of her hand to wipe away the tears still clinging to her eyelashes, and then grinned up at Aleksandr. "Well, I certainly feel better…you?"

Her soggy smile made him grin in return. "My shirt is wet…but other than that…"

She laughed out a watery apology, then walked over to her purse and dug out a packet of tissues. "So now that we've cleared the air, care to tell me why you're masquerading as my boyfriend Bolshoy Brat?"

"Trust me Sestrenka, it's as strange for me as it is for you, but it is necessary. I need to be able stick close to you without anyone asking questions, and this seemed like the simplest way."

Again she laughed, "If you thought that posing as my boyfriend was going to be simple, and keep questions to a minimum, then you've seriously underestimated my family Sasha…and keep your lips to yourself, or I swear you'll limp for a month."

Aleksandr make a retching sound as he pulled another shirt and a pair of jeans from his duffle bag.

"There is no need to take the ruse that far Kristina, and I'm not sure I could stomach it," he teased, then paused to smirk at her "besides…the Australian thinking that you're in a 'relationship' might prove to be…enlightening." Kristina glanced menacingly in his direction, and then zipped her purse shut with more force than was necessary.

"Aleksandr, keep your nose out of it. He and I were friends once, but that was a long time ago. Now, he's just a family acquaintance, someone who moves in the same circles that I do."

"And yet, you look at him as I've never seen you look at a man before Kristya." He replied, as he headed towards the bathroom to change clothes.

"I barely made eye contact with him!"

"Exactly…" he replied smugly, closing the door in her face.

Sestrenka – little sister

Kristya - Russian diminutive (kind of like a nickname) of Kristina

Sasha - Russian diminutive (kind of like a nickname) of Aleksandr

Bolshoy Brat - Big Brother

Kazan, Russia – *Wikipedia definition* - Kazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,105,000 (2002), it is the sixth largest city of Russia.

Kolyma, Russia – *Wikipedia definition* - The Kolyma region is located in the far north-eastern area of Russia in what is commonly known as Siberia but is actually part of the Russian Far East.

Moscow, Russia - *Wikipedia definition* - Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia.