Chapter 26
New Year's eve passed in a blur for Sam. They had pre-dinner drinks with excellent small appetizers Kestrel hadn't forgotten to make, and Sam noticed with relief that his ops was drinking apple juice in spite of the bottle of vodka on the low table.
Then the meal was simply fabulous. Sam, who knew how to cook, appreciated Kestrel's work and the time he had spent in the kitchen to cook such a feast.
_ Kestrel, only one word: thanks! It was delicious and wonderful!
_ Yes, thank you so much! Grim added, smiling at the blushing ops.
Sam turned to look at her, and still couldn't realize her beauty in her clothes. He loved the dress and the shoes, the jewelry and the makeup, she was so gorgeous! And he was happy to love her and enjoyed seeing her like that. And he cursed his wound and his arm in the sling for the millionth time. He wanted to hug her tightly with both arms, caress her and...
_ Sam? Grim was calling him softly. Where are you? On the moon?
_ Somewhere like that, yeah, he said, locking eyes with her and making her blush furiously.
A ringing broke the awkward moment, and he saw Briggs take out his smartphone, checking the number and frowning.
_ It's my friend in Mexico, he muttered so only Sam could hear him and got up.
Unfortunately for him, Kestrel's hearing was sharp beyond average human abilities, and he turned abruptly towards Sam.
_ What did he say? His friend in Mexico?
Sam, uneasiness creeping in his guts, reluctantly nodded and confessed the truth to his ops.
_ Briggs phoned a CIA friend in San Cristobal after... what happened to you. He asked him to try and...
Sam gulped down his saliva and steeled his nerves before the anxious expression of Kestrel.
_ … and retrieve Alpha's ashes. But when his friend arrived, the place was swarming with policemen. Apparently, Vikachev's body had disappeared, but he couldn't tell Briggs about Alpha's remains. So he discreetly started an inquiry, and was to phone Briggs as soon as he had news.
Kestrel looked thunderstruck. Sam feared he would lose control, but he saw with bewilderment his ops close his eyes and hang his head, breathing slowly and deeply. He was doing sophrology again, Sam realized, noticing with delight that this technique was actually working wonders on him and his boiling temper.
Briggs returned, and Sam saw Kestrel look intently at his fellow ops. But Briggs' face was dark. He noticed Kestrel's stare and shot an inquiring look at Sam, who said grimly:
_ Tell us, Briggs.
_ My friend has formal evidence that Alpha's ashes have been stolen. The Mexican medical examiner had gathered up the ashes in a bag to analyze them, but during the trip to the morgue they disappeared.
_ Fedorova, Kestrel said immediately, hatred on his face. I'd bet anything.
_ Me too, Sam said. But why steal them? What can she do with ashes? That doesn't make sense.
_ It could, Kestrel said harshly, if she thinks it'll give her leverage on me. But she won't succeed. Alpha's dead, and she wouldn't forgive me if I chose to have burnt ashes rather than Fedorova's skin.
Sam stared at his ops with pride. Kestrel had almost completely recovered his force of will, and his determination was as strong as ever. And even if Sam saw him pour himself a shot of vodka and drain it, it was the first glass in the whole evening. What an improvement, he thought. He really was healing.
Kestrel poured himself another glass, but this time he raised it in front of him and said aloud:
_ To Alpha, and the downfall of the Voron traitors and Meggido!
Sam raised his glass of red wine along with all the guests, and they all drained their alcohol. The nurse Anderson coughed violently after that, and a fussing Briggs insisted to give her water. Grim placed her hand on Sam's one, and he saw her distress and worry. But he kissed her softly and turned towards Kestrel. His reaction would give the following of the events.
Kestrel seemed lost in his thoughts, but when he looked around him he saw every gaze on him. Sam saw him force a smile and say:
_ We're not in the new year yet, he said. Work and vengeance will be for tomorrow. Let's party tonight. Charlie? Where is your music?
_ Right there, the tech answered at once, springing to his feet. You're gonna love it!
_ I hope it's not... Sam started.
A loud bass guitar drummed in the sound system, followed by even louder instruments and a high-pitched voice, and Sam groaned.
_ AC/DC! Charlie yelled. Yeah!
_ That's good, shouted Briggs, getting up and starting to dance, inviting the nurse to join him in the space between the table and the sofa.
Dr Collins turned towards Grim and asked her, smiling:
_ Do you want to dance a rock, Anna?
_ Sure, she said, and they both got up too.
Sam, disgruntled, shook his head and turned back to the table. Only Kestrel was still there, as Charlie was playing the DJ. Sam watched him pour a shot of vodka in his glass, raise it once more and murmur something he couldn't hear over the deafening music. Then the ops drained his glass and helped himself to another shot.
Sam, not wanting to let him drink alone, took the whisky and vodka bottles and beckoned at Kestrel to take their glasses and follow him to the lounge. There he sat, sipping his whisky, while Kestrel finished the vodka and went to fetch another bottle. The Splinter Cell knew his ops was doing huge efforts to stop drinking, but the news about Alpha's ashes were hard to accept, and he cut him some slack.
While the last minutes of the year passed by, Sam watched Grim and Dr Collins dance rock, and he was not feeling jealous. He knew Grim loved him, and he didn't like to dance. Briggs was becoming more and more enterprising towards the giggling nurse, and soon they started kissing. Charlie was enjoying being the DJ and was quite good at it, Sam noted, even if he didn't like modern music so much. But on his usual armchair next to him, Kestrel had emptied the second bottle of vodka and was completely drunk. He was trying to keep his eyes open, but Sam could see he would soon fall asleep.
Then, as a song ended, Sam heard him whisper a last thing before his head slumped back.
_ I'm not the last one standing, my love, but I swear to you it'll be the last time.
After a few seconds, Sam stood up and went to check on him. He was breathing deeply, his features calm and relaxed. Then he turned and saw Grim striding towards him. He took two steps towards her too, and they met and hugged in front of the largest sofa. She said in his ear:
_ Happy New Year, Sam.
He glanced at the digital clock behind the television, and sure enough it was indicating 0.17 am. So he bend and kissed her on the neck, then whispered in her ear:
_ Happy New Year, my love.
They kissed passionately, and Sam had an urge to go upstairs, where they would be alone for a few moments. She caught his eye and seemed to understand, because he saw a spark of desire light up in her brown eyes. She took a moment to grab the blanket under the sofa and cover Kestrel, then go and see Charlie. He looked disappointed but nodded, as Briggs and the nurse had already retreated in one of their bedrooms too. He stopped the music, and Dr Collins, who was drinking a large glass of water, wished them a happy New Year and went to bed.
Sam wanted to go straight in their room, but Grim insisted that they cleared the table first. Charlie helped them, so it only took a few minutes, as the dishes were empty and the dishwasher enormous. Then Charlie bade them goodnight, and they all went upstairs.
When alone in their bedroom, Sam looked carefully at the woman he loved so much, wanting to etch her image in his memory forever. It had been a good evening, in spite of the bad news. But he wanted to have a few more hours of quiet, the serious things could wait until dawn.
So he hugged Grim, kissing and caressing her, taking his time to remove her clothes. She was doing the same for him, and they enjoyed the moment. They made love on the bed, taking care of his wound and arm. And after a last kiss, he murmured to her:
_ I love you so much, my beloved.
Then he fell asleep as she was stroking his chest and whispering softly:
_ I love you too, my love.
It seemed to Sam he had only slept a few minutes when an outraged and powerful cry awoke him abruptly. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of furniture breaking violently and hastily jumped out of bed. Next to him Grim sat up in alarm.
_ Sam? What's happening?
_ I think it's Kestrel wrecking the lounge, he said darkly, hastily putting on some clothes, but the hell if I know why.
He shot out of the room, and Briggs, bare-chested and looking exhausted, quickly caught up with him as he ran downstairs. Kestrel was still yelling loudly, and when Sam entered the room, he saw the ops tearing apart the low table, smashing it against the wall. All the sofas and armchairs were turned over, cushions lying everywhere, and some paintings were lopsided on the walls. But so far only the low table was broken.
Kestrel was shouting in Russian, beside himself with fury, and Sam tried to understand what he was saying, not approaching him yet.
_ Этого не может вбыть! Ублюдки! Заплатите за это! (It isn't possible! Bastards! I'll make you pay for that!)
_ Kestrel! Sam shouted in dismay. What's the matter? Stop it!
But Briggs nudged him and pointed his chin towards the television. It was switched on, and showed the channel Kestrel was watching before falling asleep the day before. Russia 24, an all-news channel, and to Sam's horror, on breaking news a photo of Alpha was displayed, looking younger and wearing a uniform.