Chapter 87: Clarke

As I follow my mom into the med bay, I think that was about the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me. Not only did my mom hear me having sex with my fiancé but so did most of our friends. Oh well, what's done is done.

Once inside the med bay, I'm met by the other three doctors aboard, Dalia, Ariel, and Anny. Mom says, "We just wanted to do a quick exam before we land to make sure everything is alright. We don't expect any complications, but we just want to keep a close eye on everything since this is an experimental procedure. I will want to examine you probably every day, mainly because you are my daughter. Plus, we need to monitor every aspect of the procedure for research because it is the first time anything like this has been attempted."

Lexa

I watch as Clarke follows Abby to the med bay, and then I look to Ash, "I don't have a great feeling about this mission. I hope it is just because we don't have all the information yet. Can you set up a meet with Pav so that we can get everything he knows on the setup of the village?"

She replies, "Already done. We are meeting him for lunch around two. He has reserved a private room for the entire group under the ruse that he is our tour guide. We will meet with him, and then he will take us out to the fish camp tomorrow after you have been cleared by the doctors. Everyone will spend the night in Kyiv tonight so we can make sure that the boat is stocked with everything we need for the camping trip."

"Sounds good."

"Hopefully, after we talk to Pav, you will have a better feeling about everything. If not, we can always call it off."

"No, I could never forgive myself if we called it off. Bellamy, are you ready for your meet?"

He says, "Yes, Ash has given me the rundown on Alex Jones, and I have the burner phone that her buyer, Alfred Friedman, will contact me on later today."

"Good, but who is Alex Jones?"

Ash says, "That is the name I've been using for this mission. Julian set it up with a backstory and everything that we need to pass for a human trafficker."

"Okay then. Bellamy, I want Reed to go with you as your backup. After the meet with Alfred, you and Reed get a room at a hotel. Once you have a room, call me so that we can figure out what comes next."

He nods. Ash says, "I think that about covers everything for now, at least until we have more information. We should be landing in about a half-hour. I have already given everyone the name and location of the restaurant so that everyone can explore until lunch. We should be cleared for landing and through customs within an hour which gives us about two hours before lunch."

"Cool, that should give me time to take Clarke shopping. Her clothes are getting a little tight, and I can tell they are making her uncomfortable, so I want to take her to get some maternity clothes."

Ash shakes her head, laughing, "I never thought that I would hear you volunteer to go shopping for clothes."

"Well, unlike you, Clarke makes shopping fun. She lets me see the clothes when she tries them on, not hide in the dressing room for hours while I wait outside bored out of my mind. Speaking of my fiancé, I think I'm going to go find out what she is doing."

I find Clarke in the med bay talking with the team of doctors, "Hey sexy lady."

She turns red and says, "Lexa! Stop that."

"What? I can't help that you are sexy and a lady. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, mom and the doctors want to monitor everything closely for research."

"Why? Do they think something went wrong?"

"What? No, mom is being overprotective. Plus, this is the first time this type of procedure has been performed, and they just want to make sure that everything is recorded so it can be replicated in the future."

"Oh. Well, what do you think about going shopping for some maternity clothes once we land before we have lunch with Pav? I noticed that most of your clothes are getting too tight and making you uncomfortable, especially your bras."

"Are you telling me that I'm getting fat!"

"What? No, I'm telling you that our little gummy bears are growing and giving you a cute little baby bump and that I'm really enjoying the change in your boobs."

Abby speaks up, "Seriously, Lexa, boundaries. I know I said I was okay with you marrying my daughter, but I prefer not to hear about your sex life or her body parts."

I chuckle, "Sorry, Abby, I will keep that in mind from now on. Besides, now that we know we are having girls, I can start buying stuff for the gummy bears!"

Clarke

Once we land, everyone splits up into smaller groups to explore and do their own thing. Mom and the doctors head over to check out the boat to see what equipment they have room for while Lexa and I go shopping. We get to the restaurant a little early, and the hostess shows us back to the room Pav has reserved.

A lone man sits at one of the tables. I'm assuming that he is Pav. When he sees us enter the room, he stands. He looks to be in his mid-thirties with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. He seems to be in reasonably good shape and honestly looks like an outdoor tour guide. Lexa walks up and says in Ukrainian, "I'm Lexa, and this is my fiancé Clarke. I'm guessing that you are Pav."

He smiles and answers in English with a heavy accent, "It is nice to meet you both. Julian has given me the rundown on your plan. I have to say, I like the way you think."

Lexa speaks to him again, in what I guess is Ukrainian, and he laughs. They have a quick conversation that I don't understand before he asks her in English, "Where did you learn to speak Ukrainian?"

She replies, "I don't really. I just started learning it when I found out we were going to be spending some time here. It would be great if you could teach me more while we wait on everything to unfold."

I look at Lexa and say, "When did you have time to learn Ukrainian?"

"I told you before, languages come easy to me. So I have been listening to some podcasts and stuff to learn the basics."

Pav says, "You seem to be doing quite well with it."

We sit down and order drinks and talk while we wait for everyone else to arrive.

Lexa

Once the gang is all here, we order food and more drinks. Pav, Clarke, Bellamy, Reed, Jose, and Ash all sit at the table with me to discuss what Pav knows about the facility. First, he gives us the general layout of the abandoned village. Next, he says there are two boat docks on the river in the central part of the village. One is pretty much falling into the river, and the other one is used by the Titan group. At the edge of the dock is a security checkpoint, and there is usually only one person inside it. However, four buildings near the pier typically have at least twenty guards inside them, five in each building.

There's a small house to the right of the security point with four guards stationed there at all times. It is closest to the river, with a deck over the river bank. The main house is directly across from the dock. It is the most prominent house in the village and is the entrance to the underground lab. There are usually at least six guards in there. In addition, there are two smaller houses behind the big house that each have four guards. Pav says, "As far as I can tell, the main house has the only entrance to the underground facility."

I ask, "Do you have any idea how many armed men are inside of the underground lab?"

He replies, "I have been watching the location for months now, and all I know for sure is that they seem to have a monthly changing of the guards. Usually, around the fifteenth of the month, a boat with supplies and forty-five armed men dock. The supplies are unloaded, and then there is a changing of the guard, so to speak."

"We know from surveillance that there are about thirty-nine guards on the outside and the boat brings about forty-five when it comes. So we have to assume that there are at least six armed guards in the facility, not to mention if they have live-in guards or other security. What about the layout of the underground lab? Do you know anything about it or the doctors working there?"

"Not really. I haven't been able to get inside or find anyone willing to talk to me about the inside."

"Great, so we will be going inside blind."

"Yes."

I call Anny over to the table and ask, "Anny, did you work in an underground facility?"

She replies, "Yes, but not the one in Ladizhichy village."

"Do you think that the facilities are similar in size and layout?"

"I'm not sure. I only worked at the one lab, and when we communicated with the other labs, it was never about things like that."

"Alright, thanks."

Ash looks at my hand-drawn map of the village and asks me what I think. I shake my head and say, "I'm not sure. But, Pav, is it possible to take a boat up the river past the village like we are fishing so that I can get a look at the village and the surrounding area."

Pav says, "That shouldn't be a problem. The Zahalʹnozoolohichnyy Zakaznyk wildlife refuge runs through the area, so there are fishing boats around most of the time."

"Okay, once we get the camp set up, I'll want to go have a look at the surrounding area, and hopefully, by then, Bellamy will have more information on where the buy is going to happen. Thanks for meeting with us. I guess we will meet you tomorrow to pick up the boats and head out to find our campsite."