"Okay, we've got transportation covered," Harm said. "Now what about when we get there?"
CD's good mood vanished as her face fell. "I don't know," she admitted gloomily. "We don't know anything about this Tikhomirov except that he's got Clay and Mac, and that he's apparently got a lot of money and power at his disposal."
Harm looked at her disbelievingly. "You've never met him?"
She shook her head. "Never even heard of him. You haven't, either?"
"Nope. Which leaves me wondering..." his voice trailed off, his eyes locking with hers.
They finished the thought simultaneously. "...how does he know us?" Confusion reigned on their faces while they both attempted to come up with an answer. Silence reigned for some time as both wracked their brains, searching. The only sound was the fire crackling and Harm's fingers drumming quietly on the floor.
Opposite him, CD rested her chin on her hands, thinking, but came up with nothing. Finally, in frustration, she stretched her neck, tilting and turning it until she felt the joints pop, then repeated her motions. But she froze halfway through as she spotted her bag, lying on the floor nearby. Her breath halted in her chest as the idea hit her.... "Harm," she said tentatively, "what if it isn't necessarily you or me he knows?"
"What?"
"Tikhomirov is an old man... and we're not the only Rabbs in Russia."
He stared at her in shock. "Dad?"
"It makes sense, Harm."
"Yeah...." he said slowly. "It does."
Silence fell for several minutes before Mercedes spoke again. "Still, we don't know that for sure. Dammit... we need more information before we make a move."
He nodded. "Agreed."
She took a swig of her tea before replying. "Well, I'm out of contacts over here, at least any that would be likely or able to help us."
Harm thought for a moment. "Much as I hate to admit it, this is Webb's forte, not mine," he said grudgingly.
She nodded. "So we're out of luck."
"I didn't say that. I can think of one or two people from previous trips over here than might be willing to help. Reaching them will be the problem."
She held up a hand. "Wait. Stop. Back up there... What were you doing in Russia? Before this, I mean," she added.
Oh, hell.... she still didn't know. Then again, they'd been a bit distracted. "Mercedes," he began, taking a deep breath and speaking softly, "Mac and I tracked Dad to Russia several years ago. We found out he'd escaped and... lived with... a local woman for some time. He was shot saving her from being raped by a group of soldiers. Her brother buried him out in the taiga, but she couldn't remember exactly where."
Mercedes's face showed a mixture of shock and sadness, and it took her a moment to find her voice. "And no one knew? Only you and Mac?"
"Webb and Admiral Chegwidden do too, but no one else was ever told. Chegwidden had to bail us out at the last minute, and Webb... well, he tracked us and provided a lot of information along the way."
She nodded. "So you knew what happened, but you really didn't know where he was..."
He shook his head. "Not specifically, no. I figured that was the end of it. But...um, well..." He sighed. "There's no good way to tell you this. Mercedes... you've got another cousin."
Mercedes's eyes bulged as she choked on the tea she had just sipped. A strangled-sounding "WHAT?!" was gasped out in between fits of coughing.
"I was sent over here to work on a project on the Russian military justice system. The short version is that I ended up in Chechnya investigating a corrupt general who ultimately tried to assassinate the Russian President. In the process, I met a helicopter pilot, Sgt. Sergei Zuhkov. He's the son of the woman Dad was with and... well, he's my brother. I'm positive of it." Harm finally looked up at his cousin, only to find her blankly staring at him. "Mercedes?" he asked tentatively.
It was a long moment before she let out a loud groan, dropping her head into her hands. "Lieber Gott in Himmel," she muttered. "My worst nightmare *has* come true. There ARE two of you, only this one's a rotor head instead of a jet jockey," she said melodramatically, shaking her head.
Harm couldn't help it. Of all the reactions he'd expected, this wasn't one of them, and better than he had hoped. He fought it, but it wasn't long before the smirking grin on his face turned into full-blown laughter.
It was an even short period of time before CD looked up at him in disgust, then joined him.
******************************
Next day
0740 local
They had decided to stay the night and try to sleep some before hitting the road. Now, dressed, somewhat cleaned up and having raided the house for anything of use, they made their way back to where they had left the van and the exotic sportscar.
Surprisingly, both were as they had been left. Apparently, Tikhomirov and his troops had believed Webb enough that they hadn't felt the need to disable the cars, since they believed Harm and CD were already gone.
"I'll drive the first shift," Harm offered, only to find Mercedes giving him a dubious look.
"Uh... you sure you can handle this thing?" she asked uncertainly.
He gave her a dirty look. "CD, I fly Tomcats. I know how to handle high-performance vehicles, believe it or not."
"Well, yeah, but---"
"Just get in the car, Mercedes."
She sighed, shrugging. "Yes sir," she muttered, going around to the passenger side of the car.
And looked over to find Harm trying to open the door sideways, like most cars. Apparently, he'd forgotten yesterday... "Harm," she called to him.
"CD, I thought you didn't have the keys to this thing."
"I don't. It's hotwired. Harm--"
"Then why the hell in the damn door locked?" he grumbled.
She sighed again, rolling her eyes. She loved her cousin dearly, really. This didn't mean she didn't want to throttle him periodically. She watched him struggle for a bit longer, then opened her own door.
With a slight tug and a flip of the handle, the door opened, swinging upward gracefully with a whooshing sound. She looked up to find Harm glaring at her over the top of the car. She gave him a saccharine smile. "Maybe I should take the first shift?" she asked innocently.
He stood there glaring for several moments, before grudgingly walking over to her side of the car. "All yours," he grumbled, sulking.
She smiled again, then dashed around to the driver's side. "Now, strap in, coz," she said, grinning. Her response was yet another glare as he yanked the seatbelt down and clicked it into place. "Thank you," she said wryly.
"Just get going already."
"As you wish," she said, and punched the clutch in, then tapped together the necessary wires. The car surged to life with a rumbling roar, and she couldn't help but notice Harm's eyebrows go up a notch or two. "You know, there's an old, wise saying that seems to really fit right now."
"Really. What?"
"Sit down, strap in, shut up, and hold on!!!" With that, she threw the car into gear, taking off in a spray of gravel.
TBC.....
CD's good mood vanished as her face fell. "I don't know," she admitted gloomily. "We don't know anything about this Tikhomirov except that he's got Clay and Mac, and that he's apparently got a lot of money and power at his disposal."
Harm looked at her disbelievingly. "You've never met him?"
She shook her head. "Never even heard of him. You haven't, either?"
"Nope. Which leaves me wondering..." his voice trailed off, his eyes locking with hers.
They finished the thought simultaneously. "...how does he know us?" Confusion reigned on their faces while they both attempted to come up with an answer. Silence reigned for some time as both wracked their brains, searching. The only sound was the fire crackling and Harm's fingers drumming quietly on the floor.
Opposite him, CD rested her chin on her hands, thinking, but came up with nothing. Finally, in frustration, she stretched her neck, tilting and turning it until she felt the joints pop, then repeated her motions. But she froze halfway through as she spotted her bag, lying on the floor nearby. Her breath halted in her chest as the idea hit her.... "Harm," she said tentatively, "what if it isn't necessarily you or me he knows?"
"What?"
"Tikhomirov is an old man... and we're not the only Rabbs in Russia."
He stared at her in shock. "Dad?"
"It makes sense, Harm."
"Yeah...." he said slowly. "It does."
Silence fell for several minutes before Mercedes spoke again. "Still, we don't know that for sure. Dammit... we need more information before we make a move."
He nodded. "Agreed."
She took a swig of her tea before replying. "Well, I'm out of contacts over here, at least any that would be likely or able to help us."
Harm thought for a moment. "Much as I hate to admit it, this is Webb's forte, not mine," he said grudgingly.
She nodded. "So we're out of luck."
"I didn't say that. I can think of one or two people from previous trips over here than might be willing to help. Reaching them will be the problem."
She held up a hand. "Wait. Stop. Back up there... What were you doing in Russia? Before this, I mean," she added.
Oh, hell.... she still didn't know. Then again, they'd been a bit distracted. "Mercedes," he began, taking a deep breath and speaking softly, "Mac and I tracked Dad to Russia several years ago. We found out he'd escaped and... lived with... a local woman for some time. He was shot saving her from being raped by a group of soldiers. Her brother buried him out in the taiga, but she couldn't remember exactly where."
Mercedes's face showed a mixture of shock and sadness, and it took her a moment to find her voice. "And no one knew? Only you and Mac?"
"Webb and Admiral Chegwidden do too, but no one else was ever told. Chegwidden had to bail us out at the last minute, and Webb... well, he tracked us and provided a lot of information along the way."
She nodded. "So you knew what happened, but you really didn't know where he was..."
He shook his head. "Not specifically, no. I figured that was the end of it. But...um, well..." He sighed. "There's no good way to tell you this. Mercedes... you've got another cousin."
Mercedes's eyes bulged as she choked on the tea she had just sipped. A strangled-sounding "WHAT?!" was gasped out in between fits of coughing.
"I was sent over here to work on a project on the Russian military justice system. The short version is that I ended up in Chechnya investigating a corrupt general who ultimately tried to assassinate the Russian President. In the process, I met a helicopter pilot, Sgt. Sergei Zuhkov. He's the son of the woman Dad was with and... well, he's my brother. I'm positive of it." Harm finally looked up at his cousin, only to find her blankly staring at him. "Mercedes?" he asked tentatively.
It was a long moment before she let out a loud groan, dropping her head into her hands. "Lieber Gott in Himmel," she muttered. "My worst nightmare *has* come true. There ARE two of you, only this one's a rotor head instead of a jet jockey," she said melodramatically, shaking her head.
Harm couldn't help it. Of all the reactions he'd expected, this wasn't one of them, and better than he had hoped. He fought it, but it wasn't long before the smirking grin on his face turned into full-blown laughter.
It was an even short period of time before CD looked up at him in disgust, then joined him.
******************************
Next day
0740 local
They had decided to stay the night and try to sleep some before hitting the road. Now, dressed, somewhat cleaned up and having raided the house for anything of use, they made their way back to where they had left the van and the exotic sportscar.
Surprisingly, both were as they had been left. Apparently, Tikhomirov and his troops had believed Webb enough that they hadn't felt the need to disable the cars, since they believed Harm and CD were already gone.
"I'll drive the first shift," Harm offered, only to find Mercedes giving him a dubious look.
"Uh... you sure you can handle this thing?" she asked uncertainly.
He gave her a dirty look. "CD, I fly Tomcats. I know how to handle high-performance vehicles, believe it or not."
"Well, yeah, but---"
"Just get in the car, Mercedes."
She sighed, shrugging. "Yes sir," she muttered, going around to the passenger side of the car.
And looked over to find Harm trying to open the door sideways, like most cars. Apparently, he'd forgotten yesterday... "Harm," she called to him.
"CD, I thought you didn't have the keys to this thing."
"I don't. It's hotwired. Harm--"
"Then why the hell in the damn door locked?" he grumbled.
She sighed again, rolling her eyes. She loved her cousin dearly, really. This didn't mean she didn't want to throttle him periodically. She watched him struggle for a bit longer, then opened her own door.
With a slight tug and a flip of the handle, the door opened, swinging upward gracefully with a whooshing sound. She looked up to find Harm glaring at her over the top of the car. She gave him a saccharine smile. "Maybe I should take the first shift?" she asked innocently.
He stood there glaring for several moments, before grudgingly walking over to her side of the car. "All yours," he grumbled, sulking.
She smiled again, then dashed around to the driver's side. "Now, strap in, coz," she said, grinning. Her response was yet another glare as he yanked the seatbelt down and clicked it into place. "Thank you," she said wryly.
"Just get going already."
"As you wish," she said, and punched the clutch in, then tapped together the necessary wires. The car surged to life with a rumbling roar, and she couldn't help but notice Harm's eyebrows go up a notch or two. "You know, there's an old, wise saying that seems to really fit right now."
"Really. What?"
"Sit down, strap in, shut up, and hold on!!!" With that, she threw the car into gear, taking off in a spray of gravel.
TBC.....