"Harm?" Alex Volkonov couldn't believe his eyes. The man in front of him was anything but the squared-away officer he'd met; he was dressed in worn, ill-fitting clothes, and clearly hadn't shaved in a week or more. But there was no mistaking those features, especially those damn ocean-colored eyes. He was looking at Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr.
His head was spinning, trying to adsorb everything. Harm was in Russia; the blonde woman who had posed as Harm's 'friend' and then pulled a gun on him was actually his cousin, Mercedes; and the metal box she had just pulled out... was Harm's father?
Alex glanced at the box, then Mercedes, then finally back at Harm. Would someone please explain to me what is going on?" he asked, aggrieved.
The cousins glanced at each other. "He's your friend," Mercedes said, dropping into a chair.
Harm nodded, and pulled up a chair. "Look, Alex, we need your help," he began.
"What sort of help?" Volkonov asked warily.
"Information, to start," Mercedes interjected. "Beyond that, we don't know. We don't have enough information to know what we're even going to do at this point."
Volkonov looked at her with eyebrows raised. "You need to *do* something?"
"CD," Harm warned. Leave it to her to get things way out of hand before they even got started. "Alex... do you remember my partner, Sarah MacKenzie?"
"The lady Marine? She is here too?" Alex's voice rose with his disbelief.
"She's been taken prisoner." Mercedes's voice was flat.
Alex's head turned to look at her, then snapped back to Harm. "This is true?"
He nodded. "Mac and ... a friend from the State department were taken prisoner by a General."
"Why?"
"They were trying to capture us, or rather, me." Mercedes voice was low.
By now, Alex had figured out the way things worked, and looked to Harm for an explanation. "Mercedes is a forensic specialist, and was here before to work on the team that examined the Romanov remains... when was that?"
"In '92," she replied, then picked up the story. 'Anyway, I got to be friends with some of the local techs. A little while ago, one of them called me and offered me a chance to work on a set of unknown remains discovered in the taiga. I accepted, and came over and went to work. By pure accident, I discovered the identity." She gestured to the metal case. "The skeletal remains belonged to Lieutenant Harmon Rabb Senior-- my uncle."
"You had no doubt about this?" Alex asked.
"Even if the DNA hadn't pointed me in the right direction, the wedding band engraved with my aunt and uncle's names pretty much answered the question," she replied, then continued her story.
"Anyway, I immediately returned to the US, and tried to get some help, even though no one else knew the remains's identity, except the tech who called me in-- Georgi Sevastinov. I came back to Yekaterinburg, to see what I could do on my own."
"I got back to the morgue at night--- and returned to the lab to find Georgi dead and someone stealing the remains. He then promptly tried to kill me."
"Tried to kill you?" Alex repeated.
"Shot at me. I fought him off, then did the only thing that came to mind--grab the remains and run like hell."
Alex nodded, then looked at Harm. "How did you get involved in this?" he asked him.
"Mac-- Colonel MacKenzie and I followed Mercedes to Yekaterinburg. We went to the morgue looking for her and got arrested."
"Arrested? For what?"
"Theft of state property and the murder of the lab tech."
Alex muttered a rather virulent Russian curse under his breath, and Mercedes grinned weakly. "Yeah, that's pretty much what we thought, too," she commented.
"So you and the Colonel are in the Yekaterinburg jail, and you," he said, gesturing to Mercedes, "were hiding from someone who was trying to kill you."
"Yeah, except I met up with our, uh, State Department friend. When we heard that Harm and Mac were in jail, we staged a jail break."
"Wait... Yekaterinburg... I heard about something... some crazy person in some wild sportscar managed to destroy half the Yekaterinburg police force during an escape..." He looked at Harm, eyes wide. "That was you?"
Harm looked mildly embarrassed. "We didn't mean to cause all that trouble... we were just trying to get away."
Alex shook his head in amazement, and grinned. "When this is all over, you must teach me your driving secrets."
Mercedes just sighed and rubbed her temples, while Harm had the good grace to now look thoroughly sheepish. "Uh, actually, Alex, she was the one in the sportscar," he half-mumbled.
Alex stared at Mercedes, his eyes fairly bugging out of his head. "You?"
She dismissed it with a wave. "Long story, and irrelevant. We managed to get away from the city, but someone had followed us. Harm and I were outside when they attacked. We hid, but they took Mac and Webb prisoner."
Alex nodded. "And who did this?"
Harm answered. "The man leading them was specifically looking for us--- me and Mercedes. The troops weren't wearing any distinctive uniforms, but--"
"They addressed the leader as General Tikhomirov," Mercedes finished.
"Tikhomirov?" Alex repeated, stunned. "And a general? You are certain of this?" Mercedes nodded, and Alex looked down, raking a hand through his hair.
CD observed his reaction. "Why am I getting the feeling you know exactly who we're talking about, and that's not good."
Alex looked up at her. "There is only one general with that name-- Kyril Andreievitch Tikhomirov. And he is one of the most brutal, ruthless men
Russia has ever known."
TBC.....
His head was spinning, trying to adsorb everything. Harm was in Russia; the blonde woman who had posed as Harm's 'friend' and then pulled a gun on him was actually his cousin, Mercedes; and the metal box she had just pulled out... was Harm's father?
Alex glanced at the box, then Mercedes, then finally back at Harm. Would someone please explain to me what is going on?" he asked, aggrieved.
The cousins glanced at each other. "He's your friend," Mercedes said, dropping into a chair.
Harm nodded, and pulled up a chair. "Look, Alex, we need your help," he began.
"What sort of help?" Volkonov asked warily.
"Information, to start," Mercedes interjected. "Beyond that, we don't know. We don't have enough information to know what we're even going to do at this point."
Volkonov looked at her with eyebrows raised. "You need to *do* something?"
"CD," Harm warned. Leave it to her to get things way out of hand before they even got started. "Alex... do you remember my partner, Sarah MacKenzie?"
"The lady Marine? She is here too?" Alex's voice rose with his disbelief.
"She's been taken prisoner." Mercedes's voice was flat.
Alex's head turned to look at her, then snapped back to Harm. "This is true?"
He nodded. "Mac and ... a friend from the State department were taken prisoner by a General."
"Why?"
"They were trying to capture us, or rather, me." Mercedes voice was low.
By now, Alex had figured out the way things worked, and looked to Harm for an explanation. "Mercedes is a forensic specialist, and was here before to work on the team that examined the Romanov remains... when was that?"
"In '92," she replied, then picked up the story. 'Anyway, I got to be friends with some of the local techs. A little while ago, one of them called me and offered me a chance to work on a set of unknown remains discovered in the taiga. I accepted, and came over and went to work. By pure accident, I discovered the identity." She gestured to the metal case. "The skeletal remains belonged to Lieutenant Harmon Rabb Senior-- my uncle."
"You had no doubt about this?" Alex asked.
"Even if the DNA hadn't pointed me in the right direction, the wedding band engraved with my aunt and uncle's names pretty much answered the question," she replied, then continued her story.
"Anyway, I immediately returned to the US, and tried to get some help, even though no one else knew the remains's identity, except the tech who called me in-- Georgi Sevastinov. I came back to Yekaterinburg, to see what I could do on my own."
"I got back to the morgue at night--- and returned to the lab to find Georgi dead and someone stealing the remains. He then promptly tried to kill me."
"Tried to kill you?" Alex repeated.
"Shot at me. I fought him off, then did the only thing that came to mind--grab the remains and run like hell."
Alex nodded, then looked at Harm. "How did you get involved in this?" he asked him.
"Mac-- Colonel MacKenzie and I followed Mercedes to Yekaterinburg. We went to the morgue looking for her and got arrested."
"Arrested? For what?"
"Theft of state property and the murder of the lab tech."
Alex muttered a rather virulent Russian curse under his breath, and Mercedes grinned weakly. "Yeah, that's pretty much what we thought, too," she commented.
"So you and the Colonel are in the Yekaterinburg jail, and you," he said, gesturing to Mercedes, "were hiding from someone who was trying to kill you."
"Yeah, except I met up with our, uh, State Department friend. When we heard that Harm and Mac were in jail, we staged a jail break."
"Wait... Yekaterinburg... I heard about something... some crazy person in some wild sportscar managed to destroy half the Yekaterinburg police force during an escape..." He looked at Harm, eyes wide. "That was you?"
Harm looked mildly embarrassed. "We didn't mean to cause all that trouble... we were just trying to get away."
Alex shook his head in amazement, and grinned. "When this is all over, you must teach me your driving secrets."
Mercedes just sighed and rubbed her temples, while Harm had the good grace to now look thoroughly sheepish. "Uh, actually, Alex, she was the one in the sportscar," he half-mumbled.
Alex stared at Mercedes, his eyes fairly bugging out of his head. "You?"
She dismissed it with a wave. "Long story, and irrelevant. We managed to get away from the city, but someone had followed us. Harm and I were outside when they attacked. We hid, but they took Mac and Webb prisoner."
Alex nodded. "And who did this?"
Harm answered. "The man leading them was specifically looking for us--- me and Mercedes. The troops weren't wearing any distinctive uniforms, but--"
"They addressed the leader as General Tikhomirov," Mercedes finished.
"Tikhomirov?" Alex repeated, stunned. "And a general? You are certain of this?" Mercedes nodded, and Alex looked down, raking a hand through his hair.
CD observed his reaction. "Why am I getting the feeling you know exactly who we're talking about, and that's not good."
Alex looked up at her. "There is only one general with that name-- Kyril Andreievitch Tikhomirov. And he is one of the most brutal, ruthless men
Russia has ever known."
TBC.....