Southampton, August 2010
Boris stood in front of the open safe, staring at his pistol. It had been some time since he'd gone on one of these expeditions. Recent developments in his life made him beholden to more than himself. He wouldn't abandon Marisa and Carlos one second before he absolutely had to.
His eyes drifted to the second object sitting to the right of the gun. How he wished it wasn't the weapon he needed in this moment, but instead the box that had languished in the vault for far too long already. Unfortunately he had no choice. His brother was in danger and there was no one outside himself he trusted to retrieve him.
He could have dispatched some of his bodyguards, but if they were caught, it would have been disastrous. The former Mossad agents would be accused of working for their former masters. They would be tortured then executed, as would Dimitry for aiding them. Should the worst happen, Boris would have at least a chance of being ransomed, along with anyone caught with him.
Boris picked up the pistol, double-checked the safety, then stashed it in his black bag. Once he might have felt a thrill of anticipation for the task ahead of him. Now he only felt fear. If Christina was to be believed, Dima was in critical condition. He also worried about Hank, an American of Jewish descent, heading to a country where neither of those things would make him very popular. Boris may have been angry with the doctor, but that didn't cancel out the trepidation he felt on Hank's behalf.
"Boris?" Marisa's voice drifted through the closet drawer, causing him to immediately close the safe door and move the mirror back into place.
"In here." Within seconds Marisa had entered the walk-in closet, confusion written across her lovely features.
"I saw Hank downstairs. When I asked him why he was here, he said I needed to talk to you."
He saw her scan his outfit and the bag in his hand. Her lips tightened in unspoken concern. He reached out and took her hand in his.
"Hank and I are taking a short trip. The helicopter will arrive for us in ten minutes. If all goes as anticipated, we should return within two days. In the event things do not go well, there are some instructions I need to give you."
Marisa's frown grew more pronounced.
"Instructions for what?" Instead of answering right away he cupped her cheek in his hand. She was so beautiful. He was truly the luckiest man on earth to have her love. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. He reluctantly pulled back and gazed at her steadily.
"Ransom payments. Mr. Isaacs has been briefed and will handle negotiations if it comes to that. Your role will be authorizing the funds." Boris reached into his pocket and held out the engraved business card, "Here is the contact number and the authorization code."
Marisa accepted the paper, staring down at it for a long moment. She looked back at him, her visage grim.
"Where are you going?" Boris hesitated. He didn't want to give her specifics. If his return was delayed, Marisa was perfectly capable of deciding that she needed to stage a personal rescue.
"To save Dima. He's fallen ill within a country unfriendly to outsiders."
Marisa nodded, all traces of bewilderment instantly evaporating. She alone knew who Dima was to Boris and how much they both owed him.
"That's why Hank is here." He thought he detected a hint of disappointment in her voice. He imagined when she first saw the doctor, she'd wondered if it signaled an end to their estrangement. Marisa had suggested he go and see Hank after the doctor had helped diagnose Carlos' ailment, but he'd refused. This time it was not he that needed to apologize.
Today, when Boris' guards had told him Hank had arrived, he'd wondered if enough time had passed. He'd foolishly hoped the doctor had realized how unjustified his accusations had been. Regretfully, that had not been the case.
"He insisted. He needs to assure himself that I don't intend to leave Dima to rot."
The news about his brother had been bad enough. The fact the man he had chosen to help raise his son thought so little of him was like pouring lemon juice on an open wound.
"Hank said that to you?"
Boris couldn't believe it either. Even if Hank had been right and he'd fired Christina in a jealous pique, how did that equate to his being willing to let his old friend die? How had he fallen so far in Hank estimation?
"Perhaps not in so many words, but that was the implication."
Perhaps this was about more than Christina. After the incident with the NSA agent Hank had looked at Boris differently. Boris supposed that was natural. Life was sacred to Hank. Boris' willingness to end it had shocked him. He'd hoped to help Hank understand by showing him more of his world. Maybe that would always have been a doomed effort with or without Christina. Maybe they were simply too different.
"What happened between the two of you?"
Marisa hadn't pressed when he'd first informed her that he and Hank had had a row. She said they were grown men and if he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't need to. Apparently her position on that had changed.
"We don't have time to discuss it." Truthfully a part of him wanted to review the fight with her. Marisa often helped him see things from an alternative perspective. Maybe she would be able to work out the reason for Hank's sudden defection. On the other hand, he wasn't exactly keen to discuss Christina with the mother of his child.
"You said you had ten minutes and you've already packed. The two of you are headed into a live and death situation and you no longer trust each other. At the very least I want to know why."
That wasn't strictly true. Despite everything, he did trust Hank. It was what made the loss of the doctor's faith such a blow. Marisa was right. This might be the final chance he had to understand what had gone wrong.
"We had a falling out over an employee of mine. Hank had become involved with her. I discovered her intentions with him were less than honorable, and so I fired her. He took umbrage. He said I had overreacted due to…personal reasons."
Marisa's arched eyebrow informed him he had not fooled her with his vagueness.
"By 'personal reasons' I assume you mean this woman had been your lover before she was Hank's?"
Boris eyed the mother of his child cautiously. She didn't seem angry with him, but trending carefully seemed the safest course.
"Yes, while we were separated. The first time, not after the pregnancy." Marisa rolls her eyes at him, as though he was being ridiculous.
"You don't need to look at me like that. I'm not upset. We were apart for five years. I didn't expect you to have taken a vow of celibacy. Did you explain to Hank what you had uncovered about this woman?"
Technically he hadn't shared the precise reasons for Christina's dismissal. He'd instead implied it was the information Hank had provided. He'd left out the most damning part of Christina's behavior to spare Hank's feelings and absolve him of any misplaced guilt.
"After everything we've been through I shouldn't need to justify my decision. He should trust that I had his best interests at heart."
Marisa's eyes rolled heavenward.
"You fired your former lover after she took up with Hank and expected he would just accept it without any kind of explanation?"
It was possible she had a small point. Hank never just accepted anything. He dug until the truth presented itself. Only this time Hank didn't find the truth, just whatever poison Christina had put in his ear.
"I did it to protect him and he accused me of not caring about him at all. How could he think that? I named him Carlos' godfather for God's sake!"
Boris would be the first to admit he wasn't the most open of men, but surely his actions spoke for him.
"That's why I find this whole situation so confusing. Is there anything that you might be leaving out of the story? Something that might have led Hank to question your esteem?"
Boris found himself shifting uncomfortably. There had been that chat when he'd first told Hank about Dimitry's liver transplant. The doctor had ended their dialogue rather abruptly. He thought, in light of their subsequent dialogue, all had been forgiven, but perhaps he'd been mistaken.
"There may have been an earlier conversation he misinterpreted. I warned him Christina wasn't the type of woman to settle down with a country doctor. He seemed offended."
"You honestly don't understand why?"
Boris sighed and rubbed his eyes. Perhaps the term 'country doctor' may have come off pejorative. He hadn't meant it too. He was trying to explain to Hank how someone like Christina would view his profession.
"I was cautioning him about her social ambitions."
Marisa released a humorless laugh.
"I'm sure that's what you meant. I'm equally sure what he heard was that you didn't think he was good enough for your former consort."
Boris blinked. When Marisa put it like that, he could well understand Hank's anger. The doctor believed Boris had called him an inferior. Yet how could he think that after the events of the past years?
"That's ridiculous. Hank knows I hold him in high regard. Granting him power of attorney. Naming him godfather. Don't my actions speak louder than some poorly chosen words?"
Boris sank onto the leather bench in the center of the room. Marisa joined him and took his hand in hers.
"Yes. However, I will point out that the two of you rarely interact in a purely social manner. The time you spend together is almost always regarding your medical care and now your business interests. It might lead him to question if you share a true friendship."
Boris looked over at Marisa, pondering her words. She wasn't wrong. The trouble was Boris very rarely was not working. Hank was quite busy with his practice. They both had romantic lives to tend to as well. Neither had much time to 'hang out' as normal friends might.
"We are both busy men with numerous commitments-"
Marisa waved a hand at him, cutting him off.
"I know, believe me. Just like I know the reason you're expanding his role into your global schemes. It is as much about you missing his company as it is you truly needing him for your ventures."
Boris' lips tilted up into a quick smile. Naturally Marisa understood his motives. At least someone in his life did.
"If it's obvious to you, then it should be obvious to him. We've known each other for years."
"Yes, but again primarily as a doctor and patient. That makes things complicated. I can empathize with his situation. The first month we spent together making our plans for the clinic, I was never sure exactly where I stood with you. Half of the time I was certain my feelings were returned. The other half I was convinced you'd disappear as soon as our business concluded. You're a bit inscrutable, mi amor."
Boris grimaced, Marisa having inadvertently poked at another sore point.
"He's not the only one who doesn't know where he stands."
He had more cause than Hank to question the nature of their relationship. This latest incident wasn't the first time the doctor had doubted his character.
"After everything Hank has done, you don't believe he considers you a friend?"
Boris shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner.
"Hank goes to extreme lengths for all his patients, among whom I number. Right now he is preparing to infiltrate a hostile nation for a man who once threatened to put a foot up his rear."
Hank's devotion to those in his care was one of the things that caused Boris to choose him as his physician. Unfortunately that same trait made it challenging to embrace him as a friend. He had never been one to 'put himself out there'. Without assurance that Hank placed the same value on their bond, Boris was reluctant to commit himself.
"I see. Hank is a heroic doctor, and therefore the extraordinary deeds he has performed on your behalf mean nothing."
Boris winced. She made him sound ungrateful. That wasn't true. He owed much to Hank, not the least was that Marisa and Carlos were in his life.
"They mean something, just not that Hank holds me in particular regard." He frowned, hating the forlorn tone of his voice. It was easier to admit to anger and frustration when it came to Hank. To reveal that Hank's behavior had hurt him was something else entirely.
"May I make a suggestion?" He turned to Marisa and smiled. It was quite rare of her to ask before offering her opinion.
"Of course."
"In his own way Hank is as guarded as you are. You hide yourself behind a mask of indifference. He hides behind a smile. Try sharing pieces of yourself with him. See if he reciprocates. That's how you'll know."
Boris considered her words. It was a simple strategy and yet it did make a certain sense. Hank knew enough of his character to realize he didn't casually share his history. Hank too, despite his seemingly gregarious nature could be tight-lipped about his past.
"Querida, what would I do without you?" He took her hand in his and once again thought of the remaining occupant of his safe. If…no WHEN he made it he would stop waiting for the perfect moment. He kissed the stop he hoped a ring would be in a week's time.
"Luckily for you, you will never have to find out." He reached for her, his kiss sealing her words like a pact between them. He would return for her. Boris had too much at stake to fail.
