Chapter 15
"You okay now, sweetie?" Kitty asked as she released her hold on Svetlana, who dotted her eyes with a kleenex Kitty had provided her.
Svetlana nodded, and smiled weakly. "Da, I shall be, Kitty," the small tigress replied, then smiled. "Thank you. I don't know what came over me."
"I do," Kitty observed, her expression a frown. "Polarsky…that bastard!"
"Da," Svetlana said, sighing. "That is it…you are right."
"C'mon, Svetlana," Kitty counseled her. "That wretch is dead and buried, kid. He ain't gonna be hurting anyone, any more…period!"
"Da, what you say is true, Kitty," Svetlana agreed, nodding. She then pursed her lips a moment, then continued. "Da, he is gone and that is most good. But, while he is indeed gone, he is not forgotten, Kitty."
Kitty frowned again. "He's not? Why?" she asked.
"Why?" Svetlana parroted, flicking her brown eyes to Kitty's curious blue ones. "Friend Kitty," she said fondly, "you are nearly the same age as I, but…thankfully you still have the innocence of youth. I---and my Maria---we did not have that luxury." She frowned, discouraged.
"Hey, I'm no babe in the woods, you know," Kitty pointed out, feeling just a bit indignant just then.
"Nyet, you are not, I know this," Svetlana agreed. "But, then again, you have not lived under Polarsky's rule either, tovarisch." Svetlana turned and gazed intently into Kitty's eyes. "For that, you should be most grateful."
Kitty grimaced, not wanting to even imagine some of the things these two Russians had had to endure. "That bad, huh?" she asked, not quite sure she wanted to know.
"Bad enough, Kitty," Svetlana remarked, her brown eye troubled. "It is bad enough that he---Polarsky, I mean!---still haunts my dreams. Almost every night…well, until I met you all…he was there, always looming in the background…waiting to…" Svetlana stopped, shivering despite the warm, humid air in the room.
Kitty put her hand on Svetlana's shoulder in compassion. "You've got to let that all go, sport," she gently advised. "You've got to live for the present, my friend…and the future. Reliving the past is just a waste of time."
"Da, I know," Svetlana acknowledged wearily. "I try, but---"
Kitty cut her off…though gently. "Svetlana. There is no 'try', okay? There is 'do'…or 'do not'. You're strong…you can do this, sweetie."
Svetlana smiled softly. "Then, I shall, I suppose," she told Kitty. "But, it will not be easy…" She closed her eyes, suddenly so tired feeling.
"No, I expect it won't be," Kitty agreed. "But, hey…that's why we---I mean, all your friends---will be right there to help you."
Svetlana smiled again, brighter this time. "True," mused Svetlana to herself, aloud. "That will help."
"Hey, we'll do what we can for you, sweetie," Kitty told her, looking over so she could look into Svetlana's still troubled eyes. "We all love you, kid. You know that…right?" Kitty blinked at that admission…but, she had never felt surer of this than she was just now.
"Da, I know," Svetlana said softly, then leaned over slowly to kiss Kitty on her cheek. "I thank you, all of you, for being so kind to me…oh, and Maria, of course."
"Of course," Kitty teased, smiling.
Svetlana chuckled at the rascally vixen. "We love you too, you know," Svetlana told Kitty then, unknowingly making Kitty's heart ache. "I can scarcely imagine living without all of you with me now."
"Love is like that, sweetie," Kitty told her. "Hmm, here…let me tell you a story I heard once, okay?"
"Da, I am listening," Svetlana answered, intrigued.
"Okay, now I'm probably gonna get this slightly goofed up," Kitty warned, smiling. "But, I'm sure you'll get the gist of the story, I think." Kitty paused a moment, then continued. "Okay, the story begins with one small panda boy in a small town in America. On this day, all the school children were packing up their things before leaving for their Autumn holiday…"
Svetlana leaned forward, her big brown eyes bright as Kitty wove her tale.
"Okay…well, class was dismissed for the holiday, and the panda boy---his things all heaped in his arms---moved out on the street to head home. Now, this panda was a bit of a loner in class, and didn't usually have much to say, you know, he kinda kept to himself. Well, on this particular day, as fate would have it, one of the more popular kids in the class, a handsome canine boy with golden hair and fur, happened to find himself trailing along in the panda boy's wake. Our panda lad was shuffling sadly along, when he tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, and he and all his belongings tumbled to the ground, scattering everywhere. The other children ignored his plight, moving silently around him, going about their own lives, right?"
"But, not this canine boy, da?" Svetlana guessed, getting caught up in the story.
"You got it!" Kitty agreed. "This boy, this kindly boy, stopped and offered to help pick up and carry the panda boy's things home. The panda, quite stunned, reluctantly accepted the canine boy's help. The two walked along in silence, until they arrived at the canine boy's home. Much to the panda boy's surprise, the popular canine boy asked if he'd care to come inside for something to eat. The panda boy accepted his generous offer."
"What a good boy," Svetlana murmured, nodding her approval.
"The two of them---so different, yet also very similar---made a connection that day. Now, when school reconvened, they both greeted one another if they met in the hallways, that sort of thing…but, otherwise, didn't spend all that much time together. Then, as life oft-times does, the two went their separate ways. They both graduated school, and moved on to college and beyond," Kitty related.
"That's all?" Svetlana demanded, pouting.
"Wait, I'm not done yet," Kitty told her, smiling. "Years later, again as fate would have it, the two met again…at their high school class reunion. The panda man saw the still handsome canine that had once been so nice to him. He re-introduced himself to the golden-haired man, and both of them curious, they sat themselves down to talk. After catching each other up on their current situations, the panda man spoke.
"He said, 'Hey, remember that day, way back when, when you stopped and helped carry my things back home with me?'"
"The canine man grinned, nodded, and said, 'Yeah, I remember that. Why do you bring it up?'"
"The panda man smiled, then looked away a moment. 'Well, I wanted to say thanks. Thanks a lot.'"
"The canine man was grateful, but curious. 'Whatever for?' he asked."
"The panda told him, 'You probably didn't know it at the time…but, you saved my life that day.'"
"Needless to say, the caning gent was stunned. 'I did?' he asked."
"The panda nodded his head. "You see, I was on my way home that day, and intended to kill myself,' he admitted with a frown."
Svetlana, and now Maria, looked at Kitty, confused. "But…I do not understand," Svetlana exclaimed, her expression stymied.
"Well, you see, our story's panda boy…why, he didn't have a single friend," Kitty explained. "Not even one. He felt as if everyone hated him. As if not one person even knew---or cared!---that he even existed." Kitty paused for effect, but then continued. "But, he was pleasantly surprised that day, the day when that popular boy stopped to help him. Now, true, they didn't go on to become friends now, true…but, he did show that panda boy that someone actually did care what happened to him. And, by doing that one small selfless act…he prevented that troubled, promising young man from killing himself. That, ladies, is the subtle power of love."
It was at that moment that the door opened, and the Chief moved back in, his hands full of refreshments for them all. Kitty got to her feet and took two of the cups from the Chief. He handed a cup of tea to Maria, and kept a cup of black coffee for himself. Kitty handed Svetlana her tea, and kept her own cup of hot chocolate. The Chief waited for them all to sample their drinks in a comfortable silence, before he put his cup down and cleared his throat.
"Ahem," Chief Rob murmured. "Uh, would you care to begin on the next case then?" he asked simply.
Almost instinctively, Maria, and then Kitty, looked over to poor Svetlana, who smiled softly, then nodded. "Da, please…continue."
Chief Rob sighed in relief. "Great! All right then," the Interpol Chief intoned, lifting up the next case file and opening it. "Hate to say it…but yet another murder, I'm afraid. The victim in this case was a French male red panda. This very one in fact," he observed, sliding the picture out in front of them.
Neither of the two girls said a thing, though they did pause once to look at the picture, then one another in confusion. They shrugged, then looked back at the Chief.
Chief Rob continued, "Um, we don't have much more on this case other than a name: a Monsieur Frederick Leblanc."
A spark of recognition showed in Maria's blue eyes as she looked up from the photo. "Ah, I do seem to remember that name, Chief," she exclaimed softly. "Hmm…"
"You do?" Svetlana asked in surprise.
"That's great, of course!" Chief Rob exclaimed, smiling.
"Um, may I ask you…just when did this fellow die, eh?" Maria asked, her brow furrowed as she tried to remember.
"Let's see then," Chief Rob muttered, turning the folder around to briefly peruse the file for details. "Hmm, says here that the body was found approximately eight years ago," the Chief proclaimed. "Why? Is that important?"
"Da, I think so," Maria replied, nodding her head. "You see, it was not very long after I was originally placed in the organization that Polarsky decided to get into the drug smuggling business. The reason I remember is that it was the first time I saw Polarsky's ruthlessness…a time when he was eagerly awaiting his first shipment of illegal narcotics."
"Narcotics? What kind…do you remember?" Chief Rob asked, pulling a pen from his shirt pocket to jot notes.
"Da, I remember," Maria replied, laughing a mocking hollow laugh. "Cocaine, marijuana, heroine, you name it…he wanted in on the action. Did he care that he intended to inundate Russia's youth with his illegal wares? Nyet! Just as long as it netted him the wealth he desired, he could of cared less. For with wealth, and the connections, he intended to build himself an organization of his very own, a private army if he had his way."
"Why didn't he do it then?" Kitty asked, frowning. "I mean, he never did have all that large of an organization really…"
Maria nodded, accepting Kitty's protest. "He did not, Lieutenant, because Monsieur Leblanc, the distributor, a soulless man simply did not have the means to supply all of Polarsky's needs. But, not because he did not try! No, small shipments would trickle in---a kilo or so---along with Leblanc's apology and his plea for more time," Maria explained, her blue eyes expressive. "This whole sordid mess went on for nearly a month's time before Polarsky's already small supply of patience frayed and exploded."
"And, that---as they say---was that then?" Chief Rob prompted.
Maria shrugged a fuzzy approval. "I suppose so. You see, I had only just been recruited---most would call it shanghaied---into the organization at that time. As I recall, I had been summoned by Polarsky's then admin…an ermine woman of the name of Tatiana, I believe…to provide a report Polarsky wanted, when that bastard got yet another phone call from Leblanc…requesting yet another delay. Ooh, but he was furious! He yelled, 'I give you one week, Leblanc, you worthless worm! Only one. If you fail to provide me what I need, you will effectively wasted an entire month of my very precious time. That is not something you wish to do if you wish to continue having good health, my worm. Get me what I require! Understood? Good!' Polarsky moved his organization out of Paris a week later, and we did not return until only a month ago. No one ever saw what happened to Leblanc…but, then again, no one really cared either."
"Nice," Chief Rob grumbled, shaking his head at the ruthlessness of Polarsky and his group. "So, we can effectively link this crime to Polarsky then?"
"Based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence? Da, you probably could, Chief," Maria allowed with a shrug. "But, hard evidence…direct evidence linking him to Leblanc or Zobryeva's murders? Nyet…I do not think so."
"Blast! This guy was slippery as an eel," Chief Rob complained. "Are you sure that---?"
Maria cut him off with a sharp look, holding her hand up. "Nyet, I know nothing further, Chief Rob," she told him bluntly. She then closed her big blue eyes wearily, pinching the bridge of her nose a moment, a pained expression on her face. She then looked over to Chief Rob's face, locking her blue-eyed gaze on his dark brown eyes. "Eezveneetye, Chief…but, excuse me…the next case please, da?" she pleaded. "I do hope we get through all this today…or my poor Svetlana will not be the only one experiencing flashbacks this evening…"