Chapter 18
They just relaxed in Pevek and around the house for the week they were there for. They received one call from the boss, who assured them that nothing had come up about Vsevolod's kidnapping. Other than that, the eight of them were able to take a nice break from work. Stingray impressed them all by diving into frozen sea and managing to stay under water for 20 minutes without freezing. That was only then broken by Semyon, who was the expert and stayed under water for a whole hour, only coming up because Anna told him to.
On the last day in Pevek, Anna had a brief call from Maxim Ivanovich to see how the team was getting on and to inform her they could all go back on duty my late morning the next day. After a week relaxing in the frozen winter of Pevek, that didn't sound too inviting. During that day, only Vyacheslav was suspicious that the Day Watch hadn't tried to gatecrash their holiday. Even the last evening wasn't disturbed by Dark Others wanting to pick a fight. Perhaps the Inquisition had really frightened Zavulon. It was a fair thought, but still only Vyacheslav was unsatisfied by it.
During that evening, everyone watched a three way dual between Anna, Semyon and Stingray which was incredibly entertaining. Anna had made an excellent start by shocking both Semyon and Stingray with several bolts of electricity; even Stingray's jelled hair went fluffy. But that was only a warm up, Semyon settling down to take the win with ease. All through it, they'd had many types of weather indoors at once; a record breaking drought from Kazakhstan, the coldest winter ever recorded in Arctic Russia, a southern Chinese typhoon, the early Canadian autumn and Anna's favourite, a mini continental thunderstorm. The living room, after having several controlled explosions, napalm attacks, lightning strikes, a recreated non-hazardous nuclear blast and a volcanic eruption, was now a mess. It took an hour for Semyon, Anna and Stingray to fix it back up to how it was.
"Bloody hell!" Anton laughed, clapping with the rest.
"That sure is something," Bear agreed.
Next, Bear and Tiger Cub fought each other playfully in animal form, both of them ending up in stalemate. The raw strength and power clearly went in the polar bear's favour, but the cunning and agility was on the side of the tiger. Both Shape Shifters turned back to their human forms, graciously accepting a draw. That had been met with applause, especially from the awestruck Stingray, who had never really seen Tiger Cub and Bear in action.
Finally, it was Anton, Vyacheslav and Ignat's turn to show off. Ignat's sorcery was unfortunately somewhat limited, and Anton and Vyacheslav's powers were hardly anything to see. They decided to engage each other in a quick display of martial arts and physical activities. The most impressive stunt was the three of them fighting with long, thin swords each with flames on the tip. Anna conjured up an ambient darkness, which also added to the effect of the flames. Ignat beat both Anton and Vyacheslav easily, the Psychic resting breathlessly in the kitchen with a glass of water and the Seer lying on the floor with Ignat's flaming sword pointed at his throat.
"Better put that out," Anton suggested.
"Hmm," Ignat replied with a smile.
That was it; they passed around a pack of cigarettes and drank a bit of vodka, talking amongst themselves. They then slept heavily on mulled wine, biscuits and hot chocolate. Their night was undisturbed mostly, but they all took their time dropping off. The two couples in their separate rooms had their obvious distractions, and the other four couldn't stop talking. Eventually, they all silenced and went to sleep when the clocks roughly read 11:37.
Anton woke early in the morning, unsure of what the time was; in the arctic during the winter it was always dark. He rolled over and checked the time on his clock. The bright green digits read 2:30am. He groaned and rolled back over, recalling the dream that had woken him. A band of Dark Others wearing balaclavas, two of them wolves, showed up and raided the house. They took Anna hostage and left Semyon and Tiger Cub in Gloom comas. Had this been a vision or just some horrible dream caused by the effect of too much vodka?
"Antosha," whispered a voice.
Anton sat up in bed slowly, looking about the room in the dark and seeing that Vyacheslav was also awake. However, the other two were still sound asleep; Stingray looking ridiculous with one arm hanging over the side of his bed and Ignat looking unusual without one or two women with him.
"What?" Anton whispered back.
"I saw your vision in my sleep," he replied. "It woke me."
"Should we do something?" Anton yawned. "Can you not check for energies?"
Vyacheslav shook his head. "Both pairs have hidden their energies over night to make sure we couldn't accidentally see what they were doing. Semyon knows how gifted Stingray is with that; I imagine both he and Bear made sure their late night activities were… err… protected."
"Perhaps we should get up and check on them."
"And wake them too; just in case."
"Even Tiger Cub?"
Vyacheslav thought for a while. "Just Anna for now."
Slowly, Anton for out of bed, glancing at Stingray who stirred, but only closed his mouth and stopped snoring. He and Vyacheslav left the room, trying not to raise the alarm in case everyone was alright. It would be embarrassing to wake everyone over and alcohol induced nightmare that wasn't even a vision. They walked passed the first small bedroom, peering inside at its occupants. Tiger Cub and Bear were both sprawled out on either side of the double bed, silently sleeping. Vyacheslav went back and pulled the door to, looking relieved.
"She's fine," he assured Anton.
"What about Anna?" Anton asked.
They walked over to the second small bedroom, Anton putting his ear to the door just in case. There wasn't a sound thankfully. Gently, he pushed the door open and inspected the double bed by the window and the far end. Semyon lay on his side, snoring a little, Anna curled up against him with her arms draped over his shoulders, her head nestled into his chest and a smile on her face.
"They're alright," Anton sounded relieved.
"So it hasn't happened yet," Vyacheslav replied.
"Do you really think it was a vision?"
"I imagine so; I don't pick up on mindless dreams."
"Will it happen?"
"You've never been wrong before Anton."
"Should I wake them?"
Vyacheslav glanced over to the sleeping couple.
"It seems a shame to," he noted.
"But if it'll save them."
"Go ahead Antosha."
Carefully, Anton crossed the room and moved to the side of the bed. He felt rather uncomfortable doing this, so he hoped he wasn't being paranoid. However, he had Vyacheslav to back him up on this one, just in case Semyon's immediate conclusion was a bad dream. He could imagine the Magician simply commenting on the effects of vodka on the brain as it worked its way through the system over night. Gently, Anton reached over and shook Semyon's shoulder.
"Semyon," he hissed.
He didn't stir an inch.
"Semyon!" Anton repeated.
All he did was shift a little, tightening his grip about Anna and closing his open mouth, ceasing his snoring. Vyacheslav came over, Anton turning round and shrugging. It seemed it would take a nuclear bomb strike to wake this man. Vyacheslav however, reached for the window and opened it, the cold air not having much effect on the ambient warmth indoors. He heaped a pile of snow off the window sill into his hand and tipped it onto Semyon's neck. That woke him with a start.
"What the fuck is that!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry Semyon," Vyacheslav replied.
Semyon sat up, Anna moving closer to his side and both of them trying to conceal their nakedness. Semyon slid the window shut after refreezing the melted snow on his back and throwing it out.
"What's the matter," he grumbled.
"Anton had a vision," Vyacheslav replied.
Semyon glanced uncertainly at Anton.
"Vision or nightmare?" he questioned.
"I knew you'd see that!" proclaimed Anton.
"No dream Semyon," Vyacheslav explained. "I never pick up on people's dreams, only their visions. If I picked up on dreams, I'd be calling up the Night Watch to check every square inch of Russia and Eastern Europe for curses and dead bodies!"
"That is true," Semyon agreed.
"Could we at least get dressed first?" Anna asked.
"Of course, sorry."
Anna disappeared into the Gloom' that was possibly the most effective way and you and you could be on your guard at the same time. Semyon now looked rather ridiculous sitting on his own, the bed covers only reaching part way over his podgy stomach. Anton laughed, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"You shut up," Semyon growled.
"You look so funny!" Anton laughed.
The Magician blushed. "You could have knocked."
"That would not have woken you."
"You could have told me through my dreams, you know."
"I'm not going into your fantasies Semyon."
Semyon reddened again, Anna reappearing out of the Gloom in thick jeans, an Italian football shirt and a black fleece. She threw Semyon some of his clothes, which had been heaped untidily in a suitcase.
"Get dressed," she ordered.
In a few minutes, Vyacheslav had woken up the rest of the group and assembled them downstairs. Most of them were still rather tired, so Anton and Vyacheslav helped them all to come round a bit. Semyon looked rather peculiar in jeans and CSKA Moscow jumper; but as with all of his trousers, they were belted securely about his waste. Ignat looked even stranger in a black tracksuit, the zip on his jacket even done up right the way to his neck.
"Why the early rise?" asked Stingray.
"You can blame me," Anton replied.
"For most things Antosha," Bear smirked. "Carry on."
"I was troubled by a vision before I woke. I saw a group of Dark Ones, about three of them with two wolves. I couldn't see who they were because their faces were covered with balaclavas. They raided the house, kidnapped Anna and left Semyon and Tiger Cub in Gloom comas. That's all I saw."
"Interesting Anton," Semyon noted.
"I don't know when it will happen."
"I say we wait," Stingray suggested. "Turn off all the lights and wait for the bastards to show up. When the break in, we get them and blast the living daylights out them! Or force them to retreat by displays of force they wouldn't dare compete against."
"Great idea action man," Tiger Cub commented sarcastically.
"We could just leave," Anton added.
Anna shook her head. "We are here by order of the Inquisition; we cannot leave until 12:30 this afternoon. They also said that we are allowed to defend ourselves if we are attacked on leave. If the Dark Ones show up, I suggest we do what Lev said."
"Really?" Stingray asked, grinning.
"It's a nice idea."
"Excellent!"
"You said one of them was a woman?" Ignat queried.
Vyacheslav sighed. "No Ignat, not this time."
"But it saves using brutal force."
"If Zavulon sent them, then he knows you are here with us. He would not have sent a vulnerable woman like Alisa, but someone with high resistance. I know not many over look you Ignat, but some can' like Anna, Lena and Nadya. Either that, or the woman is being guarded by the others against you."
"Point taken."
"We'll put Stingray's plan into action."
The team set themselves up and waited in the dark, hoping that something would eventually happen. Anna, Semyon and Stingray were sat together, but Stingray was waiting in the Gloom. Ignat was on his own, in view of Anton and Vyacheslav who were also in the Gloom. Tiger Cub and Bear where sat together as well in their animal forms, Tiger Cub hidden in the Gloom. About 20 minutes passed and still nothing happened. But as soon as they were about to give up, they heard a car pull up outside. Semyon peered through the Gloom and glanced at Stingray, who nodded.
"It's a Chevrolet," he stated.
"Who's in it?" asked Semyon.
"Dark Others; five of them. Two men, a woman and two Shape Shifters taking the forms of wolves. Just like Anton said he saw. I can't see their faces, only their auras but they're coming towards the house."
"In the Gloom?"
"The wolves are, but not the other three."
"Alright. Suggestions?"
"We all go into the Gloom and get the two guardians. They expect us to be asleep, if Antosha's vision is correct, so the element of surprise is on our side. Can you catch any of their thoughts, Vyacheslav?"
They turned to the Psychic.
"Yes," Vyacheslav replied. "But they know I'm here, so they've tried to block me out. The two men are alright, but the woman is useless. From her, I get the impression that they're not Day Watch officers, but they've been hired. I'm only guessing here, but I believe that Zavulon may have hired them."
"My thoughts exactly," Ignat agreed.
"Just let them come."
"Wait!" Stingray hissed. "I have an idea!"
Stingray leapt to his feet, Anna feeling the cool blast of him rushing passed in the Gloom. He approached the front door and locked it, stepping back from it slightly as the Dark Others came towards it. The first man reached the door and slipped into the Gloom, trying to open it, but he wasn't able to.
"The boy locked it!" he growled.
Stingray looked hurt at being called a boy.
"Can you get to the Second Level?" asked the woman.
"I wouldn't dare try," the man replied.
"Then we'll go round the back."
Stingray dashed back into the room and indicted to the others to move towards the terrace. They all slipped into the Gloom to join those already there and made there way towards the back entrance, opening the door and entering the freezing cold. They spread out prepared, Semyon and Stingray taking the lead with Bear and Tiger Cub protecting Anna between them. Firstly, the two wolves came round, but backed off into the other three when they saw the team.
"You said they'd be asleep Vadim!" the second man hissed.
"Shut up Milan!" the man named Vadim spat.
"Just come here for what we came for!" the woman exclaimed.
They drew small firearms, the two wolves growling at their heals. It was a very primitive method, seeing as top class Magicians could not be killed by these sorts of human weapon. Stingray pulled a glowing green cable out of his belt, the end of it shaped like the tip of a stingray's tail. He slashed it through the air and knocked the firearms out from the Dark Others' hands, cutting deep slashes into their skin.
"Fools!" the woman snapped. "I knew that would never work."
"Never mind Irena," Vadim replied. "We'll get what we want."
"And what do you want?" Vyacheslav asked.
"You know!" Milan turned to the Psychic. "Your Seer saw it."
"What do you want with Anna Kepalenko?"
"We've been sent to capture her alive. What ever the cost."
"In return for what?" Ignat asked. "You're mercs, not Day Watch agents."
"My son doesn't have the power to use his animal form," Irena replied. "Zavulon promised Vadim and I that our son can have that strength if we bring to him that Light Magician he wants."
"He can't take her from me," Semyon snarled.
He drew out his torch, shining it at Irena. Anna and Anton followed suit.
"We can come to some other compromise," Vyacheslav suggested.
One of the wolves snarled and lunged at Anna, but he was cut off by Tiger Cub who wrestled it to the ground. The second wolf jumped at Bear, who was able to knock it flying back into the pine trees with one swipe from his great, furry white paw. Tiger Cub released the wolf she held captive, the black animal's fur torn and the skin underneath bloody. Anna shined her torch at it.
"You forget I killed one of your kind," she snarled.
"And you were given no punishment," the female wolf replied, acidly.
"For a good reason; the Dark made the first move."
"Is that how things are decided in the Watch?" Vadim asked. "Who makes the first move gets punished, be them Light or Dark? If that is the case, do you wonder why Others like us choose to remain uninitiated."
"If that is the case, then why pick on humans?" asked Tiger Cub.
"It is our way of life."
"You have Vampires among you?"
"No. Only poorly rated Sorcerers and Shape Shifters."
"Then you do not have an excuse to terrorise humans."
"We have all we want!"
Vadim drew his sword out from his belt, Milan following. These two were still fighters, most certainly, but their level of Sorcery was very weak, and only strong enough at best to conjure up strength for a fight and primitive weapons.
"Enough of this!"
There was a flash of light a Geser teleported between the team of Night Watch agents and Dark Mercenaries. The Dark Ones backed off, the two wolves shouting in fear and running away from the house down the road. Vadim and Milan dropped their swords, Irena moving closer to Vadim's side.
"These people are protected by the Inquisition," Geser stated.
"Zavulon said that," Vadim replied. "That's why he sent us."
Milan nudged him. "He's the Light one, don't talk to him…"
"He must answer me," Geser snapped, not looking at Milan.
"What do you want with my agents?" the boss continued.
"Lord Zavulon gave us a deal," Vadim explained. "Irena and I have a son; he is a Shape Shifter who can take the form of a Jaguar. But he was cursed by an uninitiated Light Other, who I could not kill in time. Now he has been deprived of energy so much he cannot transform anymore, and none of us are powerful enough to lift the vortex. Zavulon promised us that if we bring to him the Light Magician Anna Vsevolovna, he will release our son from the vortex."
Geser nodded. "I see."
"Would Zavulon do that?" Stingray queried.
"He'd have to, he's obliged to. But his terms will not be met."
Vadim and Irena glanced at each other.
"Then you doom our son to be cursed," Irena exclaimed.
"What Zavulon can lift, so can I," Geser assured her.
"You cannot do business with Dark Ones," Milan cut in.
Geser silenced young Milan. "I cannot do business with Day Watch agents. You are only uninitiated Dark Others, who have had your lives changed badly by an poor deed done by a Light Other not of the Night Watch. I can lift any curse wrongly given by a Light Other; that in itself is a good deed I am entitled to do."
"Technical talk," Milan muttered.
"Can you do this for my son?" Irena cut across him.
"Without a price, of course," Geser replied with a small smile.
"Then I have to offer you my thanks."
Vadim nodded. "Me also."
Geser turned back to his Night Watch agents, observing them as they put away their weapons. All of them came out of the Gloom, the snow around them looking much whiter. The boss looked at Semyon with a smirk, the Magician turning a suspicious gaze on him.
"There is nothing wrong with CSKA Moscow," he stated.
"I thought they put you down," Geser replied.
"Not at all, I just didn't come across well enough in appearance."
Anna glanced at Semyon intrigued.
"Semyon followed CSKA Moscow," Bear explained. "Our friend here tried to sign up as a defender in 1995, but they turned him down. They took one look at him and didn't realise that Semyon was fitter than he looked; I mean no human will look at someone that big and think he's capable of running!"
The Magician blushed.
"Still not satisfied," Bear continued. "He tried again as a goal keeper a year later, but they turned him down again. Then Semyon settled for the fact that, as an Other, he would be influencing humans too much by playing on a football team. I suggested he try doing hammer throw in the field athletics."
Stingray laughed. "I remember that!"
Semyon turned on his former student. "So who do you support?"
"Dynamo Kiev and Chelsea."
"Chelsea?" Anna queried.
"I feel they may have a Russian interest in the future."
"Honestly?"
"Oh yeah! Accompanied by the smell of oil for some reason."
Stingray shrugged. "I get little visions like that occasionally."
"Alright," Geser cut in.
He turned back to Vadim and Irena.
"If you'd allow me, I'll like to see your son and remove this vortex," he explained.
"Will this allow him to shift?" Irena asked.
"It'll give him back all the trapped energy."
"I have to say, your terms a better than Zavulon's."
Geser nodded. "I'll have to have words with him."
He turned to Anna.
"You can return home now."
"But it's a little early," Anna replied.
"I've spoke to Maxim and he agrees, especially seeing as Zavulon broke the agreement by hiring mercenaries. Apparently Nadya is furious about all this; you now how she can be when either side breaks the rules."
Vyacheslav smiled. "Oh yes."
Everyone glanced at him, his face reddening.
"We'll get ready," Anna told the boss.
----
At the Day Watch Headquarters in central Moscow, Zavulon was sat lounging in front of the TV switching through the music channels on satellite. He lit up a cigarette and leaned back into the sofa, putting his feet up on the table in front of him. However, he was soon interrupted by Alisa and Piotr as they came in.
"Do they have her?" Zavulon asked without looking around.
"No sir," Alisa replied.
Zavulon switched off the TV and turned to face them.
"And why not?" he asked in a calm, dangerous tone.
"Anton was woken by a vision," Alisa continued, cautiously. "He saw that our mercenaries planned to attack them and the boy Stingray set up a plan to catch them. Then Geser turned up. He was able to release the Shape Shifter's vortex and allow him to use his energy. They've left Pevek now and returned back to Moscow."
"I knew that Vadim was too damn weak to stand up to the Night Watch!"
"So what do we do now?"
Zavulon smirked. "We move to plan B."
Alisa and Piotr glanced at each other.
"Negotiation?" they asked, curiously.
"Yes," Zavulon replied.
"You mean we just give them…"
"I'm giving nothing away to the pair of you! If you, or any one, gets hold of my plan then Vyacheslav Berezkev, Nadya's occasional lover, will pick the information right out of your brains! I can fool him well enough, no one else can."
"Where shall we arrange the meeting?"
"In the Kremlin, during the night and in the Gloom."
"Who will you send?"
"A little messenger who Geser trusts to tell the truth."
Zavulon smirked.
"Nadya, I summon you!" he commanded.
Nadya appeared beside Alisa and Piotr, both of them flinching back from her. She shared a usual venomous stare with Alisa before turning to her boss, not looking very pleased.
"I asked you not to tell the Watch about my affections for Vyacheslav Berezkev," she noted, flatly.
"I will do you no more favours," Zavulon snapped.
"For doing my job properly? You will not push me out of line."
"I am still your boss; I can do what I like with your dark secrets."
"Unless Maxim forbids it."
They glared at each other, but the Day Watch boss quickly got back to the point.
"I have no concern to harm you," he admitted.
"Why have you summoned me?" asked Nadya.
"I have a message for you to give to Geser when he returns from Chukotka."
"Go ahead, I will deliver it."
"Tell him we are ready to negotiate."
