With a low whine, the airplane eventually touched down onto the tarmac, coming to a stop to deposit its passengers at the terminal. Among the unusually quiet throng of people, Ivan and Alfred wove their way through the various ribbons and barriers to collect their bags. Neither spoke a word to the other, Ivan with his head down as he strode quickly through the airport, and generally ignoring Alfred's wide-eyed trepidation. Eventually they made it out to the street, and Ivan moved to a bench to set his bags down.
"Ivan?"
"What." Unzipping the top, Ivan began sorting through his hastily assembled possessions, thinking quietly to himself.
"Where the hell are we?"
"Where?" Straightening, Ivan gestured to the city before them, one hand resting atop his bag. "Welcome to Russia."
"No duh." Alfred rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets as he surveyed the city. "I got that when all the street signs were in Russian. And, you know, the international transfer-and the passports-and the huge fucking ocean-I'm not a total idiot, Ivan!"
Ivan paused, carefully zipping his bag back up. "We are still in the eastern side-the eastern coast. In fact, you may be able to see China from here. This is Vladivostok. A port city."
"And…your sister's gonna meet us here?"
"No. She was lucky enough to stay in Moscow."
"So we're going to Moscow."
"Eventually. Do you like…trains?"
"Trains?" Alfred paused, glancing to Ivan. "Don't tell me we're crossing this entire damn country by train."
"Is that a problem?"
"Um…no. I guess not. We'll just stay here for a while, keep our heads down, and head back in a few months?"
Ivan nodded, lifting his bag to continue walking. "Yes. You may want to stay close….whether or not someone knows English is a toss-up. Usually you will get lucky. But still-do not go too far."
Alfred indicated his agreement, glancing around at their surroundings. "So…near China? What's stopping us from going there?"
"I do not know Chinese." Both Alfred and Ivan smiled faintly, and turned onto a side street as Ivan directed them, following the small signs pointing along the roads.
o
Yao leaned against the wall of the alley, studying the faces of the two-well, really the single-foreigner as they strode past his post. They seemed unafraid-so they didn't know he was here. That was a bonus in his arena. The American made no effort to conceal himself-making both of them ever easier to follow. Granted, simply asking around for an American who didn't know Russian wouldn't exactly yield profitable results-but Yao had gotten lucky. He had monitored this airport, among others, ever since he heard the reports. International police weren't overly concerned about the matter currently, but Yao was certain it would come to light soon.
Explosives-they at least went out with a flash. No sense of dignity, or style, but they were showy. That must have been the American's influence. As Yao kept abreast of the reports coming in from across the ocean, the waters surrounding the two fugitives seemed to get muddier and muddier. They hid their bodies-signs of preparation, and foresight. But they didn't keep the bodies in their home-either they tired quickly of their "sport", or they were sane enough to be concerned about hygiene. The murders were random-yet most of the bodies showed signs of great detail and concentration. The pair themselves were a strange couple. Yao couldn't quite read them. But it didn't matter; they had committed crimes, and it was his job to track them down. Done and done.
Stepping forward from his alleyway, he began to follow the weaving trail of the two murderers, discreetly watching as they made their way to a local hotel. One went inside, while the other came out soon after to continue walking, glancing over the street signs and logos above his head. Yao hesitated momentarily before deciding to follow the moving target, leaving the other in the hotel. Then again, that would be a better plan…if they had decided from the first to split up, thus creating a diversion and necessitating more people. Did he need backup?
Considering he wasn't really authorized to take this case, he decided against the latter course of action. His closer friends knew he was investigating, but no one with the proper authority knew that he was spending his free time watching these two. If it was even these two who were the suspects. They certainly fit the profile, and looked strong enough to commit the crimes…but that was not evidence. And if he arrested the wrong people, that promotion could be pushed even farther away.
He shrugged to himself, then continued to weave between the people in his way, keeping his eyes ever trained on the taller man. These had to be the guys. He was sure of it.
o
Ivan cursed as he closed the door behind him, entering the hotel room before tossing a few small pamphlets on the bed. Seated beside the window, Alfred glanced up to face him as he stood, afraid to disturb the other. "Ivan? What happened?"
"More bodies were found. That is the bad news. And they-the destruction of the apartment was not total. They found the single body."
"Yeah, about that-" Folding his arms, Alfred frowned. "Why did you go and blow up the place? We could have just left him there-"
"They might have assumed we had died in the explosion as well! We would be totally blameless. A simple matter of new identification, and we would be back where we started. They could have pursued other leads, let the case die…" Ivan ran a hand through his hair, beginning to pace.
"You sound like you know a lot about this stuff. Are you sure you should have aimed for doctor?"
"You must know how these people think. How they act. My sister taught me that much."
"So….they know we aren't dead. So what?"
"They will soon know we are also no longer in the country. Which means we are hiding. Which-damn it!"
"But that's what we are doing, aren't we? We don't want to get caught!"
"But that will mean we are guilty! Irreparable proof that we are the perpetrators. If we had stayed we might have been able to fool them."
"Really. With a missing apartment and a dead policeman on our hands."
"Detective, actually."
"Whatever. Point is, despite all our show, we would never have been able to pull it off."
"Because you messed up! You had to go and-"
"Fine, yes, I made a mistake! I panicked! It's a thing I do! You didn't have to blow up the apartment!"
"We were already on the run. Our course was inevitable." Ivan shrugged, calming slightly before sitting on the edge of the bed. "We can only continue on. They do not know we left the country…"
"Good point. We should be okay. Hell, we might even be able to take up some…other recreational activities while we're here. You'll have to show me around, though."
Ivan glanced to him, raising an eyebrow, then nodded. "We could try."
"A whole new country…" Alfred slowly grinned, looking out the window. "A totally new realm."