Author's Note: We head back to Russia. We haven't heard from Hong Kong in a long time. He just popped up as I kept writing this. The same thing is said for Taiwan. They are all here. I am still trying to work out what I am going to do with Wang Ja and Lin Yi in the story. I don't know what I am going to make Ivan and Lin Yi's marriage steammier. I probably won't because it doesn't call for it. Speaking of which, I don't know what I am going to do for next week's match. I am making some good progress with the Halloween special. Look forward to that. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Eighteen: Temnyy Tsirk:
Even the Dark Circus came to Russia. Ivan knew this already. It was one of the seals after all. Though in a couple of nights, it will be the carnival coming to town. The flyers have already been dispensed. He already found one in his mailbox. Was he going to go? Maybe later in the night. Right now, he's got something more important to do.
Ivan picked up the phone.
"Yes, it's me," he said. "I got the package this morning." Ivan looked down at the box at his feet.
"What should I do next?" he asked. He listened for a moment.
"Right," the Russian man said. "I understand." Ivan slowly hung up. He looked down at the box again. He was not to open it until three in the afternoon. There wasn't really a reason for that. They were just told to wait.
"Whatever," Ivan said to himself. His wife was going to be home soon.
It was just going to be Ivan Lin Yi for dinner tonight. The couple didn't speak at first. She kept her eyes on her plate.
"I don't want you to go out tomorrow night," he said.
"Why?" she asked.
"There is going to be a festival then," he said. "It will be too dangerous for you."
"Oh. Are you going?" she asked.
"I might," Ivan said. "But I won't stay long."
"Oh," she said. She pushed a dumpling into her mouth. Lin Yi had gotten used to Russian food. She still loved the food from her own homeland.
"How are you doing?" Ivan asked. Lin Yi lowered her chopsticks.
"I feel fine," she mumbled. There was no emotion in her voice. Ivan leaned back in his chair.
"We might have to leave home soon," he said.
"Why?" his wife asked.
"Things are going to get worse in the world," Ivan said. "I want to be able to keep you safe as long as I can."
"What about my family?" she asked.
"They will find their own way," Ivan said. There was no emotion in his voice. He wasn't going to lie to her. It was too late for Kiku. The Korean twins had gone silent. However, the rest of Asia was still safe. They still had a chance.
"When are we leaving?" Lin Yi asked.
"I'm still working on that," the Russian man said. He shoved more dumplings in his mouth. His wife started to eat as well. They didn't talk as they kept eating.
Ivan opened the package at three in the afternoon. There was a mask inside. The Russian man picked it up and looked at it front and back. It was just a mask. No fancy trim on it. Now what was this for?
His phone rang in his pocket.
"Hello?" he asked. The call didn't last long.
"I understand," he said. "What time do you want me there? Okay. Okay. I will be right there." Ivan hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, Wang Ja was eavesdropping in the hall. He started to pick up on some Russian over the two years he had been living in the house. He had been bidding his time. This could be the ticket to escape that he was looking for.
Ivan made the precautions to keep his wife safe. He already got the invitation. But it was only addressed to him. Still, the carnival will call out to anyone it chooses. He just needed to keep Lin Yi and Wang Ja in the house all night.
His wife was no problem. It was the butler that he could have problems with. Ivan called Wang Ja to his office.
"You wanted to see me?" the Hong Kong man asked.
"Come inside," Ivan said. The butler slipped into the room.
"Shut the door," the Russian man said. Wan Ja closed the door behind him.
"Thank you," he said.
"What is this about?" Wang Ja asked.
"Please. Take a seat," Ivan said. The butler sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Neither man had any emotion on their face.
"I am going to need you to stay with your sister two nights from now," the Russian man said.
"Why?" Wang Ja asked. Ivan reached into his desk and opened the drawer. He pulled out the invitation. The Hong Kong man looked down at the paper.
"Okay… what is it?" he asked.
"Invitation to the Dark Carnival," Ivan said. "I got called out to it." Wang Ja looked up at him.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"You heard of the Dark Circus, yes?" the Russian man asked.
"A little bit," the Hong Kong man said. Ivan raised his eyebrow.
"How much do you know?" he asked.
"Just what's the internet," Wang Ja said. "A creepy circus and people disappearing."
"So basic stuff," Ivan said. The butler slowly nodded.
"Right," his boss said.
"What about it?" Wang Ja asked.
"I want you and her to stay home," Ivan said. "Stay in the room with her if you have to." Wang Ja gave him a puzzled look.
"Is there a reason why?" he asked. The Hong Kong man paused.
"Oh…" he said.
"Exactly," Ivan said. The men let the silence linger.
"So… how am I supposed to keep her at home?" Wang Ja asked.
"You will think of something," his boss said.
"But what about me?" the butler asked. "How will I keep myself from going out?" Ivan didn't speak as he reached into the drawer.
"Here," he said. He handed the butler a totem.
"What is this?" Wang Ja asked. He looked the little wooden figure over in his hand. There was some Russian written on the surface.
"It will keep you safe," Ivan said. Wang Ja looked up.
"I thought you didn't believe in that sort of thing," he said.
"I don't, but you do," his boss said. The butler sneered at him. Ivan sat back in his chair.
"That is all. You are dismissed," he said. Wang Ja rolled his eyes as he got up and walked out of the room.
Wang Ja believes that he has an out. He just needed the right time to do it. He would spend the next two nights trying to piece together the messages Ivan had over the phone. However, it might not be enough.
There was going to be something about the Dark Circus sightings that would uproot all of Europe and change the rules of the game. It would just take one guest to set foot inside.
And it's not who you think it is.