THE COMMUTE
by MAMBFF
Disclaimer: The rights to "Vampire Academy" belong to Richelle Mead.
Chapter Eight
~VA TC VA~
Rose
It was now the first week of November and last week, the pool table my parents had gifted us as a housewarming surprise, was delivered. Dimitri loved it. When he was thinking through concepts for campaigns, it was a great way to muddle over his ideas while also being able to relax. It fit well in the basement. We'd converted the room into two separate spaces. One half was dedicated to a games and entertainment space while the other was a makeshift home gym.
It was Saturday morning and I was snuggled up in our bed but was seeking more warmth. Rolling over, I moved to cuddle closer to Dimitri to find his spot empty. The sheets were cool, meaning he'd gotten up some time ago. A glance at the bedside clock informed me that it was just past 8AM.
Climbing from the bed, I did my morning rituals in the bathroom before pulling on one of Dimitri's sweatshirts for warmth and traipsed down the stairs in search of him. As I wandered into the kitchen, I noticed the coffee pot was half full and the heat sensor was keeping the contents warm. I filled a cup and meandered around the rest of the first floor. When it was clear I wasn't going to find him, I headed to the basement. I don't know why I just didn't head down there in the first place. I knew it was where I'd eventually find him.
My gaze focused on his impressive form as he leaned over the pool table, readying himself for a shot. I admired the way his t-shirt stretched across his biceps, making them appear even larger. Biting my lip, my eyes trailed over his body and I appreciated the way his jeans hugged his hips and ass just right. The sound of the balls clinking caught my attention and my gaze shifted to see it had been struck. It rolled into the corner pocket and when he glanced up and noticed, me, he lay the pool cue across the table as I sauntered over. Leaning against the edge of the table, he reached out as I stood in front of him, his hands on my hips.
"Our bed was cold without you." I murmured, sipping from my coffee. He didn't respond right away and it was clear something was on his mind.
Setting my coffee down on one side of the pool table, I hoisted myself up onto the edge of the other to avoid knocking my coffee to the floor, and pulled him to stand between my spread legs.
"What's on your mind, Comrade?" I coaxed, wrapping my arms around his waist and cuddling close to him, my cheek against his chest.
Dimitri wrapped me in his embrace and rested his head on mine. "I got an e-mail this morning." He informed. "From my father." He added and I felt myself tense at that and pulled back to look up at him. The unease was evident on my face. It was clear now why he wasn't in bed this morning. He didn't know how to process it and it was likely keeping him awake. We'd been expecting some form of contact from Randall at some point, but I don't think Dimitri was really prepared for it.
"How did he know your e-mail?" I asked, perplexed.
"The company has our basic contact info on the official website. He sent it to that one, not my personal one." He clarified, running a hand through my hair.
"Do I dare ask what he had to say?" I posed, snuggling closer. As I ran my hands over his back, I could feel the tension slowly release from his rigid posture.
"He wants me to meet with him." He stated plainly. "As if the past seventeen years have just been okay between us." He added irritably. "Like nothing happened." He grumbled, running his hands down my back and slipping them under the sweatshirt of his I was wearing, mirroring my actions along his back.
"What does he do, exactly?"
"The easy version," He paused. ", he's in mergers and acquisitions." He stated. "Basically, he buys companies that are floundering and splits them up and resells them for a profit." He explained as his hands toyed with the bottom of the sweatshirt.
"But not everything he does is legal, right?" I questioned, running my hands over his forearms while his settled on my hips.
"No, there's been some misappropriation of company funds, and he's managed to skirt the law on that." He replied. "Croft told me that each time they get close to arresting him, the evidence disappears or witnesses or both." He shared. "But he also has his hands in quite a few other business ventures. Like with Dashkov." He added.
"So, what does he want from you?" I pressed, slipping my hands under his t-shirt and pressing my palms into his back as he nuzzled his face into my neck.
"That's where the manipulation begins." He laughed sardonically. "He'll tell me that if I agree to sit down with him in a formal meeting." He shared and I felt him tense up a bit at that admission. "He mentioned a job opportunity with him, too." He added.
The idea that he'd even have to be in the same room as his father was upsetting, especially knowing what he had done to Dimitri's mother.
"You can't be serious." I stated in surprise. "He's just ignoring everything else like it never happened." I added. "And he expects you to work for him?"
"Apparently." He paused. "After reading that on my phone I couldn't get back to sleep." He explained, leaning down and kissing me chastely.
"We should set up a meeting with Croft and Arthur. Share this with them." I suggested. "Maybe you could be a spy and get the evidence needed to finally get him arrested." I added, biting my lip nervously at the proposed idea.
I knew Dimitri was not on good terms with his father, and would never want to really work for him, but he would gladly help in finding the evidence needed to put him behind bars. If that meant feigning interest in working for him and gaining his trust, that might be what he needed to do. I just worried whether he could handle that.
"I think he only wants me to work for him so he can spy on me. Those accounts I got from Victor, even though they sought me out, Dashkov only sees it as me taking from him." He explained. "And if they're working together," Dimitri took a breath before continuing. ", what benefits Dashkov benefits him, too."
"Right, rather than the simple truth. They left Dashkov's company, willingly." I surmise.
"Precisely." He nods. "It's revenue they're not earning anymore and they are rather high-profile accounts." He added as Dimitri brushed a stray strand of hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear. "I don't know that I'll be able to read him well though. But the same could be said of him assessing me, right?" He posed rhetorically. "Maybe it would be a good idea to take the meeting. Get a feel for what he's actually after." He suggested.
"Let's get Croft and Arthur to meet us here tomorrow. We can invite them for lunch." I suggested. "Then we can come up with a plan." I relayed. He nodded in agreement before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine more aggressively.
"Comrade?" I mumbled against his lips.
"Hmmmm…" He murmured, moving his lips to my neck.
"How long have you been up?" I asked, brushing my hands through his hair.
"I got the e-mail at 3:30AM. I'd gotten up to use the bathroom and checked my phone." He relayed. "When I couldn't get back to sleep, I got up at 4:30AM and went for a run on the treadmill for an hour and a half, had a shower, made coffee and have been down here ever since." He shared as I burrowed even closer to him, running my hands along his back comfortingly.
I could only imagine the thoughts running through his mind. Dimitri wanted to hurt his father, severely, for what he'd done to his mother. But in order to get close enough to Randall for information, he'd have to 'play nice'. Dimitri was good at looking stone faced when needed, but it was asking a lot of him to have to even consider being in Randall's presence and not punching him, repeatedly. It would be wholly justified too.
Dimitri called Croft and Arthur, inviting them over tomorrow, while I headed for a shower.
~VA TC VA~
The next afternoon, they arrived promptly at 1PM. We served a simple lunch while Dimitri shared the information regarding the e-mail that had been sent by his father. After everyone finished eating, I made a fresh pot of coffee and set a steaming cup down in front of everyone.
"I'd like to say I'm surprised, but really, I expected this." Arthur admitted, while nodding his thanks to me for the coffee.
"I haven't responded yet, for obvious reasons." Dimitri replied as I took my seat next to him. "But I'm not sure how to proceed with this." He stated. "How is Stan's infiltration going?" He added, sipping from his coffee.
"Stan has been doing well actually. He's even been around Randall a couple times." Croft informed. "According to what Stan has witnessed, it seems Randall is the one in charge and has been behind most of Dashkov's decisions." He explained.
"What do you mean?" I interjected. "I thought it was Victor's company?"
"It is Dashkov's company, at least on paper, but Randall is the one who seems to be giving the orders. At least that's Stan's assessment. According to his intel, Randall is the one who convinced Natalie to try to seduce Dimitri to get information from him." He explained. "But it's what information he is after as this was in play before you," He paused, looking at Dimitri. ", had acquired those accounts from Dashkov. It's unclear why it started." He shared cryptically. "It's what he was using Natalie for and what she could have been after that we're unaware of." He finalized.
"Why would he do that?" I questioned in confusion. "How does he benefit from that?" I added. "And what other things could he have been after?" I rambled out.
Croft went on to explain that this is where it becomes clear Randall has his hands in various pies, so to speak.
"According to Stan's information," Arthur interrupted. "Randall is in the blackmail business." He stated.
Something seemed to dawn on Dimitri. "He has dirt on people and holds it over them unless they do what he wants." Dimitri surmised.
"Exactly." Arthur nodded.
"What could Randall have over Dashkov that he so willingly put Natalie in such a precarious situation?" I asked. "With a fake identity at that."
"There have been rumours for years now that Victor's wife was murdered by Dashkov himself." Croft shared. "She did have cancer but she was in treatment and from what we know based on her medical records, which were subpoenaed on a case some years ago which fell through unfortunately." He paused.
It made me think of the various times they'd tried to get Randall and Victor was close to it all. He had to know details of Randall's business dealings, been an accomplice even. But clearly this was one of those times Dimitri had mentioned where evidence and witnesses disappeared. I turned my attention back to Hans. ", she was in remission." He explained. "Her sudden demise when Natalie was only eight years old, was very suspect." He added. "Not attributed to her cancer." He clarified.
"Was an autopsy performed?" Dimitri queried.
"That's where it gets even more suspicious." He paused. "Victor managed to expedite her release from the morgue. She was cremated before we could even put in the order to have her remains held." Croft relayed. "Because of Victor's swift actions, we never knew what her cause of death was, officially, but Victor has always been unwavering and adamant that it was a sudden heart attack." He shared.
"Damn." I mumbled. "You think Randall knew Victor killed her?" I questioned.
"Yes. Not only that, but he has evidence to prove it." Croft added. "It is why Victor is practically his puppet at this point."
"If I agree to meet with him, and hear him out, what do you want my role to be?" Dimitri interjected.
Croft laid out his thoughts and shared that he suspected that Randall was not reaching out because of Dimitri's work with Arthur but because of Olena's passing. "I think he wants to find out what you know of her death. Or rather the cause." Hans clarified. "Where she'd been for so many years that he couldn't find her." He tacked on. "What could you have shared with Victor when you worked for him, if anything."
"He's fishing for information, period." Arthur interjected.
"You need to appear angry with him, he will expect that. He has to after what happened when you were younger." I shared. "But appear to really be thinking over any offers he puts your way too. Seem interested even if you don't care." I added.
Arthur and Hans nodded in agreement.
"He doesn't know about me and Roza, does he?" Dimitri asked worriedly. "I mean I don't want to put her parents in a precarious situation. They were the ones that helped my mother for years." He described.
"He probably knows because of Dashkov." Arthur stated. "You were seen in court together during the case against Avery, I mean Natalie," He corrected. ", and Zeklos."
"Shit." Dimitri murmured. Reaching over I slipped my hand into his comfortingly.
"Even if he does know about me, that doesn't mean he knows my parents were involved in helping her, Comrade." I tried to alleviate. "If he did know, he could have found her and he never did after that last attack." I reasoned.
"That's a good point, Rose." Croft stated before turning to Dimitri. "I don't think Randall knew where your mother was. After that last attack that left her brain damaged, she had disappeared, at least to him." He paused. "Your parent's, Rose," He addressed. ", admitted her to the care home under a different name, for her protection. Your father was adamant about that." Croft explained.
"You knew my parents had helped Olena, all this time?" I questioned.
"No, not until recently." He clarified.
Hans explained that when we'd made the initial reports about our stalker, he'd looked into our family connections and spoke with my parents once the case of the mystery stalkers had concluded. My father shared how they'd managed to keep Olena safe and it began with giving her a new identity. At least on paperwork, for her protection.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
My eyes widened in surprise at the content of the new e-mail I'd just read. I had to rub the sleep from my eyes and read it again just to be sure I wasn't hallucinating. After seventeen years, my father suddenly wanted to reach out and even posed an offer of working for him. But he was clever, he said 'with him', not 'for him'. The devil is in the details after all. The particulars of which he'd only share if I agreed to a sit-down meeting with him. His way of trying to control things through underhanded manipulation tactics.
Setting my phone back on the nightstand, I rolled over in bed and wrapped my arm around Roza as she lay with her back to my chest while I nuzzled my face in her neck, trying to get back to sleep. After an hour, it was clear my mind wouldn't settle and my constant restlessness would surely wake Roza.
Extricating myself from our entangled limbs, I leaned over and kissed her cheek sweetly, before leaving the bed and making sure she was wrapped up warmly. She stirred slightly before burrowing back into her pillow. Changing into shorts and sneakers, I headed downstairs and decided to go for a run on the treadmill to get rid of this anxious energy.
An hour and a half later I finally stepped off the treadmill, covered in a sheen of sweat. Grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-fridge, I chugged it down. I still couldn't settle my mind and headed back upstairs for a shower. I stood under the hot spray for twenty minutes, washing off the perspiration from my run before stepping out, drying off and pulling on jeans and a t-shirt. I quietly left Roza to sleep in a little more. Once in the kitchen, I made a pot of coffee. While it brewed, I ate an apple and took in the view outside the kitchen window as the sun could be seen just over the horizon.
It was calm out, but cold. My thoughts were still racing over that simple e-mail and his audacity at not even offering any kind of explanation or apology for anything. After filling a large cup with coffee, I headed downstairs and readied the pool table to play against myself and try to think about what Randall could really be after, while working out my frustration with it all.
When it was around 8:18AM Roza found me downstairs as I set up another shot. My mind had continued with its rambunctious over thinking. Spinning out of control over a few words from my father.
She strolled over and I settled my hands on her hips. Just being near Roza was comforting and the way she wrapped her arms around me and cuddled into my chest was relieving some of the tension I'd been feeling since the early morning hours.
After her suggestion of informing Croft and Arthur, I made the first call.
"Belikov?" Arthur answered on the second ring.
"Arthur. Randall made contact." I stated bluntly.
"Have you told Croft?"
"I'm calling him next. I wanted to invite you both over tomorrow for lunch and to go over what Randall sent and what our next moves should be." I informed.
"I'll be there." He agreed.
Hans was on the same page and at 1PM the next afternoon they'd arrived, one after the other.
I was a little surprised that with all of Randall's contacts and resources, he'd never been able to find my mother after the last attack he'd made on her. I was lost in my thoughts and finally turned my attention back to Roza, Hans and Arthur.
"That's a good point, Rose." Croft stated. "I don't think Randall knew where your mother was." He shared, turning to me. "After that last attack that left her brain damaged, she had disappeared, at least to him." He paused. "Your parent's, Rose, admitted her to the care home under a different name, for her protection. Your father was adamant about that." Croft explained.
Roza questioned how Croft knew this and he summarized for her how he'd come into the knowledge. Her father had been very forthcoming with information on how he and Janine had protected my mother's whereabouts. Roza's parents were smart in admitting her to the care home under another name. Otherwise, she could have suffered even more at the hands of my father, if he had managed to find her.
Janine did put an announcement in the paper with a mention of her passing. I'm sure that's another way Randall could have found out. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder if there was also the possibility that one of my sisters informed him. Roza had said her mother, Janine, sent letters to them from my mother. Similar to the one I had received in the box of memories.
"Something is troubling me." Arthur interjected, bringing me out of my musings.
"What is?" Hans prodded.
Arthur reminded me of the initial e-mail he'd sent to me offering me a position with his company. Due to sleuthing from his IT department, it became clear that I'd never received that e-mail with the job offer as someone had removed it from the servers.
"The point is, a lot of thought and work went in to Dashkov securing you at his company." He continued. "My suspicions have changed a bit and are more about how I initially thought he was using you to get to your father. But clearly Dashkov didn't know that you were not exactly on speaking terms with Randall." He went on.
"You're thinking that Victor wanted to get something from Dimitri to hold over Randall?" Roza concluded. "His own blackmail, as it were." She suggested.
"Yes. I think Victor thought he could use you to get something on him, and when he realized you knew nothing of his business dealings, that's when your work started to go 'unappreciated'." Arthur added. "If Randall does have something on Dashkov that he's using as leverage, then maybe Victor was trying to use you to do the same. Even the playing field as it were." He finished.
"Now that Randall has reached out, maybe it's not just finding out what he can from you about just Olena, but what Victor might have gotten from you when you were working for him." Hans concluded.
"This is giving me such a headache." Roza whined adorably, breaking the tension in the room.
We all laughed lightly and I reached over, rubbing the back of her neck affectionately.
"What do you want Dimitri to do?" She posed as I slipped my hand into hers, squeezing lovingly.
"Well, for starters. Let's not let Randall get the upper hand." Croft stated. "From how he worded this e-mail," He started, reading over the printout I'd made to make it easier. He looked it over once again before continuing. ", he's trying to dictate how things will go." He stated.
Arthur nodded and he and Croft seemed to be on the same page once again. "Agree to a meeting with him, but on our territory." Arthur suggested. Hans nodded affirmatively. "We need him to think he has control but we will hold the power." Arthur added.
"We can get more eyes in our offices that can watch his behaviour." Roza agreed.
"That's a good idea." Croft added. "We can even make it clear there are surveillance cameras on the premises for security on each floor and in the conference rooms." He smiled.
Hans asked Arthur how long it would take to install such cameras. We wanted Randall to think things were more monitored than they were. As though the 'fake' high profile account that he'd accessed on the dummy thumb drive Isaiah had stolen, meant more than it did.
"Christian can install wireless cameras and he can record." Roza interjected. "He can also set up recording devices." She added.
By the end of lunch, we had a plan. If Randall didn't agree to meet me on my terms and on my territory, then there would be no meeting, and we'd have to rely only on Stan Alto to get as much intel as he could.
Arthur was heading into the office immediately to get started on the new security features. He warned us that when we arrived at work tomorrow morning, new protocols would be in place and he'd even send out a companywide memo to explain the newly added security features.
"You could use Isaiah's breach of my computer. Or attempt anyway." Roza suggested and Arthur smiled at her. "As a partial reason for the new upgrades." She grinned.
Croft and Arthur helped me draft a simple response to Randall's e-mail with my stipulations. It was made clear that I would meet with him, but not at his company. I left it open for him to pick a date and time, so he thought he had some control over our interaction.
~VA TC VA~
That night, after dinner, Roza and I were curled up on the couch after a late dinner, watching some movie on TV, but I was falling asleep and could barely keep my eyes open much longer.
"Comrade." She nudged. "Let's go to bed. Come on, you're almost out." She giggled, leaning over and kissing my cheek.
Standing, I turned off the TV while she took our glasses and the empty popcorn bowl to the kitchen and turned off the lights. I waited for her at the bottom of the stairs and she slipped her hand in mine as we traipsed upstairs to our bedroom.
We did our nightly bathroom rituals, like brushing our teeth. I was last to finish, and when I headed back into the bedroom, Roza lay in bed, holding up the covers for me to climb in with her.
"Are you okay?" She murmured as we lay on our sides facing one another.
Wrapping my arm around her naked waist, I pulled her closer. Our foreheads were almost touching, we were so close.
"I'm not sure how I feel about actually having to sit down with him." I confessed. "I'm so angry at him for what he's done to my family. My mother, my sisters." I trailed off.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
Dimitri looked so exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open. He had been up since practically 3:30AM this morning. It was just past 8:30PM and I nudged him awake so we could go to bed.
He let me use the bathroom first and when he finally finished, he crawled into bed completely nude, and pulled me into his arms, his eyes searching mine.
"Comrade," I started, my gaze meeting his. "Do you think that he blackmailed your sisters?" I posed. "I mean you said they sort of cut things off with you. What if he lied to them, or your mother or both. Threatened them even." I offered by way of explanation.
"I honestly don't know, Roza." He groaned, tiredly. "But it's something I want to find out." He shared.
"I know it's a lot for you to take on." I comforted, wiggling just a little closer and pressing my lips to his chastely. "But, no matter what, you know you have a lot of support, right?" I smiled.
"I love you, Roza." He murmured, resting his forehead against mine. "I don't know that I could be doing any of this without you." He confessed.
"I love you too, Dimitri. So much." I replied. "I wish I could make everything better." I confessed.
"You do already, milaya." He smiled, rolling onto his back, tugging me with him. "Just holding you like this. Makes everything better." He smiled, tiredly.
Resting my head on his chest and my arm around his torso, he made sure the comforter was around us and keeping me warm before we finally succumbed to sleep.
~VA TC VA~
At 5:30AM the following morning, I woke to the smell of bacon, and it had my mouth watering.
"Comrade?" I murmured; eyes still closed. I heard him chuckle.
"Sit up and open your eyes, milaya." I could hear the smile in his voice.
When I opened my eyes while keeping the blankets covering me, for warmth, I took a deep breath and inhaled that bacon smell.
"We have to leave earlier today; we're meeting with Arthur in his office." He reminded, setting a tray over my legs with a delicious looking breakfast.
"Thank you for this." I smiled sweetly, munching on the crispy bacon with one hand while scooping some of the scrambled eggs onto my fork with the other.
"I'm going to shower while you eat." He shared, leaning down to kiss my cheek before sipping from his coffee and taking it with him into the bathroom.
Our commute to work was a little different now that we lived farther way. We had started to do what we called the 'park n' ride' and Dimitri always made sure the truck was toasty warm before I got in. We'd make the ten-minute drive and leave the truck in an underground parkade before walking the two blocks to the train. Thankfully, Arthur had supplied us with a paid company parking pass for the year, so that cut down on the costs.
We were still early enough that I could pick up my favoured Starbucks coffee before we headed to the office.
When we walked in, it was still rather quiet. It was barely 7:30AM but the front desk receptionist for the building was always ready and clocked in at 7AM. Dimitri and I noticed two new security guards near the elevators and two at the front door. As well as various signs on the walls that made it clear that the building was under video and in some areas, audio surveillance.
Arthur wasn't kidding when he said security would be upped. We had to show our office identification lanyards to each of these security personnel before we could enter the building or get on the elevator.
We left our things in our offices and I met Dimitri outside of his as we made our way to Arthur's office. His PA wasn't even in yet, so I knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately. Arthur smiled in greeting and ushered us in.
"Hi," I acknowledged, when I saw both Christian and Lissa at the small conference table.
"Hey, so this is a lot." Lissa smiled reassuringly.
Christian was clicking away on his laptop. "Okay, we're all set." He grinned, turning it to face us as Dimitri reached back to close the door for privacy.
He had the screen split into what looked like ten to twelve different locations where the newly installed cameras had been set up.
"I will make a recording of the footage each day, until we hear that Randall is actually coming, then I will turn on the audio." Christian explained.
"Excellent. Thank you." Arthur praised. "Has he replied to your e-mail?" Arthur posed, looking at Dimitri.
"No. That's not an oversight either." He replied. "It's a sort of manipulation tactic on his part. He makes you wait, as if we've put everything on hold for him while waiting for a response." He added.
"Well, until he does reply, it's work as usual, yes?" I posed. Arthur nodded in the affirmative.
"I've gathered a file together." Lissa interjected. "I called that Detective Croft and asked him for copies of any photos of Randall's known associates." She explained, handing Arthur a copy. "I thought that Christian could use some kind of facial recognition on the video surveillance to see if any of them make an appearance."
"That's brilliant thinking, Ms. Dragomir. Well done." Arthur complimented.
"You each have a secure e-mail copy." She shared, looking to me and Dimitri.
"I did some computer thing to basically hide the e-mail from the servers, so only you two can see it. It will appear in your inbox as if it's 'junk e-mail'. An advertisement of sorts." He explained. "In case someone happens to snoop, then it's hidden in plain view, just don't delete it. Move it to a saved file so you can view it." He added. We nodded in understanding.
"With the new security in the lobby, anyone will have to be stopped to show identification, so we will be able to get every face that steps into this building." Dimitri added. "If Randall is indeed trying to get eyes in here, we'll know it." He finalized.
"We've got our bases covered then." Arthur smiled. "I've sent out the memo I mentioned, using Rose's suggestion that part of the security changes are because of Isaiah's attempt to access her personal computer files, but also added that with high profile accounts, their privacy was of the utmost importance." He explained.
Arthur worked fast and with Lissa and Christian's help, the security changes were done quickly. Christian was even able to alter the initial e-mail for the upgrades from Arthur, showing they were requested just after Isaiah was fired. That way it wouldn't coincide with Randall's sudden interest in meeting with Dimitri.
We had no doubt that Randall had a tech expert like Christian and if he had someone trying to hack into the company servers, it wouldn't show the falsified dates. Anyone viewing the e-mails would see the dates Christian altered, making them look legitimate. Christian was rather good at what he did and covered his tracks well.
There was also the fact that we did doubt Randall knew how suspicious we were of him. To have the forethought to put these safe guards into place at all, probably hasn't crossed his mind. Or he just thinks we're too stupid to be as cautious as we are.
That's when something suddenly dawned on me. Randall has no idea that my parents helped Olena. He has no clue that Dimitri KNOWS what he did to her, how it left her brain damaged. I mentioned it to Dimitri so he would be careful in what information about Olena he did share, if anything.
As far as Randall knows, Dimitri was practically ousted from his own family for trying to protect them against Randall seventeen years ago. It was why he had a sort of falling out with them. But when I think about it, I really wondered what kinds of threats he could have made against Olena and Dimitri's sisters to make them keep their distance.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
Two weeks had passed and we were now a week away from Thanksgiving. Randall had finally replied to my e-mail. He agreed to meet on my territory, which meant he was after something when he clearly didn't try to renegotiate a different location for the meeting.
The date was set for Wednesday, December 4th at 2:00PM. As soon as I received the e-mail, I met with Arthur in his office to share the information.
"I'm surprised he's waiting so long to have the discussion." Arthur shared.
"He said that he was 'sorry' it took so long to respond, but his schedule has been so busy. December 4th was the earliest he could fit us in." I stated, with a roll of my eyes. "As if I'm an afterthought and he just has to 'find the time'." I laughed lightly.
"He's trying to appear as if he doesn't care, but he really does." Arthur grinned.
"Well, he didn't try to renegotiate the meeting place." I relayed. "Which has to mean he's after something, but he's going to act very casual about it." I finished.
"We will be ready for him. Don't you worry about that." Arthur assured.
As I was about to head back to my office, Arthur informed me he was heading down to Christian's IT offices to go over something he'd found on the surveillance.
"Do you need me to come with you?" I asked, just before departing his office.
"No, that would look odd. IT comes to you, not the other way around. But for me to visit just means I'm checking in on the new security upgrades." He explained. I nodded in understanding before we departed his office. He went one way, and I the other.
As I headed back to my office, I noticed Tasha lingering nearby. I didn't pay her much attention, but noted that she was looking off. Anxious even.
Roza was ensconced in her office, working but I needed to get a woman's opinion on Tasha's odd behaviour. Lissa was out getting us lunch at the moment with Roza's PA, Sydney.
Knocking on her door, I opened it a moment later.
"Hey Comrade!" She smiled wide.
"Hi." I grinned in reply, closing the door after myself before walking over and kissing her sweetly. "I just saw something that seemed odd."
"What?" She asked, pushing back from her desk as I leaned against the wall nearby.
"Tasha, was lingering just past my office in the corridor and she looked fidgety. I can't quite explain it more than that, but it was weird." I shared.
"Go to your office, I'll go get us coffee and see if she's still there. I'll let you know if I see anything off." She suggested, locking her computer with the new secure fingerprint keypad before following me out.
I left my office door open as I waited for Roza. Lissa had returned first and I asked her to have Sydney bring Roza's food here as we were going to have a quiet lunch together.
Roza returned a few minutes later with two cups of coffee. After setting them down, she closed the door after thanking Sydney for bringing her lunch over.
"You're right, she's acting off." She shared. "She wouldn't meet my eye and I was even nice and politely said, 'hi Tasha." She went on. "No response other than a hand waved at me in dismissal." She finished
"Should we tell Arthur?" I posed.
"Wait, let's not pull him in yet. Gimme a sec." She stated, leaving my office. I could see her at Lissa's desk, speaking to her quietly.
The next thing I knew, Lissa was on the phone. Within ten minutes, Christian was in my office, along with Lissa, and the door closed securely.
"Hey, did you get things settled with Arthur?" I asked Christian.
He looked at me in confusion. "I was with Arthur when he said you noticed something on the surveillance." I clarified.
"Oh! It was just a bit of a blind spot with one of the cameras. It's fixed now." He stated before turning back to his laptop, clicking away at the keyboard. I was relieved it wasn't anything too serious. "I've pulled up the last forty-five minutes of footage of Tasha in the corridor." Christian explained. "Now, I get it, she's my sister and I know her well, but this is definitely odd behaviour for her." He relayed.
"It's like she's waiting for someone." Roza stated, as we watch the footage.
"Can you see what's across from her, like what she's watching?" I ask as Christian does some clicking on his keyboard, bringing up another angle of the office via the new surveillance cameras.
"It's just the elevators." Lissa points out. "You think she's waiting for someone to arrive?" She added.
"Who is she the PA for?" I ask.
"She was Stan's assistant." Roza states.
That makes us all pause for a moment. I can't help but wonder if she knows something.
"I think now is a good time to bring this to Arthur." Roza suggests.
"Let me call him here, easier than a crowd of us walking up to his office, right past Tasha." I explain.
"She's still there, by the way" Christian interjected, going back to the live feed.
"Arthur." I acknowledge when he picks up his phone. "Can you meet me in my office. There's some pertinent information I need to relay, and it would be easier if you could come to me." I share.
"Of course." He agrees.
"Please take note, part of the reason is because Tasha Ozera is loitering in the corridor, apparently trained on the elevator as if she's waiting for someone." I relay.
"I think I can explain that. I'll meet you in five." He replied before I hung up the receiver.
You could feel the relief that encompassed all of us after Arthur explained why Tasha looked a bit on edge. Arthur had brought Tasha into his confidence with a special mission. She was how Stan was getting intel to Arthur.
"Not to sound rude, but you trust her?" Lissa posed. "I mean I know she's your sister, Christian, but her behaviour here in the office hasn't been stellar." She explained. "Rather unprofessional a lot of the time." She finished.
"My sister might be a bit clueless when it comes to trying to attract a man's attention, but she is trustworthy." He stated.
"That was my conclusion." Arthur stated. "When we knew, Stan was going to take on the role he has, I brought Tasha in for a meeting." He explained. She was worried she'd be let go because of her past actions and Stan's leave of absence. But I told her she could redeem herself." Arthur added. "She was reassigned to another executive on this floor so I could keep an eye on her." He finished.
"Does she know why Stan isn't here anymore?" I asked.
"Yes and no. She doesn't know where he's at or what he's doing, just that he's on an extended leave on personal business." Arthur continued. "Every Friday, like clockwork, a courier arrives. That person is tasked with handing over a sealed envelope to Ms. Ozera, who then brings it to me." He paused. "It contains intel from Stan for that week." He finalized. "But to Tasha, it's information on the 'high profile' accounts." He stated. "I've led her to believe that keeping sensitive information on our computers could be compromised as Isaiah's actions showed when he tried to access Rose's computer. She seemed to buy that narrative." He informed.
"How come we didn't know this?" Roza posed. "I mean I understand why it needed to be kept quiet, but we were really freaking out here." She laughed nervously.
"That's partly my mistake, I should have let you all know. But it was also a bit of a test." He grinned. "How's that surveillance going?" He added, a Cheshire like cat grin on his face.
It became more clear that Arthur was using Tasha's role in conjunction with the new surveillance. Likely to see if anyone noticed her weekly routine changes. It took us two weeks, but her behaviour today was more erratic than usual.
"Why is she looking so anxious though?" Christian questioned. "I mean I know my sister, something like waiting for a package would not frazzle her like this." He added, turning the computer to show the live stream and how she was pacing and biting at her finger nails.
"Shit." Arthur murmured. "What time is it?" He asked.
"1:47PM" I shared, after glancing at my watch.
"He's late. The courier. He's late." He reiterated. "He's usually come and gone by 1:30PM." He states. Arthur had informed us that the courier is aware of the sensitivity of the packages, but not what's in them.
"Maybe he had a lot of deliveries?" Roza suggested.
"Wait, she just completely relaxed, look." Christian shared, pointing to his laptop.
The courier had been late, and we watched as he finally arrived. It was clear to all of us that he looked off for some reason. Christian clicked a few things and suddenly we had audio from the surveillance near them.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so late, but I think I was being followed." The courier stated, looking around, nervously.
"Did you get a look at who it might have been?" Tasha probed.
"I took a photo." He stated, pulling out his phone.
"I need to see who that person could have been. Excuse me." Arthur stated, leaving abruptly.
We continued to watch and listen as he approached Tasha and the courier.
"I need to see that young man." Arthur addressed.
"Bugger off old man!" He stated rudely.
"Hey! It's his parcel you're delivering. Show him the damn photo!" Tasha admonished.
The courier looked rightfully chastised as he showed Arthur the photo. Instead of asking him to send it to his phone, Arthur used his phone to take a photo of image on the screen.
"That will be all." He dismissed the courier and he scurried out with his tail between his legs.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
Arthur returned to Dimitri's office and shared the photo he'd just taken from the courier's phone.
"I know that face." Lissa stated, turning to Christian and asking him to pull something up.
Suddenly, all the faces of Randall's known associates appeared on Christian's laptop screen and the one in question was front and centre.
"Can you make that a bit larger?" Arthur queried, stepping closer to get a better look. "That's him." He confirmed after glancing at his phone one more time to be sure. "What's his name?"
"Nathan." Christian stated.
"So, he was following the courier. Why?" I posed.
"It's not a matter of why, it's more telling than that." Dimitri replied. "It means, Randall has this building being watched." He added. "Who's coming and going."
"We also don't know for a fact he was being followed." Christian interjected. "It could be a coincidence." He added. "He comes each Friday, right?" He asked, looking to Arthur.
"Yes." He confirmed.
"Then next week, I'll find out where he lives, and covertly follow him to work to see if anyone is in fact following him here." He suggested. "It would be better if we were in fact certain that it was the courier he was following."
"What about your work?" Lissa interjected.
"I can monitor things wirelessly for a few hours." He smiled reassuringly.
Arthur agreed to Christian's plan. "You're right about being sure. It looks like he is following him but it could be a coincidence." He nodded.
"Well, for anyone that cares, Nathan is Randall's brother. My uncle." Dimitri interjected. "He's also the father to one of the other executives who work here."
"What? Who?" I asked in surprise.
"Like me, he's not had much contact with his father. They're estranged." Dimitri explained.
"Who?" I pressed, becoming impatient.
"Adrian Ivashkov." He finally stated.
"Wait, wait." Arthur seemed bothered. "That could mean," Arthur paused, a look of worry crossing his features. "Randall could be after information from Adrian too." He surmised. "Not just you Dimitri. It could be why he didn't try to renegotiate your meeting place." He surmised. "Having you both in the same location, he could be thinking that he'll get to talk to both of you." He determined. Arthur had added that he knew who Nathan was but Adrian hadn't spoken with him in years, since his parents had divorced.
"Is it possible to put Adrian on early Christmas vacation?" Lissa suggested. "I mean so he wouldn't be in the office upon Randall's arrival." She explained.
"Not really." Arthur started. "But his schedule could be backed up with meetings, keeping him too busy in the back conference room and out of sight from Randall." He shared.
We tried not to worry about the unknowns but seeing Nathan supposedly following the courier was suspicious. Adrian was unaware of what was going on and Arthur was adamant that we shouldn't clue him in to what was going on. It could change his natural behaviour around the office and that would be even more odd. Adrian had a certain charisma about him that if that was suddenly altered, it would garner a lot more attention than anyone would want. Suspicion would start creeping in as to why his demeanour had changed.
~VA TC VA~
The following Friday, Christian followed the courier from his home as he checked into work and loaded his deliveries into his van. Dimitri and I continued with our regular duties and worked on our campaigns. We kept to the same schedule and had lunch together, like always.
We'd planned to leave work early after we heard from Christian, once the courier arrived and dropped off his usual parcel. As I tossed my lunch garbage, I turned to Dimitri. "Coffee?" I questioned and he nodded while still chewing. I smiled at the mayonnaise, once again on the side of his lip.
Reaching over, I swiped a napkin and wiped it off for him. He smiled after he'd swallowed.
"Thanks, milaya." He grinned. "And coffee would be great." He added as I left him to finish.
As I was returning with two steaming cups, I noticed that the courier was with Tasha. I kept walking, presumably ignoring them. Christian was at Lissa's desk and I nodded at them to join me in Dimitri's office.
After closing the door, Lissa locked it as I set Dimitri's coffee down in front of him.
"The courier has delivered the package." I stated, looking to Christian to share his intel.
"Should we not get Arthur in here?" He asked.
"Is there something to share that he would want to know?" I asked.
"Well yes and no." He replied cryptically. "Nathan was following someone, but it wasn't the courier." He stated.
"I'll call Arthur." Dimitri interjected. Arthur would want to know who he was in fact following if it wasn't the courier.
He tossed his garbage, and we gathered around the small conference table Dimitri had in his office while we waited for Arthur to arrive.
A few moments later there was a hurried knocking on the door. Lissa unlocked it and he slipped inside.
"What do you have?" He questioned, getting right to the point.
"Nathan wasn't following the courier; he was following someone else." Christian relayed as he did his clicky thing on the computer before a video loaded.
We all huddled around to watch the screen as things came into focus.
"Wait, wait, pause it there." Dimitri interjected after a few minutes. "Shit." He murmured.
"Comrade? What is it?" I pressed.
"That's my sister, Viktoria." He stated in surprise. "Why would Nathan be following her?" He posed.
"Probably because he is under orders from Randall and they think she's on her way to talk to you." Arthur deduced.
"I haven't talked to her in ages." Dimitri stated. "It's been at least two years since she'd called me last." He added.
"Maybe it's time you reached out to your sisters." I suggested, gauging his reaction to my idea. I knew he wanted to reconnect with them, especially after the news of his mother's passing, but with everything already going on, it was so much to handle at one time.
"Maybe." He murmured. I didn't press him anymore on the topic, the idea was in his head now and he could let me know when he wanted to make the next move.
"Well, he wasn't following the courier, he was just in the same line of sight as your sister was." Christian interjected.
"That's a relief at least." Arthur replied. "If they suspected the courier of something, then that could put Stan in danger." He explained.
"Do you know where she was going?" Dimitri asked as Christian hit play on the video once more.
"There's an office building another two blocks up, it's three blocks before you reach this building. I think she either had an appointment or she possibly works there. It's medical offices." He relayed. "Nathan didn't follow her inside, but he did write something down in a notebook and then took off." He explained.
"Thanks, Christian." Dimitri nodded
"Thank you, everyone, for your hard work and diligence on all of this." Arthur complimented. "Take the rest of the day and have a good Thanksgiving weekend." He grinned. "I'll contact you if any surprises should arise." He finalized.
"I'll still monitor the video link ups over the weekend." Christian stated.
Everyone said their goodbye's before leaving.
When Dimitri and I finally left work and headed towards the train, I shivered at the cold in the air.
"You, okay?" He asked, slipping his hand into mine.
"Yeah, just cold." I mumbled, my teeth chattering slightly.
He smiled and tugged me into his side, his arm now around my shoulders. "The truck will warm you up, milaya." He stated. "Do we need to head to the grocery store to get stuff for this weekend?" He asked as we waited on the platform.
My mother had called last week to ask if Dimitri and I would be willing to host Thanksgiving at our house. Her and my father were renovating two of the bathrooms in their place, and they wouldn't be complete in time for company this weekend.
She was clear that she would bring the turkey and couple side dishes while Dimitri and I were in charge of the potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and dessert. My brother, Eddie, would not only be bringing the wine, but his new girlfriend.
We extended the invite to Ivan and Mia, but Lissa and Christian were having dinner with her parents and her brother, Andre. Tasha was even included in Lissa's invite as she was Christian's only living family.
"Yes, we need to stock up on quite a bit of stuff actually." I replied to his question as the train pulled up.
Being that it was the middle of the afternoon, it wasn't too crazy busy at the store. Dimitri got a cart as we started down various aisles in the store. I randomly started pulling things from the shelves and plopped them into the cart. Some of which were not for thanksgiving at all, I just wanted them.
"Pop tarts? Seriously?" He asked in surprise, a teasing smile on his face.
"Don't knock 'em, Comrade. They are their own food group." I taunted in reply with a grin as he passed by me with the cart. He leaned down and kissed my cheek.
"Fair enough." He smiled as we continued to shop.
"Excuse me." I heard. I looked over to see a short older woman looking up at Dimitri. "Could you please help me?" She asked politely.
"Of course." He agreed, winking my way as he followed her down the next aisle. I was close behind.
"I cannot reach that shelf and I need four cans." She mentioned. Dimitri gladly grabbed her the cans she needed and placed them in her cart. "Thank you." She smiled before rushing off.
"That was nice of you." I smirked.
"I go where my services are needed." He joked.
"Well, Comrade. Your services will be required later…" I teased. "In bed." I added before strolling ahead of him.
"I can work with that." He nodded, following after me with the cart.
By the time we were in line for the check out, the store had gotten remarkably busier. As we unloaded our groceries, the check-out woman kept making eyes at Dimitri. I laughed to myself at how oblivious he was to her eye-fucking him. Once he'd unloaded everything and placed the separator between our groceries and the person to follow, he moved the cart to the end for the bags to be loaded in.
"Hey," He murmured next to me.
"Hmmmm?" I replied, my eyes still on the check-out girl.
"I'm going to run next door and pick up a few cases of beer for the weekend. Do you want anything?" He asked.
"I'm good." I smiled, leaning up to kiss his jaw. Dimitri tilted his head and kissed me good and proper, before gently palming my ass and walking off.
The check-out girl was watching him leave as she continued to scan our items. "He's dreamy, isn't he?" I asked rhetorically.
She nodded vigorously. "Sorry, I know I was staring, but damn girl. You're so lucky." She giggled.
"Trust me, I know. He's…everything." I smiled as she loaded bags into the cart for me.
She rattled off the total and I paid with my debit card. Once she handed me the receipt, I headed towards the exit.
Dimitri wasn't back at the truck yet, and I stood there in the cold waiting. He arrived a few moments later with a cart full of alcohol.
"Are we having a party?" I asked, laughing at his hull.
"There was a sale." He grinned. Plus, that is a specialty liquor shop, they have the good Vodka." He added, lowering the tailgate and loading everything into the covered truck bed. "Get in the truck, milaya, get warm." He instructed. I complied as I was freezing cold again.
It was Friday, so traffic was a lot heavier than we expected, plus being a long weekend, it took us double the time to get home. As we waited at a red light, my phone started going off with alerts. Pulling it from my pocket, I tapped the screen to see Lissa had messaged me.
Lissa: Don't be alarmed if you have a guest when you get home.
"What's wrong?" Dimitri questioned when he noticed the look on my face.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
I stocked up on a few cases of beer and my favourite Vodka. This shop was right next door to our favoured grocery store, and they had some great finds for hard-to-find brands of liquor. Some authentic Russian brands too.
With Thanksgiving this weekend, it also meant football. People would be arriving early to watch the game, and I wanted to get a set up going in the basement for what would surely be a raucous group.
After filling the cart with six cases of beer and one case of my preferred Vodka, I headed to the checkout. I was trying to be quick, so Roza wouldn't have to wait in the cold for too long, but the woman in front of me kept getting her cards declined.
Reluctantly, she finally pulled out some cash and paid before rushing off. When I finally made it back to the truck, Roza was freezing. I coaxed her back into the truck as I finished loading things inside.
Finally, we were on our way home but traffic had picked up. Roza's phone started making noise and she pulled it out to see who was trying to contact her. She read a message of some kind and got some look on her face I couldn't read.
"What's wrong?" I questioned as she finally looked up at me.
"Lissa just messaged me and I'm not sure what she means." She stated.
"What's the message?" I coaxed.
"She texted, 'Don't be alarmed if you have a guest when you get home.'"
"Did you ask her what she meant?" I pressed as I followed the cars ahead of me once the light turned green.
"Yeah, waiting for a reply." She acknowledged, staring at her phone as if willing a new message to appear.
Her phone beeped once more and I waited for her to read it so she could tell me what was going on.
"Your sister." Roza stated in surprise. "She called your office and got Lissa." She explained. "Once she told Lissa who she was, she agreed to give her your address, but only after they confirmed it was her."
"How did they confirm it was her?" I asked.
"Video chat. Once Lissa saw her face, she agreed to give her our address. She's scared about something." Roza shared as she read the new messages coming in from Lissa.
Now, I was worried and couldn't wait to get home. When we finally bypassed the traffic jam and were pulling into our neighbourhood, I stepped on the gas a bit too much. As we approached the house, I didn't see anyone.
Pressing the garage door opener, I slowly pulled the truck in and waited for the door to close behind me. That's when I caught the figure sneaking in on the driver's side.
Jumping out of the truck, I came face to face with Viktoria.
"Vik? What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.
She ran towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist as Roza rounded the back of the truck.
"I'm sorry Dimka." She cried. "I'm sorry. For everything." She wept.
"Why don't you go inside with Roza. I need to unload the groceries, and then we can talk, okay?" I coerced as she pulled back to look between me and Roza.
"Hi," Roza smiled with a shy wave.
"I'm sorry. I just…" Viktoria trailed off as she tried to hold back tears.
"It's okay. Come inside with me, we'll get some hot chocolate while I put your brother to work unloading everything." She teased.
"You forget, milaya, I serve you, willingly." I smirked, winking her way.
Once they left the garage, I started to worry. This kind of behaviour was so unlike Viktoria. She was one of the snarkiest and strongest young women I know. To see her so broken was alarming.
I stacked the beer and Vodka against the wall in the garage before grabbing a few bags at a time and bringing them to the kitchen. After picking up the last two bags, I closed the tailgate and headed back to the kitchen where Roza was unloading the groceries and putting the cold items away.
"Vik?" I murmured. "What's going on?" I asked in concern as Roza shooed me away, making it clear she could put the groceries away.
I led her over to the kitchen table where Roza placed a hot chocolate in front of me as well. "Thanks, milaya." I smiled, leaning up to kiss her.
"Uncle Nathan." She started, her bottom lip trembling. "He's been following me for two weeks." She went on. "And I don't know why."
"You're sure he didn't follow you here?" I posed.
"I'm sure. I led him to some medical building and when he didn't follow me in, I left through a back door." She relayed.
I looked to Roza with worry. What possible reason would Nathan have for following Viktoria? "Do you know if he's been watching Karolina or Sonya too?" I posed.
"I don't know. We…" She hiccupped through a sob. "We got letters from Mama. From a friend of hers." She explained.
"I know. I have one too." I shared.
"Comrade." Roza stated with caution. She leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You don't know your sisters very well and this could be a ploy to get information from you. I'm not saying that's the case, but be careful. Please." She shared.
I understood her worry. But I needed answers, and maybe Viktoria could give me some.
"Why don't I start some dinner, you guys can go talk?" Roza suggested.
When we finished our hot chocolate, Roza pushed me towards the basement where we could have privacy. I realized I needed to be cautious but this was my sister. I know we've had a rocky relationship but I honestly felt that was because of my father's manipulations.
"I want you to tell me what you know about our father." I started. "Why I was blamed and pushed away like I was."
"Dimka, we had no choice." She cried. "You know what he's like. He threatened to cut us all off and that would mean no money for Karo and Paul, Sonya and Katya too. I needed money for school. He manipulated us, Dimka. Over and over." She relayed.
"But why cut me out?" I demanded.
"That was his one stipulation." She admitted. "If we wanted help from him, we had to cut you out." She whimpered. "He hated you for what you did. Beating him like that." She paused to catch her breath between sobs. "He deserved it of course, but you're the only person to ever put him in his place, Dimka. He hated you for it. Still does." She confessed.
"Vik…" I tried to comfort her.
"I hated him for making us do that to you." She wailed. "It's why I tried to call, but he caught me. He cut me off for six months." She shared. "He's a cruel bastard and we all hate him."
"So, why are you here now?" I pressed.
"We don't want his money anymore. Me, Karo or Sonya. We talked about it and they both have good jobs. Karo is getting married soon." She finally smiled. "We want you in our lives, Dimka. We always have."
"I've missed you guys. A lot." I confessed.
Viktoria broke down again as she threw herself into my arms. "I miss you. All the time." She blubbered. "Karo and Sonya want to see you but are waiting for my call."
Roza came downstairs a moment later. "Everything okay?" She asked, as I reached out a hand for her to join us.
"Yes, milaya." I replied as Viktoria pulled back and wiped at her tears. "Do you think we have room for five more for Sunday?" I asked, looked at her shocked face.
"Of course, your sisters I assume, and who else?" Roza asked, perplexed. "You said five."
"My niece and nephew." I grinned.
~VA TC VA~
AN: Thanks for reading! This one took longer to get out because I had a small accident and sprained my index finger. It made it difficult to type!
Please leave me some love and let me know what you think! Reviews/Comments are love!
