Boston, in a hotel near MIT:
Aleksandr Ivan Monilovich
"Sir, we have a picture of the young man."
"And you are certain? That this is Ana's son?" I examined the photo ID. The boy had Ana's green eyes, but there was no additional hint of his maternal heritage. This MIT student had a rich skin tone, whereas Ana had porcelain white skin. And none of his facial features matched hers. But the eyes…
"Do you know where he is?"
"No, sir, not yet. He finished his finals and it seems he left campus that same day, the day after we arrived. His advisor told our man that he had a family emergency and that he was leaving directly for Europe, that he would be taking a leave for the Spring semester and would return to school in the Fall."
I could feel my anger rising. "So, you are telling me he was on campus the day our man arrived, showed up for his final the next day, and he still managed to evade him?"
"It is our belief that his departure may have been unrelated. He and his girlfriend appear to have left campus together. She hasn't returned to their dorm room either."
I tried to keep my voice steady but I was furious. "And you really believe this boy, Leo, who we know has no living family, has a family emergency in Europe?" The two men standing before me said nothing. "Did the advisor mention any friends?"
"He said Leo was close with a lab partner and when we spoke to him, he told us he knew nothing about any emergency or about Leo taking a leave and that they studied for the test the night before the exam, which was after Leo met with the advisor. He thought Leo and Rita- that's the girlfriend, were going skiing. Apparently when they were cramming for the last exam, Leo mentioned going with her family skiing…"
I sensed there was more to the story so I waited.
"But in checking on her family… it seems they are estranged because of her relationship with Leo."
Had Leo been tipped off? But who could have tipped him off. Who could have screwed this up so badly. Or was he just lucky? We missed him again and not by weeks or months but by hours or minutes… He had a minimum head start and I had men at the bus depot, train depots and airports looking. Our man on campus knew by 3pm who we were looking for… It took longer than expected because the last identity used had the boy older and finishing an advanced degree- some kind of math genius. Yet Leo was only a sophomore and not at the top of his class.
"I want this city on lock-down. Bring in as many men as needed. Interview everyone who knew him or the girl. He must still be in the city because he hasn't taken a train or bus or plane- he is probably in some hotel with his girlfriend celebrating the end of finals. I want him found."
"Yes, sir." The men answered as one voice.
The men left and I poured myself vodka. I could feel he was here. Close. And we knew who he was, more important, we now knew what he looked like. He had nowhere to go. It was only a matter of time. Sipping the Moskovskaya, I felt peace come over me. The money and documents would be in my possession in no time.
