by Alex Ander
Lifting their glasses, Mika and Romana echoed Hardy’s sentiment.
A few seconds later, Natasha joined her glass with the others and said, “Bol'shaya lyubov', papa – Much love, Papa.”
The four of them clinked glasses, took a drink and sat in silence for a few moments.
Hardy glanced at each woman. He was pleased they would be on his side, fighting for the same cause. He was even more pleased at the prospect of one day working with them on a joint mission. He had gotten to know them quite well in a short time. They had proven they were true professionals and classy women, who had the skills necessary to make a real difference in the world. I’d go into battle with them in a heartbeat.
True to form, Romana interrupted his thoughts with her sharp tongue, trying to bring lightheartedness back to the group. “I guess this means we’ll be seeing more of you in the future, Mr. Hardy.” She placed her glass on the table and grabbed a menu. “And, when I say seeing more of you, I mean we’ll be sending you into enemy territory, wearing only a skimpy pair of underwear.”
Each woman laughed when an image of Hardy dressed only in a pair of boxers or briefs flashed across her mind.
A wide grin formed on Natasha’s face. “From what his girlfriend tells me, he’s already taken down bad guys, wearing less than that.”
As the laughter faded and Mika and Romana pressed Natasha for specific details about Hardy’s naked exploits, a woman approached the table and stood next to Natasha, staring at Romana.
Chapter 36: Vera
Everyone watched as the woman gaped at Romana. She seemed to be studying Romana, taking in every aspect of her appearance. Romana could not take the visual scrutiny any longer. She put down her menu and locked eyes with the woman.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
Her voice rising as if she was asking a question, the woman said, “Vera.”
Romana’s face was deadpan. No one had called her ‘Vera’ in more than two decades. Her full name was Vera Romana Milosevic. When she lived with relatives in Russia, they addressed her by her middle name; it sounded more like a Russian name. As time passed, she grew to like Romana better and continued to use it. She shot a glance at Natasha, who shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”
The woman spoke in broken English, saying, “You…Vera?”
Romana slowly nodded her head. “Yes, who are you?”
“It’s me,” the woman put a hand on her chest, “Sabina.”
Recognizing the name, Romana leaned back and studied the woman.
Sabina was the same height and build as Romana, but weighed a little more. She had dark hair with a hint of red mixed into it. Her eyes were dark and narrowly spaced, set above a small, pointed nose. She had full lips. Her high cheekbones helped form an oval-shaped face with a pointed chin. Sabina appeared to be the same age as Romana.
Romana put her hand to her cheek. It can’t be.
Sabina tugged on the neckline of her sweater and stuck her hand inside. She leaned closer and opened the closed hand in front of Romana.
Without realizing what she was doing, Romana touched her chest, covering the heart-shaped locket she always wore around her neck.
Sabina opened a heart-shaped locket and held it out for Romana to see. “Vera…it’s me…Sabina.”
Romana gawked at the exact same picture that had been in Romana’s locket—a family picture of her father, her mother, her sister and Romana.
Romana had searched for her sister for more than a decade, never wanting to believe she had been killed with her parents. There was never any proof of her death. Until there was proof, Romana was determined she would never give up the search. But, how? Throughout the last ten years, she had contacted every embassy and government agency in the area, calling on people who owed her favors. Nothing about her sister had ever been discovered. How is it possible that she just walked into this restaurant at the same time I was here? A few seconds passed. What am I doing? Her sister was standing in front of her and Romana was wondering how when she should have been greeting her sibling.
As if she had been reading Romana’s mind, Sabina held out her hands.
Romana stood so quickly her chair fell over backwards, crashing to the floor. Patrons in the restaurant noticed the commotion. Romana threw herself into her sister’s arms and the two hugged each other, crying and laughing.
Natasha whipped her head around toward Mika, who was at a loss for words, staring at the two hugging women. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hardy’s expression. He was looking at the women, but the right half of his mouth was curled up in a slight grin. Natasha quickly turned her head toward Romana and Sabina before coming back to Hardy. “Do you know something about this?”
Still watching the women, he leaned closer. “I—”
Romana let go of Sabina, but held her arm. “How did you find me?”
“Man from embassy call…a week ago,” said Sabina, trying to find the right words in English. “He say he find my sister.” Recalling the details, she continued, “Two days ago…another man call…he tell me that someone…pick me up and,” she lifted her hands and glanced around the restaurant, “bring me here. I am to look for woman…with long red hair…to…v…ver—”
“Verify,” said Hardy. Natasha, Mika and Romana whipped their heads toward him.
“Yes, verify,” said Sabina, acknowledging Hardy. “I am to verify that it was you. As soon as I see locket…I knew it was you.”
Natasha put a hand on Sabina’s arm. “What was the man’s name? The second man who called you?”
Sabina thought for a moment. Drawing out the first syllable, she said, “Hardy.”
Chapter 37: Thank You
Hardy stood and extended his hand around Natasha. “Hi Sabina, I’m Aaron Hardy. We spoke on the phone two days ago. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” After he finished shaking hands, he acknowledged her sister. “I’m sorry, Romana, for not telling you about this ahead of time. I didn’t want your hopes to be dashed,” he glanced at Romana’s sister, “in case Sabina was not your sister.”
Romana pointed her finger at him. “You did all this? This whole thing…” She quickly looked at the table and around the restaurant. “You planned this from the beginning? You found my sister…” She was putting the pieces together in her mind. “And, this luncheon was to bring us together.”
Hardy bobbed his head back and forth. “Well, I didn’t actually find her. I only made a few phone calls to people I’ve helped along the way and asked if they would do some ‘digging’ for me.” He was referring to Jack Stevens, the United States Ambassador to Austria. Hardy had rescued the Ambassador two weeks earlier from Muslim terrorists, who had stormed the U.S. embassy in Vienna, killing everyone inside and kidnapping Stevens. When he received Hardy’s call, the Ambassador had been extremely gracious and promised to do everything in his power to locate Romana’s sister. Hardy did not expect to hear from the man so soon. It had been nearly twenty-five years since Romana and her sister had been separated. Stevens informed Hardy that he had to call in just about every favor that was owed to him; however, it was worth it, considering if it had not been for Hardy, Stevens would not be alive today.
Over Sabina’s shoulder, Hardy caught a glimpse of a man walking toward their table. “Excuse me.” He moved to the left and around the table to greet the man. When he got to the corner of the table, near Mika, Romana rushed him. She threw her arms around him and their bodies collided. Almost falling backwards into the fireplace, he grunted, feeling a twinge of pain in his shoulder.
Romana hugged him with all her strength. Her left arm was wrapped so tightly around his neck, that her hand was practically touching her upper back. “Thank you,” her lips touched his ear and her voice broke, “thank you, thank you. I don’t know,” she sniffed, “what to say. I’ll never…be able to repay…”
Her body trembled in his arms, the moisture from her eyes wetting his cheek. He patted her lower back
. “There’s nothing to repay, Romana.” His voice was low and steady. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy that you and Sabina are back together again. I can only imagine what you’ve been going through all these years.” She would not let go of him. After a full minute, he smiled. “Besides, just seeing you…speechless for a change…is payment enough.”
She laughed into his ear before pressing and holding her lips against his cheek for several seconds, giving him a long kiss. Releasing him, she swiped her fingers across her nose and sniffed.
Hardy retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “I told you, you’d regret busting my chops, earlier.’’ She broke out into laughter again, as Hardy patted her upper arm and headed toward the man he was going to meet.
As Hardy approached, the man finished a phone conversation and slipped the cell into his pocket. Hardy stretched out his hand. “Ambassador Woodward, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m Aaron Hardy.”
Ambassador Woodward shook hands with Hardy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Hardy.” Woodward was in his early forties and had a full head of dark hair, parted on the left side. He stood a little over six-feet tall and had a lean physique. He wore a dark gray, pinstripe suit with a white shirt and a blue tie. Gold jewelry accompanied his fine clothing—cuff links, tie tack, collar bar and a pin of the American flag on his left lapel. “I apologize for the delay, but I had to take that call.”
“No trouble at all.”
Woodward observed Sabina and Romana. “I see everything worked out well.”
“Yes, it did.” Hardy watched the two women, who were hugging again. He faced Woodward. “I want to thank you, Ambassador, for doing this. I know you’re a busy man.” Woodward and Ambassador Stevens had worked out the details to get Sabina to Moscow, where Woodward had agreed to meet the woman at the airport and bring her to the restaurant.
Woodward gestured toward the women. “Seeing these two has made it more than worth my time.” He put his hand on Hardy’s shoulder. “And, thank you for what you did for my daughter. She told me the whole story. If you had not done what you did…” His voice trailed off.
Charles Woodward was the United States Ambassador to Russia. His daughter, Michelle, had been a guest at the event where the assassination attempt on the Premier’s life had taken place. Hardy had saved the lives of Michelle and her friends, getting them out of the building before the bomb detonated. Hardy and the ambassador had never met, but Michelle had told her father about Hardy. When Hardy contacted Woodward for his help in reconnecting Sabina and Romana, the ambassador had been eager to assist once he knew who it was who was making the request.
“Your daughter is a great kid, sir. This world needs more good people like her.” He raised a finger. “That reminds me.” He left and came back with a small square box and handed it to the ambassador. “This is for Michelle. To my knowledge, she never got a piece of cake that night. And, if I remember correctly, she said chocolate was her favorite.”
Woodward smiled and accepted the box. “It is. I’m sure she will be quite pleased to get this, especially when she finds out it is from you. You know, for the next week, she didn’t stop talking about you.”
Hardy laughed.
Woodward leaned closer and grinned. “I think she had a little crush on you.”
Hardy smiled and the two men spoke for a few minutes before the Ambassador indicated he needed to leave.
“Well, I think things are going well here, so I must be getting back to the office.” He shook hands with Hardy, who thanked him again for his help, before the two men went their separate ways.
Hardy returned to the table. Before he could take his seat, however, Natasha pulled on his arm. He faced her. She hugged him. When she released him, he felt a hand on his other arm, spinning him to the left. He was greeted with another hug from Mika, who was careful not to tug too hard on the injured arm. “What’s this for?” he said, still in Mika’s embrace.
“You still don’t get it, do you, Hardy?” Natasha glimpsed Mika and Romana. “The three of us are like sisters. No, we are sisters. What you do for one of us, you do for all of us. Thank you.”
Mika kissed him on the cheek before stepping back. “Yes, thank you.”
Natasha glanced over her shoulder. “Wasn’t that Ambassador Woodward?”
Hardy nodded, while watching Woodward leave the restaurant.
“I guess you really did have to pull a few strings,” said Mika.
“Only a couple…but those individuals had to cash in a lot more favors to make this happen.” He observed Romana and Sabina. “That brings me to something else. I need your help, Natasha. The individuals, whom I was referring to, had to make some promises to people along the way. Do you know where I can get some good Russian vodka? I have no idea what good vodka is, compared to what is not. Can you give me some idea on where to start looking?”
Natasha leaned forward, slid a small napkin toward him and put a pen on top of it. “Just write down the names and addresses and I’ll take care of it. You’re not paying a single ruble or dollar for it. I’m picking up the tab.”
Mika pointed her chin at Natasha. “I want in on that as well.”
Hardy rotated his head back and forth. “Listen, the two of you don’t have to pay for this. I’ve got money.”
Natasha laughed and shook her head. She was not going to let him pay for anything. As far as she was concerned, the matter was settled.
Hardy protested again, but Mika stopped him.
“We’ve got it, Hardy.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done. Please…just let us take care of it.”
Realizing the women would not be deterred, he relented. “Thank you.”
Romana placed a chair for her sister at the end of the table, between her and Natasha. Standing behind Sabina, Romana caught Hardy’s attention. She smiled and winked at him before miming the words ‘thank you.’
Hardy smiled back and nodded his head.
NECESSARY MEANS
Aaron Hardy Series
Book #6
Chapter 1: Slopes
December 22nd, 4:15 p.m. (Mountain Time); Denver, Colorado
Layla cranked her head around and glimpsed the chair lift that had brought her to the top of Ridge. She pulled her goggles over her eyes and smiled at her friend. “Do you always do what you’re told?” She drove her ski poles into the snow and pushed off, propelling her body down the slope.
Abigail glanced at the chair lift and saw the two men who had been shadowing both her and Layla the entire day. The men had their ski poles in one hand, while holding onto the chair lift with the other, preparing to jump off and coast away before the next group of skiers disembarked. Abigail was hesitant to ditch the men, but her fear of being labeled a ‘chicken’ superseded her reluctance. She spotted Layla, her outline getting smaller by the second. Abigail dug her poles into the snow and leaned forward, gaining momentum as fast as she could.
Picking up speed, Abigail felt her heart beating faster. Closing the distance between her and her friend, she could feel her pulse pounding in her head. Her stomach was in knots. Her muscles convulsed. She had never done anything like this before. What’s dad going to do? She drew up behind Layla and watched her friend slow before taking a hard left turn and zipping between two trees, past a boundary sign. Abigail twisted her hips to the left and followed.
Gliding down a narrow path, trees on either side of them, the girls made a sharp right and headed down a virgin trail, closed to skiers. The snow was fluffy and flew into the air as Layla and Abigail’s skis floated across the surface. Abigail was reveling in the cushion of powder beneath her skis. She followed Layla around a curve in the trail. Taking the curve, Abigail stole a quick look over her left shoulder and saw two tiny specks of color; the ski jackets of the two men who had been with the girls all day. A long way back, the men disappeared from sight, when she went deeper into the curve. Whipping her head ar
ound, she saw Layla had stopped, and was staring at a person sprawled on the trail. Abigail slowed before pulling alongside her friend and performing a hockey stop, her parallel skis digging in and throwing snow ahead of the girls. She placed her goggles on her forehead. Her cheeks were bright red. Visible puffs of air shot out from her mouth, while she tried to catch her breath. “What happened?”
Layla shrugged. “I don’t know. I came around the bend and saw him at the last moment. If I hadn’t seen him, I’d have taken a nasty spill.”
“Is he all right?”
“He hasn’t moved, since I first saw him.”
Abigail used her ski poles to loosen the bindings of her skis before sticking the poles in the snow. Stepping out of her skis, she approached the man. He was lying on his left side, facing away from her. He had one ski attached to his boot, but the other ski and his poles were further down the trail. She could see he had taken a hard fall. She knelt behind him. “Sir, are you okay?” The man did not respond. She put her hands on his right arm and gently shook him. “Can you hear me, sir?” She heard him groan and mumble under his breath. She leaned closer. “I didn’t hear you, sir. What did you say?” Abigail’s left ear was alongside the man’s right cheek. She strained to hear his broken voice. Closing her eyes to help her ears focus on his words, she never saw the man roll onto his back. She felt a gloved hand slip between her body and right arm and clamp onto her upper arm. She jerked her upper body away, but his grip held her close. She sensed a slight prick on the right side of her neck. Seconds later, her vision dimmed and the world around her was reduced to a small, dark circle. Before she lost consciousness, Abigail heard a muffled scream from behind her. Layla.
Thirty seconds earlier…
Dressed in white and hidden among the trees, the man watched the two girls whoosh past his position. A few moments later, further up the trail, he saw the two men who were following the girls. The men were approximately seventy-five meters away. The one in the lead was ten to fifteen meters ahead of his partner. They were skiing as fast as they could, trying to catch the girls.
