“So, next question.” Aleksei said, his hands were trembling with anger, but he didn’t want to say any more about the subject yet. “What do you know about this?”
He placed the birth certificate for a baby girl with no name other than Baby Girl Lavrov and no birthdate on it. Dmitri picked it up and examined it and his face paled slightly. “It all makes perfect sense now. Of course.”
“I am sorry what?” Ivan asked, completely confused by this, his blue eyes watching Dmitri warily as the other man got up and rummaged through his filthy old military service long-coat.
“This,” He held up a ragged many-times-folded manila envelope.
“Where did that come from?” Aleksei asked.
“Almost one month ago, I got call from nursing facility where Lavrov was living. He died, you see. That is why I say he was living, not is living. Anyway, they said that military had been around just that morning. There had been long interrogation, to point nurse said men had gotten physical with old bastard.” Dmitri chuckled here, then looked apologetic once more. “I am sorry, but he threw bedpan at them and it was full bedpan. So, after they left, apparently empty handed because nurse said they were, besides covered in shit, extremely pissed off and on, too, she went in to check on Lavrov. He was up out of his bed, he is not supposed to walk at all, you know? Before she could get to him he collapsed and soft spot in his head hit floor. He died pretty much instantly. He had cigarette lighter in one hand and this in other hand. She thought he might have intended to burn it.”
“Well, what is it?” Ivan asked, looking at the envelope as if it might jump up and bite one of them.
“That is just it, is nothing in there but address in Old Moscow. I cannot find any information on that address because there does not seem to be any phone service…” He paused when a colossal explosion rocked the cavern, then said almost calmly, “They are here.”
“We have to go. Get dressed.” Ivan said and he and Aleksei sprinted from the hut. “Get Rosa and Yuri, go to that corner (he pointed to the eastern corner) wait for me there. There is passage out that we can take, it is hidden behind wall there.”
“Consider it done.” Aleksei said as he went one way and Ivan the other. Dmitri, pulling on his coat, was following Ivan, tucking the envelope, and address, safely back in the inside pocket of said coat.
“Chief, my old friend, I am afraid I have brought them right to you.” Ivan said, he’d never felt so badly in all of his life, if anything happened to these people he’d never forgive himself.
“They were bound to come, sooner or later. Do not worry, my people will retreat into deep caves. Those men will never find us and once we have retreated, the Others will come and they will know what real war is.” The chief gave him a knowing smile. “You remember way out under mountains?”
“Yes, I remember.” Ivan smiled as they had a quick embrace.
“Take these, I had my woman prepare them for you. It is long walk through under-mountain-pass. Way is clear, though, I have men keep it so in case is needed. Safe journey, friend.” He and Ivan nodded and Ivan took two heavy bags of provisions.
“Until we meet again.” Ivan said and they parted, the rock-people, he knew, would go to the safety of the deep caverns that were many miles underground where normal people like himself could not survive. “We will follow long road underground now. Five or six days walk. I hope you are not afraid of dark, torches, fire or battery, do not last long enough for entire trip, even though we will use both sparingly. They will die before end.”
“Not afraid of dark but not fond of tight spaces.” Dmitri eyed the wall ahead, which looked solid. “I do not see any doorway.
“Rock-people are intelligent in ways our people will never understand.” Ivan said and, as they approached, his eyes scanned the wall until he found the right place. “Here…look.” He touched his palm to the wall and a grinding of stone caused a sleepy-eyed Yuri to jump away from the wall he had been leaning on, as it was lowering itself. Once they were all safely within the darkened passage on the other side, Ivan again touched his hand against the wall and the panel slid back into place. “Now, we walk. If you are tired, you must tell me, I will go on for days without stopping so I want each of you aware of this. If you do not tell me I will not know to rest. Are we ready?” He felt the comforting warmth of Rosa’s hand in his and nodded. At least he had her and, for the time being, Dmitri was behaving himself. He wondered, though, how long it would last.
Chapter 62
Oleg had helped them infiltrate Moscow almost a week after they had left the mountain pass. It was Yuri who had the most trouble in the complete darkness, so much that Aleksei even had to give him a sedative when they stopped just to force him to rest when he hadn’t done so by the third time they stopped. As soon as they’d hit the brilliant spring sunlight outside the cave Yuri had done an odd sort of flip, landed on his back, hard, and wallowed around in the dry, brittle grass for a good half an hour before Ivan could get him back on his feet. Instead of letting them check out the address Dmitri had found on Lavrov, Oleg had sent a few of his enforcers to check it out, they had reported back that it was an extremely poor part of town, which only confused the brothers that much more.
So finally, when they could stand the curiosity no more, they headed into Old Moscow and stared up at a building that looked likely to fall down around them. “Someone actually lives here?” Aleksei asked, wrinkling his handsome nose at the homeless people sheltering in the alleys between buildings and the mountains of rubbish piled along the impassible street.
“Apparently.” Ivan said, then set his shoulders. “Let’s go find out.” He was fervently thankful he’d been able to convince Rosa to sit this one out. Even if Aleksei and the others were not familiar with this area, he was far too familiar. His work for Oleg had brought him here much too often…more than he would ever admit, even under duress. They climbed the filthy staircase, the smells of rats, sour or rotten garbage, and death assaulting them harshly after a month in Oleg’s most upscale club-slash-hotel-slash-actually legal brothel. The brothel part, Ivan thought, with a slight but nearly silent chuckle, had certainly kept Yuri’s interest, and kept Aleksei busy deflecting him from every whore that walked by.
They stood outside the door the address indicated for a long moment, exchanging glances before finally Ivan raised his hand to knock. Just as he did, a greasy looking middle-aged man came out and shoved past them, heading for the stairs, slamming the door behind him so Ivan had no choice but to knock. And so, he did.
After a moment, the door popped open and they found themselves eye-to-eye with the feminine likeness of Aleksei, only she looked so emaciated and so sickly the resemblance almost escaped them. She took one look at them, then at Yuri specifically, and said, “I do not do birthday parties…or virgins.” And slammed the door, or would have if Ivan hadn’t stopped it with his foot. “Fuck off, I do not care how pretty you think you are, I do not have group rates.” She repeated, but Ivan pushed the door open, then grabbed her and looked at her eyes.
“Is her. Has to be.” Ivan said, but Aleksei was stricken dumb, completely in shock, his mouth hanging wide open as he stared at her. Yuri was growling, his interest was clearly not wholesome. Dmitri was watching all of this through narrowed eyes looking as if he were trying to remember something, and yet simultaneously trying to see how it all played out. “We are not here for party, we are your brothers.”
“My brothers are dead.” She tried to slam the door again but couldn’t budge it against Ivan’s strong forearm. “Do not make me call out. I have body-guard downstairs.”
“You mean you have pimp downstairs. Let us in. We are not here for fuck. We are here to find out more about you.” Ivan said, but she was adamant.
“If you want to come in, then you have to pay. You know how this business works. I have seen you around this district enough times to know. You are Oleg Korzhakov’s nephew, Prince of his crime syndicate. You do not fool me. Brothers indeed.”
She said, tiredly. Finally, Yuri grabbed Ivan’s wallet from his back pocket, pulled out some bills and handed them to her. Ivan glared at him.
“What? We do not need to be doing this in hallway. Anyone could hear.” Yuri hissed at him and Ivan shrugged as she stepped aside and let them enter. He snatched his wallet back from Yuri and returned it to its rightful place.
“Boy has some sense of business even if rest of you do not. Are you sure you are virgin?” She asked him, stroking his cheek, bringing a growl of longing from him just before Aleksei yanked him away from her and made him sit on the threadbare, filthy and smelly couch. On the table were all the workings of a heroin addict, and Aleksei frowned at it, but said nothing as his eyes settled back on his twin, who was now leaning against the small space of wall between the tiny and sadly under-furnished kitchen and the bedroom that was seemingly the only thing that had had any decorating at all. Which, when he thought on it, seemed appropriate for her business purposes.
“He is not ‘boy’ he is thirty.” Ivan said, watching Dmitri, who was also staring at her with distinct interest. “We are not here to talk about him. He is only one in room not related to you, anyway.”
“Now that is real shame. Of course, being related never stopped my so-called father.” She snorted, staring at the heroin and then Aleksei, suspiciously. “Do not be touching my smack.”
“You need not worry about that, I am doctor. I can get much better if I want it much easier than you can.” He snapped at her and for the first time she actually showed interest in him. “Did you say…you do not mean…Lavrov?”
“Da, I mean Lavrov. Who in hell else would I mean? I did not get carried to safety by our bitch mother. She left me with him…something to keep him from coming after her.”
Aleksei looked as if words had failed him at this point, and it was Dmitri who spoke, finally. “What is your name, for starters, that might help.”
“My name, Prince Viktor, is Anya, a good name match for my twin Aleksandr.” She said, looking to Aleksei, who was shaking his head vigorously, as if in denial of something.
“My name is Dmitri now, our mama changed it. His is Aleksei…it was changed also…to protect us from…”
“From Lavrov? Da, I know.” She said, then fished a cigarette out of the front of her super-low cut dress, not that she had any breasts to speak of, she was that emaciated. “When did you find out about me?”
“I found out about one month or so ago.” Aleksei finally found his voice, but it was strained, almost angry, which startled Ivan somehow as he observed, silently. He was standing in front of the door, arms crossed, making it clear she was not leaving until this meeting ended.
“Has been couple years since I found address…but I did not know until few days ago whose it might be. Even then was only speculation.” Dmitri said as she approached him, fearlessly.
“So, you are warrior archetype. Brawn, no brains.” She then turned to Aleksei, “You are brains with no brawn…and you are gay, which is typical among males of your archetype. But you….I am so sorry I am related to you…I would give you free ride just to find out if you live up to legend. If you are my brother…what archetype are you?”
“Half-brother…and engaged to be married, so no thank you even so.” Ivan said to her as she frowned up at him. “We can get you out of this life…if you are interested.” He knew damn well they were getting her out even if she wasn’t interested, but it was better not to say that. She would panic. No, he would discuss it with them once they left, and then they would decide how to go about a sort of family intervention. This, he expected, was going to get messy.
Chapter 63
Aleksei put a firm hand on Yuri’s thigh, stopping his slow progress towards the stage. “Why are we meeting in here, of all places?” He snapped and Dmitri smirked at him.
“Problems, doctor?” He watched Yuri’s eyes following the dancers on stage, in Oleg’s top gentlemen’s club, downstairs from their expensive suites.
“Nyet, no problem. Just do not much care for view that is all.” Aleksei said, then rolled his eyes when Dmitri slapped the bare backside of a passing waitress and demanded another bottle of vodka. “Really? You are on your third bottle.”
“I would say you sound like our mother, but then I do not remember her.” Dmitri said, slipping a bill in the waitress’s skimpy G-string. “Why do we not meet later, hm?”
“Da, sir.” She scurried away to get his requested drink, glancing back and giggling as Ivan rounded the corner. Turning, the waitress saw him, squawked in terror, and disappeared. The barman brought out the bottle instead. “You scared off my date!”
“We have more important matters than you chasing ass, Dmitri,” Ivan said, pointedly, taking the bottle that had been meant for his half-brother. He twisted off the cap and drank half of it in one go. “Yuri, rein it in or I will sedate you myself. And I do not use medication.”
Yuri glared at him insolently, but slouched down in the booth as low as he could as if trying to avoid the writhing, bare flesh around him. “Why did we come here if I cannot look at merchandise?”
“Problem is not you looking, Yuri, is you wanting to touch, da? You know what these women are, so keep hands off of them.” Ivan said, and for the first time Aleksei realized just how tired he looked.
“How is Rosa?” Dmitri suddenly asked and Yuri stiffened slightly and growled defensively. “Easy, Yuri, just question that is all. I have been…I have…I spent enough time with her before…”
“Before you raped her?” Aleksei shot out and Ivan slammed his fist on the table, making everyone in the vicinity, except Dmitri, jump. “Sorry Ivan, but is true.”
“Da, Aleksei, and is not something I am proud of.” Dmitri said, quietly. “She is feistiest, proudest, smartest woman I ever met. If it were not for situation I…” he trailed off when he realized how Ivan was looking at him.
“What is he going on about, Ivan?” Aleksei asked, finally, when neither of the men spoke, only stared angrily at each other.
“Oh…you have not told them. I am sorry…I just thought you would have…shared.” Dmitri took the bottle and finished it, then signaled for another.
“She lost baby, Aleksei.” Ivan said, softly. “She says riding on rough terrain, stress, all of it…was too much.”
“Oh…God Ivan I am sorry. Why did you not tell us?” Aleksei asked, but Ivan was already on his feet, throwing down some money for the bottle he had half drunk.
“I forbid any of you to speak to her of this unless she approaches you.” Ivan said, then started to walk away before glancing back. “Let Yuri have some fun, just…keep him out of back room. I am going somewhere quiet where I can think.”
Before Aleksei could say a word to Yuri, he had bounced over the back of the booth and was at the stage, staring up like a child at Christmas. “I do not expect you to stay.” He said to Dmitri and soon, he too had moved closer to the stage, and then to the back room with two or three of the dancers. He admonished Yuri, chasing him back out when he tried to follow, and finally, when he ran out of money, Yuri came back to Aleksei and sat, quietly. “Did you get your fill?”
“You know I like both, why can you not let me look?” Yuri said, quietly, his fingers intertwining with Aleksei’s under the table. Being gay was frowned upon heavily still, so they had to be careful to not show affection in public. Especially not in a gentlemen’s club. “Rosa?”
Aleksei looked up and saw her hurrying towards them, a look of distaste stamped on her pretty face as she passed by a bouncer who had said something she clearly didn’t like. “He asked me to…he thought…Ivan would have killed him if he heard that!”
“Well, you are woman coming into strip-club.” Yuri pointed out, unhelpfully.
“Thank you, Yuri. I came because I have not seen Ivan for hours.” She said, taking a seat as a few men passed, commenting on her being over-dressed for a dancer. “I do not work here, assholes.”
“Sorry, sorry!” One of them said,
mockingly, then he and his friend stumbled on, Yuri growling furiously from his seat.
“What? But…how can that be? Where on Earth could he have gone…?” Aleksei said, flagging down a dancer. He spoke to her in hurried tones, explaining he needed her to take a note, which he scribbled hurriedly on a cocktail napkin, to the one-eyed man in the back with some of the girls. Then he gave her half of a huge tip he promised to give her the other half when she had his response. She hurried and away and returned, looking pale.
“He…he is gone, sir. Girls back there…I need to call Boss.” The young woman said and Yuri was on his feet, clearing the table in time to catch her before she fell out in a dead faint.
“Come on, Yuri, we need to see what bastard has done now.” Aleksei said as he picked up the house phone and rang into Oleg’s office. As soon as he’d relayed what the waitress had told them, he and Yuri walked towards the back, Aleksei filled with a sense of dread, but he could feel only excitement radiating off of the man beside him. “Hey, Yuri, stop. We are not going back there for sex, okay? We have to see what damage has been done so we can gauge his intent. Yuri, look at me. If Dmitri has fled, that can only mean he has turned and intends to come after us once more. This is not the time for you to be acting out, okay?” He got a grunt and a nod, but Yuri’s dark eyes were still intently focused on the back room. Shaking his head, he pushed past the guards at the door, telling them to take it up with their boss, who was Yuri’s uncle. They eyed Yuri, then shrugged and let him pass just as a call came in telling them to admit the doctor and the man with him. Medical emergency was all Aleksei heard.
A Life Less Ordinary Page 22
