Flames of Redemption

by Jamie A. Waters

  She needed to try getting into the towers' restricted areas again. There had to be something in OmniLab's records that could help shed some light into their strange powers. If Sergei was willing, she'd get him to help her.

  Nikolai rubbed his thumb against her back to get her attention, and she automatically leaned into him. He smiled down at her affectionately. “Lunch would be fine. I am sure Valentina would also enjoy seeing Ariana again.”

  “Yes, I would,” she agreed but inwardly was about to strangle Nikolai. The potential risks of having him enter the busy commercial district where she'd gone with Brant would be a security nightmare. “Although, I am a little tired after such a long trip. Perhaps we could have a quiet meal instead?”

  “I'll make the arrangements,” Alec offered, clasping his hands behind his back. “We can either join you in Lars's quarters or one of the private dining rooms near there. Once things settle down and you both get some rest, I'd be happy to give you a tour of the towers.”

  Valentina relaxed a fraction and nodded. “That sounds lovely.”

  “Excellent,” Alec replied. “I'll see you all a bit later.”

  Alec and several of the others headed out of the room while Yuri coordinated the retrieval of their belongings. Now that they'd been cleared from any involvement in the ambush, Nikolai wanted their guards to stay in the construction tower under the guise of additional construction support. After the initial meeting, Nikolai had lifted the construction ban and their people were back at work, so they should be able to blend easily with the others.

  Sergei gave them detailed instructions on what they needed to be listening for as they engaged with the residents and workers. He then provided them with maps to their quarters and other key areas. In order to keep Nikolai's presence as quiet as possible, she and Sergei were going to be visiting the construction tower to check in with them and conduct their own investigations.

  Valentina grabbed one of the bags, but Sergei took it from her with a grin. “Allow me, Valechka.”

  She smiled sweetly and gestured to the almost half-dozen bags still in the caravan. “Thank you, Seryozha. I don't know how I would have been able to manage such a heavy bag on my own. Would you mind taking care of the rest too?”

  “Of course,” he agreed, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He shoved the bag into Yuri's gut with a little more force than necessary. “Yuri and Lars will help me.”

  Yuri scowled at him but threw the bag over his shoulder. He whispered something to Sergei in a low voice, but Valentina didn't need to hear it to know it was a rather creative threat. She bit her lip and shook her head in exasperation.

  “Come, Valya.” Nikolai placed his hand on her back. “We should head to our rooms before these two get into trouble.”

  They divided up the rest of the bags between them before heading into the priority elevator. Lars programmed the floor, and the elevator shot upward. She couldn't help but smile at Nikolai's visible excitement about the expansive view from the elevator. The elaborate gardenscape was breathtaking, and even though it was necessary to keep him safe for the welfare of their people, part of her was glad he was getting this opportunity.

  The elevator stopped a few minutes later and they filed out, following Lars down the familiar corridor to his quarters.

  “Valentina left her belongings in the room she used before,” Lars said, opening the door and leading them down the hallway. He pushed open the door to Valentina's room and then gestured to the one across from hers and another further down the corridor. “I thought you all might want to be close to each other, and these rooms are right next to each other. You can divide them up however you see fit. My private rooms are down the hall a bit.”

  Nikolai nodded. “I appreciate you allowing us to stay here with you. The privacy will be welcome while we're coordinating our investigation.”

  Lars inclined his head. “It's my pleasure. I believe Alec's going to have some people stop by shortly to set up for lunch. Other than that, no one else is here. Feel free to make yourselves at home.”

  Nikolai glanced at her room and the one across from her. They typically shared a room when outside their camp—to keep up appearances and for security reasons—but she knew he was hesitating because of Sergei. She took a step toward Nikolai and placed her hand on his arm. “Do you wish to share my room, Kolya?”

  Sergei's body tensed.

  Nikolai bent down to kiss her cheek. “I believe it would best to give you some privacy, Valya. Besides, I have a feeling we will be intruding on you often enough.”

  Valentina nodded and gestured to the door across from hers. “If you stay in this room, Yuri can stay in the one next to you.”

  “Lars,” Yuri called out to Lars's retreating figure. “Do you have a room farther away for Sergei? Perhaps even in the other tower?”

  Sergei arched a brow and strolled into Valentina's room, dropping the bags on the floor. “I believe I just claimed my roommate.”

  “Over my dead body,” Yuri snarled, taking a step forward.

  Valentina slapped her hands against Yuri's chest. “Not now. We'll figure this out later. We have work to do.”

  Yuri glared at Sergei but didn't go after him. Sergei smirked at him, grabbed her wrist and, in one swift movement, yanked her inside before slamming the door in Yuri's face.

  “What is wrong with you?” she hissed at Sergei as Yuri started pounding on the door, threatening to break it down. A sharp word from Nikolai curbed Yuri's pounding, but she barely heard it.

  Sergei pushed her up against the door and lowered his head, claiming her with his mouth. Unable to resist, she curled her fingers into his jacket, holding on tightly as the heat between them erupted. Pulling her against him, he let her know with his body how much he wanted her. She started to unzip his jacket, but he grabbed her wrists to stop her. He broke their kiss, breathing heavily, and pressed his forehead against hers. In a low voice, he whispered, “You drive me to the edge of all self-control, Valechka. I've been wanting to kiss you for hours, and I could not wait another moment.”

  She blinked up at him, wondering if he expected her to object. “I am not complaining, Seryozha.”

  He grinned and released her wrists. Pressing another brief kiss against her lips, he murmured, “I fully intend on finishing this later with you, little dove.”

  Without waiting for a response, he flung open the door. A furious Yuri was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and glaring at him. “If you seek to separate me from Valentina again, I will toss your broken body off the top of these towers to see if it bounces.”

  Sergei shook his head, his expression puzzled. “How have you managed to stay alive all these years? I was sure someone would have ended you before now.”

  “If you would like to try, be my guest,” Yuri retorted.

  “I may have to do that,” Sergei agreed with a grin.

  Valentina rolled her eyes and walked over to one of the bags. She yanked it open and began pulling out weapons, laying them side by side. Yuri grabbed one of the bags from outside and brought it into her room. He opened it and started pulling out pieces of computer equipment.

  She began checking the weapons for any damage incurred during the trip. “Where is Nikolai?”

  “He's in his room making some calls, but it's nothing important if you need him, “ Yuri said, glancing around the room. “We will need another table or something to set up our equipment.”

  “I will take care of it,” Sergei offered, heading out of the room. Valentina admired his retreating figure and bit back a smile, thinking about what she'd like to do with him later.

  “Be careful, Valya,” Yuri warned in a low voice. “I know you care for him, but I'm worried about you.”

  She sighed, finished inspecting one of her preferred throwing knives, and slid it back into its case. “I'm trying. The more time I spend with him, the more I forget the past several years.”

  “He's always had a way of getting under y
our skin,” Yuri muttered. “Like a bad rash or fungus. Perhaps we should see if they have a cream for that.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “I dare you to try to apply it.”

  “Like this?” He grabbed her and pushed her to the floor, tickling her sides. She shrieked with laughter, kicking at him, but he pinned her down and continued to tickle her mercilessly.

  “I yield,” she squealed, trying to wriggle away from him.

  He chuckled and released her. “Aha. Now we just need to find a cream that works to get rid of him.”

  Still laughing, she rolled onto her side to look up at him. “I don't think it will be that easy.”

  Yuri sighed. “Probably not.”

  Sergei heard Valentina's laughter as he walked down the hall and couldn't help but smile. It had been years since he last heard her laugh like that. The fact that Yuri was the one who brought it about was just another reminder of everything he'd missed. He'd been the one who used to make her laugh more often than not, teasing or tickling her until she begged him to stop. Yuri had slid into that role a little too comfortably, but Sergei couldn't exactly blame him. They all had a soft spot for Valentina. He hadn't been exaggerating when he called her the heart of their family.

  Sergei entered the living area to find Lars pacing back and forth while speaking on a commlink call.

  “An hour's fine,” Lars said, glancing over at Sergei. “I believe it'll just be the five of us here.” He paused for a minute. “Great. I'll take care of it.”

  Sergei arched an eyebrow. “Lunch arrangements?”

  “Yeah,” Lars said, closing his commlink and slipping it back into his pocket. “They're sending someone to set everything up. Alec doesn't know how to do anything simple. It'll be Alec, Ariana, and Brant joining us. I told Alec everyone would be more comfortable if we limited the number of people.”

  Sergei nodded. “That would be best.”

  Lars darted a glance down the hall. “I was surprised Nikolai even agreed to come here. I think it's helped ease some of the tensions though.”

  Sergei shrugged. “We'll see. I believe Alec's decision to bring Ariana along will do much to help pave the way.”

  “I think so too,” Lars agreed. “Alec says she's excited to meet everyone. She wants to get to know Valentina better.”

  Sergei made a noncommittal noise. That would be an interesting friendship pairing, if it happened. Ariana was all naïve innocence, whereas Valentina was… not. “I came out to see if you had a table they can use to set up their equipment.”

  “Sure,” Lars said, motioning for him to follow. “They can set it up in one of my empty rooms, if that's easier.”

  “I think just placing a table in one of their bedrooms would be sufficient,” Sergei said as they entered a large storage area where several furnishings had been pushed along one of the walls. Lars gestured for him to pick something out. Sergei stepped forward and began pulling out chairs to get closer to the tables.

  “Now that we're alone, I wanted to ask you something about Valentina,” Lars began, moving aside a small nightstand.

  Sergei picked up another chair. “You may ask. I may or may not answer.”

  “Did she say anything about the truth barrier?”

  Sergei glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”

  “She shouldn't have been able to feel anything,” Lars explained. “Alec was wondering if she might have some trace abilities. Only our people tend to feel energy manipulation. When Alec asked her, he thought she might have dodged the question. She didn't outright deny it.”

  Sergei turned back to the furniture. “She is not one of your people.”

  Lars frowned. “Are you sure about that? I've wondered about you too. You never told me how you found us on the surface after we were exiled. I have a hard time believing it was sheer luck that made you come out to our location in the middle of nowhere. OmniLab tried to trace as many of our bloodlines as possible before the war, but it wasn't possible to test everyone. We ran out of time.”

  Sergei didn't reply, intent on pulling a dresser out into the center of the room. Of course the tables had to be buried toward the back, forcing this asinine conversation to last even longer.

  Lars grabbed the end of the dresser and helped move it to the side. “Out of all your people, you were the most willing to accept and embrace our abilities. Most of them are still suspicious of us or don't believe in our talents.”

  He glanced at Lars briefly. “I have done much over the years, but I have never been able to move the wind as you do.”

  Lars shook his head. “No, but you could have other talents. Maybe they're not as well-developed or strong, but they might be there. Valentina might have them too, especially if she felt the truth barrier. We could give both of you a simple DNA test to find out.”

  “No,” Sergei said, bending down to inspect one of the tables to make sure it was sturdy enough to support their equipment. “And you will not speak of this to Valentina.”

  “We wouldn't do anything to hurt her,” Lars said with a frown. “But if either of you share our abilities, we could help you develop your talents.”

  Sergei stood upright and turned to face Lars. “I will not tell you again. You will not say a word of this to her or to anyone else.”

  Lars was silent for a long moment, considering him thoughtfully. “Fine. For the sake of our friendship, I won't say anything to her. I can't guarantee Alec won't though. I'm sure he's already told Ariana his suspicions.”

  “If you have any hope of this alliance working, you will encourage Alec to leave this alone.”

  “I'll tell him you refused, but Alec can be stubborn,” Lars said, bending down to help lift one end of the table while Sergei grabbed the other end. “But you should still think about it. The whole premise of the towers was to help preserve our people and way of life. If Valentina's part of that, we'd do everything possible to protect her.”

  Sergei didn't respond. He had no intention of telling her any of this. Valentina was too unpredictable, and there was no way to know how she'd respond. Most likely, she'd be curious enough to agree so she could obtain more information. That was worrisome enough, but it was Nikolai's response that could prove to be disastrous.

  They carried the table out of the storage room and down the hallway toward Valentina's room. Yuri was still there, connecting their equipment. He glanced up when they entered and gestured to an area against one of the walls. “Put it there. Valentina wants to keep the monitoring equipment in here so she can track our people in the construction tower.”

  Sergei pushed the table against the wall. “Where is she?”

  “Busy,” Yuri retorted, not looking up from the equipment. “Three years without her, and now you cannot handle being away from her for five minutes?”

  Sergei glanced at Nikolai's closed door. He could barely make out the soft sound of voices from within. “Jealous, Yuri? That after all these years she still prefers my company over yours?”

  Lars's eyes widened, and he backed away a step.

  “You are nothing more than a temporary plaything,” Yuri said, lifting the equipment off the floor and putting it on the table. He smirked and added, “Her appetites have changed over the years. I know far more than you can imagine.”

  Sergei crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. There was no way in hell Valentina had slept with him. Nikolai, perhaps, but not Yuri. And she'd flat-out denied being lovers with Nikolai. “Do not deceive yourself, Yuri. She is too much woman for you to handle.”

  Yuri scowled. “You are the only one deceiving yourself. She will not be taken in by you again, and I will not let her.”

  “Since when does anyone let Valentina do anything?” Sergei retorted.

  “Talking about me?” Valentina swept into the room, followed by Nikolai. She gave Lars a brief nod and went over to the weapons spread out across the floor. “I would have thought you two would have found more interesting things to discuss. After all, w
e have people to hunt.”

  “I have always excelled at multitasking,” Sergei murmured, his gaze roaming over her figure as she bent down to pick up her throwing daggers.

  She tested the balance of her knives in her hand and arched a brow. “Are you sure you wish to have this conversation now, Seryozha? I can always test out your multitasking abilities in finer detail.”

  Yuri snorted. “As much as I would enjoy seeing that, we need to mount an antenna somewhere for this equipment.”

  Sergei grinned at her. “I would be happy to provide a demonstration in private, Valechka.” He glanced over at Yuri. “Come. I will help you set up your antenna, and perhaps you can try your luck at throwing me off the towers. Or perhaps you shall take a dive instead.”

  “Done,” Yuri agreed.

  Lars frowned at them. “I guess I need to go with you. I have a feeling you two are going to raise a whole lot of questions.”

  Valentina watched them leave, listening for the entrance door to close behind them. As soon as they were gone, she and Nikolai sprang into action. They'd brought their surveillance equipment directly into Nikolai's room and now proceeded to unpack it. She pulled out her toolkit and pried off the cover to the electronic panel that displayed the mural on the ceiling. Once the room was dark and the panel deactivated, they divided the room in half and began scanning for any other electronic devices.

  The display lit up as she moved beside a nightstand. She paused, bending down to inspect the underside. “I'm more tired than I expected after that trip.”

  Nikolai glanced over at her. “I am too. We can spend the rest of the day relaxing and then you can explore the construction tower tomorrow with Sergei.”

  The device was no bigger than her thumb, but it was just a listening device. Until she was sure there were no cameras, she'd keep scanning. Their equipment was designed to temporarily scramble any visual surveillance, but they didn't want to cause any alarm by interrupting both audio and visual feeds. One could be explained as a technical malfunction, but both might be a bit more difficult to explain. “What will you do while I'm gone, Kolya?”