by Finian Blake
“They earned it with their misery seven million will be from ‘Mercury’.”
Nadia promised to stay with the girls until every promise was actually completed. Things in the ward had settled down to a routine. Once everybody’s situation was decided the tension seemed to disappear. Cathy decided that she wanted to room with her new sister Nadia. They talked about the similarities in their backgrounds. Cathy agreed that returning to school would be the best idea. She wanted to be like Nadia and with a fresh set of choices Cathy could be anything that she wanted to be. Anna left a set of silk green pajamas and a pair of soft house shoes with Nadia to help with clothing for girls. Nadia wore a similar set of pajamas only in black. Cathy and Nadia lay across the bed talking about her new home. May, Sally’s assistant came in the room to check the vitals for Cathy’s chart. There were still five girls left in the ward and they would be there for a few more days while Alex made the final arrangements. Most of the girls were in reasonable medical shape, but as long as they were in the clinic, they would need to be charted. May was doing the rounds for the evening. She walked down the hall to the next room. Nelly lay on her bed with her back to the door. May walked up to the bed and shook her, but Nelly did not respond. The door closed behind May, a hand went around her neck and a cloth went over her face. May was about to lose consciousness when the cloth was removed and a piece of tape was placed over her mouth.
“Nelly is alright. You will be alright too, if you follow instructions. I need a nurse’s uniform, and you appear to be the right size.” Rough hands pulled May’s pants down. Ivan removed her clothing and they slipped a hospital gown on her. She was bound on the other bed and chloroformed. Ivan and Petra walked down the hall stopping by Nadia’s room. Nadia and Cathy could be heard talking to each other. Petra shook her head motioning Ivan down the hall.
“I don’t want to tackle Nadia until last. We may be presented by a better opportunity later.” The two moved down to the nurse’s station. Sally was engrossed in her paper work, so there was no challenge in subduing her. Ivan held a chloroformed rag over her face until she went quiet. Petra tied her securely in a wheel chair wheeling the chair down to the nursery. Petra and Ivan took one baby securing her on Sally. They wheeled the chair out to their van loading Sally and the baby in the back. Petra and Ivan went back to the ward to claim the other baby. They tied May into a chair and stopped by the nursery taking another baby with them.
Nadia heard the baby crying down the hall. She figured that the nurses would get her. The crying moved down the hall, and out the door. Nadia thought that it was time to check, since none of the babies were supposed to leave the ward. Cathy followed her down the hall finding that there were no nurses in the nursing station. She went to the makeshift nursery and two of the infants were gone.
Nadia went into action mode, “Cathy, run back to our room and bring my purse back right now!” The alarm in her voice caused Cathy to run full speed back to the room. She was back in less than a minute. “Cathy something is wrong. Stay in the bathroom and be absolutely quiet.” She removed the three gas propelled darts from her purse showing Cathy how to use them. Nadia removed the silenced nine millimeter Makarov pistol from the purse stepping behind the door. In about ten minutes she heard quite voices, as two people entered the room. The two figures walked toward the bassinettes. Nadia stepped out behind the door leveling the pistol.
“Freeze and do not turn around.” The two figures stopped. Nadia backed to the light switch turning on the lights. It was Petra and Ivan. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“We are collecting the babies. They will bring good money.” Petra was still holding her hand behind her back with a pistol in it. There was a quiet popping sound behind her causing Petra to let out a scream. Cathy had discharged a dart which entered Petra’s wrist and passed through into her back, pinning the woman’s wrist to her back causing the pistol to fall on the floor.
“They will also bring you bad luck.” Nadia said seeing the look in Ivan’s eyes. “If you think that you can rush me, try it. You have three seconds to get on your knees and cross your ankles with your hands on top of your head. Both people followed her instructions. Petra moaning in agony was only able to put one hand on top of her head. Cathy looked at the two.
“Oh my god they came back!”
“That was their mistake. Go to the nurse’s station and bring back as many rolls of adhesive tape as you can find.” Ivan started to plead.
“With the generals gone, we can make some real money. Each one of these babies is worth thirty thousand dollars. We can split it with you.”
“Where are the nurses?” Nadia was getting pissed off.
“They are in the van.”
“You were going to kidnap them too?”
“They are old but we can use them for snuff films.”
“What about the money we gave you to start over?”
“We spent it setting up a house.”
“Where are your papers?”
“They are back at the house. We did not want to take them with us in case we were caught.”
“So, you know that what you were doing is wrong.” Nadia was coming close to shooting them. She taped Ivan’s hands behind him and taped Petra’s good hand to her side. Nadia taped their mouths taking them to the nursing station. She called Alex and gave him a quick briefing on the situation. He left immediately for the hospital. Nadia walked the couple out to the van. She could hear the babies crying. When Nadia opened the door, she found Sally and her assistant May bound with tape. There was a look of relief when they saw Nadia who quickly removed the tape from their mouths having Cathy removed the rest of the tape.
“Are you alright?”
“Not even close, these assholes chloroformed us and loaded us in the van. They were going to kill us.”
“I am going to ask you to do something that will make you scream. I want you to forget the whole thing.”
“What…!”
Nadia held up her hand, “If we call the police they will go through the system. If we handle it, they will receive the punishment they were going to give you.”
“And what punishment is that?”
“We will kill them and they will disappear. That is what they were planning to do to you.” Sally and May were still thoroughly upset. Nadia had moved everybody back in the ward. The girls were still asleep from the shot that Petra had given them. Cathy told Sally her story to fill her in with what was happening.
By the time Alex arrived, Sally and May decided to let Nadia handle the problem. Alex made a few phone calls and went out to join Petra and Ivan in the van. The other girls were still sleeping and would never know what happened. Cathy gave her word not to reveal what happened while they were sleeping. Nadia could not believe that Ivan and Petra were back in business so quickly.
“You had it made. What the hell were you thinking? You helped us and then you turned around pulling the same shit.”
Ivan protested, “The babies were ours. The only reason that we helped you was that the generals were going to turn on us. We were trapped. Alice offered Petra a large amount of money and our papers.” Alex shook his head and put the tape over their mouths not wanting to hear any more of their stupidity.
Alex decided that he would need help. After some discussion, Sally and May agreed that they would be able to watch the patients and kept Cathy with them to help restore the ward. Alex loaded the two of them in their van and Nadia climbed in back with them. They drove to Ivan and Petra’s new house. It was out southwest of Elgin on five acres with three buildings located in the center of the property. They paid the full price in cash for the property so they were allowed to move in before closing. The place was a single story with a full basement. Alex and Nadia walked in the front door and looked around. The furnishings were all new and expensive looking. When they walked in the door, the smell of fresh construction was over powering. They quickly walked through the house. Petra and Ivan had been busy. Everythin
g in the upper level was high quality and modern. When Alex and Nadia walked down into the basement, there were several metal frame beds that were bolted to the concrete floor with leg irons welded to the metal frames. This was going to be the new dormitory.
Alex could not find the papers anywhere in the house, so he went to the out building. It looked like a barn, but it served as a garage and office. The former owner used the building for many purposes garage, gym, storage and an office. Alex drove the van in through the garage door opening the van door and roughly pulled the two villains out.
“I want those papers.”
“They are well hidden, and you will never find them. We will make you a deal. If you let us go, we will give you the papers.”
“What will you do after I let you go? You know where Wanda lives. All that will happen is that you will torture her until she makes you a new set.” Ivan frowned instantly and Alex knew that he guessed their plan. He found a pair of pliers and went to work removing the barb from Petra’s back. After the second pull Petra started talking nonstop giving Alex the location of the papers. He cut the barb off of the dart and pulled the shank out of Petra’s wrist leaving the barb in her back. The scream was ear shattering.
“Nadia, watch these two while I get the papers. Somebody may recognize Wanda’s work.” Alex looked back as he reached the door. Nadia was taking an impressive looking buggy whip out of the rack.
Nadia swung the buggy whip several times letting it crack loudly behind Ivan and Petra.
“Why are you so nervous? You do not have to guess what will happen. Both of you have used a whip on me.” They both remembered what they had done to Nadia at the base in Azerbaijan. “I could beat those clothes you are wearing to ribbons. What was your favorite expression? Oh yes, ‘I am going to make you look like a zebra.’ How many times have you said that to someone hung on your rack?” Nadia still hadn’t touched them with the whip. Ivan finally tired of her rant.
“Go ahead and beat us just don’t bore us.” Alex walked back in the barn with the papers.
“You haven’t started your revenge?”
“I was thinking about it, and then I realized that you were right, Nadia had to admit. Revenge will not cure the pain.” Alex kissed Nadia on the cheek.
“I’m proud of you. Revenge has never cured a problem.”
Nadia didn’t want to waste any more time. “Now that you have what you want, let’s go.”
Alex looked around the barn. There were restraints hanging from beams and other implements of torture hanging on the walls. “You thought nothing of torturing and killing your victims. I won’t torture you. Neither will Nadia.” Petra and Ivan looked relieved. “I hate to break a promise to my daughter, but there is no hope that you will go straight.” He emptied the clip of the Makarov pistol into Ivan, while Nadia emptied her pistol into Petra. He removed the barb from Petra’s back leaving the shell casings on the floor of the garage. Alex slipped a loop of rope around each person’s ankles hoisting them off of the floor by their feet. Nadia loaded everything that they touched into the van. After Petra and Ivan were hung, they removed all of the tape and their clothing, which was loaded in the van. Both Ivan and Petra’s bodies were covered with tattoos written in Russian, marking their various exploits. Next Alex found a galvanized metal garbage can placing several oil soaked rags in it. He found several candles in the torture rack shaving them down leaving the waste wax on the rags. Nadia fired up the van pulling it out of the barn while Alex lit the candles. The fire would be contained in the can, causing a lot of heavy smoke when the fire hit the rags. Rich wanted to put a signature on the job that everybody would recognize. Alex and Nadia drove the van out to the main road heading for the junk yard. It took the smoke thirty minutes to trigger the smoke detector.
Alex was pulling the van into the junk yard about the same time the fire department pulled up to the barn. They were surprised to find that the fire was contained, so a quick blast from a fire extinguisher put the fire out in less than a minute. They were horrified to find Ivan and Petra hanging from a beam like steers in a slaughter house, so they backed out of the barn calling the police. By the tattoos on both of the victims it was quickly determined that they were both Russian military. They both had the tattoos from their regiments and theaters of service prominently displayed. The autopsy would determine that they were shot by a Russian Makarov pistol execution style. The FBI and State Department were called in and as Alex had figured the whole investigation would be sealed and classified. Their finger prints revealed that they were deserters from the Russian army.
The coroner was strong armed into calling the incident a suicide by the NSA. They shot each other twelve times in a suicide pact. This had all of the appearances of an international incident and they were carefully instructed to cover it up. Petra’s and Ivan’s bodies would be cremated and the ashes were returned to the Russian Army. The FBI was aware of the situation with the other Russians on the north side of Chicago who had just seemed to have disappeared. From the residue of the explosives and the few pieces of evidence that they were able to retrieve, it appeared to be a Russian operation too. The residue proved to be from a Russian plastic explosive and detonator cord. All signs of victims were incinerated and there were no signs of any remains. The Russians went into a panic trying to find out who authorized such a reckless mission since the Spetsnaz signature seemed to be apparent. Nobody in Russia would admit to that kind of insanity. Two colonels allowed themselves to be quietly toasted for eliminating the traitors. The FBI unofficially recognized the incident as a Spetsnaz operation. Considering their misdeeds, no protest was issued and the incident was pushed into benign neglect with the FBI taking over the investigation from all of the other agencies. Matters such as this would take lengthily examination and would not be resolved for twenty or thirty years maybe longer.
The disturbing thing was the large number of prominent names appearing in the missing person’s reports that popped up during the following week. All of those names were prominent in the ‘Blackmail Files’. Nobody knew where the suggestion came from, but there was a heavy suggestion that the missing people were on the payroll of the Russians. Given the prominent status of the people extreme caution had to be used in searching for them. There was absolutely no trace of the Russians or the missing persons. Their cars were missing also and no trace could be found of them either. This would remain a permanent mystery. Nobody mentioned the files that were found in the garage. Five out of five on the general’s blackmail list committed suicide. Fifteen of the people on their payroll quietly resigned. The deeper that the police dug the more they did not want to continue. Finally, the order came down from an undisclosed source to declare all of the missing as dead. It was the only solution that would keep the whole thing from the public eye. The next of kin agreed to the solution because they were shown the blackmail evidence and did not want to deal with the public disgrace. The added benefit was that they could claim the estates and collect the insurance.
Alex dropped Nadia off at the clinic driving to the junk yard by himself. He didn’t want Tony to know anything about Nadia. Alex was determined to keep business just between himself and Tony. He had talked to Tony and was earlier than expected. Alex drove up to the trailer that Tony used for an office.
“I need something crushed.” He took Tony outside and opened the side doors of the van. “I gave Petra and Ivan a break because they helped us and they said that they wanted to go straight, but they went straight to starting their own operation. I didn’t think that you would want another problem like the one we just solved.” Alex pointed out the plastic bag on the floor of the van. “All of that garbage is evidence and my finger prints are all over the van. I need this crushed while I watch.
Tony smiled warmly, “I believe in preventative maintenance. We can do something for you.” Asshole number two removed the tires, engine, transmission and the rear axle before the other Asshole put the van in the crusher, and by the time the van
came out of the crusher, it was twelve inches high. Leaving the evidence inside of the van, Asshole number one used the forklift to put it on a flatbed trailer and within three hours it would be in the smelter.
“This should finish our business, Tony. All of the bunch that I am responsible for are gone.”
“Is there any chance that we can do business again?” Tony had to ask the question.
“There is a chance, but I am going to try and retire. Those big scores don’t happen that often and I have stretched my luck way past the breaking point. You were the one that told me long ago not to push my luck.”
“That was just an expression.”
“Not to me it wasn’t. You were smart and survived while the others are dead and gone. There is one thing that I can say. I do respect my mentor. There are very few people as old as you in this line of work.”
“Get the fuck out of here asshole.” Alex was glad to see that Tony was smiling. Tony was happy to see that ‘Hermes’ still honored his mentor.
“I am on my way. Could I get one of your assholes to give me a ride to my car?”
Just as the sun was coming up Alex arrived at the clinic with the ward quiet once again. With the last two problems taken care of, everyone settled down quickly. Alex found Sally, May, Cathy and Nadia deep in conversation, and the other girls were still asleep.
