Corridor One

by Rafael H. Derchansky

  ***

  Gregory woke up and opened his eyes. For a moment, he did not know where he was, then he realized that his head was covered with a blanket. When he removed it, the morning light dazzled him. Igor was sitting beside him, manipulating something in his watch. The windows of the car were slightly foggy. Gregory cleaned the side windows with his hand.

  “What time is it?”

  “Quarter after six,” said Igor. “I was waiting for you to wake up. I think I need to go down to the generator. Hopefully Dina will show up soon. I’m concerned about whether there is enough diesel to run the generator for another few hours,” he added.

  “Why are you always worried and concerned? What time do you think they will be out?”

  “I assume in the next hour, maybe an hour and a half.”

  “Then let us wait until they call you on the radio. How would it help if you went to the generator now? We can’t get more diesel anyway. The car can’t move without the battery. Did you check to make sure we don’t have an extra canister in the back?”

  “I checked. No, no more canisters,” Igor answered immediately.

  “Listen, in all these years that we have been working together, you have never told us anything about your work as a police detective. Not even one story.” Gregory tried to divert Igor’s attention from the generator.

  “Look who is talking,” Igor replied, smiling. “You've never divulged what martial art you practice. And that you’re a Grandmaster. Why is it, Gregory, that you never told us any stories?”

  Both friends smiled at each other.

  A click was heard from the radio that was lying on the dashboard, followed by Dina’s voice:

  “Igor, are you there? We are in the last room, ‘Captain Dom’. Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, we can, we can hear you. Waiting patiently for you to come up. Over,” Gregory answered the radio after he swiftly snatched it from the dash before Igor could make a move.

  “Who is that? Is this Gregory? Gregory, is it you? What are you doing in Derchany? Igor, is it Gregory?”

  “Yes, it is. He is here. We are waiting for you. Everything is great on our end, not to worry.”

  “Good, we'll be out in less than an hour. I’m confused…”

  The radio became quiet. Igor and Gregory understood that Dina’s last words, ‘I’m confused,’ were not directed to them but to Victor.

  “Sometimes I don’t understand you. Really. Why did you have to announce to Dina that you are here?” asked Igor.

  “So that now, given her curiosity and confusion, she will get out of the catacombs faster. Now I think you need to leave.” Gregory pointed with his finger into the direction of the swamp.

  “Can you please make sure that nobody else enters the swamp?”

  Gregory nodded.

  “I’m not done with you yet, Grandmaster,” Igor joked as he opened the car door and left the car.

  “Nor am I with you, Detective. My regards to Dina and Victor,” uttered Gregory to Igor's back.

  Half an hour before Victor made the call to Igor, Dina felt another wave of exhaustion. It happened right before they arrived at the entrance of ‘Captain Dom’. At this moment, she felt that she definitely must stop visualizing the tunnel and relax for a bit. She leaned against the wall and slid down slowly, afraid to lose consciousness. This time, it was bad. She could sense that Victor was nearby. She wanted to let him know that she was sitting on the floor and to ask him for water, but the words were stuck in her throat. She tried to make a noise by clapping her hand on the wall. She could not hear whether she was able to produce any noise.

  When she regained her senses, she felt a bottle of water on her lips and Victor's warm hand firmly supporting her head.

  “What happened to you?”

  “I don’t know. I felt weak and decided to rest near the wall.” Dina attempted to comfort herself and Victor.

  “I think that I lost the image. From now on we'll need to walk close to the wall, but we have only one room left,” she added.

  “It will be a breeze, nothing to worry about. How are you feeling now?”

  “I feel much better. Give me a minute, and I’ll try to stand up and we can walk.”

  “No reason to rush. Give yourself a bit more time. Here, I have another candy for you.” Victor unwrapped the candy in the dark and put it in Dina’s hand. “The last one. So no more fainting, please.”

  Dina had to stay on the floor for another ten minutes. All this time, Victor sat next to her, holding her hand, trying to make her comfortable and keep her warm. Finally, she got to her feet slowly and stood still for a moment, then took three steps, checking her balance. One hand on the wall, another supported by Victor. They moved slowly towards the entrance of the room. When Dina's hand reached the entrance, she asked Victor to give her the radio.

  “I’m confused.” Dina gave the radio back to Victor. “What is Gregory doing in Derchany? I hope everything is okay with Tamara. Let's hurry up.”

  They entered ‘Captain Dom’. Remembering that the room was filled with office stuff, and the fact that they had only a narrow pass near the wall, Victor took the lead, asking Dina to follow him by holding on to his backpack. Slowly and with great caution, they moved through the room. When they reached the exit, Victor tried to turn on his flashlight. It flared up for a second and immediately extinguished. Now the biggest challenge was to locate the room's nameplate and retrieve the stored contents behind it. They exited the room, and Dina once again took a seat on the floor. Victor removed his backpack from his shoulders and took out the hammer and the blanket.

  “I’ll check from both sides of the room entrance. Please remain in the same spot; I don’t want to lose you in the dark.”

  Victor started his search. Dina was happy that she was not needed and that she could rest. The last few steps in the room were real torture. Her head was spinning, and she was lucky that her stomach was empty. Dina was familiar with the way her body usually responded to the Kerzhak’s walk. She understood that her exhaustion was the result of keeping the image of the tunnel and the navigation in her mind for too long, that it was a normal reaction to overloading her mind, and that at present, her brain was temporarily cutting off any unnecessary functions of the body to restore the vital ones required for her survival.

  Now, while seated, she felt that her strength was coming back slowly, but surely. She became aware of the difference in the quality of the air, which indicated that they were near the exit of the catacombs. The difference was noticeable, and she thought that the air, which was fresh and clean now, was also helping her recover faster.

  Dina called to Victor, trying to see how he was doing, but instead of an answer she heard the smashing sound of his hammer.

  “Got it,” came a shout from the dark after a short time.

  “What's up with you? How are you feeling?” asked Victor, coming back to Dina. “Are you ready to go home?” he teased her. “Remember, you need to be on your best behavior when you come out of the catacombs, looking gorgeous and sharp, basking in the glory of a winner.”

  Victor sat near Dina and wrapped his arm around her. Feeling the strength, and at the same time the pleasant warmth of his body so close to her, relaxed Dina and calmed her. She leaned against Victor, allowing her head to fall onto his shoulder.

  “Let's sit here for another few minutes, and then I’ll be ready to get out of here looking gorgeous and sharp.” Dina's body felt calm and composed, but her mind would not follow. I’m going to meet my dad soon. What is Gregory doing here? How will I get the diamonds out of this country? Why is this happening to me all at once?

  Walking, then taking a little rest, walking again, stopping and resting again. Victor in the lead, Dina following, enjoying the coolness of the air. Even being in the darkness felt different now. Dina could not wait to get out of the catacombs anymore, leaving behind the dampness and the pitch-darkness. The walk towards the exit continued and then Victor stopped. />
  “Dina, can you see the light? The side entrance door is open.”

  The tunnel was curving up. A small ray of yellow light appeared ahead of them. As they began moving forward, the yellow ray became wider and wider. They picked up their pace and covered the distance much faster than before. After a few minutes, Victor and Dina could at last see the gate.

  “I would like you to stay here. I’ll leave the backpacks with you and see whether Igor is waiting for us there. I hope he is alone; I mean, only with Gregory. I’ll be back soon.”

  Dina sat down with no objections, thankful for another break.

  Victor approached the gate slowly, walking with his back to the wall and trying to silence his steps and observe the outside surroundings.

  He would prefer to exit the catacombs in the same fashion that they had entered it: without any local witnesses. If somebody other than Igor and Gregory were waiting for them, then he would have to find a way to postpone their exit. This was one of the reasons for leaving Dina behind. Getting Dina out safely was his top priority now. Getting the diamonds out of the catacombs and out of the country would be his next priority, but he would worry about that later.

  Victor could hear the generator, but saw nobody at the gate. The sun had come out but it hadn’t had time to extinguish the cold left over from the night before. Victor could feel the chilling breeze that brushed against his face. He decided to make radio contact with Igor, but at that moment he heard footsteps on the catacomb's cemented floor. Somebody was approaching the gate. Victor waited. The shape of a man dressed in an army winter uniform became visible at the entrance of the tunnel. Victor froze, keeping his body glued to the wall. Only after he recognized Igor’s face and his funny hat did he step forward, approaching the gate's metal bars.

  “Hey.” Igor recognized him and dashed towards the gate's switchboard. Then he suddenly stopped. “Where is Dina?”

  “She is not far, resting. Are you alone? Is anybody from the municipality here with you? Anybody else?”

  “Nobody is here except for Gregory and me. But you know about him already. Why is Dina not with you? Is she okay?”

  “Yes, I’m okay,” Dina’s voice sounded from the dark. “I’m a little tired, but I’ll be fine.” Dina slowly approached the gate and held her arm towards Igor, embracing him through the metal bars.

  Igor embraced her back with both his arms.

  “I’m going to bring out the backpacks.” Victor turned around and marched into the tunnel. Igor asked Dina to step back and turned on the gate-opening switch. The gate began opening slowly and noisily. Dina took two steps forward, passing through it.

  “It's good to be free. What do you know, Igor, in the end, Victor is really my brother. You wouldn't believe me if I told you that my father adopted him.” Dina paused for a second. Then she opened her eyes wide. “And, that my father is alive.”

  “I don’t know much about your brother, but Gregory is here because your father asked him to join us. He is on some kind of a mission. He is keeping it a secret from me, but I’m sure that he'll talk to you about it soon. He is in the car guarding the swamp.” Igor smiled, realizing that a big load had been lifted from his shoulders after finally seeing Dina. Victor approached holding both backpacks. The trio began moving towards the side entrance door. Igor stopped near the generator.

  “We need to take the battery with us. It is from the van.”

  “What happened to the generator's battery?” asked Victor.

  “It was stolen.” Igor shut down the generator and disconnected the battery’s clamps. They approached the swamp and the tire that was still lying nearby in the mud. Igor looked at Victor.

  “You will need to go first and cross the swamp. Dina can go with you. On the other side, you will see a rope on the ground. It is attached to this tire. I’ll tell you when to pull the rope.”

  “What is a tire doing here? Where did you take it from?” asked Victor.

  “This is the spare tire from your car. It's a long story. I’ll tell you on the way home.”

  Victor did not ask any more questions. About an hour later, after Dina’s emotional reunion with Gregory, all four were sitting inside the van, ready to drive away.

  The car, driven by Victor, slowly moved off. The discussion about whether they should go to the hotel or to Victor’s place ended quickly after Victor decisively demanded to reconvene at his place.

  “I would like to stop by Katherine's place for a second, to pick up the food and to ask her to stay home today. We won’t be needing an additional pair of eyes and ears around,” said Victor.

  The car was rolling through the city, which was slowly waking up. Dina sat in the back seat beside Gregory. She restrained herself from asking him any questions, waiting for a better opportunity. Soon the car left the main street and continued its drive on bumpy, unpaved streets. After driving for a few more minutes and frequently maneuvering the car to avoid bumping into cows and free-running chickens, Victor stopped the car on the side of a narrow street lined with two rows of old, wooden houses.

  “This will only take a minute.” He left the car running and walked a good distance until he entered and disappeared through the gate to one of the houses.

  “It seems that Victor did not want Katherine to see all of us in his car,” said Igor.

  “Even if that’s true, I'm sure that he has a good reason for it.” Dina sounded defensive. “Why are you here?” she asked, turning her head to Gregory.

  “I trust that you already know that your father is alive. I met with him recently. He asked me to assist you with the diamond-smuggling to Switzerland. Aleksa will help us. We already arranged what needs to be done. I’ll explain all of the details later. You should know that your dad is a fine man. He kept on asking about you. He seemed to be anxious to see you again.” Gregory looked forward through the front windshield. “Victor is coming back. I don’t think we should keep any secrets from him. Your father also asked you to trust Victor as you would trust any of us.”

  Victor approached the car carrying two large, yellow straw baskets.

  “Food, we have food,” he declared, opening the back door of the car and placing the baskets inside. The smell of freshly cooked food filled the cabin.

  “Are there any buns in there?” asked Dina. “I’m dying of hunger.”

  “Special, for you, and for everybody else.” Victor opened one of the baskets and took out a white plastic bag. He gave it to Dina, who opened it rapidly. Soon enough all four were chewing on the buns and the car was rolling down the solid asphalt road, leaving Katherine's street far behind.

  About half an hour later, the car stopped in front of Victor’s home. He left the car, opened the gate and entered the front yard. The dogs were barking loudly, but then stopped suddenly. It was clear that they had recognized the arrival of their master. After a short while, Victor came out, announcing that the beasts were restrained, that it was now safe to enter the house, and he drove the car into the parking space. All four entered the house, carrying with them their backpacks and the baskets of food.

  “Who wants to take a shower?” asked Victor, looking at Dina.

  “Oh yes, I do,” she replied.

  “Good. I’ll show you where the shower is. You can find clean towels on a shelf there and if you’d like, there is a clean bathrobe hanging on the door. Actually, there are two of them. You can choose your color.” He smiled. “In the meantime, we will start on a pot of fresh coffee and see what Katherine made to surprise us.”

  Victor and Dina left. Igor, following Gregory, landed on a chair near the dining table. Victor came back from the master bedroom and joined them.

  “So, Gregory, I assume that you met with my father. And that he, being his usual overprotective self, asked you to help us?” asked Victor.

  “Yes, I did, I met with your father at the Glass Beach Suites. Your father told me that you were planning to tell Dina that he is alive.”

  “Please stop
for a second here,” interrupted Igor. “Could you give me some more details?”

  Victor told his story about how he was released from Corridor One by Dina's father who had also adopted and raised him.

  “Dina knows all about it.” He finished exactly on time. The bedroom door opened and Dina, wearing a blue bathrobe, walked towards the sitting men.

  “I can’t smell any coffee. Is it not ready yet, or is my nose stuffed?” joked Dina.

  “We just had a short chat. It will be ready in a second,” said Victor.

  “And food. Where is the promised food? I’m not sure that I would like to have such an irresponsible brother.” It was obvious that Dina was in a great mood.

  “The food will be served in no time, dear Sis. I was telling Igor and Gregory how I was adopted.” Victor lept from his chair and walked quickly into the kitchen. Igor and Gregory followed him. The baskets were emptied. Some of the dishes needed to be warmed up, some were ready for consumption. Dina was surprised by the variety and the amount of food that Katherine had prepared. Everything looked and smelled amazing. Soon the dinner table was almost ready, along with the long-awaited coffee.

  “Dina, I need your help in the kitchen. I don’t want to overheat the goulash. Can you please help me in here?” asked Victor.

  “I’ll be there in a second,” replied Dina, finishing setting up the cutlery on the table.

  Victor came out of the kitchen, leaving Dina near the stove.

  “We need to talk,” he said to Igor and Gregory, lowering his voice to a whisper.

  “I’m going to call my father after the meal and I am sure that he will ask me to speak with Dina. It will be hard and emotional for her. Do you think that she will be able to handle it or should I wait for a better time?”

  “She is capable of handling it. I think it is good timing. No matter how difficult it may be, she will be grateful for the chance to talk to her father,” approved Igor.

  “Of course, she is tough enough,” added Gregory.

  A couple of minutes later, Dina entered the dining room holding a steaming pot of goulash in her hands. She was looking for a good spot on the table to place it. Victor found a wooden board and placed it in the middle of the table just in time for Dina to lower the hot pot onto it. The table was overloaded with several different types of salads, dry and smoked fish and a big basket of bread in the middle. Victor brought in a large bottle filled with dark purple liquid, explaining that this was the best homemade liquor made from the black currants that grew in his backyard. Soon enough, everybody was busy tasting the rich variety of food that had been placed in front of them. Victor explained in great detail the delicate process of smoking fish and divulged recipes for numerous wild berry jams, pickled mushrooms, pickled cabbage, and pickled watermelon. Dina sat down near him, sometimes heartily teasing him about his seemingly professional chef's knowledge. Throughout dinner, Igor and Gregory paid frequent attention to Dina, trying to observe her behavior. A big, genuine smile was perpetually glued on her face. Dina looked relaxed and unmistakably happy.

  “How do you feel? No more Kerzhak after-effects?” asked Victor, turning to Dina, after he finished summarizing a long list of food that locals preserved for winter each year. Dina nodded, lifting both her thumbs up, signaling to everybody that she was doing very well.

  Igor lifted his eyes from his empty plate. “Great food. Please pass my appreciation on to Katherine. But I think that you had some reasons for asking her to stay home. What are they?”

  “Yes, you are right. I knew that you all would be asking me a lot of questions. Plus we need to discuss what we are planning to do next. So why do we need a witness to our crimes?” answered Victor, smiling.

  The atmosphere around the table suddenly changed. Dina stopped smiling and Gregory put down his half-finished glass of liquor. He looked attentively at Dina and then at Victor.

  “Why did you change your plans and not stay overnight in the catacombs? What happened there that made you leave in the middle of the night?”

  “Nothing serious happened in there,” lied Dina. She could still feel the softness of Victor’s lips. “When Victor told me that my dad was alive, and the story of how my dad adopted him, I decided to get out as soon as possible. I had the urge to meet with him earlier. It is true that I had a few moments when I did not feel too good, but that wasn't the reason. The main reason to get out earlier was my dad.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” asked Igor.

  “Yes.” Dina stood up and walked towards her backpack that was still lying on the floor. She was happy that she had a reason to leave the table for a short period. She removed the four containers from the backpack's side pocket and brought them back, arranging them on the dining table.

  “Victor, can you please open them? I’ll try to clear some space on the table.” Dina began to collect the empty plates and the cutlery. Gregory volunteered to help her and brought a few salad bowls into the kitchen. Victor opened one container after another, exposing the shiny precious stones. When Dina and Gregory sat back at the table, Dina took two clean napkins and spread them out near the containers. Then, one by one, she slowly turned the containers upside down, letting the stones roll out onto the napkins. The diamonds, mixed with some dust and tiny pieces of dirt, assembled into a small, sparkling, light-reflecting pile in the middle of the white napkins. With her finger, Dina evened out the stones. Like a magician, Gregory produced small jeweler’s tweezers from thin air, and began counting the stones.

  “Twenty seven in total, five are missing,” he declared after finishing his count.

  “One is in our safety deposit box in the bank. As for the rest, I think that the four that are missing are ones that Roman might have exchanged for food.” Dina’s voice faltered, betraying the sadness that always overcame her when she thought about her older brother. Victor reached for Dina’s hand under the table and gently squeezed it.

  “I think that now would be a good time for you to get the answers to all of the questions that you may have. Who wants to ask first?” Victor would not let go of Dina's hand.

  “Let me.” Igor decided to take the bull by the horns. He clearly saw the emotional bond that was growing between Dina and Victor and he wanted to shield Dina from having to ask Victor directly what could be precarious questions. He was unsure of whether or not she was comfortable at this moment, but these questions needed to be answered. The sooner the better, especially if Dina would talk with her father soon. Igor felt that he needed to take on this task himself. He had no doubt in his mind that Dina would have done exactly the same for him.

  “Your dad knew about Dina’s existence for some time. Why didn't he approach her right away or at least give her some indication that he was alive?

  “I would like to assure you that our dad is a great man.” Although Victor was talking to everybody in the room, it was obvious to whom he was addressing his reply. “But he is also a complicated man. He has many faces and he possesses many uncommon traits. Some people think of him as a great entrepreneur, investor and inventor. Some will call him a thief and a robber. Some individuals and institutions will stand in line to meet with him and get his advice or his point of view in a few areas, while in some countries, the authorities are ready to run him into the ground. It is true that he was behind many illegal activities. A direct association with him in any way or form may harm you or people around you. I did experience this in the past on my own. I know that it sounds terrible, but Dina, believe me that he loves you and you could never ask for a better father.

  “From the day he lost you and Roman, he dedicated his entire life to his search for his children. Unfortunately, when you came to visit Derchany three years ago, it was the first time in more than twenty years that he finally got a small ray of hope of finding you. You can’t imagine the pain and distress he was put through when he found out that you were genuine, that you were his Dina. He wanted to be with you, talk with you, hug and cuddle y
ou like when you were a little girl, but he would not permit himself. The slightest bit of association with him would've destroyed the reputation of your business, your future and basically your life. He knew this well, and he suffered but kept himself away from you.

  “For that same reason, many years ago, he also insisted that I distance myself from him. If you remember your father, then you'll understand that I had no choice but to comply with his decision. This is one of the reasons why I built my home here. But I couldn't live without him for long periods of time; we both missed each other. So we would meet, but only when he thought that it was absolutely safe to do so. Sadly though, in the last ten years, this didn't happen too many times. You will find him the same caring, charming, optimistic and energetic man. Since he found you, he has watched over you from afar. And I could see how proud he was of what you had become and what you had done with your life.” Victor finished and sat quietly, waiting for the next question.

  “Dina felt a dull pain in her lower back, the usual reminder of her nervousness. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her nerves under control. But the surreal picture of her father who had been so close to her in the past few years without her even knowing about him had the opposite effect on her body. She felt that the pain was now spreading all over her back. She pushed herself deeper into the chair, trying to relax.

  “So what changed suddenly?” Igor continued his relentless inquiry.

  “What has changed?” echoed Victor, looking again at Dina. “Our dad thought that Roman and Dina could not have used up all of the diamonds on their way from the village to Derchany, in exchange for food. He also knew that Roman did not reach Central City. Therefore, he assumed that Roman and Dina stored the diamonds somewhere, and that Dina would know where they were hidden. This was when he came up with the idea to give Dina one of the stones. It was a safe bet. He reasoned that she would either keep it for herself, exchange it for money, or it would trigger a hunt for the rest of the hidden diamonds. When Dina went to Derchany after so many years, we became certain that she was searching for something or somebody. The diamond in the red box that I delivered to your condo, Dina, was supposed to be a trigger for action, and it was.”

  “Except that I had no clue where the rest of the diamonds were,” said Dina. “It was all thanks to Igor, who conducted an investigation and, in the process, uncovered what had happened to the Twin Crowns. We also learned that it was my dad who robbed the treasury and replaced the real diamonds with the fake replicas.”

  “What do you mean, you did not know where the diamonds were hidden?” Victor was surprised.

  “I did not know. Roman disappeared without explaining to me the meaning of what he had written on that page that I kept framed in my office. It was only after Igor came back from Geneva and had compared my framed page with the flyer of the Catacomb Park that we understood that my page contained the names of the catacomb rooms. We also understood in which rooms the diamonds were hidden, and that the incomprehensible combination of the letters and numbers most probably describe the exact location of their whereabouts.”

  “Let's go back to Victor's story, shall we? I’m still unsure of why all of this changed your dad's mind, and why he decided to reveal himself to Dina now, when in reality, she still can’t see him or even talk to him. What good is it if she still remains separated from him?” asked Igor.

  “Our dad knew that Dina decided to return the diamond that I gave her to the Treasury.”

  “How?” Dina abruptly released her hand from Victor’s. “How do you know about what I was planning to do with the diamond? We disconnected the recording device that you had placed in my condo a couple of days before I made up my mind and left to Geneva. Do you have anything else plugged into my apartment or in my office?” Dina’s voice was angry now.

  “No, we don’t have any other spying devices. We don’t. Please believe me. We knew about your plans from Tamara.”

  “What?” the cry escaped simultaneously from Igor and Gregory. Dina was in a state of shock. Two hands flew up to cover her face.

  “Tamara, it can't be. Is she spying for you?”

  “No, she is not. Please don’t accuse her. She did not do anything wrong. She will die for you before becoming a spy or an informer. Everyone, please relax and let me explain. Our dad is well connected. When Interpol made the amnesty deal with the Treasury, we knew about it before anybody else in the diamond industry. Dad always wanted to know more about Dina. I don’t know how, but this is the way our dad is. He discovered that Tamara was going to read her poems at a community center competition. He went there and befriended her. Our dad knows his way around with ladies much younger than him.”

  “Sorry, how old is your dad?” asked Gregory.

  “He will be sixty-three next month,” answered Dina.

  “You are correct, he will be sixty-three. So, he became friendly with Tamara and they had a drink or two. The bottom line is that Tamara was so passionate about you, Dina, that she couldn't stop talking about you when dad asked what it was that she did for a living. She told him all about her great employer and the way you treat your team. Nobody’s intention was to get into your plans or schedules. But as a good example of your character, Tamara mentioned that you are on your way to do a heroic act of returning a stolen diamond to its original owners. It took Dad less than a second to put all of the pieces together, and we knew that you were on your way to return the diamond to the Treasury. It’s as simple as that.

  “Now, I hope that I've answered the question, ‘Why now?’ You have the diamonds. An amnesty is promised to anybody who will return the diamonds to the Treasury. It is an unconditional pardon. And both sides will benefit from it. Gregory should have an envelope with all of the required documents and the list of the felonies that dad has been accused of and for which we are asking amnesty. It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to free our dad. The next step is up to you, Dina. You can keep the diamonds and become filthy rich, or you can return them to the Treasury. You will free our father and also have some change left in your pockets.”

  Everything and everybody froze. Only the clock on the wall continued its count of the passing seconds. Dina was taken aback by Victor's last question. Why in the world would he doubt her and her decision? The last sentence came from an alien man, not from the Victor that she knew. Victor averted his eyes from Dina's. A fierce battle of conflicting emotions was beginning to build up inside him. Love for his father, willingness to do whatever it look to bring him back into normal life, and the new feelings for Dina who was now sitting quietly, seemingly in doubt, were tearing him apart. With every passing second the feelings for Dina were giving way to a sudden and quickly growing burst of anger and pain.

  Dina shook her head. She looked at Victor's pale and motionless face, stood up and suddenly burst into laughter. Then she hugged him, kissing him on the forehead.

  “How could you even ask me this question? Never again, listen to me; never again doubt my love for our dad, ever. We will get him the amnesty. I promise that we will.” Now Dina began to sound like the Dina that Igor and Gregory knew: strong, confident and certain of what she was doing.

  “Of course we will get him the amnesty. Who would like more coffee?” Victor mumbled, for some reason feeling like a little boy that had just been scolded for something not even his fault.

  “I can brew a new pot.”

  In front of these two men, Victor felt uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. He did not know how to react to Dina’s startling hugs and kisses.

  Dina stepped back, tilted her head, looking at him with a queer look in her eyes. Then she smiled, arranging her hair.

  “Why not? We still have a couple of buns and the jam that you were pushing on us so hard before. And it is also a good time to start our discussion on how we are planning to smuggle the stones out of this country.”

  Victor went to the kitchen and soon a new, fresh coffee smell spread into the dining room.

  The lou
d shrill sound of a whistle erupted from the library. Igor looked at Gregory in surprise.

  “Victor, somebody is whistling. Do we have company?” Dina walked into the direction of the kitchen.

  “No, we don’t have company. It's my satellite phone. This is the only phone ring that can wake me up in the middle of the night. An old train hopper's habit. Sorry, I need to take it.” Victor quickly walked towards the library.

  “Can somebody please take care of the coffee, it's almost ready. I’ll be back in a moment,” he said before shutting the door and disappearing into the library.

  “I can do it,” volunteered Igor, quickly rising to his feet, and without giving any of the others a chance to answer, he left the dining room. Gregory and Dina were left alone in the room. Gregory, with the help of his tweezers, began cleaning the tiny specs of mud stuck to the diamonds. Dina sat looking at her long-overdue-for-a-good-manicure fingernails. Outside, the sun was blasting and its rays, unusually warm for this time of the year, were heating up the room. Dina left her chair and moved closer to the window, exposing her face to the sun. She closed her eyes. A pleasant sensation of warmth spread through her entire body.

  Her enjoyment did not last long. After only a couple of seconds a vicious and loud barking burst her nirvana. The dogs, who had seen somebody unfamiliar to them standing by the window inside the house, were ready to slash their chains and leap at the stranger, forcing their entrance directly through the window. Dina stepped back quickly, hiding from their view. The library door opened at once letting Victor through. He took a quick and somewhat worried look around, making sure that all three of his friends were inside the house safely and that nobody had been served as a meal to his dogs. The barking, a mix of loud growls and howls, continued.

  “Sorry,” said Dina timidly, shrugging her shoulders and raising her hands in an apologetic gesture.

  “No worries. It's my fault. I should've told you not to come too close to the windows.” Victor began putting on his boots.

  “Dina, can you please get on the phone in the library? Somebody would like to talk to you. I’ll be back. I’ll lock up the dogs. Otherwise, they will bark for hours.” Victor turned around and left without giving Dina a chance to ask him with whom she was going to talk. She raised her eyebrows, hesitating, looking questioningly at the men in the room. Igor spread out his arms, signaling to her that he had nothing to say. Gregory looked back at her with an inconspicuous smile and then nodded approvingly, pointing with his head and eyes to the library door. It took another short moment for her to decide what she was going to do. Then, with a sigh, she lifted her head and walked into the library, leaving Igor and Gregory behind.

  The receiver of the satellite phone was laying on the coffee table. Dina sat down into the armchair that was standing near the coffee table, paused, hesitating, and then picked up the receiver.

  “Hi, hello,” she said under her breath. For a couple of seconds, the line was silent.

  “Hi, Dina,” a man’s voice trembled. Then a sound of what could have been a sob followed and the line became silent again. Dina understood immediately who was on the other end of the line.

  “Dad, is that you?” With all of her strength, she held back a sudden rush of tears that was beginning to choke her, making her attempts to speak very difficult. “Say something, please, talk to me.”

  “I love you, child. I always loved you. I’m so sorry.” Despite all of his efforts to muffle the sound, Dina could hear that her dad was crying.

  “Dad, can you hear me? Stop it. I love you back! I love you, too!” Dina could not bear the tension any longer, and a river of tears began gushing down her face. Now she was crying and bawling directly into the receiver. The sobbing and weeping on both sides of the satellite line continued. After a while, Dina wiped her nose with the back of her hand, trying to get a hold of herself.

  “Dad, you see what you are doing, now I’m crying too.” Dina suddenly thought that she sounded childishly selfish and the thought made her happy. “Sorry, I did not mean to blame it all on you, sorry,” she added with a big smile and tears still running down her cheeks. “How have you been, dad? I missed you so much. Is it really you?” Dina forced herself to calm down a notch so that she could pick up the conversation. “How is your health? We will be celebrating your birthday next month together, right?”

  “Yes, we will.” The answer came after a short pause. “I will never let you out of my sight again, never. I promise.” The voice of her father, now confident and strong, reassured Dina. “I’m so sorry for putting you and Roman through all the suffering, and for your loneliness, for me not being with you when you needed me. If only I could reverse all of this.”

  Dina felt the huge weight of sadness, pain and devastation in her dad’s voice. Imagining her father living with all of this for more than twenty years, she started feeling her heart beating quickly against her chest. Dina knew that she needed to regain control of herself immediately, otherwise they would both go back to crying.

  “Dad, we will see each other soon. We are not going to have any more secrets between us. Our family will be reunited soon.”

  “Did Victor tell you that he is part of our family?” Dina’s father carefully asked.

  “Yes, he did.” The mention of Victor's name made Dina’s heart beat even faster. Through the library window, she looked outside at the green and yellow foliage in the backyard.

  “Dad, we may have a slight problem.” Dina’s wet and now slightly puffy face was glowing with one of her big, mischievous smiles. And before her dad could ask her any questions, she added quickly and curtly, “I think I’m falling in love with Victor.”

  “God bless you, he is a great man. I love you both.”

  “I mean, love. Not like a friend or a brother and sister, Dad, do you understand?”

  “Yes, I do. You don’t have any problem. He is my adopted son. You may love him any way you wish.”

  “Thank you, Dad. I’m so happy, I have you both. Forever.” Dina began kissing the receiver.

  She thought that she could also hear the sound of a kiss in the receiver. Then she heard a click and the line went silent. Dina looked at the receiver to check whether she might have accidentally pushed a button that disconnected the line, but there were no buttons and the line was dead.

  “Damn!” She put the receiver on the table and left the library, making her way to the dining room. There she found Igor and Gregory sitting at the dining table with coffee cups in their hands. Victor was standing near the window, his arms crossed on his chest, staring at the house gate. When he heard Dina's steps, he turned around, releasing his arms.

  “I talked to dad,” she announced, approaching the table. “But something happened to the phone or to the line, and we got disconnected. Can we call him back?”

  “I’m sorry, this is normal,” said Victor. “If a conversation takes more than ten minutes, the satellite will disconnect it. Don’t worry, he knows all about that. We won't be able to connect anybody on the satellite phone for the next two hours now, but the line will come back. How did he sound?”

  “Emotional, but strong and gentle, like my father. Thank you for letting me talk to him. I was waiting for this moment, but was also scared stiff by it.”

  Dina approached Victor and openly kissed him on the cheek. Igor and Gregory exchanged glances and looked the other way.

  “What?” asked Dina, looking at them, swaying her torso from side to side and holding Victor’s hand as if he were her dancing partner. “I will kiss my brother any time I want to. I got my dad's permission.” The oversized robe made her look round and funny, but she sounded extremely happy and relieved.

  “I will check with your dad later whether what you say is true,” Igor jokingly threatened. “We are ready to go to the hotel now. Remember that we still have work to do. We need to discuss our next move, so can you please get ready?”

  After Dina had left, they cleaned the table and waited for her, read
y to leave.

  “What are we going to do with the diamonds in the meantime?” Dina asked upon her return.

  “I propose we leave them here. I have a safe bolted into the wall in my bedroom closet. The dogs and the security system will keep them safe,” suggested Victor.

  Everybody thought that the plan was good and so a short while later, the van left the front yard of Victor's house, accompanied by a squall of barking noises coming from the garage. The van parked outside the gate for a few moments, waiting for Victor, who went back to release the dogs and lock the gate. After he returned, the van began moving unhurriedly in the direction of the hotel.

  “I would like to make a couple of stops on our way to the hotel,” said Victor to his passengers, carefully navigating the car towards the cemented road.

  They made their first stop at the Derchany train station. Igor and Gregory stayed in the car while Dina and Victor went to check the train schedule and get their tickets to Central City.

  “We got them.” Dina waved the tickets in her hand when they came back. “This time it was easy. Apparently everybody in this town knows the history teacher. Boy, is he popular. We got a coupe that sleeps four. We are leaving tomorrow morning at eleven.”

  “Dina, you are damaging my hard-earned reputation,” protested a smiling Victor, taking the car to their next stop.

  “It took me a while to explain to the cashier what you meant by asking to purchase a coupe. And how did you forget that in our language, it's not a coupe but a cabin, simply a cabin?” He moved his head from side to side in a teasingly disapproving motion.

  The next stop was Katherine’s, although they stopped the van a distance away from her house on the street. Victor explained that the area where she lived was not yet connected to the city’s phone grid, and this is why he needed to drive there rather than being able to call. He wanted to inform Katherine about his upcoming unplanned absence. When Igor asked him why he was not using the radio transmitter that he had left her, Victor stumbled for a moment and then hesitatingly explained that the battery of the transmitter had run out. Igor thought that the explanation sounded unconvincing, since in the past two days he had not heard any radio communications with Katherine, so there was no reason he knew of for the battery to have run out, but he remained quiet and did not ask any more questions. Victor left the car, carrying two empty baskets in his hands. Ten minutes passed.

  Victor's meeting with Katherine took longer than he anticipated. When he entered Katherine's home, she was surprised to see him again. She was cooking a meal for her family and insisted that he take some of it with him back home. She disregarded his protests and began loading one of the empty baskets with food.

  All this time, Igor, Dina and Gregory sat in the car, bored with nothing to do. The minutes seemed to pass very slowly. Igor looked at his watch. It was already three in the afternoon. He opened the window on his side, letting fresh air into the car, and began to watch and count the chickens that were running freely on the street. Dina and Gregory were discussing the progress of the Voice Parsing project.

  “For some reason he does not trust his housekeeper. It is obvious that he doesn’t want her to see us and him together. And the strange story about the radio battery, all smoke and mirrors. Should we ask him what's going on?” said Igor, interrupting his count.

  “He must have his reasons, it could be personal. I think we should leave him alone for now. The sooner we leave this place, the better. We will have three days with him on the train. There you can ask him any questions you want.” Dina was looking through the front windshield of the car, hoping that Victor would show up soon so that they could move on. Igor was the one to notice him first. Victor came around the corner into view, carrying the basket of food to the car.

  “Wow, I think we are going to have even more of Katherine’s cuisine today,” commented Igor.

  Everyone turned to the approaching Victor.

  “Sorry it took me so long. I couldn’t stop her. Katherine packed another portion of food. This is another local custom. Nobody leaves your home empty handed, especially when you arrive in the middle of their meal or in the middle of their cooking. You can easily offend somebody by refusing to taste or take the offered food with you, so as you see, I couldn't refuse,” explained Victor after he climbed into the car and passed the basket to Gregory in the back seat.

  “The aroma alone can make you hungry. I'm sure we will all be glad to have a light snack in a few hours. Should we take the basket into the hotel with us?” asked Dina.

  “Do we have five more minutes? I will make a quick stop at the store to pick up a few disposable plates and cutlery. The store is more or less on our way anyhow.”

  Time was not an issue and soon the company, consisting of three tourists and their guide, was on the way to their next destination.

  Even from the parking lot, it became obvious that the local store was completely packed. It seemed that people from all over town had decided to get there at the same time. The line-up to the single cashier that was serving the crowd stretched directly from the store through the open door and into the street.

  “What is going on?”

  “The store receives a new shipment of merchandise every Tuesday at around this time. Each week another store receives their supplies according to their schedules. This is the day and time when this one gets restocked,” explained Victor.

  “I doubt that the stay in this line will take us five minutes. More like a few hours.”

  “No, Dina, no worries. I have a credit arrangement with the manager of the store. We will pick up what we need, register it with the cashier and leave right away. I pay the manager once a month. It's all in cash, with a little gratuity added, of course. I'll be back in a moment.”

  “I’ll come with you,” said Gregory, exiting the car. “I need a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. I forgot mine when packing.”

  “You can use my toothpaste,” Igor shouted after him, but Gregory had already left. Gregory and Victor quickly disappeared behind the wall of the lined-up and patiently awaiting customers. Dina decided to exit the car to stretch her legs. The trip was taking longer than she expected, but she welcomed the unplanned tour of the city. After walking along a short promenade, she stopped not far from the end of the line-up, watching the variety of local characters that were entering and exiting the store. In the meantime, inside the store, Victor took Gregory to the shelf with the toothpastes and went to pick up the plates and cutlery. When he came back for Gregory, he found him standing at the same spot where he had left him, looking with great interest at a toothpaste tube.

  “Interesting, it is very interesting. I will take two, if that's fine with you,” he said.

  “Of course, I have no idea what it is that you find so special about our local toothpaste, but take as many as you want. There are only three left on the shelf anyway.”

  “I’ll take all of them,” said the determined Gregory, picking up the store's entire supply of toothpaste.

  Victor made a surprised face, but took the three toothpaste tubes from Gregory's hands and walked towards the busy cashier. Shortly after, Gregory joined Igor, who was beginning to doze off in the car. Victor exited the store with a brown paper bag in his hands. It was apparent that quite a few people in town knew him. While he was making his way to the car, several people standing in line stopped him to say ‘hello’. With some he shook hands and with others, he stopped for a quick chat. An elderly woman reached into her bag and handed a green apple to him. Dina observed all this from afar with mixed feelings. Unexpectedly, she experienced a light and previously unfamiliar pang of jealousy. Victor passed by without noticing her. Without dwelling too much on her newly acquired feelings, she followed him.

  “We are all set to go to the hotel now. I hope it did not take too long. The food will still be warm by the time we get to the room.”

  The hotel reception desk was empty, so there was nobody to greet them when they e
ntered the hotel. They all went directly into Igor’s room. Victor put the basket of food on the table.

  “Do you know that we had our meal only three hours ago?” commented Gregory, opening his backpack and taking out a white envelope.

  “I don’t know about you, but I'm not hungry yet. I think we better start discussing how we plan to move what we have to Geneva,” said Dina.

  “Your dad asked me for help with the transfer,” Gregory explained.

  Gregory and others sat around the table. The basket with the food was lowered to the floor.

  “Of course, I was ready to help and so I contacted Aleksa. She agreed to travel to Derchany and use the diplomatic mail services to transfer the diamonds to Geneva. We will need to let her know when we will be in Central City. She will fly in to meet us.”

  “That's very good of her. Please tell her that I really appreciate what she will be doing for us. Can I take a look at the documents that my father gave you?”

  Gregory passed the envelope to Dina. She opened it, browsed through the first two pages and was now reading the third page.

  “Oh! Kabuk-ka-bull, my God!”

  “Now you sound like our good friend Tamara. Is something wrong?” asked Igor.

  “You should see this. The number of countries and the number of cases he is asking to be amnestied for. I can’t believe it.”

  “Yes, this is our dad,” said Victor, smirking.

  Igor took the list from Dina's hands. He studied it carefully, and then passed the list back to Dina.

  “As far as my knowledge of Interpol goes, I will be surprised if they agree to this deal. It is far too much. They may accept a partial list, maybe, but I’ll be surprised if they go for all twenty-three pardons.”

  “Twenty-three pardons! You must be joking?” asked a surprised Gregory.

  “What are you planning to do, Dina? This does not look rational or doable.”

  Victor kept quiet. Dina took another look at the list.

  “Igor, you may be right. It does not seem realistic, but don’t forget that the Treasury does not have too many options. If what we know goes public, they will suffer a great deal of political damage. They wouldn't want to risk the trust of the public either. I would like to see them, rather than us, doing most of the bargaining work with Interpol. Out of thirty-two diamonds, we have a total of twenty-eight. I hope that the Treasury will try to offer their best deal to me rather than facing all of the publicity. I don’t care whether or not I've signed any non-disclosure with them. I’ll find a way to go public if need be. And I’ll make sure that they know my intentions.

  “This is what we are going to do,” she continued, “Aleksa will go back to Geneva with ten or eleven diamonds only. I will remove Dad's name and any other information that may disclose his identity from the documents. I’ll write a letter explaining that this part of the diamonds was returned as a goodwill gesture. I will attach my letter to the envelope, along with the request for pardon. In my letter I'll explain that the rest of the diamonds are currently in the possession of my client. They will receive all of them, but only after they work out the amnesty deal with Interpol, and my client receives all twenty-three pardons. Otherwise my anonymous client is planning to go public with the story about the fake diamonds, and I have no influence in stopping him from doing it.”

  “Okay, let's see.” As usual, Igor began his analysis. “The Treasury has three options only. Option one is that they will comply with all your requests. That makes everybody happy. The second option is for Interpol to reduce the number of pardons. Victor, do you think that your dad might consider this?”

  “I think he will, I don't think that he is going to ruin the chance to get his family back.”

  “Good, the third option is that Interpol will reject the deal completely. Not that I think that they will. Too many years have passed since the diamonds disappeared and returning twenty-eight out of thirty-two diamonds to their lawful owner is not a bad deal. Some of those at the top might even get a good promotion because of it. I think the plan is good. Gregory, what do you think?”

  “I think that the plan is good as long as you remember that we need to keep Aleksa out of any risk of losing her job or damaging her career.”

  Dina was quietly listening to the discussion.

  “I understand. Here’s what I propose,” She broke her silence. “We will call Aleksa tonight, she should come to the Swiss consulate in Central City. She should make no contact with any of us. We will need to find a safe and trusted place where we can leave the diamonds for her to collect inconspicuously.”

  Victor raised his right arm, calling for Dina's attention.

  “I have just the right kind of place midtown. It's a coffee shop. I know the manager very well, and he can be trusted. He will help us without asking any unnecessary questions.”

  “Great, we'll pass all of the information about this place to Aleksa when we call her. At what time do we arrive in Central City?” Dina looked at the train tickets. “At ten o’clock in the morning. Aleksa will need to pick up the envelope with the letters and the package with the diamonds. Is it safe to set up noon as the pickup time?”

  “Yes that, leaves us with plenty of time to get there from the airport,” replied Victor.

  “I will call Tamara and ask her to send the red box with the diamond directly to Geneva, so it arrives there the day after Aleksa’s pickup. I will fly directly to Geneva with the rest of the diamonds.”

  “Wait a second,” interrupted Igor. “Why are you going to Geneva? Aren't you flying home with Victor to meet your father?”

  Victor shook his head. “No, I'm sorry if I'm disappointing anybody, but I can’t fly with Dina to meet Dad, nor will I be able to fly to Geneva. I need to stay in Central City for a minimum of two more days. I have a previous engagement that will be quite difficult to reschedule or cancel.” Victor looked around. “I could try, but I wouldn't count on it.”

  “No worries, I know what we can do. Dina, you should go home with Gregory. It is not a good idea for Gregory to go to Geneva anyway. He should keep his distance from Aleksa. I will accompany the rest of the diamonds to Geneva. Dina, you are needed at the office and also, if something goes wrong with our arrangement, you need to be with your father to make decisions quickly or to work on another solution - especially if Victor will be staying in Central City for a while. Plus, if we encounter any complications with our transaction, I still have some contacts at Interpol.” Igor smiled slyly.

  “Are you sure?” Dina looked at Igor, weighing his proposal. “And do we have a way to transfer the diamonds unnoticeably to the customs here and in Geneva? We need to find a good way to hide them.”

  “Yes we need a very good way.” Gregory stood up, reaching into the paper bag he was still holding, and pulled out the three toothpaste tubes they had purchased earlier in the store. He put them on the table.

  “Are you planning to brush your teeth right now?” asked Igor, surprised.

  “No, not really.” Gregory sat back. “You could not imagine how surprised I was to find these unique, antique toothpaste tubes in the store.”

  “Unique and antique?” repeated Victor, doubtfully looking at the tubes.

  “Yes, exactly. You see, they look the same as any regular plastic tube, but try to take them in your hands and you notice that they are much heavier than the ones made from plastic.” Gregory lifted one of the tubes and passed it to Dina. “I scratched the white paint with my fingernail and I'm convinced that the tube is made from lead. In the past and for many years, most toothpaste tubes were made out of lead. The shortage in its supply forced the manufacturers to start using plastic. And later when lead poisoning cases became known to the public, the manufacturers dropped the use of lead completely. Practically no one uses it today because of the health hazard. But lead is also known to be the best way to protect against X-rays. It has a unique ability to block the X-rays and since most Customs areas at the airports use X-ray detectio
n equipment, one of the best ways to smuggle the diamonds through Customs would be to hide them in one of these lead toothpaste tubes.”

  “As far as I remember, you could not see the diamond with your X-ray machine when Dina brought it to your office,” Igor reminded him.

  “You are right. My machine could not detect it. But my machine is not as sophisticated, and it was only one stone. I’m sure that Customs have machines much more sophisticated than what we have in our office.”

  “I agree with Gregory, we should be taking the minimum amount of risk. Can you do it though? Can you hide the diamonds in the toothpaste? Do you need any special tools?”

  “No, it's not terribly difficult. I can do it on the train. Actually, Victor, it will be great if you could get me a pair of small pliers.”

  “I will.”

  “I’ll be back in a second. Igor, do you have the key from my room?”

  Igor took the key out of his pocket and gave it to Dina. She left Igor’s room, but was soon back with a notepad and two pens.

  “Okay, let's organize. Tonight we'll call Aleksa; Gregory, can you please give me Aleksa’s phone number?”

  Gregory did not answer right away, but instead went to his backpack and soon returned holding a small address book.

  “I’m bad with remembering phone numbers. Here it is.” And he dictated an eleven-digit number to Dina.

  “What is the name of the café that Aleksa needs to go to?”

  “The name is Café Subbota. It is midtown. The name of the tram stop is Mayak. She should ask for Luca, he is the manager.”

  “Next, I will call Tamara. Igor needs a flight to Geneva. Gregory and I need a flight home. Victor, when are you coming?”

  “Don’t bother. I will get my own tickets. It may take less than two days, or it may take more than two days. I’ll contact you the moment I have the exact date of my departure.”

  “All right, then I think that we are all set. Oh, yes, I forgot. Tamara needs to courier the diamond on the same day that Igor arrives in Geneva.”

  “Is it safe to courier the diamond?” asked Victor.

  “We have done it before, Victor. We've worked with the same company for many years now. They specialize in transporting diamonds, gold, and other precious metals and valuables. They’re very reliable; we've never had a problem with them. Did I forget anything on my to-do list?”

  “No, I think you pretty much covered it all. I have only one question. Where is our friend, Gregory, going to sleep tonight? Not in my bed, if I can help it,” said Igor smiling.

  “Not a problem. He is more than welcome to stay at my place.”

  “I thought that I could stay at your place. I would like to try talking to Dad again, of course, if that's possible. And I need to talk to Tamara. Plus, I think I forgot my watch at your house when I took the shower.”

  Nobody objected. When Dina left to pack for her sleepover, the others quickly improvised a dinner table, setting up the food and the cutlery, then patiently awaited her return. During the meal they discussed, in great detail, the upcoming transfer of the diamonds. At around six o’clock, Dina and Victor left. The tired Gregory and Igor departed, Igor to his room and Gregory to Dina’s.

  Upon her arrival to Victor's place, Dina found her watch beside the washing basin in the bathroom. She opened her notepad and immediately began her phone-calling tasks. She called Aleksa first, but nobody answered. Next she placed a phone call to Tamara. She tried her home number first. One of her step kids answered the phone and said Tamara was still at work. Dina called the office. She had a hard time keeping their conversation under ten minutes. While Dina was giving her instructions and work-related directions, their discussion had been short and to the point. But the moment Dina finished with her last request, Tamara became annoyingly inquisitive.

  She dumped a squall of questions about Victor, about his home… ‘How many bedrooms does it have? What car does he drive? A van, really? That's interesting. What is the colour of his car? Had he already kissed her?’ Tamara’s questions came from all possible angles and she was far from shy when it came to asking the deeply personal ones.

  Dina tried her best and answered cautiously. She knew that Tamara’s curiosity could easily generate ten more questions from each answer, if Dina was careless. Tamara's mind, fuelled by her imagination, possessed these special, unique and sometimes maddening abilities. Dina kept an eye on her watch. When nine minutes were up she interrupted Tamara, who had been in the middle of her next question, explaining that she needed to stop their conversation. She promised Tamara that she would call her as soon she had any updates news on new developments. The nine minutes spent talking to Tamara had felt like an hour. Dina felt tired, but she dialed Aleksa again. This time, Aleksa answered her phone.

  After greeting and thanking her and before going into details about their arrangement, Dina thought of something and asked Aleksa whether she could put their conversation on hold. Remembering Gregory's request to ensure that they didn't jeopardize Aleksa, she suddenly realized that she had never asked Victor about the safety of their satellite connection. She needed to ward off any possible risks, so she left the library looking for Victor. She found him in his bedroom, preparing a briefcase for the trip.

  “How safe is a satellite conversation? Can somebody trace it?”

  “Not really – I use two satellite services. Your conversation is constantly transferred from one satellite to another. It is the latest in satellite technology. Of course everything is possible in theory, but you would need expensive equipment and specialized software to intercept a call with these satellites. The likelihood that somebody has this technology is pretty much zero. You are safe. If nobody is recording you on either side of the line, your conversation is untraceable.”

  Relieved, Dina went back to the library, where Aleksa was waiting for her on the line. Dina explained what was going to happen with the transfer of the diamonds. She did not mention that this is the first of two batches. She did not mention the amnesty. The less Aleksa knew, the less she compromised herself. Their conversation took four minutes. Dina went through her list of tasks. She debated whether to call Tamara again, and decided that she would do so if she was still in a talkative mood after speaking with her father.

  Victor was sitting in the dining room, going over some papers. Dina stood near the library door, watching him from a distance. She was waiting for Victor to finish what he was doing; she did not want to interrupt him. Dina actually felt pleasure from watching him.

  “Are you enjoying standing there, behind my back? I can see your reflection in the window.”

  “I didn’t want to disrupt whatever you were doing.”

  “I’m going through my bills. It is a boring task. Please feel free to disrupt me at any time.”

  Dina walked over and took a seat near him.

  “What do you think, is it a good time to call our father now?”

  “Any time after ten o'clock. His local time will be four in the afternoon. Our usual speaking time.”

  Dina had more than two hours to wait until ten.

  “You can take a nap,” said Victor noticing that Dina was checking her watch, yawning openly and unabashedly. “I’ll wake you up five to ten.”

  “Good idea. Where can I crash?”

  “Anywhere you see a pillow. Feel free. I will need to finish going through this pile of papers first and then I need to take care of my dogs. This time of the day, we usually go for a run. It’s too bad that you are tired. It would be nice to introduce you to them, a personal introduction. I’m sure they will like you.”

  “I’ll take a rain-check for now. I'm not so sure that I’m ready for the introductions. And, to be honest, they scare me. I prefer to get some rest.” Dina stood up and gave Victor a hug. She knew where to go. Passing near Victor's bedroom, she saw his briefcase still lying on top of the bed. She went to the second bedroom, left the door opened and was asleep nearly the moment her head touched the pill
ow.

  Freedom

  “Our sleeping beauty is taking a nap. Wait a second, Dad. I’ll see if I can wake her up.”

  Victor quietly entered the bedroom where Dina was sleeping and turned up the light dimmer, slowly brightening the dark bedroom. There was no need to wake her up. When Victor came closer to the bed where Dina was lying, she opened her eyes immediately. For the first few seconds, she could not understand where she was. She slowly came back to reality only after she saw Victor handing the phone over to her.

  “Who is this? Dad?” she asked in a hoarse voice, propping herself up on the bed. Victor nodded, affirmatively.

  “Hi Dad, how are you?”

  Victor left the room the moment the conversation began. He closed the door behind him to give Dina some privacy and went back to his bedroom. He lifted his suitcase, carried it to the foyer and left it by the entrance door. Everything was ready for tomorrow's trip. He quickly inspected the kitchen. All of the dirty dishes had been put into the dishwasher. The counter was wiped and the table cleaned. Victor looked around. Satisfied that he was leaving an orderly and spotless house for Katherine, Victor looked forward to spending the evening with Dina. Two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine were ready on the coffee table. Victor glanced at the clock on the wall. Dina’s conversation with dad, limited by the ten-minute restriction, should be near the end by now. Victor stopped and listened, trying to understand whether or not Dina was still on the phone.

  The house was silent. He could not hear any voices coming from the bedroom. As quietly as he could, Victor approached the bedroom, pausing by the door for a moment, making sure that he was not mistaken and that he would not be interrupting the conversation. Then he slowly opened the bedroom door. Dina was lying in bed, on her side, with her eyes closed. Victor approached her. Dina's hands were resting on the pillow under her cheek and she was still holding the receiver with both hands. Even in her sleep, her face emanated serenity and contentment. A faint smile was still lingering in the corner of her lips. Victor stood beside the bed, looking at her for a long time, wishing that she could feel his presence, wishing for her to wake up. Dina did not stir, knocked out by the exhaustion that had finally caught up with her. Victor removed the phone from her grasp, turned the lights off and silently left the room.

 

  The next morning Igor and Gregory left the lobby of the Red Stars Hotel at around eight o’clock. They made their way around the building, towards the parking lot where Victor and Dina awaited them in the van. Igor had lost his comical fur hunting hat, but his outfit was peculiar nevertheless. He was wearing his dark blue winter coat and oversized camouflage army pants.

  “What's with your pants?” asked Victor, smiling. “I can see you are having trouble parting with them.”

  “I wanted to ask him the same question,” Gregory intervened. “I just hope that you are not planning on showing up like that in the Treasury Department when meeting with Aleksa. You will scare her and all of the people around her in this outfit.”

  “I couldn’t find the pants that I was wearing when I arrived here. I washed them and put them up to dry on the drying line that I had in my room. This morning I noticed that they had disappeared. I looked everywhere, but I guess somebody really liked my pants. Not to worry though, I'll buy a new pair when I arrive in Central City or at one of the stations on our way there.”

  Everyone, including Igor, laughed wholeheartedly.

  Igor and Gregory loaded the luggage and climbed into the back of the van, then Victor started drove off towards the train station. During their short trip, Dina relayed to her friends some of the details of her latest conversation with her father. Although to somebody unfamiliar with her father, he might have come across as a confident, poised and untroubled man, she felt that he was still blaming himself for their separation and for trusting Alex. He probably still felt bitter towards Alex, who had not followed his instructions and waited for three days before taking Dina and Roman to the train. He had not anticipated that Alex would panic and want to shake off the responsibility of looking after the children as soon as possible.

  Dina’s father also fully understood that Alex did it to protect himself, knowing too well that the association with Dina's father or with his children might land him in a dungeon. In a few words, Dina told her friends about her father's lifelong search for her and Roman. The company began to develop sympathy towards Dina's father and his ordeal. They were ready to meet the man who seemed to be carved from stone and steel.

  Victor drove the car to a two-story building with a large barber sign by its entrance. He stopped and parked the car in the parking lot behind the building.

  “Are any of us planning to get a haircut?”

  “No, Igor, I usually leave the car here when I am going away for a long time. It is a safe place. My friend, who is also my barber, lives here on the second floor. He will take care of the car and keep it safe from hoodlums. The train station is only one street down from here and we can cut our way by walking across the playground.”

  They unloaded their suitcases and followed Victor. Dina made a quick stop at the cashier’s booth, presented their ticket reservation number, paid, and collected their tickets. The boarding of the train began soon after that. They found their car. It was the third car of the train, which was an old-fashioned locomotive that was puffing out white clouds of smoke into the sky.

  “Take a look at this dinosaur,” Igor jerked his head towards the head of the ancient locomotive. “This will be fun.”

  A young lady, the train car attendant, helped them locate their four-bed cabin. After a quick discussion about who would be sleeping where, they decided that Dina and Victor would have the upper cots, and Gregory and Igor would stay in the cots on the lower level. After the sleeping arrangements were settled, Gregory visited and inspected the car's toilet, coming back satisfied. Victor left to chat with the train car attendant. After a while, he returned with four new pillows and four freshly smelling sets of bed linens. The over-the-door storage compartment was not large enough to fit all of their bags, so Victor left his suitcase under the folding table, which was located under the window.

  The sound of a long and loud whistle signaled the start of their journey. The train slowly moved from the station platform. Dina looked at the railway terminal. It was her third time leaving this place. She’d not been in such high spirits on the two previous occasions. Now she felt different. She felt relieved and in a great mood. The train continued to move slowly.

  While approaching the city’s border, the locomotive sounded two short toots and accelerated, carrying Dina, her brother and her friends away from Derchany and its catacombs. Dina climbed up to her cot and lay there, watching the flashing fields, lakes and forest through the window. Victor, Igor and Gregory sat on the lower cots, discussing politics and the economy. New discussion topics constantly popped up randomly, intermixing and interrupting the old ones. Every hour or two, the train car attendant would enter the coupe, bringing them strong, boiling tea, cookies or freshly made sandwiches. Igor jokingly inquired what exactly Victor had done to the lady car attendant to get such attentive service. Dina commented that she was also interested to know and that she was feeling a bit jealous. In reply, Victor just pointed to his wallet, lying on the table.

  Dina enjoyed sitting on the upper cot, dangling her legs, consuming one of the surprisingly artfully made sandwiches, along with a cup of hot tea. After finishing the meal, she jumped down and left the coupe to inspect the rest of the car. The train car looked old but very clean, with not many passengers in sight. When she came back from her tour, Igor was holding a garbage bag and was about to leave in search of a place where he could dispose of it.

  “I’ll do it,” Dina volunteered.

  “As you wish.” He handed the bag to Dina who, after several minutes of unsuccessfully searching for a disposal place, had no choice but to ask the car attendant. The lady car attendant began to apologize profu
sely. She asked for forgiveness several times, explaining that it was her job to come twice a day to collect the garbage, which would be unloaded by the cleaning services at the next train stations. She also explained that the train car did not have any special place for disposal of garbage. She apologized again and again, promising to come more frequently to collect their garbage. Feeling uncomfortable, Dina thanked her and quickly retreated to the coupe.

  “I had one of the most embarrassing experiences just now. I asked our car attendant where the garbage disposal was and the question made her so agitated. She couldn't stop apologizing about this stupid garbage bag. Now she will come more often just so that she can collect the garbage that we're producing. It sounds so strange and weird.”

  “She is worried about her job. There is a line-up of people to get her position. She is well paid, gets good tips on top of her pay and has the opportunity to travel. If you complain about her to management, she will be on the street in no time. She is probably a single mother too. That's popular here these days.” Victor indicated.

  For the rest of the evening and throughout the night, the train continued running with no stops. The darkness outside, the warmth of the coupe and the accumulated tiredness made all four of them retire to their cots’ earlier than usual.

  The next morning, after a light breakfast, Victor and Dina found themselves standing outside of their cabin, casually looking through the window of the moving train. They seemed relaxed and unperturbed, yet a more attentive observer could have noticed an extra alertness in their eyes, watchful of any movement in the car. Dina and Victor were guarding the door of their cabin where Igor and Gregory were busy hiding the diamonds in the toothpaste tube. When their work was finished, they asked Victor and Dina to come back and try to identify the one that contained the hidden treasure out of the three tubes. To everybody's satisfaction, they both failed the test. Then Gregory showed them how to identify the right tube by unscrewing the tube's cap, checking the inside of the nozzle and finding a small, but identifiable, scratch.

  Thanks to Victor, the remaining two days of their travel were not at all boring. He’d come well prepared for the long trip. Every once in a while, he would produce a new item from his briefcase amid loud cheers and to the delight of his companions. They thoroughly enjoyed a bottle of exotic liquor. They played cards, solved crosswords, listened to a small radio and even managed to squeeze in a dance to its music. A chess game occupied Igor and Gregory. Sitting nearby, Dina and Victor played cards. Dina kept complaining that Victor was cheating, to Victor's vehement denial. Igor kept complaining that he could not win any game against Gregory. The train stopped at several stations for short periods of time. Dina observed their train car attendant stepping out onto the train's platform, buying, trading, exchanging things with locals, most of them elderly women, never failing to come back with paper-wrapped packages.

  The hot tea and sandwiches continued coming in and now they were accompanied by sweet, aromatic berries and freshly baked cookies. After the tension of the past few days, the company thoroughly enjoyed a welcome break and their time together.

  The weather on their arrival day promised to be cool but sunny. The journey was near its end. Igor looked at his watch. Two more hours, and they would be arriving at Central City. He decided to erase the last doubt that was still nibbling at the back of his mind.

  “Victor, I've been meaning to ask you a question for some time. I couldn't help but notice that you don't really trust your housekeeper. Why is that? She has worked for you for so many years.”

  “You have a keen eye, detective.”

  “Yes, he has. The best detective in town,” smiled Dina.

  “Normally, I trust Katherine, but lately, especially after her first meeting with your group, she has begun asking too many questions.”

  “I would think that it would be natural to ask questions about a bunch of a new people who are suddenly popping up around you. Don’t you think so?” asked Dina.

  “Sure, Dina, you may be right. It would not be strange to ask questions about new people in my house, except that it was what she was asking that put me on guard. The questions that she was asking were not out of the natural light curiosity I would expect from the housekeeper that I know. They were uncharacteristic of her. As if they were coming from somebody else.”

  “Explain, please.” Gregory stirred.

  “Let's say you are checking somebody’s assignment in your history class and it's the same student that you have been teaching for a number of years. You are already familiar with and accustomed to the student's writing style, the usual format of his work, his mistakes and the level of his knowledge. Then one day, when you are checking his latest work, you come across something strange. Even subtle deviations could give them away; it could be in the wording, or in the style, but it is different. The bottom line is that you can tell that it wasn't the student who wrote the assignment. Then, as a teacher, I know that the student was cheating. It’s the same with Katherine. I felt that she was asking me questions that were not hers. As I said, they were out of her character. To catch a cheating student is simple. You call in the student for a conversation and ask the student to repeat their assignment word by word. In most cases, the student has very little idea about what was written in his work or cannot properly explain it. Katherine sounded like a person that had memorized those questions. To catch Katherine was a little bit different and more difficult.”

  “But did you catch her?” asked Igor.

  “Yes, I did. I’m convinced that somebody else prepared the questions for her and that she simply repeated them without understanding what their purpose was, and why she was asking them. After I realized that, I was more careful in showing her what was going on and what it was that we were doing.”

  “Do you suspect that someone in Derchany might be interested in what we were doing?”

  “Not really. I have a good sense of the behaviour of the local people. If they want to know something, they will come up to me and ask me directly, and will have no trouble explaining the reason for their curiosity. Katherine could not explain hers, even when I asked her. I always got a puzzled expression on her face and the statement that she simply wanted to know.”

  “Interesting. I hope one day you will get to know the reason for her questions.”

  “I’m not in any rush. I don’t really care or worry. We have nothing to be worried about now. We got the diamonds and we are out of Derchany.”

  “Yes, but we are still in this country. So let's make sure that we are cautious and take all necessary safety measures so that we can finish what we started.” Dina ended their conversation a moment before the train car attendant knocked on the door of their coupe, informing them that the train would be arriving on time, in half an hour.

  The lady car attendant helped them disembark and wished them a good day. The sun was shining but the crisp breeze in the air reminded them of the fast-approaching winter. Dina and the company entered the train station. Victor led them into a small but cozy restaurant located on the second floor of the terminal. They chose a table near the window and agreed to meet Victor there after he delivered the diamonds to Aleksa. Victor said a quick goodbye to Igor, wishing him a safe trip to Geneva and lots of luck. Igor wished him the same, promising to take him to one of his favorite bars the next time they met. They parted as old, good friends. Victor took the first installment of the diamonds and the sealed envelope from Dina's hands and left the restaurant on his way to Café Subbota. Dina looked through the window, watching him leave the train station building and walk towards the streetcar stop across the street.

  “We need to find a way to contact Tamara.” She turned back to Gregory and Igor.

  “On our way here I saw the sign of a Post Office somewhere here at the terminal. They usually have payphones. We should try to call from there,” said Gregory.

  “Good. I’m going to find it, but it may take some time. Please don't wait for me; I'm stil
l full from all the food on the train. Go ahead and order some food. Otherwise, I bet they will kick us out of here. Maybe I'll try their borscht when I come back.”

  It did not take long for Dina to locate the Post Office, as signs directing there could be seen everywhere. Dina explained to the elderly redheaded lady sitting behind the glass window that she would like to place a phone call abroad. She received a piece of paper with a handwritten number on it and was asked to take a seat and wait till one of the two phone booths became available. Two more customers were ahead of her, sitting in silence, patiently waiting for their number to be called. Dina was mulling over the best way to pass the time, but after only two minutes, the redhead called her number. She went back to the counter. Now she was asked to write the phone number she wanted to be connected to, and then she was sent to booth number one. The booth had a chair and a strange-looking phone with no option to dial out. The moment she entered the booth, the phone rang. When she picked up the receiver, Tamara's slightly irritated and drowsy voice asked who it was.

  “Hi, it’s me. Sorry for waking you up.”

  When Dina came back, Igor and Gregory were finishing their coffee.

  “The food is not bad for the place and the price they are charging. You should try their potato pie.”

  “I will,” replied Dina, moving aside one of the suitcases and taking her seat.

  “Igor, your flight to Geneva is five hours from now. You will need to stay there overnight so that you have enough time to meet Aleksa after her visit to the Treasury and to hand over the second portion of the diamonds to her. Also, I would suggest that you leave for the airport soon. I took their shuttle once before and I wouldn't rely on their service and punctuality. Tamara arranged for Gregory and me to fly home through Vienna. We'll have to catch a red-eye flight there. We are staying in Gold Astoria and then flying home the next day. Tamara doesn’t have a confirmation for our flight home yet, but she thinks that she will get it soon.” Dina paused.

  “Do we know the day Victor is flying to meet your father?”

  “Not really, no. I’ll ask him when he is back from the city.”

  “Good, I bid you farewell then.” Igor stood up and shook hands with Gregory.

  “I’ll walk with you. It's easier if I just take you to the shuttle stop instead of explaining how to get there. I hope you won't need to wait for long. Oh, yes, I forgot. You are flying with the local airline and it will be better if you take your suitcase with you on the plane – carry-on. Otherwise they have a chance of being late or getting to a different destination,” said Dina.

  They left the station and Dina walked Igor across a small stone-paved square to the shuttle stop. About half a dozen travelers with their suitcases, packages of all sizes, cardboard boxes and other odd pieces of luggage were waiting in line.

  Igor suggested that Dina return to the restaurant rather than wait in the cold. She refused and remained with him, waiting for the shuttle. They were lucky, and soon enough the shuttle bus with the already familiar woman driver, rolled into the station and started loading up the half-frozen passengers. They embraced each other. Dina kissed Igor goodbye, waved to the driver, who waved back to her, and then quickly walked back towards the entrance of the train station, trying to shield herself from a sudden and strong gust of cold wind. The first thing she did after entering the restaurant was look through the window, making sure that the shuttle had left the station. Then she sat down and ordered the fragrant, crimson red, steaming hot bowl of borscht with lots of sour cream on top.

  Victor exited the streetcar at the Mayak stop. Café Subbota was located diagonally, at the corner of the street. Victor waited for the traffic lights to change and crossed the street. At this time of the day only three tables were occupied by students from the nearby university. Victor’s friend, the café owner named Luca, was busy cleaning a coffee machine that had recently been imported from Italy. The waitress, Maria, had just finished mopping the floor and was about to begin setting up the tables for the larger crowd that they anticipated during the lunch hours. Café Subbota had an unusual L-shaped layout. In the past three years, Luca had changed the café's interior design several times, looking for more appealing ways to attract new customers. So, it was not a big surprise for Victor to find yet another new look when he entered the café. The cashier’s counter, which on his last visit was located by the entrance, had now been moved to the end of the coffee shop and was located in the smaller part of the L-shaped room, closer to the washrooms and the kitchen doors. This new arrangement looked somewhat strange to Victor, and when Luca saw his surprised face, he smiled enigmatically.

  “I have a good explanation for my old friend, Victor, who has forgotten all about us and who is only visiting us for business reasons,” Luca cheerfully greeted him.

  “I think in the last year I have been here more times than any of your usual patrons. And judging by the price that you charge me for a cup of coffee, I own at least half a dozen of the tables here.”

  Victor and Luca shook hands, and Victor asked for his usual. Then Luca began a long and detailed explanation of the reasons for moving the cashier into the corner. The explanation was followed by a presentation of how the customers, when walking to the cashier’s corner, would now have a better view of the showcase filled with sweets and other goodies that Luca had recently begun selling. The merchandise was smartly presented in the hopes of attracting the attention of the customers, who would pick up some of it before paying the bill.

  Victor drank his coffee, listening to his good friend but also frequently checking his watch. At a quarter to twelve, he interrupted Luca’s animated speech about his next marketing vision and asked him whether they could get some privacy. Luca pointed to the corner by the cashier, commenting that privacy and safety were the other good reasons for moving the cashier deeper into the shop. Their conversation took a minute or two. Victor passed Luca the package and the envelope and repeated his instructions several times. Then he looked around, searching for the best possible table from where he could observe the inside of the café. He did not have many choices available. Luca’s fancy coffee machine and the rest of the equipment occupied the middle corner of the L-shaped room, so regardless of the table he would choose he would not have a good view of the entire café.

  The coffee shop was slowly becoming busier. The crowd, a mix of students, business people and passersby, filled the air with noises of chatter and laughter. Victor sat at his table, inconspicuously observing each customer that came in or left the café. He was running

  out of time. It was already a quarter after one, and he had promised Dina he'd come back to the train station around two o'clock. The half hour ride on the streetcar left him with only fifteen minutes before he would have to leave. Victor looked at Luca, who was constantly navigating between the coffee station and the cashier’s counter, pointing out their new and delicious products to the customers. Victor noticed that Luca’s sales were indeed going really well. It looked like his new strategy was working.

  During this time, only two women fitting Gregory's description of Aleksa had entered the coffee shop. The first was a blonde woman, probably in her forties, a head taller than Dina, European style. Victor smiled. He remembered that when Gregory was unable to find any photos of Aleksa, he described her as a blond, tall, round-faced, European-style woman. And when Victor teasingly asked Gregory to explain how a woman matching the 'European-style' description looks, Gregory’s simple answer was that it was a 'woman half the size of the local Derchany woman'.

  The first ‘European-style’ lady that had entered around half an hour ago had approached the corner, ordered coffee and sat down not far from Victor. The waitress, Maria, brought her the menu. The lady seemed to fit Gregory’s description, but after a while a young man joined her at the table. Victor could overhear their conversation. After realizing that she was a mother visiting her son at university, he abandoned her candidacy of being Ale
ksa.

  The second candidate had entered about fifteen minutes ago. She approached Luca and asked him something. Luca pointed in the direction of the cashier corner, or it could have been in the direction of the washrooms, and she disappeared from Victor’s view. He did not see her place an order. Luca continued going back and forth between the coffee machine and the cashier. Maria served orders. All of the tables were occupied, and the place looked and sounded chaotic, but Luca and Maria somehow managed to never make any mistakes while serving the orders. Victor thought that he could never have kept this type of business running and successful. A few more minutes passed. Victor saw how the second Aleksa contestant handed the washroom key to Maria and exited Subbota. Victor checked his watch again. He had to leave soon. Before leaving the café, Victor approached the coffee corner.

  “I need to leave. I will call you later to check on the package. Until what time are you open today?”

  “What package?” replied Luca, surprised. “You didn't see her leaving?”

  “Who was leaving? Did somebody pick up the package already?”

  “Yes, of course. The blondie that left right now, she used the washrooms first. Then she stood there.” Luca pointed to the cashier corner. “She was waiting for me. When one of the clients came to pay the bill, she asked me whether I had a package from Gregory. I told her that the package was here and I gave it to her. You told me to give it to a lady that would ask for a package from Gregory. I even waved to you, as we agreed. You did not pay any attention. You looked at Maria. She was serving the guy in the yellow shirt, sitting behind you. Didn't you see that I was waving?”

  “I did not see you wave to me. I saw that you called Maria.”

  “I waved to you, not Maria.” Luca looked over Victor’s head where half a dozen new customers were lined up, ready to place their orders.

  “Sorry if I did something wrong. I’m sorry, but now is not a good time to talk. Call me. We are open until nine.”

  “You've done great.” Victor moved aside, allowing others the access to Luca. “Thank you for your help, I’ll see you soon.”

  Victor marched out, looking at his watch and at the empty streetcar stop. It looked like he had just missed it. He did not expect the next streetcar to be there in less than half an hour. He didn't like the idea of walking back, but it was not comfortable to wait in the cold either. When Luca saw Victor returning, he dropped what he was doing, and purposely and loudly said to Maria, who was serving the customers, “You see, my customers can’t live without my coffee. This nice gentlemen left a minute ago and he is already back for another cup.”