Necessary Retribution (29 page)

“Rob, if they get this far, a .45 isn't going to do much good.”

“It's a bargaining chip.” Robin looked at everyone. “Stay calm. General Yamurov must have a plan. We'll just have to see how this all plays out.”

He went to the forward compartment, closing the door behind him, taking a position where he could see out of the aircraft. A man exited the limousine and walked over to a group of men being held at bay by the soldiers. After a brief discussion, one of the opposing
group headed to the limousine with the first man. The opposing representative got into the limo while the first man stood outside.

Fifteen minutes went by and the opposing representative left the limo and went over to his group. General Yamurov got out of the limo and came into the plane. “Robin, please put the weapon away. You already possess the most powerful weapon you could have in this situation.”

Robin put the rifle down and took off the vest. “What's my weapon?”

“The identity of the person who stole the nuclear device. You do have it, don't you?”

“Yes.”

Yamurov nodded with satisfaction as Alex led three men into the aircraft. Their faces were stern and heavy with concern. All of them were dressed in tailored suits and wore expensive watches and jewelry. They sat across from Yamurov and Robin with a table separating them.

“Robin, will you please tell these comrades what you came to Vladivostok to do and what you saw.” Yamurov put his hand on Robin's arm. “The whole story please. Alex will translate.”

Robin related the operation Mark and he conducted including seeing the transfer of the nuclear device. At the mention of the nuclear device, the eyes of two of the men grew in size. The other man's eyes narrowed. Robin told them he and Mark came to Vladivostok by boat and the RIB should still be where they stashed it. While he did talk about the sinking of the ship, he skipped much detail about the assault. He concluded by saying he came back to Vladivostok to return the device and seek medical attention for Mark.

One of the man asked a question and Robin understood he asked about the identity of the man who sold the device.

Yamurov turned to Robin. “I know this is sooner than you planned to identify the thief, but I am sure you understand the urgency.”

Robin reached into his shirt and handed the general an envelope, who opened it and grunted with acknowledgment. He handed the envelope to the man sitting in the middle of the three. His face had a stony and grim look. The man's demeanor raised alarms in Robin.

“Comrade Chairman, the license plate identifies the car as the one belonging to General Ivan Picushkin. The physical description
matches that of Ivan. In addition, we have received word General Picushkin and two of his officers went on vacation three weeks ago and are now one week overdue. We had this information for two days, but we did not yet know Robin's information. It would seem we have a serious problem.”

The sound of a helicopter landing close to the plane interrupted the conversation. Alex looked out the door and then announced the Soviet Premier had landed. Everybody rose to their feet, including Robin, as the premier entered the plane.

The chairman curtly told Yamurov Robin had to leave.

“Robin, will you please join your friends.”

“Of course, Yosef.” Robin went to the rear compartment. When he walked in, all eyes were on him.

“What is happening?” Lev asked.

“The top officials of the Soviet Union are in the next compartment, including the premier.”

Lev's mouth dropped open and his eyes almost came out of their sockets. “The premier is here?!”

“Yes Lev, it's an interesting situation in there. Just stay calm.”

“What's the interesting part, boss?” Mark asked.

“Well partner, it appears the GRU hadn't told anybody about the nuclear device until now.”

“You're kidding!”

“No I'm not. All I can say is the three members of the Committee of Ministers here sure as hell didn't know.”

The door to the cabin opened and Alex motioned for Robin to come with him. Robin walked into the middle cabin and saw two of the three ministers there. Alex led Robin to the next cabin forward. He opened the door and waved Robin in, closing the door behind him.

Only three men were in the cabin, Yosef, the Soviet Premier and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. The premier pointed to a chair. “Please sit.”

“Thank you, Mr. Premier.” Robin knew the premier spoke excellent English.

“Yosef tells me you speak passable Russian, but you are more comfortable speaking English.”

“Yosef is a kind man. I've been told several times in the last few days my Russian is terrible by other less kind men. I understand your language very well, but I need to practice my own Russian much more.”

“Well, this is no time for practice, so we'll speak English. Yosef told me of you a few days ago and of how you returned the nuclear bomb stolen from us. I would like to thank you for doing so.”

“You're welcome, sir.”

“I hope your friend found our medical facilities sufficient.”

“We both found them to be excellent.”

“Good, but now we have the problem of you, your friend and some Russian citizens, who apparently fear their own government more than they fear you, and three sons of our ministers here who are in the hands of your organization…so to speak.”

“With all due respect, sir, all we have to do to solve that problem is get to Zurich and make the exchange.”

The Premier studied Robin for a long moment. “Were you sent here to conduct operations against our country?”

“No, sir and I have no desire to do so.”

“Have you been here before?”

“No, sir.”

The premier became quiet again and Robin understood the man was testing his veracity.

“I am told you do not do work for the CIA.”

“I never said I didn't do work for the CIA. I said I am not with the CIA.”

A slight smile came across the premier's face.

“I am also told you would do work for us.”

“As with any other client, if we like the mission, we'll do it.”

“If we agree to this exchange, I have a mission for you.”

“What would that be?”

“Help us find General Picushkin.”

“We'd accept the mission.”

“What would the fee be?”

“Given what the man has done, we wouldn't charge a fee.”

The premier gave a surprised look. “You would do it for nothing?”

“No charge to your government.”

The premier sat back, folded his hands across his stomach and nodded his head in thought. “Thank you, Robin. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some final discussion to conclude.”

“Thank you for your time, sir. It's been an honor.”

The premier nodded and Robin went back to the rear compartment.

“Where were you?” Lev asked.

“I had a conversation with the premier. We'll soon know what is going to happen.”

Lev just looked at Robin like he was an alien from space.

Rada put her arms around her children and bowed her head.

Mark smiled.

Sounds of activity around the aircraft became evident. Alex opened the cabin door once again. “We are moving you to the forward cabin. It is best the family goes first and then we can carry Mark.” Alex looked at everyone. “We are going to Zurich.”

T
HIRTY
-T
HREE

LUCY SANTOS SAT IN A CHAIR
with her head on her husband's bed as she dozed. Doug walked over and put a blanket over her shoulders. She was exhausted from the trip, but refused to go to a hotel and get some rest. He leaned against a wall and sipped coffee.

Emmett went with the team to cover the exchange of the Russians for Robin and Mark, leaving Doug and Maria to take care of Rick and Lucy. Cái and David visited often and were all over the hospital making sure Maria had everything she needed and Rick had the best nurses.

Doug worried about Rick. Maria said the repairs went well, but Rick's weakened condition did cause concern. She added that Rick's top physical condition was key to the success of the surgery. A weaker man would've died.

Rick stirred and Doug put his coffee down and stepped to the head of the bed. Rick's mouth moved, but his eyes were still closed. Doug saw them moving like they wanted to open. Then they did open and Rick tried to blink his surroundings into focus. Doug reached over and gently nudged Lucy. She lifted her head and looked at Doug. He nodded toward Rick and Lucy rose up so Rick could see her.

Rick blinked a few more times and looked at Lucy. “Well hello there, beautiful.” Rick's voice was a barely audible hoarse whisper, but it was music to Doug's ears and he could tell it had the same effect on Lucy.

Lucy put her hand on Rick's forehead. “Hello there, you Latin lover. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit, but awfully glad to see you.”

Doug pushed the nurse call button. Rick didn't look good at all and a second later, he vomited. Lucy immediately tried to clean up the mess as two nurses hurried into the room and took over. Doug pulled Lucy back as the nurses worked. Five minutes later, Maria came in.

Lucy trembled and cried as she watched the medical team work. Doug tried to put himself in between Lucy and the scene on the bed, but Lucy wouldn't submit and insisted on watching. Doug had to be satisfied with just holding her back.

Maria and the nurses cleaned Rick up and got him settled. They administered drugs to minimize nausea and pain.

Maria walked up to Lucy and hugged her. “Hi, I'm Maria and I'm the team doctor. This big lug next to you is my fiancé.”

“I know, Doug has told me all about you and everything you've done for Rick. I'm so grateful.”

“Don't worry too much about Rick. Right now things look worse than they really are. His body has taken horrific punishment, but he is a very strong man, physically and mentally. He will be fine in time.”

Lucy choked back a sob. “Thank you, so much.”

“I'm just glad I could be here to do what I can.”

“Lucy…” Rick's voice croaked.

Lucy hurried to Rick. “I'm here, Babe.”

Rick took her hand in his. “Glad you are, honey. I'm going to be okay. We'll just take it one day at a time.”

Lucy leaned over and kissed Rick on the forehead. “You rest. I'll be here.”

“Who has the kids?”

“Wanda is watching them for now and both grandparents are on their way. They'll be fine.”

Rick nodded and then slipped off to sleep.

“Doug, I think you better get Lucy to the hotel so she can get some sleep. I'll stay with Rick until you get back.”

“Yeah, she's going to crash soon.” Doug walked over and gently took Lucy by the arm. “C'mon, Lucy. You need to get some sleep. Maria is going to stay with Rick until I get back. When you get some rest and some food, I'll bring you back.”

“I can't leave Rick and I couldn't sleep anyway.”

“Lucy, how do you think Rick's going to feel if you get sick or collapse from exhaustion? He's going to be out at least for a day or two. You need to take care of yourself, so you can take care of him.”

Lucy looked at her husband and then bowed her head. “You're right. I at least can rest a little bit.”

“And get a good meal. Let's go.”

Ernie stood at the bottom of Fatboy's lower door at the Paris airport. Emmett, Willy and Marv came down the stairs. Eric Newman stood at the top of the stairway.

“We'll send the ladies and Chucky back over, Eric. We'll see you in London in a little bit.”

“Roger, boss.”

The four men walked over to the door of the corporate jet the team rented to run the hostage scam. The door opened and Chucky and the ladies came down the ramp.

“Thanks, Chucky. You and your friends did a great job.”

“Enjoyed every minute of it. Just get Robin back.”

“We will. See ya in London.” They shook hands and Ernie climbed the stairs into the business jet. He saw the three young men surrounded by Guardians. They were all joking except for one, who sat in the middle of the three. He looked at Ernie with a concerned face.

“How is everyone doing?”

The concerned young man looked around. “I get the feeling we are not going skiing in Switzerland.”

Gary, who had the most interaction with the three while they were at the villa, walked over and stood in front of the three men. “Ernie, let me introduce you to our friends. This is Yuri,” Gary said pointing to a heavy set young man sitting to the left. “The young man sitting in the middle is Stephan and the gentleman on the right is Georgy. Gentlemen, this is Ernie.”

“Good to meet you all. We are in fact going to Switzerland, but the skiing will be up to you and your fathers.”

That statement captured the attention of all the young men. “Our fathers have talked to you?” The concerned one asked.

“Yes, they asked us to find you, make sure you're all right and bring you to them in Zurich and that's what we're doing. So, sit back, have a drink and relax. We'll be there in about an hour.” The jet's engines started and soon they were taxiing.

Gary smiled at the men. “You guys have had a good time, right?” The three nodded their heads. “There's nothing to be nervous about. In an hour you'll be with your fathers.”