Russian Law (Law Series ) (Volume 1) (19 page)

“Nikolai
had all this information and he never once shared any concerns with me about
it. I mean I would have with him, rogue SVR agents, plots on the President, how
did he think it was all going to go down?”

Lucas
knew the answer right away, Nikolai thought like him. They both had the same
training, the same things ingrained inside of them from birth, the burden of being
the male of the species.

“He
was trying to protect you,” he said simply.

Elena
erupted. “How? He’s dead and I have the entire government chasing me. He should
have told me, we could have done something about it, I could have protected
him.”

She
glared at him and if he’d been less of a man he would wish to sink into
oblivion just to escape her but he just sat there calmly.

“Or
you could be dead too, and then no-one would know. He hid the most valuable intel
he had with you, Elena.”

Yeah
and a lot of good that did, Nikolai was dead and they had only found it the day
everything was going down. He didn’t even leave her any clues, nothing for her
to follow. One thing that really grated on her nerves was when men protected
their woman from everything, like the slightest hiccup would send them into
hysterics. She wasn’t completely unreasonable. Elena knew there were just some
things women couldn’t do and she had no qualms asking for help when it was
needed but come on. Her life, her decision. It should not have been left up to
him alone. Had Nikolai discussed his problem with her she would have been able
to help, at least understand why he had been taken from her. It had been hard
enough to deal with the loss without wondering why.

She
didn’t like hearing his logic. “That doesn’t excuse anything,” she said. “He
was putting me at risk by not telling me. Didn’t he ever think of that?”

She
had to admit she could see where Nikolai
and
Lucas were coming from, but
that still didn’t make it right.

“Woman’s
logic,” he muttered under his breath but not low enough as she immediately
retorted, “Well it always proves better then men’s.”

Chapter 20

James
Fitzgibbon replaced
his handset back in its cradle. He had certainly called it. Maggie looked over
at him with interest, her once sleepy blue eyes now wide-awake. He had told her
about Lucas’s predicament the moment he’d gotten home. She had immediately gone
on the defense citing Lucas’s many virtues. Jim hadn’t realized what an altar
boy Lucas was until Maggie had shared her view on the subject. She had also
been intrigued with Lucas’s choice of fugitive partner and wanted to know all
about Agent Elena Ivanova.

He
too had been intrigued and through his contacts he had discovered the woman to
be a widow, her husband murdered and was only just returning to work as a
liaison officer when it had all gone down. She had sounded very competent and
seemed to understand her circumstances very well. Elena Ivanova had also
reassured him she was there of her own free will which truthfully had made him
feel a whole lot better. Without a kidnapping charge he could probably get
Lucas out of this mess.

God,
what a damn mess Igor Zimitovich had left by being murdered in the States. The
man didn’t even have the decency to die on his own soil while selling out his
country. Jim had known from the moment he was told of the dead Russian that
things were going to go south. He had only hoped they were well away from the
investigation when it did. No such luck. He knew Lucas would do all he could to
stop the attack. Lucas may have his faults despite Maggie’s claims but he was a
good CIA special agent. He knew what to do and how to do it and he along with Agent
Ivanova were on their way to St Petersburg now.

He
looked down at the notepad resting on his thigh, at the name Alexei
Dimitrovich. It was certainly a story for Hollywood but he didn’t doubt
anything Lucas had told him. The threat was real and it was up to him to help.
He picked up the handset once more. He had his work cut out for him. The Russian’s
tend to be a high handed lot, denying that their security is at risk without
first checking and rechecking for even the slightest chance. He was going to
have to argue with them until he was blue in the face. He let out a long
suffering sigh and looked over at Maggie as she climbed out of bed.

“It
sounds like it’ll be a long day,” she said as she put on her flannel dressing
robe and tied it closed. “I’ll put on some coffee.”

He
thanked her as she left the bedroom, her honey blonde hair bouncing off her
shoulders as she walked. She always seemed to know what he needed even before
he did and he knew he often took Maggie for granted. She had been an amazing
wife over the past twenty years. Understanding that there were certain things
he couldn’t talk about. God he loved her. He was really going to have to start
listening to her advice and get his ulcer checked out. James listened as the
phone rang in his ear. Come on you bastard, pick up.

He
was revving himself up for one hell of argument. Now that he knew what the hell
was going on, he had more than Director Mishkin. He would be telling that bastard
what was what. It was
his
agent that was about to swoop in and make
things right. It was not
his
agent that was the rogue. Now that he had
facts he could present he was going to shove it down the director’s throat.

He
heard the phone pick up on the other end and was the first to speak, “Director
Mishkin, SAC James Fitzgibbon here.”

Chapter 21

Vladimir
Mishkin took
the call. He had been up since the American Lucas Gates had first shot one of
his men. He was tired and irritable, his temper short. He had stretched thin
all his agents in a bid to locate the rogue special agent and Elena Ivanova but
the American appeared resourceful beyond repair. He didn’t like having loose
cannons running about his city. The cost for damages had already exceeded the
budget for the year. He snapped up the handset when it rang and before he had a
chance to bark into the receiver, the voice on the other end spoke.

He
listened as Special Agent in Charge James Fitzgibbon explained the situation.
His instinct was to deny any security breach but something about what Special
Agent Fitzgibbon said rang true. His blood running cold as he took in the
implications of what was being said, the UN Summit. God what a nightmare, both
Sergei Smirnov and the American President were due to make speeches later in
the day.

He
cursed. He hated knowing that it was a foreign agent, an American no less that
had cracked the investigation. If it hadn’t been for him and Elena Ivanova he
would not be in a position of knowledge. Would be unable to do anything and be
forced to sit back and watch as some would be anarchist killed his President.
Vladimir listened as James Fitzgibbon told him his liaison officer Elena
Ivanova and Special Agent Gates were now on their way to St Petersburg to warn
the agents there. He didn’t like owing anyone favors, particularly the United
States but he knew he owed Lucas Gates one hell of a favor and would certainly
thank the man given a chance.

He
would also have to clear Elena of any wrong doing. She should not be held accountable
for her actions. She had only done what she could in the circumstances. He knew
he had some in-house cleaning to do. If what SAC James Fitzgibbon said was true
- and he had no reason to believe otherwise - there was a breach at the highest
level.

Chapter
22

She
caught his
eye and stopped. He winked at her from across the corridor. She
waited for him to finish talking to a fellow agent. She didn’t have to wait
long before her tall, dark and handsome husband stepped towards her. She met
him half-way. She looked into his eyes and felt herself drowning in the dark
pools. He always had this effect on her. Had she met him on the street she would
have thought him dangerous - not that Nikolai wasn’t dangerous, given the right
circumstances - just not to her, never to her. He gave her a sexy smile as he
came near. Knowing what thoughts he would provoke in her mind by doing so.

She
kept her face impassive.

“Am
I going to be seeing you tonight?” she asked.

She
noted the guilty look on his face.

“I’ll
be home,” was all he said.

She
nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

He
leaned over and kissed her. It was something he did not often do at the office.
He obviously knew he was up shit creek. She watched as he walked away, back to
his office and never once thought that that would be the last time she would
ever see him alive.

She
had worked late that evening, time getting away from her and by the time she
exited the Metro station and was walking towards her apartment it was long past
nine pm.

She
opened the door to hers and Nikolai’s home and involuntarily stepped back. She
knew something wasn’t right and vaguely recognized the harsh scent emanating
from the depths of the apartment. She could practically taste the metallic tang
of blood in her mouth and she fought to control her rebelling stomach. With the
feeling of dread deep inside her she moved slowly into the room. Her body
quivering with knowledge she did not want to admit.

She
caught sight of Nikolai face down on the floor, blood soaking the carpet around
his head.

No.
No. No. No. No.

Please
God no, she thought as she ran to him. There was nothing to be done for him but
her heart would not let her admit that to herself. She sank to her knees beside
him, barely noticing Nikolai’s cold blood seeping into her pants. Tears fell
from her eyes as she took in the sight of her husband.

Elena
jerked awake, her breathing harsh. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She
could still feel the effects of her dream, her hands quivering in shock as if
she had only just found Nikolai’s body. The dream was always the same, so real
it felt like she was reliving the event night after night.

“You
okay?”

She
looked over at Lucas who was watching her closely, concern on his handsome face.
She nodded and leaned back against the seat in the cabin of the train.

“Yes.
Just a bad dream, the night I found Nikolai. It’s been a while since I last had
one. I guess with everything going on and with Nikolai being involved it’s only
natural for me to start dreaming about him again.”

She
looked out the window, not seeing anything. The circumstances of them being on
the train coming back to her, washing away the aftermath of her dream. It all
seemed so out there. More like the plot of some movie than real life, her life,
hers and Lucas’s. She had never once thought in her entire that she would end
up here. She had never expected her husband to be murdered nor did she expect
that she would wind up being an integral part of an assassination conspiracy
against the President of both her country and the President of the United
States. Not the kind of life a liaison officer was ever trained for. She was
never supposed to be an active field agent.

Lucas
stood up and stepped across the cabin and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm
around her shoulders and pulling her close to him. Elena placed her hand on his
chest as she snuggled into him. She closed her eyes praying she would not again
see Nikolai, taking from Lucas his strength and heat. The dream had cooled her
body and was now only beginning to thaw. She breathed in Lucas’s scent and
immediately felt safe. She savored the moment. The feeling of contentment and
joy, not knowing when she would feel this way again. Perhaps Dmitry was right
and she was keeping her head in the sand.

“Have
you ever been married?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

Why
had she asked that? It was none of her business. What was it to her if he had
been married before or married now? Please God, don’t let him be married. She
hadn’t spotted a wedding ring or wedding ring line on his finger so she guessed
he wasn’t. But who knew, maybe he took of his wedding band when he went on
missions. She only hoped for her sanity that he was single. She would hate to
think she had been lusting after an attached man. She knew how she would feel
had someone done that to her and would move heaven and earth not to cause that
type of pain to anyone. Although she had to admit she was curious and wanted to
know more about him. He was an interesting man, she hadn’t known him for very
long but with everything that had gone on it felt like they’ve known each other
forever. Chalk it down to being stuck with nothing to do for the next few
hours.

“No,”
he replied.

She
looked up at him. “Ever gotten close?”

He
took his time to answer. She wondered if he was deciding what to tell her and
what not to tell her.

“No,
once the women of my life realize that they can’t change me and that I won’t
change on my own they pack it in.”

Elena
frowned. “What is it that they want to change about you?”