by Terri Dixon
Part XIII
I'm not somebody that thinks about destiny and fate, but I don't walk away from it when something unfolds.
-Angelina Jolie
Dr. Zemecki led us to the closest subway station. We were nearly downtown, so we were in one of the old stations that I’d read about in one of my grandma’s books. The escalator seemed long and descended into a tunnel. I didn’t know if it was long for a subway escalator, because I’d never been in a subway station before. The walls were covered with beautiful decorative tiles and the entrance and tunnel were lighted by beautiful crystal chandeliers and etched glass lamps. It was more gorgeous than I even imagined.
“Where are we going?” I asked Dr. Zemecki.
“I know a couple of guys at the GUM who study all this stuff,” he replied. “It’s not far.”
“Will the President know who they are?” Tania asked.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Zemecki replied. “My best friend is an authority on this stuff, but he’s out of town on business at the moment.” He pulled a smartphone out of his pocket. “Let me try him and see when he’s going to be back.”
“Hello, Peter?” Dr. Zemecki started. “It’s Steve. When are you planning to come back to Moscow?” There was a pause. “Well, I have a situation here.” Pause. “It’s a girl. Her name is Stacie, and she’s got the ring of the queen.” Pause. “I think so.” Pause. “You are? That’s great! We’ll meet you at my place as soon as we can.” He disconnected.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Peter Godunov,” Dr. Zemecki replied. “His whole family has studied this stuff. We were in some classes together a couple of years ago, and we became good friends. I always thought he was a little nuts when he talked about all that stuff, but now I wonder. Meeting you could be the biggest thing that’s ever happened to him.”
“So, we’re going to your apartment?” Tania said.
I was pretty sure that Tania was just along because she thought that Dr. Zemecki was hot. And he was. He was probably the best looking college professor I’d ever seen. I hoped that Tania hadn’t gotten into this mess way over her head because of it however.
“I think I want to stop and have the boys look at it,” Dr. Zemecki said.
“The boys?” I asked.
“Andrei, Alyosha, and Mikhail. They run an Articoli in the GUM. They really know they’re stuff, and they’re into the ring of the queen. I thought I would have them check it out and make sure it’s real,” Dr. Zemecki explained.
“Lord, please let this thing be fake,” I muttered.
“Steve, what do we do if it’s real?” Tania asked.
“It can’t be,” I replied.
“I hope it’s not,” Dr. Zemecki said. “That could be a real mess.”
The subway train pulled in, and Dr. Zemecki motioned us to get on it. We had no idea where we were, so we blindly did as he said. I was beyond out of my element. I presumed that we were on a normal subway train, but how would I know? I was starting to think that my mom had a point when she said that I wasn’t ready for international travel, let alone Russia.
“How are you holding up?” Tania asked me.
“I don’t know what to think. I’ve never even been on a subway, much less anything else that’s going on,” I replied.
“Surely you’ve been on a subway,” Dr. Zemecki said.
I snapped a little. I was having a nervous breakdown over the whole thing. “Do you have any idea where I live? There’s cows and corn and airports that are nothing but grass for a runway. I live in the middle of nowhere. There are no subways or buses or jets or trains. We drive tractors sometimes. People wear plaid shirts and jeans. There are baseball caps everywhere you look and men in big old boots. I’m not used to anything like this.”
“The college that you come from is quite well known as an international school. I assumed that it was a more cosmopolitan city,” Dr. Zemecki said.
“It’s a town full of farmers and Amish people,” I answered.
“Well, this is an educational experience for sure,” Tania said.
The train stopped, and Dr. Zemecki got up to exit it, so we followed. I had no idea where we were. When we came up out of the depths of the subway station, we were in a mall. I didn’t know what to think. It looked like the standard shopping mall that I went to in Fort Wayne, only it had an amazing glass dome in the middle of it, and the whole place reminded me of a globe. The dome had a map of the world in glass. It was spectacular.
“What’s this?” I asked.
Dr. Zemecki was walking quickly through the mall. “It’s the Okhotny Ryad Mall. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
It was an expensive looking mall. There were a lot of high end stores and places to get phones and video games. I presumed that I couldn’t afford to shop at a single shop in the entire mall. I probably couldn’t even afford a video game in that place. We made our way past all the designer shops and electronic gadget shops and took an escalator up.
We exited the mall and the minute I walked out the door, I was looking at the National Museum and Resurrection Gate. I’d seen pictures of it in books and on the internet, but it was way more impressive in person. It was completely dark out now, and the whole area was lit up so bright that I thought that you had to be able to see it from space. Dr. Zemecki motioned us to follow him as he helped us cross the very large and busy boulevard that separated us from Red Square. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of cars zooming around Moscow in the dark. I knew that it was one of the largest and most populated cities in the world, but once again, seeing it for myself made it all real.
I started to follow Dr. Zemecki across the street with Tania behind me. I barely saw the car. It came out of nowhere and nearly hit me as I stepped off the curb. I froze and couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t used to all this crazy city stuff. Then I realized that not only had that car stopped, but so had a few others behind it. Then I realized that it was the convoy that had pulled up at the dormitory. It was the President. It was the exact person that I was running away from. Dr. Zemecki was on the other side of the street peering back at us. I wondered if the President knew what I looked like.
The car stopped and President Yuri Kostov got out. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied.
“The streets of my city can be quite dangerous,” he said. “Can I give you a lift?”
“No, that’s fine,” I said, feeling extremely nervous. “I’m just going to meet my guide. I’ll be fine.”
“Well then, my apologies. I did not mean to cause you any distress. I hope it will not ruin your trip to my fine country,” the President said.
“Not at all. Your country is beautiful and I am enjoying it immensely,” I replied.
“Are you from America?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied, wanting to throw up.
“I am Yuri Kostov. I am the President of Russia,” he said, holding out his hand to shake mine.
I couldn’t tell him my name. He didn’t seem to recognize me, so I had to think of a name. “I’m honored to meet you, Mr. President,” I said. “I am Virginia Star.”
We shook hands. He looked at me as though he was evaluating me. I wondered if he knew who I was and wasn’t letting on. I wondered if there was any chance that he believed the ridiculous name that I made up. I could feel that I was holding my breath. I hoped he hadn’t noticed that.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Ms. Star,” he said. “I do hope that you enjoy your time in my country.” He handed me a business card with his phone numbers on it. “Do give me a call if there is anything that I can do to make you trip more enjoyable. Have a good evening.”
He didn’t do anything else. He got into his car and his whole posse took off. I was afraid to move. I stood, frozen by the side of the road for what seemed like forever. Then I looked up and saw both Dr. Zemecki and now Tania waiting
on the other side of the street for me. They were yelling at me to get me to move. I shook my head to get myself back to reality, and then I ran across the street to where they were.
“What did he say?” Dr. Zemecki asked me.
“I don’t think he knew who I was. He apologized for nearly running me over and gave me his card. He offered me a ride too,” I said.
“We need to get you out of the public,” Dr. Zemecki said.
He took my arm and nearly pulled me with him. Tania was walking alongside me. I didn’t know where all of this was taking me, but I knew at that point that I had to find out.
The Ring of the Queen
Part XIV
The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and must therefore be treated with great caution.
-J. K. Rowling