Spirit of the Towers

by Jamie A. Waters

  Peter released her, and Viktor took her hand instead. The memory of him plunging his knife into Sergei’s chest was still too vivid, and it took every ounce of her self-discipline not to betray her anger or draw a weapon.

  Lowering her gaze until she managed to control her emotions, she said, “Viktor, I wanted to thank you again for meeting with me the other day. Your information was very helpful.”

  Viktor’s eyes warmed as he regarded her, and it still managed to catch Valentina by surprise. He really didn’t seem to have any memory of what happened. “It’s always enjoyable to work with you, Valentina. I hope to do more of it in the future.”

  Nikolai moved beside her and placed his hand against her back. Viktor immediately released her, and she sent a silent thank you to Nikolai for his intervention. It was only possible to hold a mask in place for so long, especially when her emotions were so close to the surface.

  “Thank you for agreeing to join us,” Nikolai began and gestured toward the table. “I believe Ivan and Grigory will be here shortly, if you’d care for some refreshments.”

  “Perhaps in a bit,” Peter said, studying the room. “I was intrigued by the invitation to join you, Nikolai. I wasn’t aware you had a friendship with Ivan.”

  Nikolai’s mouth formed a thin line. “These shipment thefts are worrying all of us. Valentina spoke with Grigory the other day and learned Ivan’s been having a similar problem. Given your previous agreement to work together, I thought it would be best for all of us to come together and share information.”

  Peter nodded. “I see.”

  The door swung open, and Grigory entered, along with Ivan, Lena, and her second-in-command, Roman. Lena was a striking woman in her fifties with dark hair that had only begun to gray in the past few years. In fact, Valentina was mildly surprised by the changes that had happened since then. The lines around her mouth and eyes had deepened, drawing attention to the cold chill within them. She’d never been an overly pleasant woman, but the hostility in her mien was staggering.

  “What’s the meaning of calling such a meeting, Nikolai?” she demanded, pinning him with her gaze. “You do not have any right to summon us. The last time I checked, you were little more than a junior chairman. Your arrogance and impudence will not be tolerated.”

  Valentina’s eyes narrowed at the insult, but Nikolai put his hand on her arm in a warning. Her jaw clenched, but she remained in position beside him. It wouldn’t serve their purposes to respond, but such a slight couldn’t go unanswered.

  Apparently, Ivan agreed. He took a step closer to Lena. “That’s enough, Lena. You will not insult my guests. I told you that you were under no obligation to attend this meeting. If you don’t intend to work with us to resolve this situation, I’ll have my men escort you to your vehicles.”

  Lena’s body went ramrod straight, and she glared at Ivan. “How long have you been allied with Nikolai, Ivan?”

  “Lena, this situation affects all our people,” Nikolai began, his voice almost unnaturally calm. Valentina knew his anger was slowly simmering under the surface, but he was masking it well. “We’ve come together before in times of need, and this is no different. Someone is stealing food, hydrating packs, medical supplies, and weapons. We’ve all been affected by these thefts, but it’s our people who will suffer if we don’t put a stop to them.”

  Lena inclined her head. “You’re correct. Sergei Sokolov will be punished for his crimes.”

  Peter leaned against the wall. “Indeed. An armed escort has already been dispatched to the towers to retrieve him. The order was signed off by a majority about an hour ago.”

  Valentina felt the blood rush out of her face, and it took everything she had to remain standing. She hadn’t heard anything about this order, but this was worse than they’d thought. They had to abort. Sergei couldn’t be caught here. They’d have to find another way to discover the truth.

  “Who approved this?” Nikolai demanded.

  Someone knocked on the door, and Valentina’s heart clenched. She didn’t need the door to be open to know one of the guards was letting them know Sergei had arrived.

  Chapter Eleven

  One of the guards led Sergei into the room and said, “Sergei Sokolov to see you. His weapons have been removed.”

  Roman, Lena’s second-in-command, walked toward him. Valentina started to intervene, but Grigory grabbed her. In a low whisper, he warned, “He needs to be searched again, Valya. Let it play out.”

  Roman roughly slammed Sergei up against the wall and briskly checked him again for weapons. Her fingers twitched, trying to resist the urge to draw a blade. The moment Viktor or Roman unsheathed theirs, she’d stop fighting her inclination.

  Sergei turned back around and held her gaze for a long moment. In those few seconds, an entire lifetime sped by and unspoken promises passed between them. No matter what happened, she’d die before allowing anyone to harm him.

  “He’s not carrying any weapons,” Roman announced, but he didn’t move away from Sergei. The menace coming from him and Viktor was unsettling. She didn’t like the fact they were between her and the man she loved. Despite Grigory’s earlier warning, she moved forward to stand closer to Viktor but still within easy reach of Sergei. If nothing else, she was in a better position to provide him with a weapon.

  “Well, I highly doubt this is a coincidence,” Lena said, glaring at Ivan again. “You did not mention Sergei would be joining us as well.”

  “I asked him to join us,” Nikolai announced.

  Ivan nodded. “And I agreed. I want to put an end to this, and I expected all of you to want the same.”

  “Our reports have made it clear the weapons were being smuggled in by Pavel, Sergei’s second-in-command,” Peter reminded them. “Even if he wasn’t directly responsible, this act of defiance was done under his supervision.”

  “You’re correct,” Sergei admitted. “I was remiss in not catching Pavel’s deception earlier, but I had no involvement in these thefts. It was by my hand that Pavel was killed for betraying our people and endangering our alliance.”

  “You lie,” Lena declared, her eyes narrowing on him. “For all we know, you could have killed him to cover up the truth.”

  “Sergei killed Pavel and Sofia because they abducted a woman from the towers,” Valentina announced, refusing to let them continue to defame him. If Sergei wouldn’t stand up for himself, she’d do it for him. “I was there and witnessed her captivity. Sofia and Pavel were torturing her. Sofia claimed Ariana’s abduction was done with the approval of some of our leaders.”

  Ivan arched a brow. “I wasn’t aware she made this claim. Did Sofia provide you with any names?”

  “No,” she admitted. “I knew Sofia was lying about this being a collective decision. I had been with Nikolai at the summit conference the week before and knew no decision had been made with regard to our alliance. Nikolai agreed to come to OmniLab to help assess the situation, but I came ahead of him to prepare for his arrival. However, I do not believe Sofia was being entirely dishonest.”

  Peter frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Sergei met her gaze again, and Valentina felt his heated fire energy surround Peter and Lena. She straightened, mentally reaching out to Sergei to lend him her strength and hoping this wasn’t beyond his abilities. If anything went wrong, there were no guarantees any of them would walk out of this room.

  “Sofia was lying about the collective decision, but I saw Pavel’s expression. He believed her words. Something or someone had led him to believe that at least one of our leaders had sanctioned Ariana’s abduction.”

  Lena stiffened. “You’re accusing one of us?”

  Valentina blinked at her. “I am merely reporting the events and my impressions. Pavel believed it. I did not say the same.”

  “We are not making any accusations, Lena,” Nikolai began, moving closer to her. “The four of us claim to have suffered losses from these thefts. The intention of this meeting was simply to share
information with each other. Some of our stolen weapons were discovered in the possession of OmniLab residents. If we cannot put a stop to these weapons being smuggled into the towers, OmniLab has decreed our alliance will be forfeit.”

  Ivan frowned. “When did this happen?”

  “Earlier this morning after a riot broke out in one of their towers,” Sergei said, drawing their attention back to him. “Some of their residents were hurt and killed. Some of ours were also injured. We have less than twelve hours to locate our weapons and put an end to the smuggling operation or their council will vote to end our alliance.”

  “I can confirm Sergei’s story,” Grigory admitted. “We traced some of our missing supplies to the towers, but we were able to recover some of our items with Sergei’s help. I do not believe he is responsible for these thefts.”

  Peter frowned and glanced over at Sergei. “You can’t know that, Grigory. If he was simply trying to divert suspicion from himself, pretending to aid you would be a smart decision.”

  “Given the information I’ve gathered from some of my contacts in the area, I do not believe Sergei is responsible either,” Valentina said quietly. They had no real proof yet, but she needed to provoke them into revealing something.

  Viktor frowned. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, Valentina. I know you’ve been sympathetic to Sergei in the past, but the evidence against him is damning. I’ve shared some of my findings with you, but you’ve discovered something else?”

  She nodded. “Yes, just recently. When we met at the towers, I mentioned to you that Nikolai had arranged to meet with OmniLab leadership in a remote location. During that meeting, we were ambushed and Sergei was shot. The weapons used were the same type that had been stolen from one of our shipments. Sergei would not have arranged to have himself nearly killed.”

  Lena scoffed. “He appears rather healthy for someone who nearly died.”

  “The healers in the towers are very skilled,” Sergei admitted, and Valentina could feel him strengthening the bands of his truth barrier around Lena and Peter. So far, they hadn’t said anything to implicate themselves in the thefts, but she didn’t know how long Sergei could hold such a complicated energy weaving over multiple people.

  Peter frowned at Nikolai. “You’re sure these weapons belonged to one of your shipments?”

  Nikolai nodded. “Yes. We realized the items were missing the following day. One of my aides reported them missing to Valentina. Later that day, Regina tried to kill me while I slept.”

  If Valentina hadn’t been watching for any signs of guilt, she would have missed Roman’s almost barely discernible flinch. He knew something, or he knew Regina. Valentina glanced over at Sergei, and he inclined his head. He’d noticed it too.

  They’d suspected Regina belonged to a unit like theirs, but now she wondered if Roman made up that unit. He could have been orchestrating the attack, but it didn’t make sense. To her knowledge, Roman and Sergei had never had an issue with each other.

  Opening up their bond even more, Valentina allowed more of her energy to flow toward Sergei as he spread the truth barrier to also encompass Roman. She could feel Sergei’s strain in holding the energy over three people. They needed to hurry.

  Valentina turned toward Roman. “Roman, I haven’t had an opportunity to work with you much in the past. But your skill in strategy and tactics in well-known. Do you have any ideas who may be responsible?”

  Roman’s expression remained neutral. “I find it interesting that Nikolai’s weapons were the ones used to target Sergei. It’s rumored there’s been some tension between the two of them over the past several years.” He shrugged. “It would not be the first time love has caused someone to do something uncharacteristic. Sadly, it usually doesn’t end well for anyone involved.”

  Valentina paused, considering Roman for a long moment. He had phrased his words a little too carefully. Either he was trying to tell her something or issue a warning. She just didn’t know which.

  Her interaction with Roman had been limited in the past. He was neither overly friendly nor hostile, preferring to keep to himself or socializing only within Lena’s camp. Valentina respected him for his dedication to Lena, but that was all she really knew about him. Lena’s dislike for Nikolai was well-known, and it was possible her second-in-command also shared her feelings.

  Based on Nikolai’s irritated expression, he wasn’t thrilled with Roman or his insinuation. He narrowed his eyes. “I resent the implication. I did not arrange to have Sergei attacked. A laser sight was trained on Valentina, and Sergei pushed her out of the way. If anything, I’m grateful for his intervention and sacrifice in saving her life that day.”

  Roman inclined his head. “Indeed. You were all fortunate.”

  Valentina frowned. Roman knew more than he was saying, but he was a little too tight-lipped. Through her bond with Sergei, she could feel him struggling to maintain the truth barrier. They only had maybe a handful of minutes before it fell.

  It was time to try a more drastic approach. Peter and Viktor might not be happy with her for revealing this information, but they were running out of time.

  Turning toward Peter, she said, “I would normally not divulge information you or Viktor shared with me in confidence, but time is of the essence. If you will give me some latitude here, I believe Viktor’s knowledge may help resolve this situation.”

  Peter studied her thoughtfully for a long moment. “Very well. If you’re referring to what he shared with you at the construction tower, I’ll permit it.”

  She nodded. “Viktor, you indicated you believed Sergei was always the target of the ambush. Why did you think that?”

  Viktor shrugged. “I overheard a conversation that led me to believe it.”

  Valentina waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t say anything further, Peter sighed and waved his hand. “Go ahead and tell her. I want to know where she’s going with this.”

  Viktor frowned. “I was tracing the missing shipments and a tip led me to Sofia’s camp. I believe some of the weapons were stored there before being smuggled into the towers. Unfortunately, Sergei had tortured and killed Sofia and Pavel a few days earlier. When I made it clear I didn’t harbor any friendly feelings toward Sergei, some of the people within the camp spoke freely in front of me. One of them mentioned they knew Sergei would be executed soon. When I heard about the shooting, it was logical to make the leap.”

  Valentina’s eyes widened. “Sofia was storing them? I knew she and Pavel were lovers, but this makes much more sense. We confirmed Pavel was the one smuggling them into the towers, but we didn’t know how he was acquiring them.”

  “Sofia wasn’t storing all of them,” Viktor said, shaking his head. “I searched the camp thoroughly, and I believe only a small number of weapons were held there temporarily. They are either already in the towers or being held at another location. I do not know where she acquired them.”

  Lena frowned. “All I’m hearing are rumors and speculation. I don’t hear very many facts.” She paused, and her frown deepened.

  Valentina tilted her head, studying the woman’s agitated body language. Lena’s mouth opened and closed as though she were struggling to speak. The only explanation was she was attempting to voice a lie. Valentina glanced over at Sergei, who was beginning to perspire from the continued strain. She sent him an even stronger wave of her energy, wishing she could magnify the amount through contact. But that would be too suspicious, and they needed a few more minutes.

  Roman’s expression grew alarmed. “Lena, are you all right?”

  “Something’s wrong,” she managed. “I feel strange.”

  Roman strode toward her. “Allow me to escort you out of here.”

  Valentina tensed. They couldn’t allow her to leave yet. Catching Ivan’s eye, he nodded and walked over to the older woman.

  “Lena,” Ivan interrupted, taking her arm, “you should sit for a moment. Allow me to get you a drink.”

  “I should
leave,” Lena insisted.

  “Nonsense,” Ivan said, leading her to a chair. “If you’re not feeling well, you should wait until you’re recovered. We have medics here who can attend to you. I would be remiss in allowing you to travel all the way back to your camp without medical personnel.”

  While Ivan poured Lena a drink, Valentina glanced at Sergei. He wiped his brow from the exertion and nodded at her to continue. She frowned. Lena’s rank made it impossible for either her or Nikolai to question Lena outright about her involvement with the thefts, but it might be possible to elicit information in another way.

  Turning back to Roman, Valentina said, “You mentioned love makes people act in an uncharacteristic manner. Who were you referring to?”

  Roman frowned and glanced at Sergei before focusing on her again. “I believe the statement holds true for most people. That includes you, Valentina.”

  She paused, a suspicion beginning to grow in her mind. “Viktor was wrong, wasn’t he? Was I the target of the ambush? Not Sergei?”

  Roman didn’t respond. Nikolai’s eyes narrowed as he demanded, “If you know something, you’re duty-bound to tell us.”

  “I’m under no obligation to answer to you, Nikolai,” Roman snapped. “My loyalty is to Lena.”

  Valentina glanced over at Lena, but the woman was struggling to talk. Her eyes were wide, and she pushed herself out of the chair. “What have you done to me? Why am I having trouble speaking?”

  “The truth has a way of emerging,” Nikolai said, taking a step toward Lena. “Try to deny your involvement in the weapon thefts. Your lies will not be heard.”

  Lena’s eyes narrowed, and she straightened. “You want to discuss lies? Then let’s talk about your involvement in covering up my son’s murder.”

  Valentina frowned, and Nikolai appeared confused too. He shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lena.”

  Lena clenched her fists, and anger made the older woman’s features even harsher in the artificial light. “Three years ago, my son was leading one of the teams during the Pathfinder Facility takeover. When Sergei set the fire in the service wing, Leonid was among those who became trapped. You allowed him to burn to death and then helped his murderer cover up his crime.”