“I am man who has paid for your care for last thirteen years. You were my mother’s boyfriend until…”
“Until I beat you for being gay, da, I remember now. You have not changed in looks and I am willing to bet you are still buggering little boys.” Lavrov snickered and Aleksei bristled.
“I do not…I have never harmed children, sick fuck. Unlike you, if half stories I have heard are true.” That got him red in the face, Aleksei smirked inwardly. “I have come to tell you I am getting married…and that you will not have my financial support from this day forward.”
“Ah, so you came back to spit on old Vitaly, I see how it is.” The man chuckled dryly and shook his head. “Where is big strapping boy? What sort of man did he grow up to be? He was proper son! I was proud to call him mine.”
“But he was not your son. His father is…was Sergei…” Aleksei started, thinking the man meant Ivan, but Lavrov interrupted.
“Da, I know who he was. Weakling politician.” He took another sip of water. “But he was not that boy’s father, nyet. I was. Same as I was your father; you just got white hair from your mother’s side. Dark haired boy got dark hair from me. Your whore mother did not want either of you to know I was his father, but she is dead, so what is point of hiding now? I am soon to join her in Hell.”
“My mother was no whore. Say whatever you want, but she was not whore.” Aleksei said, keeping his voice as calm as he could. He did not want to remember his mother that way. Not even after what the old woman had told him. “And dark haired ‘boy’ is dead. He died not long after my…our mother died.”
“Da, she was whore. They picked up young women off street corners, out of alleyways, even out of convents. Breeders, they called them. Then they brought in men like myself, who volunteered. Contract was drawn up between man and woman. Once they had produced two good offspring, they were paid handsome fee and released from their duties.” He paused for another sip of water as Aleksei sat heavily in a chair, resigned to listen to Lavrov’s monologue, however unpleasant it was. Something told him he needed to hear this, so he forced himself, however unpleasant it might be, to pay attention. “But your mother, she would never allow me to claim second boy, or I would have been released. True, my plan was to find another breeding arrangement, nothing like free pussy with no strings attached. I did not even have to be responsible for upbringing of child. Military paid for it.” He paused again, and Aleksei noticed he looked tired, pained even.
“She claimed that politician fathered third child, white haired boy, big boy like you should have been. Nyet, you should have been girl…I always said this. Politician even took responsibility for it, but I knew truth all along. Even if I could not get my hands on that boy.” He stopped now and pressed his morphine button twice.
“But…how do you know? How can you be so sure second boy was yours, too, if the third wasn’t?” Aleksei asked, almost certain he didn’t want to know the answer. Lavrov confirmed his suspicion easily as if it were no big deal.
“I raped her, did I not? Stupid whore was not living up to contract. We had agreement. Two children in three years. I could move on to next woman and, when both of you were of an age, you could be weaned off breast, then military would come and take you. They deemed you worthless, I got second boy on her and he was so mean, so demanding, she did not want to try again.” He sighed heavily. “But then things went all to hell and breeding program was shut down for time. When it reopened, you were six years old and Viktor was two, but your mother refused to live up to bargain, saying three years had passed...not to mention government would not take you. Too small, too weak, they said… But I was paid for two children and felt…obligated…to do my duty. Living with her was not easy when she was so fucking beautiful and so fucking frigid at same time. So, one night after she carried you across street, I gave her good riding that she never forgot…and our third son was conceived.”
“Can you prove this?” Aleksei was standing now. He had heard enough and wanted to be on his way, though his violet eyes followed the hand of the man, which was now digging in his bedside table.
“Here, key opens lock-box in bank in Ukraine. You will find all you need to know there.” He laid back, pressed his morphine button a third time and fell asleep.
Chapter 49
Ivan listened to the thunder high above the cistern, intermingled with the sounds of rain and occasional soft snoring from Rosa, who had been asleep with her head on his arm just long enough his arm was beginning to get numb. He closed his eyes, and must have drifted off, because when he woke, his arm was stinging like a thousand ants were biting it and Rosa was sitting on him, shaking him gently and growling. Ivan’s eye’s popped open immediately and he noticed how completely and utterly dark it was, his mind trying to rationalize this. The compound was powered by enormous diesel generators, surplus, purchased from the military after the war for quite a steal. Those generators only failed for two reasons: no fuel…or sabotage. Since there was never any shortage of fuel that only left one option, and the realization of this immediately had him sitting up, pushing Rosa off of him gently.
Aleksei and Yuri had left for America the previous morning, before Aleksei could share with him some secret that seemed devastating to the gentle blonde. But there had been the phone call from the American facility holding Dmitri, informing Aleksei he was to be released if Aleksei could not find alternative placement for the violent man. So, Yuri had begged, pleaded, cajoled and finally pouted until Aleksei had relented and agreed to let Yuri accompany him on his trip. As Ivan saw someone far too big to be Oleg or one of the many security men, silhouetted in the observation window, he knew it was for the best. Dmitri had already been released. He was here. Ivan sat bolt upright. “Rosa, hide.”
She did not question this order, as she was female and accepted him as her mate and protector, when he gave such an order she obeyed immediately. Ivan ran for the cistern door, pulling it open just as Dmitri reached it, intent on locking them both in and probably drowning them by turning on the water and flooding the enormous concrete tank. Before Dmitri could pull a gun or even speak, Ivan clobbered him in the face, knocking him back, but not stunning him like Ivan had expected. Instead, Dmitri spit out a mouthful of blood and charged, roaring.
It was, as fights went, one of the best Ivan had ever been in. Had he not wanted to kill his opponent, he would probably have congratulated him and thanked him for the honor of such worthy battle after the fact. The den area, their common room, in the light of the morning sun, was utterly decimated. Both men were flat on the floor, Ivan breathing heavily, laughing painfully, and bleeding profusely from half a dozen knife wounds and a few bullet wounds, Dmitri was out cold, a busted plasma screen television still lying over his head, sparking ominously. The storm had, Ivan discovered when the television had sparked, flooded the generator. Once the rain had calmed, the generator had kicked back on, thankfully. Ivan dragged himself to his feet, grimacing at the sight of one of the guards, dead just outside in the kitchen entryway.
With a grunt, and good deal of straining, he wrestled Dmitri onto his shoulders and fireman-carried him down to the cistern, dropping him hard on the concrete floor. “Rosa, come with me. Rosa?” She was nowhere to be found, which concerned Ivan more than anything. He took care to seal the cistern door and went looking for her, drawn to the sound of her frightened whimpers and the sound of someone else speaking from the meeting room. How she knew to go there, Ivan would never know.
“Dear girl,” He heard Oleg’s concerned voice, “How is it you are calling me? How did you get out of cistern? Where are my nephews?”
Rosa grunted and pointed, then her face lit up as Ivan watched her, so weak he was barely leaning on the door facing upright. She put her right hand over her eye and he saw Oleg stand up.
“I am on way.” Oleg said and the video call ended.
“Rosa…Rosa you beautiful, brave woman. Go…and lock…kitchen door to outside. All you have to do is…close….” Iv
an felt the world spin and then saw it go dark.
Chapter 50
“What do you mean ‘already released’?” Aleksei nearly screamed into the phone, waking Yuri, who sat bolt upright looking terrified. “Well that’s just great. You do know there is a victim who is still alive that he is sexually obsessed with. Now she is unprotected and you…god damn the lot of you.”
“They released him? But I thought…” Yuri said, but Aleksei was getting dressed while dialing frantically on his mobile.
“Come on Ivan…pick up pick up pick up…” He chanted over and over as he held the phone on his shoulder with his chin so he could tie his shoes. When there was no answer, he slammed the phone down on the bed and Yuri caught it before it bounced onto the floor. After a second, Aleksei snapped the phone out of his hand and called the airport looking for emergency flights to Russia. “Two fucking days? I’m …you’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just…I’ve found out a dangerous man was released and I know right where he’s headed…lives are at stake…” He hung up on the woman. “Useless c…”
“Hey! She is just doing her job.” Yuri stopped him and put his hands on Aleksei’s shoulders. “Just think. Call Oleg. He has private jets everywhere. I know it is ill-advised but I think in this situation it’s a little too late to wonder what Dmitri will do next and if he’ll hear about us tripping about in Oleg’s private jets.”
“You’re right. I’ll call now.” Aleksei dialed the international number and waited, finally getting an answer, one of Oleg’s many assistants. “Siberia you say…I just…I need approval to use one of his jets. Already been approved? Oh God…nyet…nyet everything is fine. Thank you.” Aleksei said, his voice weak. “He already has a jet here, waiting for us…he’s gone, er, hunting in Siberia…”
“But that’s code for…”
“We’re under attack.”
“We have to go now.”
“No shit.”
Chapter 51
Rosa’s mind was a whirl of terror and rage. Below, in the cistern, she heard the man who had tortured her, screaming, calling out for her. But her mate was in front of her, and his wounds were many, more than she could handle in fact, but she tried. Instinct told her what to do. Keep pressure on the worst of the wounds, try to wake him up, make sure he was not cold because he was in shock. When the door beeped some hours later, she was in a state of nervous collapse and first growled at the strange men accompanying Oleg.
“Is alright, my dear, they are here to help him. Why do you not come into kitchen with Uncle Oleg and have something to drink? You have done such good job on my nephew.” She looked hesitantly at the three men, who were carrying bags of supplies and setting to work on her mate. “Is okay, my dear, please, trust me, okay? I would never dream of hurting nephew.”
“Does she need any assistance, Oleg?” One of them asked but Oleg waved him off.
“Nyet, Ivan would have died himself before he would let her get hurt. Say, where is other bastard, in cistern?” Oleg asked and she nodded.
“He…scream for me for long time. Finally get quiet while ago. I did not help. My mate need help first.” She said, settling at the kitchen bar, though the stool was a new way of sitting for her. Oleg poured her some tea and surreptitiously slipped in some vodka, just to calm her, unaware of her delicate condition. She drank it thankfully and, being unaccustomed to drink, was soon asleep, her head resting on her arms on the marble countertop. He carried her to the master bedroom, where he knew Ivan slept, and tucked her in, careful to secure the door behind him. Better she was locked in, better she not see Ivan if he didn’t make it. But Oleg should have known better. Ivan was, if nothing else, a survivor. It was just a matter of time.
Chapter 52
All of the long trip back to the Siberian compound, Aleksei was quiet. He hadn’t yet told Yuri all of the truth, the bit about Dmitri, or Ivan. His plan had been to save it until Rosa was a little better rehabilitated and everyone was a little more settled. But stepping inside the house, it was immediately clear that something was wrong in a very big way.
The first thing they saw was the destroyed living area, most of it had been cleaned up, but the furniture was heavily damaged and the television was, though sitting in its proper place, clearly not likely to function again. It had been smashed over something, from the look of it, someone’s head. Yuri nudged Aleksei and he turned and saw Rosa curled in a ball on the blood-stained and broken couch, her eyes squinted shut and her hands over her ears. When Yuri moved towards her she suddenly opened her eyes and leapt on him, nearly knocking him over, clinging to him in terror.
“Rosa, where’s Ivan? Where is mate?” Yuri asked her as she sobbed on his shoulder, seemingly terrified to the point of complete hysteria.
Aleksei immediately dug in his bag for a bottle of water and some of the little sedative he always carried. Among other things, of course. He gave Rosa the pills and she took them, so clearly someone had been working with her because she’d been incapable. Later he would theorize that perhaps it had been muscle memory, just her instinctively reacting. As soon as Yuri was out of sight, and it was a good thing, a loud bang from the cistern made Aleksei jump and ran to the observation window, which was cracked, shattered even, but not broken. The safety glass Ivan had insisted on had done its job because it was clear someone very big threw someone else against it. The imprint of a body was almost perfectly displayed in the razor-sharp spider webs.
Below, he could just make out one person hanging from the ceiling, feet dangling almost four feet off the ground. The other, blurry as it was, had a bottle in one hand and a gun in the other. Before Aleksei could turn to run down the ramp he saw the gun raised in a swaying hand and heard another bang. “Jesus….”
He burst into the cistern and his eyes fell first on Dmitri who looked to be minutes from death he was so gray, hanging by his arms from the ceiling. He laughed when he heard the door open, dark blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth.
“Ivan! What the hell are you doing?” Aleksei asked as Ivan raised the gun again, clearly he was blind drunk, there were empty bottles everywhere. Below Dmitri was a pile of broken glass and he guessed Ivan had been throwing them at the hanging man. “Let him down!”
“Let who down? I am just having drink with,” he hiccupped and belched rudely, “brother.” Ivan belched a second time, then fired again, this time the bullet ricocheted off the ceiling and grazed Ivan’s shoulder, making him curse and Dmitri laugh. “You shut fuck up useless bastard.”
“Is that my sweet big brother come to save me?” Dmitri asked in a mock-childish tone that was equal parts creepy and terrifying.
“What? What does this mean?” Ivan asked, turning to Aleksei, who was able to get the gun out of his hand. “You are big brother…not Aleksei…”
“Ivan…you need to come with me.” Aleksei pointed the gun and Dmitri flinched, but when the slender blonde pulled the trigger the resulting shot severed the rope holding him. He fell heavily to the concrete floor, and broken glass. “Dmitri, I will see to you later, if you are still alive.”
It took hours to get Ivan sobered up enough he had a cognizant and functioning brain, enough to relate to Aleksei and Yuri what had happened while they were away for their two week trip. Now, Aleksei knew, was where the metal would hit the meat, so to speak. Because Ivan suddenly stiffened and asked, “Why did Dmitri call you ‘big brother’?”
“Because I am his big brother, I suppose…and yours. He is middle child from very dysfunctional family.” Aleksei sighed heavily and then stared the broken water glass that had just slipped from Yuri’s fingers.
“S-so we’re…related?” Yuri’s face went a shade of pale gray that rivaled Dmitri’s and Aleksei was terrified he might faint and hurt himself. But he knew better than help him, he knew Yuri was as apt to lash out violently as he was to sit down and cry.
“No, no, thank God no. In fact, you’re the only one here not related to Dmitri.” Aleksei motioned him to one of the stools a
cross the bar from him and prepared him another glass of water. Ivan busied himself cleaning up the broken glass and mopping the spilled water off of the floor. “You are also, most definitely, not related to me.”
“I am not understanding…how is it that Dmitri is your brother? I thought that he and Yuri were brothers.” Ivan said, rubbing his head as Aleksei shoved a glass of water in front of him and then hopped up and sat on the counter, facing the breakfast bar. “What is going on here?”
“If you will listen, I am going to tell you.” Aleksei looked sadly at Yuri. “And for what it’s worth, Yuri, I never wanted to have to tell you this way. I know it’s hard, losing a brother. I lost mine a long time ago…or I was made to believe I had.”
First, he related the story of his visit to the small village, his birthplace, but with the added tale of his visit to Lavrov’s nursing facility. He decided on a whim to not tell Ivan the story of his own conception, for one he was not convinced it was true and for another he couldn’t imagine it going over well with Ivan. Better he let Ivan believe Sergei was his papa, as he’d always done. From there, he continued on with a yet untold version of the story. Ivan had started to move, first cleaning up Yuri’s broken glass. When that task was done, he began preparing food, unable to sit still as he was clearly agitated already, his mind working out all that he was being told. He asked surprisingly few questions, but Aleksei was willing to bet all of that was about to change.
“Tell me, what do either of you know about the Russian Military’s Eugenics program?” he asked, softly enough that it required Ivan to stop in his noisy preparation.
“I always thought that was just rumor. Speculation. Nonsense, even. It would be…illegal according to many world treaties…so many I did not even think Russia would dare. How could they afford such costly program?” Ivan asked, then went back to chopping whatever he was chopping, his back was to Aleksei and Yuri as he was standing at the kitchen sink.
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