A Life Less Ordinary

by Scarlett Cross

  She crawled out onto the side, with Yuri’s help, and grabbed her drink bottle from Rosa before wandering back to her toys, which were in the shade far from the water. She was big for her age, or rather, tall, and she possessed a fiercely independent spirit, much like her father. She learned very quickly, too, and was already speaking with words no two year old should have known. It had always been so, even as an infant she had been different, not prone to crying, even when hungry or in need of a diaper change. Rosa had been able to easily teach her to swim by the time she was a year old, and the girl even knew the pool was not to be taken lightly. She understood the threat of drowning, so she stayed away from it when no adults were present. In fact, she wouldn’t even come out of the house without someone accompanying her.

  Her features were so like Ivan that, from birth, it had been heartbreaking for Rosa, who had held her and wept for days on end. Her hair was like soft-spun white gold, and even slightly wavy like her father’s. She had also inherited his unnaturally blue eyes, and had that intense way of staring at people, even at a few months old, that let you know she was absorbing everything. Aleksei had been teaching her how to write already, and she was reading books that were highly difficult, even for the doctors in the family. If she did not know a word, she did not ask but rather looked it up herself. Rosa had been teaching her Spanish and between Aleksei and Yuri she had picked up on Russian, so they had to be careful just what they were discussing in her presence.

  As they sat by the pool in a shaded cabana-style canvas tent large enough for a small dinner party, Yuri was about to speak when Aleksei’s phone rang behind him. He turned to grab it, but Aleksei beat him to it, smirking at Yuri’s expression. “Moscow number.” He said and immediately all three adults were crowded around the phone, interested. Rosa hurriedly fixed the front of her bathing suit so as not to give whoever was calling a free show of cleavage, which had greatly increased with the birth of her daughter. She saw Yuri watching her and shot him a look, he blushed and looked away quickly, as if realizing what he’d been doing. Aleksei answered the call and a familiar face immediately appeared on the screen, beaming back at them.

  “Yuri if you get any uglier I am calling circus.” Oleg said, earning him a rude hand gesture, and Yuri a smack on the back of the head from both Rosa and Aleksei respectively. “I have news.”

  “What has happened?” Aleksei asked, cautiously, though they knew it couldn’t be terrible, Oleg was looking far too happy.

  “Anya and I are getting married.” He said, and a woman’s hand appeared from somewhere waving a rock that would have sunk a large yacht. Maybe a small freighter, to be more accurate.

  “Well, that was unexpected.” Aleksei spluttered with excitement and genuine happiness. He and Yuri had been married in a very low-key ceremony, even though most countries still did not recognize it, the fact that they had vowed themselves to each other meant everything. “Congrats to both of you.”

  “That is not all.” He turned the phone and Aleksei dropped his own phone in absolute shock. Yuri caught it just before it hit the pavement, then handed it back to the doctor so they could all stare. Anya was pregnant, and not just a little bit, she looked likely to give birth any day.

  “Oleg…how…?” Aleksei asked, his tanned face paling slightly, though he doubted Oleg could tell that over the phone, and he was thankful for that.

  “We do not know. I have had…well, I am not supposed to be able and Anya says she has always been unable…is strangest thing.” Aleksei and the other two exchanged glances, though they all remained silent as Oleg turned the phone again so they could see him. “Reason I am calling is…we know child is boy and Anya says, for some reason she is compelled to name him Ivan. I wonder if is okay with you if she does this?”

  “I…I cannot see why not…” Aleksei said, faintly, his mind clearly racing.

  “We have not been entirely honest with you, either, Oleg.” Rosa said, then motioned to the child. When she came over, Rosa picked her up, “Meet Elizabeta Ivanova. Your niece.”

  “So,” Oleg smirked, “Which one of them does she call mama?”

  “Me!” Rosa said, in a mock-offended tone.

  “Thank God for that…I would have to cry foul if you told me those ugly bastards were her parents.” He smiled brilliantly, knowing full well who Elizabeta’s parents were. “I will let you know when baby is born, should be any day now, as I am sure you can tell. Dasvedanya.”

  “That baby…it can’t be…” Rosa said, her smile fading almost as quickly as the call ended. “Is it?”

  “I am afraid there is no other explanation.” Aleksei said as Yuri looked from one to the other, taking Lizzie, as they called her, from Rosa, as she was squirming to get to him anyway. “Ivan’s clone.”

  “No…” Yuri said, then, clutching Lizzie to him, he walked away, as if he wanted to not hear all that he had just heard. To be honest, none of them had.

  Chapter 69

  Aleksei sighed and leaned back in the soft leather chair in his private study, his eyes on the skylights which were now darkened as it was late at night. He blinked as lightning forked across the sky, but did not jump when the inevitable boom of thunder followed. Instead, he waited for the thunder to fade so that he could once again hear the droning, steady sound of the rain that was falling in near sheets outside the home he shared with Rosa, Lizzie, and of course, Yuri.

  Three months ago, he would have been able to definitively say that Yuri was upstairs asleep in the bed they shared. But, in the past few months since Ivan and Lizzie’s shared christening, which had been held in Spain so that they might be named godparents, Yuri had taken up a new habit. One Aleksei did not understand any more than he was comfortable with it. Now, as he sat in the virtual complete darkness, it burned in the doctor’s brain, this new habit. Actual anger surged through him even as exhausted as he was, when he thought on it.

  He wasn’t sure how long it had been going on but, about a month after the ceremony, in which he and Yuri were named co-godfathers and Rosa was named godmother, he had first noticed it. Something had awakened him in the middle of the night, he could not remember what; maybe it was just the absence of Yuri’s usual warmth beside him. Maybe it had been something else entirely. Thinking he must be having a night skinny-dip, Aleksei had slipped downstairs to find him, to make sure he was okay if he was in fact swimming. Instead, he found no sign of Yuri anywhere in the house or the pool area.

  Not given to panic, because in truth there were many places on the property, it was a big compound with guest houses and acres of land, Yuri might have wandered to. Aleksei did the logical thing in that he walked out to one of the guard houses the next morning, to ask the men charged with their security what they had seen. Of course, by then Yuri had been sound asleep in the bed and, though he told himself it wasn’t possible, because Yuri didn’t drink and he never had, Aleksei was almost certain he caught a whiff of alcohol on his lover. He had asked the man who had been in charge the night before, the man who was in the process of leaving for the day, if he’d seen Yuri.

  At first, the man hadn’t wanted to answer but, when Aleksei reminded him that it was his name on the paychecks, the man had confessed. He, or one of the dozen men on staff at night, depending on who was monitoring the cameras, had seen Yuri going over the back perimeter fence several times in the past few weeks. It always late at night and, the man added, so far as he knew Yuri never returned until just before sunrise. In just enough time to make it to bed before Aleksei rose and did his morning yoga on the pool deck. Often, the guard had told him, he and Aleksei had very nearly run into each other, and it had taken the doctor some time to realize these must have been the mornings he had risen to find Yuri crashed out in front of the television downstairs.

  So, Aleksei had started to not going to sleep immediately, but rather fighting to stay awake, waiting and listening to see what Yuri did. Sure enough, three to four times a week, he went out over the back wall, Aleksei had tapped into
the security system and stealthily slipped his notebook computer under the bed. As soon as Yuri departed stealthily, Aleksei would grab it and watch the view from the cameras on the back of the house. It wasn’t just that he was going out for a walk, because Aleksei had watched him dress in nice clothing, even taking time in the bathroom to apply cologne. The clothes he left in never made it back upstairs into their rooms, and try as he might Aleksei could never catch them because Yuri washed them himself. Once, Aleksei had stirred when the bedroom door opened and pretended to have been awakened, to see how this was possible, and he found Yuri slipping into the bedroom in nothing but boxer-briefs. Later, Aleksei said nothing, just pretended as if it hadn’t happened, but his heart hurt him to think that Yuri was stepping out, going somewhere with someone that he didn’t want Aleksei to know about.

  That thought, the thought of Yuri being unfaithful to him with another man, was almost more than Aleksei could bear. He moved to slam his notebook computer closed, then jerked his hand back as the internet video calling program they used to keep in touch with Oleg and Anya rang, startling him half-to-death, as the volume was at full on the computer. Thanking God his study door was closed so it didn’t disturb the whole house, Aleksei frantically turned down the volume before answering, quietly. “Oleg?”

  “Aleksei…I…” Oleg said, he was very pale and even over the connection, which was poor due to the raging thunderstorm, Aleksei could tell he was clammy with sweat, though he doubted it was the type one got from exercise. No, the doctor could tell, this was a man who was absolutely terrified. “I…I do not…”

  “Oleg…what has happened?” Aleksei sat up stiff in his chair, all thoughts of Yuri’s nocturnal activities completely forgotten, for the moment, anyway. “What? Is Anya okay…and is baby safe?”

  “I…it was earlier this afternoon…I wanted to wait to make sure they were gone…” Oleg said, then lifted a glass of clear liquid Aleksei was willing to bet was vodka, his hand trembling badly. “It…I saw…it was Ivan and…and Dmitri…”

  “Nyet…it cannot be…are you certain?” Aleksei felt like having a drink now, himself. “What…what did they want?”

  “They…they wanted Ivan…baby Ivan…I…I sent Anya and our baby to…to Spain. I smuggled them out in cargo plane…it will not be comfortable trip for either but I had to make sure…” Oleg took another drink, and Aleksei saw as his face shifted and the lighting changed, that he was or had recently been crying. “I had to be sure…but if they know where Rosa’s summer home…where your home is…”

  “They used to, cannot say now, though I am certain Russian government will find us if they want baby given back. Call Ndigwe, tell him to launch cover story, already he knows what to do.” Aleksei was already buttoning up his shirt, preparing to go wake Rosa and then pack. “There are places we can go, fail safes I and I alone know about. And Oleg? Be careful…these are not your nephews anymore. They are not to be trifled with.”

  “Da, I know.” Oleg held up a badly broken hand for an instant before Aleksei saw someone grab the wrist gently and pull it back down. “It will be miracle, doctor says, if I can ever write again. Ivan did this, and it looked like Dmitri enjoyed it, if you follow my meaning.”

  “God. Some things never change. When can I expect Anya and baby Ivan?” Aleksei asked, and Oleg, who was finishing his drink, shrugged slightly, then winced, leading Aleksei to believe he’d probably been injured in more places than his hand.

  “Within hour I am sure. You will receive delivery of fruit from South America. It is best cover I could come up with at such short notice, but should be sufficient since no one knows she left other than myself, my pilots and driver of truck. All men I trust.” Oleg looked around. “I have to go, someone is at door…”

  “Take care, Oleg.” Aleksei closed the program and then his laptop in just enough time to hear soft feet slipping past his office door, headed towards the room he shared with Yuri. Standing and squaring his shoulders, Aleksei marched from the office and walked right up behind Yuri, shoving him into their room and then barricading the door. “We need to talk.” He said as Yuri turned and stared at him with wide, furious brown eyes, a dangerous glimmering in them that came mostly from his having been startled, but there was also something else there and Aleksei knew it all too well: Fear.

  Chapter 70

  Dmitri looked in the driver’s side wing-mirror of the van and cursed softly to himself; a whole lot of trouble was coming towards the parked vehicle, looking furious. Still, he couldn’t help but eye the way her clearly-fake tits jiggled in her low-cut pink shirt, as she stormed up to the van, and more specifically, the high heels on which she was teetering dangerously. How far had she walked, he wondered, because the house they were observing was the furthest on out on the point, ocean on one side, sound on the other. The nearest house was at least a quarter of a kilometer away if not more. Shrugging, he leered at her in the mirror, unable to stop smiling.

  She’d been harassing him for two days, as he sat waiting for Ivan to return so he could start his own shift, the night shift. This, he decided was the last time she would ever stick her overly-made-up nose in anyone’s business. His eyes finally flicked away from her fake boobs, though not without a fight, he was a man, after all, but then his interest wasn’t like that of a normal man, either. Her blabbing, cursing mouth turned him on and he could just imagine what it would be like to force something big in between those collagen-filled lips. Smirking at her, he watched as she drew even with the van, her pale blue eyes, which were surrounded by a ridiculous amount of pink and purple eye makeup, narrowed at his smirk.

  “You just don’t understand, do you? You can’t fucking park here. You can’t fucking be here.” She said, spitting her gum rudely against the side of the van, speaking in her sharp New Jersey accent in English, which was clearly her first language. “When my husband gets here next week he’ll make you fucking move.”

  “I have as much right to be here as anyone else, useless bitch. It’s a public street.” Dmitri shot back at her in fluent Spanish, testing her now to see if she understood. To his surprise, she understood him and switched over just as easily. “What if my van is broken down? Are you still going to harass me then?”

  “Ha! I don’t think so mister smart-ass. It drove in here just fine about an hour ago, I…I know the security guard at the gate. He told me you’ve been slipping him bills to let you in.” She smirked, seemingly proud of this knowledge. “I don’t know why he would be so stupid, it’s not like the homeowners association doesn’t pay him a fortune.”

  “I suppose anyone would tell you anything after you wrap those lips around their cock, yeah?” Dmitri said, coolly, well aware of the enormous shadow standing right behind the woman, smiling nastily, waiting for her answer. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the look of shocked outrage on her face, however fake it was. She wasn’t a very good actor, indeed, one of the worst he’d met so far.

  “What…I…What are you implying? That I…That…How dare you?!” She said, her hand going to her pocket. “Screw this, I know my husband won’t like it but…but…I’ll just call the cops.”

  “I cannot let you do that, I am afraid.” Dmitri said, dropping all pretense of Italian and speaking English with his strong Russian accent so that her mouth dropped open and she stared at him, confused. He pushed the van door open as if he meant to hit her with it, which had just the effect he desired. She stumbled back to avoid the door hitting her, losing her balance on the unsteady high-heeled shoes. In doing so, she fell right back against Ivan, who immediately wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth. He pinched off her nose as well, when she struggled and squealed, and held her until she blacked out from lack of oxygen. After that, it was simple enough to carry her petite frame to the back of the van and, after making sure no one was looking, climb in back with her. “I get first ride.” Dmitri called out, almost gleefully.

  “Da, sure you do. Is your collar.” Ivan replied, watching as their cap
tive slowly regained consciousness and began to realize she was being kidnapped. She opened her mouth to scream but found that difficult to do as he had the barrel of his .45 between her perfectly white teeth in an instant. “Shh, we cannot have you screaming and alerting man at gate. He rather seems to like your mouth and I wouldn’t want to have to blow those pretty teeth out and disappoint him, hm?”

  Her eyes glared daggers at him, but she remained quiet until they were well past the guard shack and Ivan lowered the gun. “You…you fucking idiots are dead men, you know that, right? My husband…”

  “Da, we know, your husband is Mafia. What is your point?’ Ivan said, pulling a bottled water from a small fridge unit in the back. She looked at it almost hopefully and he smirked. “What are you willing to do for drink of water, I wonder?”

  “Not much.” She spat, and Ivan shrugged.

  “You will change your mind after a couple days with nothing but…us…to drink.” He watched her face pale slightly, but then she seemed to fight off the fear. Slumping back, she crossed her arms and stared at the floor and his heavy, dusty but well-maintained black combat boots. The van took two lefts and then a right, bumping down the dusty service road where they had been staying in a forgotten military bunker since their arrival in Italy. One of the many left-over hiding spots from the war, only a few knew about it and one just happened to be Ivan. As it had been his hiding spot on several occasions. Though he couldn’t seem to remember when or why he had hidden here.

  The woman came out of the van screaming for help at the top of her screechy voice, but they were unconcerned, shoving her towards the doors that concealed the bunker. She fell once, getting dirt all over her expensive white denim pants and nearly breaking the high-heel of her shoe. Dmitri grimaced, he had a bit of a foot-thing, especially when those feet were in high-heels. After that, he scooped her up over his shoulder and carried her down into the bunker, straight into a completely blacked out room where, without turning on a light, he managed to put a collar on her. “Now, my counterpart and I have not eaten since yesterday. Once we have…you will then find out what is like to wish for death.”