by Mac Fortner
I laughed, “Hurry.”
She knocked on my door ten minutes later. I answered it two seconds later.
“You are in a hurry,” she said.
“I was just missing you a bit. Now that you’re here I can relax a little. I have Champaign and snacks.”
We sat on my private balcony, ate and drank. The view from the balcony was as good if not better than the one from the rooftop. The chase lounge with a pretty girl leaning on me didn’t hurt anything either.
“Did you have a rough day at work?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, a little. Looks like trouble brewing.”
“Anything serious?”
“Could be. We intercepted a message to a Russian assassin. He’s been summoned to New York.”
“Do ya think you’ll have a chance to get him?”
“It doesn’t look good. We’ve never seen him. He’s always in and out before we even know what happened.”
“Do you know who his target is?”
“No, but we’ll find out soon enough. He always leaves his calling card somewhere where we can find it.”
“That’s gutsy. What kind of card?”
“Just a calling card that says–BLOODSHOT.”
“Sounds like a nice guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Well let’s just relax for now and enjoy this beautiful warm spring weather.”
We kissed softly and then harder.
“Are you ready for some dessert?” I asked.
“What do you have in mind?”
I took my shirt off.
~***~
The next morning we showered and dressed for work. Robin leaves clean clothes here for just such occasions.
“I’ll see you tonight?” I offered, not knowing if she was going to be busy.
“I hope so. I’ll have to call you later, but I think I’ll get free. Bloodshot isn’t coming for a month according to the message.”
We kissed and left the apartment. We kissed again as I put her in a cab and then I hailed my own.
~***~
Chad was in an extra good mood this morning. I guess he does love her. I hope they are happy.
“Good morning ole’ chap,” he said sticking his head in my office.
“Good morning.”
“How about lunch today? Your choice.”
“Sure. I’m buying,” I said.
“Oh oh, that means the hotdog stand.”
“You can have anything you want. Even a soda.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ve got to go to court this morning for about an hour. I’ll see you around noon.”
“See ya then.”
I had a stack of paperwork on my desk that just seemed to keep growing. I wondered why I wanted my license to practice law back. I don’t really enjoy the work. Not here anyway, just sitting at a desk. However, I did enjoy it in Key West. I guess that’s what I have to stay focused on. Just biding my time. I started on the stack.
Chapter 8
Sitting in the Bull and Bear restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Andrei Gusarov slowly ate his prime rib as he took in the magnificent sight of the grand bar.
The mahogany bar was one of the top three in the world, and he always enjoyed its splendor when he dined here. He especially enjoyed the view of the young lady sitting at the bar.
His business in New York would not be in and out as it usually was. This time he had a very complicated mission. He was looking forward to the challenge. The next three weeks would be consumed by reconnaissance. He must learn the habits of his targets. Their schedules would be his schedule, one at a time until he was them. Coming to New York four weeks early would throw the Feds off. They won’t know when or where these events will take place. That is until afterward, and they find the card which simply says (BLOODSHOT).
Andrei finished his meal and ordered a bourbon on the rocks. He sipped it slowly, letting the fire of the alcohol burn his throat.
He rose and walked to the woman sitting at the bar.
“Beautiful isn’t it,” he said in a very slight Russian accent.
The woman turned toward him and smiled as she took in the features of the handsome gentleman.
“Yes,” she said, “Yes you are.”
Andrei pointed at the stool next to her.
“Please do,” she said.
Andrei sat down and said, “The bar, isn’t the bar beautiful?”
“Yes, I love it,” she said and giggled.
“My name is Demyan Minsky,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand.
“I’m Debra,” she said, placing her hand softly on his.
“May I buy you another?” he said, pointing at her almost empty glass.
“Sure, if you’ll join me.”
Andrei got the bartenders attention and raised two fingers.
“Are you visiting New York, or do you live here?” he asked.
“Visiting, and you?”
“Visiting,” he said.
Their drinks arrived, and they each took a taste.
“Perhaps you would like to join me in some sightseeing after our drinks,” he said.
“Perhaps.”
He stared into her eyes. “Green, you have beautiful green eyes.”
Debra blushed and said, “Thank you.”
They finished their drinks together, each setting the empty glasses down simultaneously.
“Shall we?” Andrei said, taking her hand.
She rose as did he, and they walked out of the restaurant together.
It was dark now, and a slight chill was in the air. He saw her shiver, so he placed his arm around her.
“Is that better?” he asked.
“Much,” she said.
They walked a few blocks and Andrei hailed a taxi.
“New York Hilton Midtown please,” Andrei said to the driver.
They arrived; Andrei paid the driver and gave an average tip. He didn’t want to stand out in the driver's mind.
Andrei led Debra to the elevator. She followed without protest, not even pretending to be naïve. She knew what he wanted. She wanted the same.
The room was rented to Adrian Boykov, an ID he possessed. One of many.
He opened the door to the room. It was quite magnificent.
“Nice,” she said. The first words she had spoken since they entered the hotel.
Andrei turned toward her and pushed her against the wall.
“Not so rough,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Fuck you bitch,” he said, letting his Russian accent slip into full dialect.
She tried to break his hold on her. He slapped her and kissed her violently. She squirmed, and a tear came to her eye. This pleased him.
“Are you frightened?” he said, an evil grin on his face.
“Let me go,” she screamed.
He pulled a knife from his pocket, touched the button on its side and let her watch as a six-inch blade snapped open. He placed it beneath her chin.
“Shut up bitch, or you’ll die.”
He reached down and pulled her dress up over her waist. Then he pulled her panties out and with the knife, cut them off.
He spun her around and pushed her against the wall again.
“Put your hands on the wall.”
“No,” she cried.
He spun her back around and slapped her hard across the face.
She fell to the floor crying. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back to her feet. As he spun her back toward the wall, she reached out and placed her hands on it.
“Better,” he said, an evil tone slipping into his voice.
He dropped his pants to the floor and roughly entered her from behind.
“You like that?” he asked breathlessly.
“Yes,” she cried. Tears had filled her eyes, and she was shaking violently.
Her reaction pleased him even more.
He finished with a hard thrust.
He turned her back around and kissed her long and
hard. Then he placed the knife on her throat. He pressed ever so slightly allowing the blade to penetrate until a small stream of blood trickled down her neck into her dress.
He leaned forward and licked the blood.
“You taste wonderful,” he said, blood on his lips.
She cried again, and he smiled.
Placing the knife under her eye, he whispered, “If you ever tell a soul about this I will cut out your eyes and eat them.”
He backed away from her, and she fell to the floor sobbing.
“Get up and clean yourself. That is not a good look on you,” and he laughed.
He walked to her purse which was lying on the floor where she had dropped it as they entered the room only five minutes ago. Pulling her wallet from the purse, he removed her driver's license and placed it in his pocket.
“Now I will always know where to find you. Just in case you decide to talk, or maybe if I want you again.”
She pushed her way to her feet trying to move her clothes back into place.
“The bathroom is down the hall on the right. Help yourself, please,” he said pointing in that direction.
When she returned from making herself as presentable as possible, he was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
“Goodnight Debra….” He paused and pulled her driver's license from his pocket and held it up to read. “Sorry, my mistake. Goodnight Donna Wilson. Thank you for a most passionate evening.”
She opened the door and left.
Chapter 9
Robin and I entered The Russian Tea Room. Chad and Alexis had arrived first. I told the hostess we were with them, pointing in their direction. She seated us at the table and took or drink order.
“You look lovely tonight,” I said to Alexis, and she did. She had cut her long, blond hair into a very stylish and more sophisticated look.
“Hello Cam, Robin,” she said.
“Robin, you also look quite lovely tonight,” Chad said, and she also did.
“Well aren’t we just two lucky guys,” I said.
“I always said that,” Chad said.
“Love the hair,” Robin said.
“Thank you; I thought it was time for a change.”
I guess the two of you have been busy preparing for the wedding,” Robin said to Alexis.
The wedding was now only five days away.
Alexis gave Chad a look. “I hope he’s more help once we’re married,” she said sarcastically.
“I’ve been busy at work honey. Someone has to make some money.”
That got a laugh from all of us. Alexis’s father forgave her little hiccup, telling her she would inherit her part of the fortune–about five hundred million–after the wedding. I wondered if that was the reason for the rush of the nuptials. The contract also stipulated that she had to stay married and faithful for ten years. Anything short of that would result in the return of the money to the family trust.
“We could always move in with Cam. He’s just rattling around in that big old apartment alone,” Chad said.
“I keep him from getting lonesome,” Robin said.
The waitress took our food order, and we made small talk for a while. Another round of drinks was delivered to our table.
“I didn’t know we ordered these,” I said.
“They were sent over by the gentleman at the bar,” the waitress said, turning to the bar. “Well, he was at the bar. He’s gone now.”
“What did he look like?” Chad asked.
“Tall, handsome, had a slight Russian accent.”
“I guess that makes sense. We are in The Russian Tea Room, but no idea who that was,” I said.
“Me either,” said Chad. “Thank you, whoever you are.”
We all held our glasses up in a toast and drank.
“So, what are you two young ladies doing tomorrow night, while I take Chad out to bid farewell to the single life?” I said.
“We have plans of our own, to do the same,” Alexis said.
“Well enjoy and be safe.”
“Maybe we should just all go out together,” Robin said.
This got comments from everyone.
“Just a thought,” she said. “I bet I scared you, didn’t I,” and laughed.
We ended the evening in Alexis’s apartment at The Plaza. Although it was only slightly more extravagant than my own, I knew her apartment went for around $6,500 a square foot.
Robin spent the night at my place again. I wondered if we were getting too serious too fast. A few hours later, I had no qualms about it. We were moving along, just right.
Chapter 10
The next day after work Chad came to my apartment at five o’clock. We had a drink and talked about the day.
“You get anywhere on the Kindle case?” I asked him.
“The man is as guilty as they come, but I think I can get him off on a technicality.”
“Really. The D.A. isn’t going to like that.”
“Yeah I know, and neither do I, but they didn’t Mirandize him. He robbed a store with a squirt gun. When the cops caught him outside, he gave them the gun. They were laughing so hard they forgot to Mirandize him. They started to, but then kept making wisecracks instead and didn’t finish.”
“Well, you gotta’ do what you gotta’ do.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you ready for your big night?” I asked him.
“I guess so. Who’s joining us?”
“Can’t tell ya. It’s a surprise.”
“Alright then, let’s get this over.”
We finished our drinks and stood.
“Are we having strippers?”
“Can’t tell ya.”
We took the elevator to the lobby.
“Let’s go to the bar and see if Robert is waiting for us.”
“My brother Robert? You invited him?”
“Of course. What’s wrong with that?”
“I haven’t heard from him for almost a year.”
“He said he’d love to come.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. It’ll be good to see him.”
We entered the bar to the deafening sound of SURPRISE. It looked as though everyone showed.
Fifteen of his college fraternity brothers, eight colleagues from the firm, and five friends from his apartment building and his brother.
“Shit man, you know how to throw a party,” he said, turning to me. “You really got me.”
Robert was standing in front of the crowd, holding his drink up in a salute, he said, “Hey bro, congratulations.”
“Robert,” Chad said and stepped toward him.
They hugged a long brotherly hug. I was glad I had found him and asked him to come.
“Where have you been?” Chad asked.
“Vietnam.”
“Vietnam?”
“Yeah. It’s a beautiful country. I went with Johnny. You remember him, don’t ya?”
“Johnny Craddock?”
“Yeah. Anyway, we went for a vacation. I fell in love with the country and a little lady, so I decided to stay for a while.”
“You’re going to have to catch me up on that.”
“I will, later. Tonight you just concentrate on partying.”
“I’ll try.”
We rented two limos and hit various bars around New York. When the tour was over, we came back to my building where we had a private room for the evening.
Chad was lost in old stories from his college days. The same stories which have been told numerous times, but always seemed to grow in substance every time until they were now actually, just lies, with his brother swearing every story was the truth.
I took a head count near the end of the night, just in case Chad asked how many were there. I came up with thirty. I know there were twenty-nine invited and accepted. I figured one of the guys brought another friend with them. No big deal.
Around two A.M. the party broke up. It was a nice gathering. No trouble, no women, other than the waitress who was a real knock-ou
t. I did see a few men following her around, but this wasn’t her first rodeo.
After we had bid the last man goodnight, we went back upstairs to my apartment. Chad decided to spend the night there since it was so late and he was a little inebriated.
“Thanks, Cam. You went above and beyond the call of duty.”
“Your welcome. You have a very nice group of friends.”
“So do you.”
“I know.”
“Where did you know the gentleman with the Russian accent from?” he asked me.
“I didn’t know him. I think one of your friends from the apartment building brought him.”
“Probably so.”
“Would you like a nightcap?” I offered, “Or do you think you can sleep? You know you only have three days left to party.”
“Good night,” is all he said and went down the hall to the spare room.
Chapter 11
Andrei Gusarov returned to his hotel room around midnight, leaving the party early. He didn’t want to be there for the goodnight handshakes.
Tomorrow he thought he would drive to Washington DC and leave a card. That would draw Robin Anderson to DC and away from the wedding. They would know he had slipped past them and that he was working in Washington DC, which he wasn’t.
“They are so stupid. I love teasing them,” he said aloud in his empty room.
~***~
Early the next morning I left the apartment taking the elevator to the first floor, leaving the building, and hailed a taxi. I told the driver to take me to Alfie’s Bagel Stand next to the Hilton.
As I was nearing the Hilton, I saw the Russian man from the party last night walking to the curb carrying a suitcase, hailing a taxi.
As luck would have it, it was my taxi he hailed.
“Hello,” I said as I exited the cab.
He turned toward me, and a strange look came over his face. Was it shock or fear or just surprise to see someone he knew this early in the morning?
I took the brief pause to take in his features. He was tall, maybe six-three, not quite as tall or muscular, as my six-foot-four, two-hundred-thirty-pound frame. He had a strong jaw, unusually blue eyes, and short blond hair. His nose had a slight jog in it. Maybe from a fight. I would hate to see the other guy. He was built very solid.