by Pam Uphoff
But having a Councilor mad at Axel, and thus even more likely to confiscate everything His Lordship owned is not good. In fact, it's a bit unnerving.
Especially if they go after Axel.
She popped up to Axel's apartment . . . no one home . . . then up to the cramped attic space under the eaves of the fourth floor.
Pauli was there, and looked around, unsurprised.
"Pauli . . . what if they go after Axel? Or claim ownership of everything Lord Vladimir owned at his death? I . . . was wondering if you could, like, shift the date of our sale back before that? No?"
"T-too m-many witnesses, all the b-bank people who know we're the f-fee for the work done. Th-the best I can do is get into the R-registry and switch our numbers with other people's, and ch-change our histories. We could disappear."
"You could give us a new owner. Maybe that Lord Artemey who owns AIV Enterprises?"
"Hmm . . . if they dig d-deep enough . . . I'll m-m-make an all new identity f-for an owner." He grinned. "D-do y-you w-want to ch-change your n-name?"
"Oooo!"
"Tasha Ranger?"
She brightened. "Ranger, from my Grandmother, who was a Native of some English Speaking World. But who owns us? Some eccentric millionaire? Better have a Russian Family name."
Pauli snickered. "Ign-natov. A G-german name would b-be all right, too. V-von Richter?"
"Ignatov's funnier. But maybe a common German name? NOT Axel. How about Max?"
"M-max Ign-natov. I l-like it." Pauli grinned. "H-he's a-an eccentric . . ."
"Artist!" Natasha grinned. "I wonder if Lord Axel can paint?"
The snickering Pauli turned back to his computers.
"And when you're done, maybe you should take all this equipment to the warehouse too?"
Pauli shrugged, already deep into hacking who knew what government files.
Natasha slipped back out. Pulled out her phone and didn't read the message again. I have no idea how to respond to a policeman who sounds like this is a date, not an investigation.
She looked down at her white shirt and black pants. And I swap to black dress with white apron when I want to look like a maid. I’ve got an awesomely professional looking outfit, for when I'm being an Executive Secretary.
And that dress I've never dared wear where a lecherous Lord might see me. Which is to say, never.
She swallowed and tapped in an acceptance.
Oh. My. This is my first real date.
And he's so handsome.
Oh. My.
***
She hustled around, helping with the slow clean up in the disaster area of His Lordship's office. It’s been almost three months. The debris is clear in the Grand Hall, but we’ve sort of treated his Lordship’s office like it was still forbidden to go there without explicit permission from his Lordship or . . . I wonder what really happened to Mr. Solovsky? I'm beginning to realize that Lord Axel is a very good liar.
She checked the time, and dumped the latest collection of glass splinters and headed upstairs. A shower, blow dry the hair . . . She looked at the makeup in dismay.
"I don't actually know much about makeup."
Aliona laughed, putting curlers in her golden blonde hair. "You don't need much with that beautiful complexion! Look, I'll be right back."
And she was, with a huge tool kit. "For you, stroke a tiny bit of pink over your cheekbones and up and back into your hair line. A touch of blue on your eyelids. A touch of pink on your lips. Period. No. More."
Then she helped get Natasha’s hair braided and pinned up in a bun.
Whistled at the sleek blue spaghetti strapped sheath. "Don't scare him away . . . Good God! Natasha! Are you dating a Lord?"
"He's not . . . I mean, he is, but he's working class, not like, you know . . ."
Aliona snickered. "The Vinogradovs?"
"Axel's not like that."
"Yeah, boy, did I ever get turned down flat when I tried to get cozy."
Natasha nodded. "He says he'd never let Lord Vladimir have a child of his to punish him through."
"Oh! That's . . . a horrible thought . . . I never thought. . ." a sudden wicked grin. "Maybe I should try again."
Natasha rolled her eyes. Slid into the dress, and the black flats that were the only "dressy" shoes she owned, and headed out to where she could watch for Vlad without being seen by anyone she didn't want to meet.
Spotted the red sedan and ducked back and down the servant's stairs, a quick peek, no one in the grand hall, so she nipped out to meet him. Luscious in a suit.
He stopped dead and stared. "You look fantastic . . . and cold."
She snorted. "And ruin the effect all bundled up?"
He just grinned and opened the car door for her.
Wow . . . I mean, a real date! He really did ask me out on a real date!
A movie at a big expensive theater. A fancy dinner. Then coffee, and talking about everything. Anything. Family, friends, enemies, education, politics . . .
It was one in the morning before he drove her back to Vinogradov House, and walked her in. Everything was quiet and dark, only the yawning doorman to be seen.
A goodnight kiss, and what she wouldn't have given to have a private bedroom to haul him off to. But she didn't, and went off to slip quietly into the room she shared with her mother and little sister.
I wonder if Mother and Nika are on the list of servants the Ladies want to sell to Lord Axel? That would make a government grab a bit less worrisome. For me. The guys all have family too. And we have friends, neighbors, people we've known all our lives.
I wonder where Axel took Old Fedya and his trees?
***
After the second comment about finally getting laid, Vlad got his grin under control.
Because it had been a great date, and topped off with a kiss, but he wasn't fool enough to try and get a girl into bed on the first date.
Not that I didn't wish I lived alone, or she did, but . . .
But dammit, she's property and even though she felt free to date . . . it took her awhile to answer . . . did she go ask Axel?
He kicked himself mentally. And if she'd been a legitimate daughter of the Family, I'd have started by asking her father if I could date his daughter and probably been shown the door. Unless Axel was her father, in which case . . . I don't know.
But it had been a great date.
Chapter Twenty-nine
House and Family
Sunday, March 3, 3739
Petrov was incandescent with rage over having been kept waiting. Bitched about the lack of progress on the repairs.
"Lord Yuri, if we were doing this conventionally, we'd have barely gotten in the bids. We've got the front fixed. My next priority is to remove the third floor panels and get them into place. Then the doors.
"Depending on my energy levels after that work, I'll continue to work on the paneling a little bit every day. While this is underway, I need to recruit people to look at a lot of the furniture in storage. We may move some of the most damaged pieces, and replace them with others."
"This, this irreplaceable piece of history, and you treat it so cavalierly! A battle ground! How could you!"
"Not my choice. Take it up with Budapest Reborn, or go down to the morgue and kick Vladimir Vinogradov's cold carcass, it was his power play that started the whole sequence of attacks."
Petrov practically inflated, huffing indignantly. He turned and stalked out without another word.
Axel growled himself and fixed a few more holes. I have higher priorities, right now. Once I've got some precautions in place, I'll save my energy for levitating heavy panels of antique glass down from the third floor without dropping them.
Then he checked his email at "The Recovery Center." Daily reports from Mr. Solovsky, amounting to a steady success rate with the seven day treatment. "Not just the dissolving of the Zivvy, but overall health and energy levels are improved. Even appearance. The test subjects look about ten years younger than their cal
endar age. Even Bruno." And asking if he’d found out if the treatment had rejuv properties. The last report had a note hoping Axel was expecting Old Fedya to plant an orchard, because it was progressing daily as the old man's energy levels jumped.
He sent back, "Have only identified half the impressions in the mixture. But skin tightening is one that I spotted. So I suspect it's only cosmetic. And an orchard is a good thing."
And I never thought I’d be glad that nothing’s happening, security-wise, and I’m getting nice boring assignments that leave me plenty of time to think and plan.
***
"We haven't even buried Father, yet!" Nikoli looked around at Axel. "Can't you get your buddies to release the body?"
"Yeah, it's not like there's going to be an official lying in state at the Council Hall!" Andre glanced at the kids, who didn't appear to be paying any attention. "Just a private ceremony and put him in the ground beside Mother."
The ladies nodded.
"I'll talk to someone." Axel promised.
Two days later they buried his much disliked uncle in the family plot at the back of the estate grounds. No fanfare or public notice for the traitor. A flat stone with name and dates.
"In a few years we may want to put up something better. For now, this will do." A bit to his surprise, his cousins nodded.
Then Axel took the Rangers out two weekends in a row to their favorite camping spot for shooting and knife throwing practice.
Chapter Thirty
Family Get Togethers
Friday, March 22, 3739
Natasha swallowed nervously. "Dinner with your family? I . . . sure. I mean I've already met them all, so being brought along like a date is no big deal. Right?" She heard the nervous squeak in her voice at that last and mentally kicked herself.
He grinned back. "Right. Just because I've never brought a girl home to meet them . . ."
"Never?" She refrained from grabbing the armrest as Vlad took a corner at speed.
Just because he drives this nice little sedan instead of a big wallowing limo is no reason to act like he's racing around corners!
I wonder if I could drive like this?
"Not seriously, or for years at all. Has anyone ever warned you that policemen work horrible hours, for lousy pay, occasionally get injured or killed?"
"No . . . has anyone ever warned you that an Exec owns nothing, is paid nothing and is owned?"
"Not warned, but I was aware that there could be legal problems."
"Not so long as Axel doesn't get himself killed. Ugh. I wonder who'd inherit me? He's pretty short on relatives. And they'd want cold hard cash." She scowled.
I need to look into those shell companies Pauli's creating. And I have spending authority. And aliases. A male alias . . . maybe I could buy myself. Or at least have the company as my registered owner and the male alias own the company . . .
"I'm gainfully employed. I could get a loan from the bank."
She flashed a grin at him. "I suspect that as long as Axel doesn't do something stupid, that won't be necessary."
And in fact, Axel was there. Dina, Vlad's nice little sister, was sitting on the floor going through a box of books, grinning like mad.
Axel was kicked back at the dining room table, beer in hand talking to Mitty, Vlad's dad, who was a retired policeman.
Ky, Lady Kysusha, waved from the kitchen, "Natasha! Good to see you again."
". . . negotiated a deal with the Fairgrounds commission to lease the grounds for six months, starting right after the Fall Festival." Axel nodded to Vlad.
Mitty growled. "These bloody idiots! Don't they have any sense at all! A mutual defense treaty with Stuttgart! And they're going to move a few hundred troops here! To 'protect us' from the Budapest Reborn troops."
Vlad scowled. "That's not good. In as much as we've only got about sixty troops—the Fast Response Teams. And what, fifteen hundred police?"
"Including the clerks and the bureaucrats."
Vlad huffed out a breath. "No offense to the Council, but I really don't like the idea of even a friendly foreign army on the ground here."
Axel and Mitty both nodded.
Mitty added. "The police will have them beat manpower-wise, but what equipment will they be bringing?"
"The Teams will be watching that carefully. The . . . jurisdiction and authority for this is a bit wobbly. It's been over a century since the Research Center had a serious disagreement with the civilian government. Some people Up Top are not pleased with the situation. But so long as the troops they bring in behave responsibly, like we're their people that they are protecting . . . I don't think they'll overrule the Council."
Natasha had stopped to listen halfway to the kitchen to listen. "Do they still have that power?"
"In theory, legally, they can evict anyone on the world except the descendants of the Siberia Max Research Association Members. Individually or en masse. It wouldn't be pretty. I doubt more than a quarter of the Councilors have founder ancestors." Axel grinned. "Although rounding up and evicting three-fourths of the Council would be fun."
Mitty snorted. "You could sell tickets."
Axel laughing. "You think? I'll suggest it, should the matter ever come up."
Natasha caught movement in the corner of her eye, Dina picking up the books, and then grabbing the box and heading upstairs. Reverting to shy speechlessness with too many people around? But I'm not really a stranger.
Ky sighed. "Why do those Worlds want to invade us?
Axel looked around. "I am . . . increasingly wondering who is in control, at Home. The 300 have reportedly been hit hard by the Plague, which means the Office of the Inquisition has probably also lost many of its top people. The Alliance level bureaucracy may be running everything, at this point. The Inquisitors and Executioners were how that bureaucracy was kept in line. Now they may be gathering power, and indifferent to what is going on, several tiers out."
Vlad winced. "And we're playing footsie with a Tier Two World?"
Natasha winced. "And once they have troops on the ground . . ."
Axel nodded. "They can do anything they want, and we'll have trouble stopping them." His eyes tracked beyond her, eyes brightening.
Dina popped around the corner. Hair combed, a pretty blouse, slim pants that showed off her long legs . . .
Oh My God! She's . . . suddenly, deliberately dressing up . . . because there's another young woman in the house and even though I'm with Vlad, I'm still competition.
Oh, girl! The way he instantly noticed you and brightened up? Even if I weren't an illegitimate cousin of some degree . . . You'd win.
Vlad nodded. "We've got all summer to see exactly what's happening, and hopefully hear from the outside about the state of the 300."
Mitty grunted. "And what are you going to be doing all summer, Lord Axel?"
"Who Knows? At least we've almost finished the repairs to Vinogradov House. Well, the Great Hall's done, there's still work back out of the public areas."
Natasha nodded. "Not that that's shut the Historical Society up! The way they carry on you'd think they thought Lord Axel was planning another gunfight there!"
Axel smiled ruefully while Vlad and Mitty laughed. Natasha and Dina got put to work setting the table and Ky brought out a beautiful roast, with potatoes and carrots, rolls hot from the oven, tons of butter, and a good time was had by all.
"And really, if you want to see the place, Natasha and I can give you the special tour." Axel grinned at Mitty, "Including the locales of your son's world saving daring escapades."
Natasha snickered at Vlad's wince, and the tour arranged for the day after tomorrow, his next day off.
***
Natasha chewed a knuckle and refrained from dashing right out as the red sedan pulled up to the front of the house.
Issay and Yuli darted out to open the car doors for them, Sofron and Valya pulling open the big front doors.
Then she followed Axel out to greet them.
Mit
ty looked around the Great Hall and shook his head. "I probably ought to be polite and not say anything about your electric bills."
Axel laughed.
"Dad!" Dina turned and looked back. "Oh. Wow!" The view of the massif, framed in the fancy glasswork . . .
A supercilious snort.
Natasha tossed a panicked glance over her shoulder. Both of the Ladies. This is going to get painful.
"The sunsets must be spectacular!" Dina was all bright-eyed and happy.
Lady Anastaciya looked down her nose. "Indeed."
Dina glanced up the stairs to the right. "And better from up there?"
"Feel free to go take a look." She tossed a sneer at Axel. "Of course you haven't fixed the bullet holes on the stairs yet, have you?" She turned to watch Dina stopping at the top of the stairs.
"Amazing!" The girl's voice echoed slightly. "What a shame they extended the floor all the way to the front wall. If you had a big room here, with a balcony," she waved across to the other wing, "like that, the view . . ."
Lady Anastaciya blinked, then turned and climbed the steps herself. Stood looking over the stair rail, then up . . . "Yes . . . it would . . . the way the building was constructed . . ."
Lady Veronika boggled, and headed for the stairs.
Vlad's Mom gulped and followed.
"You could take these slabs out, couldn't you?" Dina took the last steps and looked around. "You could open up as large a space as you wanted," A wave upwards, "even to opening up . . ."
"It would be amazing!" Anastaciya sounded astonished.
And Ky, joining in, "Perhaps a set back balcony on the third floor . . . spiral stairs up . . . Of course you might not want to give up the square footage up there . . ."
And Lady Veronika laughing. "There's only eleven of us! Right now both families use less than half of two levels, on the other side of the house. This whole side of the house has been Lord Vladimir's solitary domain for decades."