by Allan Cole
“I like that idea,” Davyd said without hesitation.
“Why am I not surprised to hear that?” Vlad called out to the unseen Davyd. “If I were so stupid as to agree, I’d have to allow you to leave the Borodino. Russian territory. Under Russian law. Which would make me a traitor.
“Besides, I know you are lying to Tanya. As soon as you’re away, you’ll either flee to some prearranged rendezvous point, or turn back and try to kill me.”
Tanya looked at Davyd. “Are you lying?” she asked.
Davyd started to give a smart answer and lie through his teeth.
Tanya held up a hand. “Please say you’re not! And mean it.”
Davyd hesitated a long moment, then, solemn, “I swear,” he said. Then, “On my … feelings … for you.”
Tanya knew he spoke the truth. “Thank you,” she said.
Davyd smiled gently. “My name’s Davyd, by the way.”
Tanya blushed, although she didn’t know why. “Thank you, Davyd,” she murmured.
Then to Vlad, “You see. He’s not lying.”
“He’s not lying, Vlad,” the Russian corrected with a grin.
“What?” Tanya was puzzled.
Vlad tapped his chest. “Vlad. That’s me.”
Tanya was tormented by another unwanted blush. She nodded to cover embarrassment.
“Vlad,” she said softly. “Vlad.”
He smiled, loving the sound of her voice saying his name. Then he frowned. “We still have a great problem,” he said. “I can’t allow … Davyd … to escape the Borodino. That would be in violation of all orders. Gross negligence of the worst kind.
“At the very least they’d courtmartial me. More likely, they wouldn’t wait for such official pleasantries. I’d be executed on the spot.”
He sighed. “So you see, I can’t allow him to escape.”
Tanya laughed, a most pleasant sound, Vlad thought. “He already has,” she said.
The Russian’s eyes widened in realization. He bolted toward the room, a blur of motion, brushing past her with ease.
He gaped about the room— empty, except for the sleeping Billy. Then he saw the open vent cover that Davyd had slipped through.
Vlad turned to rush out and track him down but was brought up short by Tanya, who barred the way with outstretched arms.
“Let him go!” she pleaded.
Vlad took her arm, meaning to pull her aside. But the feel of her soft flesh and smell of her sweet perfume made him hesitate.
“Please,” Tanya begged. “For me.”
His hand dropped away. “He’s lying,” Vlad said, hoarse. “I’m sure of it.”
“I don’t think so,” Tanya said, firm.
Now it was her turn to take Vlad’s arm. He flinched at her touch. Startled anew at the intensity of his feelings for her.
“Let’s go to the Stardove,” she said. “Davyd will be waiting for us. You’ll see.”
She tugged gently at his arm and after a long moment Vlad said, “All right, Tanya. I’ll go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
When Davyd and Vlad finally met face-to-face the blast of recognition rocked them to the core. Their super-charged instinct to kill— already partly disarmed by Tanya’s spell— vanished entirely as each gaped at the other.
“You’re Bush!” Davyd blurted.
Vlad nodded. “And you’re Putin!” he marveled.
“Guilty!” Davyd said.
“I thought you were dead,” Vlad said.
“Same here,” Davyd said. Then he laughed. “Guess we’re not.”
An amazed Tanya was desperately trying to follow the exchange, head going back-and-forth as if it were a tennis match. She hadn’t known what to expect when she’d led Vlad into the Stardove’s passenger lounge where Davyd had been waiting.
Feeling as if at any moment she could be caught in the middle of a fire-fight, she’d gingerly entered the lounge— Vlad a few steps behind her.
Tanya could sense Vlad coiling like a razorwire spring as Davyd came to his feet, then the tension eased somewhat when Davyd raised his hands to show he was weaponless. Vlad did the same. It was then that the two men had truly looked at each other.
Their reactions plunged Tanya into confusion.
“Putin?” she broke in. “Bush? I thought you were Vlad and Davyd!”
Davyd and Vlad exchanged secretive looks.
“We are,” Davyd said.
“Then let me in on the joke, guys!” Tanya demanded.
Vlad sighed. “It really isn’t much of a joke, Tanya,” he said. “And it would be better if you didn’t know more.”
“You said that before!” Tanya snapped. She was getting irritated by what she thought of as small boy games.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” she continued. “What do the names Bush and Putin have in common? First, there were two famous political leaders with those names about a thousand years ago. One was president of America. The other the Russia. Right, so far?”
Neither man said anything.
“Won’t talk, huh?” Tanya said. “Fine, we’ll go into the second similarity. Which is that both of those men were assassinated.”
Becoming interested in her own train of thought, Tanya scratched her tawny head. “On the same day, if I recall.”
Another head scratch. Eyes widening. “Now, I remember! For a minute there I thought I was going to shame my old history professor. They were both killed at some kind of big ceremony.
“At the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Athens. In the year 2004— of that I’m certain. August 13, 2004. The day the whole world changed forever. And also the last time the Olympics were ever held.
”My professor said that Bush and Putin wanted to present a united front against all the terrorism that was going on all over the world. Gruesome attacks on New York and Moscow and other places as well. All aimed at destabilizing the peace between the U.S. and Russia.
“So they made a joint appearance at the Games. But then they were both assassinated. Nobody knows why, but there sure wasn’t any chance for peace after that.”
She frowned in thought. Then said, “Hell, now that I think of it, my old professor said the assassinations were the main cause of the Second Cold War. The one we still seem stuck in after a thousand years.”
A long pause, then Davyd cleared his throat. “Thanks for the history lesson, Tanya,” he said.
Vlad grimaced. “Quite enlightening,” he said.
“It’s more than just a damned history lesson!” Tanya snapped. “From that day forward, magic started taking the place of natural physics. And as far as I’m concerned the whole world went straight to Hell!”
Tanya flushed, as she realized she’d lost her temper. Her only excuse was her extreme sensitivity to the subject of magic versus natural physics. Damn, but it was the real reason she’d remembered such details of an event that had taken place so long ago, never mind her revered “old professor.”
Calming herself, she examined the two men. Their faces were blank. Giving nothing away.
“You’re still not talking?” Tanya said. “Even though you both know I’m on the right track?” Neither man answered. Stone faced to the end. She sighed, accepting momentary defeat. “Answer this, then. Obviously the two of you have met before. Right?”
“That we have,” Davyd said, suddenly brightening.
“At a sporting engagement,” Vlad added, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips.
“Why do I find that hard to believe?” Tanya said sarcastically.
“But it’s true,” Davyd insisted.
Another uncomfortable silence— broken by Tanya. “Well? Tell me the rest. Or, at least flesh out the story a little more.”
“It was a draw,” Davyd said. “The athletic contest, I mean. We were supposed to compete against each other again … but things … just didn’t work out.”
Tanya made motions for more. “And? And?”
“I don’t think it would be wise to g
o into any more detail, Tanya,” Vlad said. “We’ve both stretched the rules as far as we can. Well past that point, actually.”
“I should have killed him on the Borodino,” Davyd said, pointing at Vlad. “I broke that rule entirely.”
Vlad’s face darkened. “You’ll have your chance soon enough,” he said to Davyd. “The moment this truce ends.”
“Which is when I say it ends, correct?” Tanya said. A long hesitation. She gritted her teeth in frustration. “Correct?”
Finally, both men nodded. Davyd sank back into his seat. Vlad settled into a lounge chair across from him.
“Tell us your proposal, please,” Vlad said to Tanya.
“Damn, this had better be good!” Davyd said. “Or there is going to be a whole lot of hell to pay.”
Tanya snorted. “Hell would be a Walk On The Mild Side, compared to what’s going to happen if we don’t get to the bottom of this business.”
“If that were not the case, Tanya,” Vlad said, “there would be no reason for this truce.”
Davyd laughed. “Speak for yourself, friend!” he said.
He cast glowing eyes on Tanya. “No offense, Tanya,” he said, “but I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit up front that I when I saw you, professionalism flew out the window.
“This is personal. Real personal.”
Vlad grimaced. “Moving rather quickly, aren’t you, my friend?” he said to Davyd. “But then Amers always did lack style.”
Davyd shrugged. “I didn’t think there’d be another chance to say it,” he replied.
He gave Tanya a sad look. “At least you know my mind,” he said.
“In that case,” Vlad broke in, “perhaps I should also tell you, Tanya, that —”
“Enough!” Tanya commanded, cutting him off. “Are you two crazy? Have we suddenly taken a time trip back to high school? Two murderous boys trying to impress the girl.
“My female friends would never believe it. The ultimate illustration of Guydom. Brain eaten through by rampant testosterone.
“I mean, Jesus Christ, they are about to blow up the damned galaxy and you two are fighting over who gets to take me to the dance!”
Davyd chuckled. “What can I say? I guess I don’t get out much!”
“Is the reason so important, Tanya?” Vlad asked. “You have our attention. Our serious attention. Does it matter so much that being a most remarkable woman didn’t hurt?”
Tanya bit back an angry retort. Now was not the time to give these men a lesson in women’s equality. At the same time a part of her could not deny that she was powerfully attracted to both of them.
My God! she thought. You must be losing your mind, Tanya Lawson!
She said, “I’ll take what I can get. And the first thing I want is to continue this truce indefinitely.”
“Impossible,” Vlad said.
“Why don’t we wait and hear her out?” Davyd said. “Then decide.”
Vlad thought for a moment, then said, “All right, Tanya. We’ve come this far. I’ll listen.”
Tanya started pacing between them, the two men in rapt attention, following her with their eyes.
“Here’s how I see it,” Tanya said. “When I started on this case, I thought there could only be four explanations for what had happened.
“First: the HolidayOne really was a military ship disguised as a liner.”
“Not a chance,” Davyd said. “My investigation has already eliminated that possibility.”
“You view things more strongly, perhaps,” Vlad said, “but essentially I agree.”
“Good start!” Tanya said. “The three of us agree on at least one thing. Now, let’s go on.
“The second explanation was that the Borodino purposely fired on a civilian liner.”
“Absolutely not!” Vlad said, firm. “Mother Russia does not make war on civilians.”
“Give me a break,” Davyd said. “You hit civilians all the time. So do we. Just not a whole damned space liner. He shook his head. “Honeymoon Special! Jesus Christ, how low can you go?”
Tanya fixed Davyd with a penetrating look. “Do you really believe that?” she said. “Do you really think the Russians want to be cursed in every outpost of the Galaxy?”
Davyd shook his head. “Who can say what possesses the Devil?”
“We both know all about devils, don’t we, Davyd?” Vlad murmured. “Hmm?”
Davyd gave a weary sigh. “Okay. Gotcha, pal. And maybe you’re right and it didn’t happen that way. From the information I’ve already gathered it’s becoming a dimmer possibility.”
Then his head bulled forward. “But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t gross incompetence,” he snarled. “Criminal stupidity!”
Before Vlad could respond in kind, Tanya said, “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s stick to taking this point by point.”
She didn’t wait for agreement but went on. “I don’t think the Borodino purposefully fired on the ship, knowing it was a liner. The tapes pretty well prove that. But it still could have been an accident, due to incompetence.”
Vlad gave a grudging nod. “I have yet to eliminate that possibility,” he said. “Although it will be more difficult to rule it out completely now that Igor Dolgov is dead.”
The name stopped Tanya in her tracks. Her face paled, remembering the incident.
Davyd frowned, suspicious. “The firing officer’s dead?” he growled. “That’d kind of handy, isn’t it.”
“Suicide,” Vlad said.
Davyd gave a cynical laugh. “Sure it was,” he said. “Probably shot himself four or five times in the back of the head.”
“It wasn’t like that!” Tanya snapped.
Davyd looked up at her, startled at the anguish in her face.
“I saw him do it!” she said.
She paused, getting herself together. “The fact is,” she continued, voice calm and professional, “I probably caused it. Drove him to suicide, as it were, by my interrogation techniques. There’s always a danger of that. And I went too far.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Tanya,” Vlad said softly. “Dolgov was on the edge. I saw that for myself when I spoke to him.”
Tanya bit her lip. “Right!” she said. “And I pushed him over it.”
“This is not the usual case, Tanya,” Vlad said. “There are other forces at work.”
He meant the Church Of The Sword and The Odysseus Corps so he was startled when Tanya said:
“And that’s the explanation that I never considered when I started on this case. That some other force, a third force, is responsible.”
“You mean terrorists?” Davyd said, doing a bad job of hiding scorn. “There isn’t a terrorist group in the galaxy that doesn’t operate for one side or the other.”
“No, not terrorists,” Tanya said. “Something else. Something I can’t quite explain. Only feel.”
She glared at them. “And I don’t want to hear any sexist cracks about ‘women’s intuition,’ damn you!” she said.
“The boy …” Davyd said quietly, musing aloud. “He was talking about that too.”
“How could you have spoken to the boy?” Vlad demanded. “He told me nothing. He refuses to speak to anyone. Why would he suddenly bare his innermost soul to an Amer!”
Davyd grinned at him. “It’s my bedside manner,” he said. “Doctors come from the ends of the Universe to study my methods.”
“Never mind that,” Tanya said. “What did the boy tell you?”
Davyd summed up his conversation with Billy. When he was done, he added, “I didn’t think much of it at first. Figured the kid was still too shook up to know real from fevered imagination.
“The thing is, the boy’s a wizard. A baby one, to be sure, but he’s still a wizard. Which is the only explanation for how he got off the ship in time.
“And how he could be unaffected by being in space with no protection whatsoever. So, maybe he really did pick up on something weird.”
He look
ed at Tanya. “Your third force, for example,” he said.
Then he slapped his knee in frustration. “Hell, I’m not even sure what I’m talking about. When you say it out loud it sounds even stupider than it thinks!”
“Just the same,” Vlad murmured, “I have the testimony of Old Scratch, the Engine Devil, that also points to mysterious things.”
He held up two fingers. “That’s from two separate points of view, mind you. Coming from two individuals who have never met, or spoken together.”
Davyd shook his head. “Not enough,” he said. “They’re off the same ship. Could be the same hysterical reaction.”
“It’s possible,” Tanya admitted. “But I’m not sure that’s what happened.”
She drew in a long, ragged breath. Tanya hated what she needed to say next, but she couldn’t see any way to avoid it.
“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” she told the men. “But I had an unnerving experience not long ago. In fact, it happened twice. Once at the beginning of this mission. And the second time while I was … talking to … Dolgov.”
Vlad and Davyd leaned forward, intensely interested.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
In a hidden place deep in the bowels of the Stardove another being listened in with equal interest and growing alarm.
He fidgeted with his gold Rolex as Tanya told the two men about the “cold peering eye” that had observed her.
Kriegworm strengthened the eavesdropping spell so Tanya’s voice boomed into his hiding place.
“You can’t imagine how terrifying that look was,” he heard her say. “It seemed to come from afar, but at the same time the … watcher … was near … terribly near.”
She suspects! Kriegworm thought, fear flooding his fiendish veins. Oh, Master, he silently begged, do not fault this undeserving devil. Thou knowest I gave no hint, no sign to the softskin Lawson of thy existence.
“At first I thought my imagination was running wild because I was tired, or over-excited by what was happening,” he heard her continue.
“Hell, that still might be so. However, when I was with Dolgov the same thing happened again. This … feeling … of something very powerful, very— damn, but I hate to use such an unprofessional description— but it was by God, evil!