by Lee Stephen
She smiled. “Yes, and they worked. They just had to be inspected about a dozen times. I might not be able to go back.”
Scott squeezed her hand a little bit harder. “I can live with that.”
As soon as they entered the hangar, David approached them. Scott’s smile broadened, and he released Nicole. “Baby, this is someone you’ve been waiting to meet.”
Nicole swung her gaze ahead. Her sparkling smile appeared again. “You must be David!”
David smiled and extended his hand. “And you’d better be Nicole.”
She laughed and took his hand. “I want to hug you.”
“Then come on, don’t just stand there.” David opened his arms and wrapped her up. “I feel like I know you, girl.”
“Same here,” she answered as she hugged him. When they released, she slid her hand back into Scott’s. “He talks about you all the time.”
“Lies.”
“No,” she said solemnly, “it’s all good.”
David smiled. “You have a lot of people looking forward to meeting you, young lady. You’ve been the talk of the town all this week.”
“Have I really?”
“Lion Boy’s been in a good mood since Monday, and it was his week to work us out. We’re not complaining.”
She turned and gave Scott a look. “Did you really make them run passing drills?”
“Yes he did,” David answered.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Oh my God.”
“They enjoy it!” Scott said in happy defense.
“We really do,” David said. “Everyone loves it when we do that.”
Nicole nudged Scott’s side. “All he ever talks about is football. Start talking about anything else, and he’ll eventually get back to it. He can turn anything into a football reference.”
“Yeah,” David said, “we’ve noticed.”
“All right guys,” Scott said as he looked at his watch. “There’s thirty seconds left and we’re out of time-outs. Let’s get moving.”
She eyed him again.
“Lead the way, gunslinger,” David said. “Don’t get tackled in-bounds.”
For Scott, the walk to Room 14 was better than ever. As he and Nicole walked hand in hand, he pointed out the various appendages of Novosibirsk, from the cafeteria to the running track to the main building. Nicole seemed particularly interested in the buildings that bore damage from the assault, on which Scott was delighted to elaborate. By the time they arrived at the room, she’d been given a thorough crash course on the layout and history of the base.
It struck him during their walk together that there was utterly no distance between them. Their separation felt like a glitch—a brief skip in time. Even in the short while she’d been there, he’d already forgotten what it was like not to hold her hand.
As they finally approached Room 14, his free hand hovered over the doorknob. He knew it was going to shock her. In her medical world of clean and tidy, the bunk room would be like hell. She was used to his football crowd from college, so she’d be able to take it. But still, he knew what she’d be thinking. She’d be thinking that he was an officer, and he was supposed to maintain a superior standard. And then she’d tell it to him: ‘enforce the rules of cleanliness.’ Easier said than done.
“Remember what I warned you about, baby?”
Nicole eyed him. “Scott, open the door.”
He hesitated, then pushed the knob forward. It was shocking. It was startling.
It was spotless.
Each bed sheet was folded to perfection. Each pillow was fluffed and in place. The floor was swept. The showers were off. As Scott stood almost in horror, a particular scent touched his nose.
Potpourri?
He stood dumbfounded in the doorway as Galina approached from within. “You must be Nicole,” she said, extending her hand. “We have heard so much about you. Hello, my name is Galina.”
Nicole smiled and took her hand. “Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Galina.”
“Welcome to our room.” She stepped aside to allow Nicole to enter. “It is not much, but we do the best we can.”
David leaned into Scott and whispered, “There’s something very wrong with this picture.”
Nicole smiled and stepped inside. “It’s bigger than I thought it would be.”
Scott restrained himself. It wasn’t bigger. It just had actual floor space. That had never happened before. As Galina stepped beside him, Scott edged closer to her. “What in the world?”
“Thank me later.”
As David closed the door, Nicole swung around to face them. Her face beamed. “It’s cozy! It’s not like you said it’d be at all.”
Scott’s mouth hung open as he stared. “Yeah…baby…” he wasn’t sure how to explain, so he moved on. “Let me go ahead and introduce you to everybody.”
“Everyone is in the lounge,” Galina said. “Most of them.”
Scott returned his attention to the room. Boris and Oleg were concluding their settlement at the chess table. Max watched them silently from the corner. Travis flipped through the pages of a comic book.
“All right, baby,” Scott said as he ushered her in. “Right this way.” As they neared the chess table, Boris and Oleg stood and offered courteous nods. “Nikki, this is Boris Evteev and Oleg Strakhov. Boris and Oleg, this is my fiancee, Nicole.”
“Very good to meet you,” Boris said. His beard was scruffy no more. Its hairs were combed through and through.
Oleg smiled. “I would say same thing, but I do not speak English.”
Nicole laughed heartily. “I can tell you’re one of Scott’s friends.” The group chuckled and handshakes were exchanged.
“Boris is one of our technicians,” Scott said. “Oleg’s new with the unit. He got here after the assault.”
“And you got stuck with Scott?” Nicole asked, playfully nudging Scott’s side.
“I would make comment,” Oleg answered, “but I do not speak English.”
They laughed again as Max approached. His hands were slid in his pockets, but he removed one to offer to Nicole. “Hi Nicole,” he said. “Matthew Axen, good to finally meet you.”
Scott’s eyes widened.
Nicole smiled and took his hand. “Hi, Matthew. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure you have.” He shook her hand. “You have a real good husband. Future husband,” he corrected himself. “One of a kind.”
Nicole cast a glance to Scott. “I think so too, thank you.”
“If there’s anything you need, let us know.”
As soon as Max walked away, Scott gave him a suspicious stare. This was like an alternate dimension.
“Honey,” Nicole whispered, “was that the one who…?”
Scott replied quickly. “Yeah.” The one who knocked him around. Scott’s antithesis.
“He was nice.”
“Yeah,” he answered troublingly. “I know.”
The lounge air was adrift with the mixed scent of coffee and tea, as operatives livened the tables with cordial conversation. At one table, Clarke sat with Dostoevsky. At another sat Becan, Jayden, Varvara, and Esther. Only Maksim sat by himself. There wasn’t a brash voice in the room. Not even an obnoxious laugh.
Galina’s words echoed in his mind. Thank me later. Thank her for what? Had she threatened them with death?
“Remmy!” Becan said. He pushed from his chair. Jayden, Varvara, and Esther did the same. He hurried over to meet them. “Howyeh! Nikki, I assume?”
Nicole smiled and took his hand. “You must be Becan.”
“Am are! He talks abou’ me tha’ much, does he?”
“You have no idea.” She slid a sly eye to Scott. “Don’t worry, it’s all been good. And usually entertaining.”
“O’ tha’ I’m sure,” laughed Becan.
Jayden removed his cowboy hat and extended his hand. “Jayden Timmons. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
As Nicole conversed, Sco
tt pulled Becan aside. “Becan…what in God’s name is going on?”
“Wha’?”
“It’s like I walked into a parallel universe. There are scented candles, for crying out loud.”
“Oh, righ’.” Becan eyed Nicole discreetly, then edged close to Scott’s ear. “It’s Galina. She threatened to revoke alcohol privileges for a month if we misbehaved.”
“Oh?” Scott had been wrong. She hadn’t threatened them with death. This was much more effective. “She can do that?”
“She can. Made us clean the room an’ everythin’.”
“Wow.”
“Righ’,” he laughed sadly. “Medics are bleedin’ savage.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Jayden.” Nicole said, turning to the young Russian medic beside him. “And this must be Varvara?”
Jayden nodded. “Yes ma’am, it is.”
Nicole blinked and cracked a laugh. “Ma’am?”
Varvara blushed and waved him off. “Please do not worry. He does this to me, too.”
“Wha’ do you two have planned tonigh’?” Becan asked Scott.
“We might get something to eat,” Scott answered. “She’s probably starving. Then we’ll go to the room.”
“Your private room?”
“Yeah. Do a little catching up on the past half a year.” It had been longer than that, actually.
“Yeh goin’ to kiss her?”
“Of course I’m going to kiss her.”
“Wha’ are yeh goin’ to do after tha’?”
“I don’t know…probably lay down and talk for a while…”
“An’ then wha’?”
“Becan, I’m not giving you the play-by-play!”
“I am glad we finally get to meet you,” Varvara said. “The lieutenant talks about you all the time.”
Nicole laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to him being referred to as ‘the lieutenant.’”
“He’s done many things to deserve it.”
“I’ll second that,” Esther chimed in beside them.
“Thank you,” said Nicole, smiling at both women. “He’d love to know that you said that. He cares a lot about everyone here.”
“We know this,” said Varvara. “That’s why we care about him. He is very deserving of the Golden Lion.”
“I’ll let him know you said that.”
“Please do.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Scott said to Becan. “She still hasn’t met the captain or the commander.”
“Righ’, we’ll talk after, then.” A nod was exchanged, and Becan hurried away.
Scott stepped to Nicole’s side. As soon as she was finished with Varvara, he snaked his arm around her waist. “Few more people I want you to meet, sweetie.”
She squeezed his hand. “Okay.” Her gaze returned to the others. “It was great meeting you all.”
“The pleasure was ours,” Varvara answered.
As Scott led her away from the table, Nicole pressed against his side. “You’ve got quite a reputation, baby.”
“I do, huh?”
“Mm-hmm,” she answered. “Everyone says such nice things. Especially the women, it seems.” She eyed him. “Is there a reason for that?”
He chuckled lowly. “I knew that was coming.”
“So is there, Lion Boy? Is there a reason you’re in the same unit as all the beautiful women? Did you get to pick them yourself?”
“Yep. I sure did. All men get to hand-pick their female teammates. It’s somewhere in the back of the rule book.”
“So which female teammate did you pick?”
“All of them. I couldn’t help myself.”
She poked at his side.
As soon as they neared the officers’ table, Clarke and Dostoevsky rose. “This must be the lovely Nicole,” Clarke said. He extended his hand, as soon as she took it, he lifted her hand to his lips. “You are as magnificent as anticipated,” he said as he kissed it. “It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”
Nicole blushed and glanced away. Then she bowed her head. “Thank you very much…”
“I am Captain Nathaniel Edmond Clarke. You may call me Nathan.” The captain released her hand. “You have the luxury of not being bound to subordinate obligations.”
Nicole dipped her head again. “And you may call me Nikki, Nathan.”
“As you would have it, Ms. Nikki, soon-to-be Remington.”
Nicole angled her head to Dostoevsky.
“Nicole,” Scott said, “this is Commander Yuri Dostoevsky.”
Dostoevsky lowered his head and quickly looked away. “Mrs. Remington.”
She smiled as she shook his hand. “It’s close enough to say that, I suppose. Thank you so much for getting me through Customs.”
“Will you be staying with us for long?” Clarke asked.
Nicole’s attention returned to the captain. “For ten days. Then I go back to the U.S. for another semester.”
“What subject are you studying?”
“Nursing. I have one more semester after this one. There’s a little work left after that, but it’s moving along.”
“Will you move here to Novosibirsk then?”
She frowned, looking back at Scott.
Scott’s eyes were already distant. Would she move to Novosibirsk? She was about to be his wife. They couldn’t live on separate continents. But what choice did they have? Could he get a transfer somewhere else? What if they had no choice? “We’re still figuring that out,” he said. “We have a lot to figure out, but we will.” He squeezed her hand. “We will.”
Nicole forced her frown away. “We will,” she said. She entwined her fingers around his.
“Brilliant,” Clarke said. “If there’s one bit of advice I can offer the two of you, it’s this. Never let love go. Trials may seem impassable, but you can overcome. This coming from a man who’s been married for ten years.”
Scott’s mouth fell open. Had Clarke just said he was married?
Clarke looked at Scott and chuckled. “This surprises you, lieutenant?”
“I never knew that, sir…”
“That’s because I never make mention of it. My work life and my private life are entirely different entities. But yes, I have a lovely wife and two beautiful daughters.”
“They live here?”
Clarke nodded. “In Novosibirsk, the city itself. Even though I could if I wanted to, I’d never let her live here on base. I visit her as often as time allows—we speak every day. What, did you think I was always in my quarters when I wasn’t around? I spend quite a few nights back at home.”
Scott was astounded. That absolutely floored him. All this while, he’d thought the captain was retiring to his quarters every night. “I don’t know what to say, sir.”
“Ask me how I did it.”
“How did you do it?”
“We never let love go. When I was assigned here, she took a chance and moved with me from London.” He smiled. “And here we are.”
Within a span of seconds, Scott’s respect for Captain Clarke grew tenfold.
“Well,” Clarke said, “as much as I’m sure the two of you would love to chinwag with us all day, I’m certain you’ve got some catching up to do with one another.”
“Yes sir,” Scott said. “That we do.”
“Then cheerio to the both of you. Don’t let us see you anymore today. That’s an order.”
Scott had no problem with that one. Nods were exchanged, and Scott and Nicole turned away.
“I had no idea he was married,” Scott said as he led her out of the lounge.
“That’s amazing,” Nicole answered. “She must really love him.”
Scott’s gaze distanced again as he heard her words. She must really love him. Was Novosibirsk really that far? Could Nicole love him that much?
She squeezed his hand. “Almost as much as I love you.”
Alleviation. To hear her say that relieved everything. They could make it that far. God had put them toget
her for a reason. God put Scott in Novosibirsk for a reason. Everything would go as planned. “We’ll figure this out.”
“I know. I trust you.”
As they passed through the bunk room, several of the operatives offered their goodbyes. Scott gave a special wink to Galina, who quietly replied, “You owe me.”
“I like your unit,” Nicole said as they stepped into the hallway. “I like Nathan.”
Scott laughed. He wasn’t used to the captain going by first name alone.
“His voice is sexy.”
That caught his attention. “What?”
She looked at him coyly. “His British accent is sexy. You’d better watch out.” Her eyes returned ahead, and she cleared her throat. When she spoke again, it was in a mock-British accent. “I could get accustomed to his presence.”
“You keep dreaming about that.”
She giggled and squeezed his hand. After several seconds, her face grew serious again. “I don’t like your commander, though.”
“Dostoevsky?”
“Yeah. I know he helped me get here and all, but…I got a wierd vibe from him.”
Scott laughed. “I hate to make you think you’re not special, babe, but everyone gets a weird vibe from him.”
“He wouldn’t look me in the eyes.”
Scott’s brow furrowed. Dostoevsky never had trouble with eye contact. Confrontation was the commander’s middle name. “I’m sorry. I guess that’s just how he is.” They walked for a moment longer, before Scott nudged her side. “He was probably blinded by your beauty.”
She laughed. “Right. Because he really looked nervous.”
Scott looked at her appreciatively. That was what he missed. He missed her laugh. He missed her wit. He missed her everything. “It’s good to have you back, baby.”
“It’s good to have you back, too.”
It felt like she hadn’t been gone a day. Every bit of love, every bit of familiarity. It all fell into place as though neither of them had skipped a beat. The touch of her hand was as warm as ever. Nothing had changed at all.
1542 hours
For the next hour and a half, Scott and Nicole lay awake in bed. It brought back so many fond memories, her being there beside him. It brought back so much normality. The touch of her skin, the fullness of her hair. They were part of his senses just as much as they were part of her body. He still could hardly believe she was there.