Here and Now

by Blake Haugen

  The camera had taken a full body shot. Brigita stood about an inch or so lower than Vanya in her pumps. She was at least six feet tall. A golden beaded, off-the-shoulder band topped her gown, spanning from one arm to the other. It revealed the delicate bones of her clavicle. Hot white organza fell from her breasts to the ground. Persephone was sure it flowed behind her when she walked. As if the gown wasn’t stunning enough, Brigita’s face was an absolute smash. Super high cheek bones, wild jade eye accentuated by smoky eyeliner, kissable nude-coloured lips, and long, rich chestnut hair wrapped in a ballerina bun – she looked perfect on his arm. There were a couple more pictures of her beside Vanya at other charity events.

  Persephone wanted her dead. For five seconds or so, she hated that girl with every fiber of her being. After some more stalking however, she saw that Brigita Skolnik seemed like a perfectly decent human being who gave to a lot of causes Persephone supported. Who could blame the woman for wanting to be on Vanya’s arm? She was just probably one of the many ladies lining up to be with him.

  Persephone glanced at the clock in the top hand corner of the laptop. An hour had passed. What the hell? If there was ever any evidence that she wasn’t ready to see Vanya, then this was it. She should have spent the last hour getting dressed and looking for places to purchase furniture later on. Instead, she’d been conducting research on Vanya’s potential mates. Shaking her head, she rushed to the shower and got ready for work.

  ☐

  It was Dunya that confirmed that Persephone was indeed in the city. On Wednesday evening, one of her little lackeys had reported that she was working for a corporate firm downtown. Vanya held out for about two days. He’d told himself he would wait for her to get settled in before he went to her, but changed his mind after waking up for the third or forth time that night. Without hesitation, he’d discreetly ordered someone to track her whereabouts.

  Now, he sat in the back of his car, across the street from the entrance to her firm, waiting for her to emerge. The first person he recognized was Timothy Kim. Jealously washed over Vanya again and he hit the armrest, causing Max to ask what was wrong. Vanya waved him off.

  Moments later, Persephone came out of the building and greeted Timothy with a kiss to each cheek. Fucking European customs. The two were obviously happy see one another. Persephone took Timothy’s arm and they walked down the street.

  Vanya knew they’d been in contact while she was away, but obviously more than he’d previously believed. If he’d known they’d been this close, he wouldn’t have been so happy with Timothy the previous Friday. Perhaps that was why the man hadn’t been receptive of Vanya’s thanks. He’d told Timothy he loved Persephone in hopes that the message would be relayed. From the looks of things, that was a slim possibility.

  Vanya questioned why he was sitting on his ass, letting this happen. Timothy and Persephone were moving out of sight and he sat up straighter to see them better. He opened his mouth to tell Max to follow them, but Max spoke before he could give the command.

  “You’re under a lot of pressure right now, right?”

  “Um, yeah. What are you getting at?” Vanya asked with irritation.

  “Well, perhaps with the deal happening tomorrow night, we should wait before we engage Ms. Peterson. When you see her, you might want to be available to focus on just her. We don’t know what she was up to while she was gone. A lot of things could have changed.”

  Vanya sat back and thought over Max’s words. He didn’t want to listen to reason, but he knew Max was right. He would be extremely disappointed and distracted if he found out that Persephone was attached to Timothy or any other man. Max was looking after Vanya’s heart or the success of the CLTD deal – or both. Vanya couldn’t tell.

  “Yes,” Vanya breathed out. “Yes, that’s a good idea. What are we supposed to be doing anyway?”

  “Picking up the goods from Victorovich and his wife.”

  “Shit. I nearly forgot. Yes, um, let’s go. We’re not that far. We’ll still be on time.” Vanya decided Max was definitely right. He was in a dark SUV, downtown, stalking his ex-girlfriend, when he should be getting the goods for a deal that would earn him and his family billions of dollars. That was certainly the definition of crazy.

  He shook his head when he exited the car and tried to put Persephone out of his mind. Vanya entered the Lyadovs’ workshop, which he referred to as the Dungeon. The front of the building was a cramped, quaint jewelry shop managed by a young man in charge of sales and two others who handled security. The back housed the workshop. It was clean, organized, and kempt, but it had always been oppressively dark. Victorovich and Peng sat at their respective stations, hunched over metallic blades, angle gauges, and other instruments, eyeing stones through their monocular loupes.

  “Here he is!” Peng exclaimed. She sounded excited to see him, but she didn’t take her open eye off the gem she was inspecting. They were always like this while they worked; slightly aware of those around them, but unwilling to be taken from their task. These days, most diamond cutting was done in factories. Over time, their workshop had come to resemble those factories. Lasers and computers used for marking the diamonds were used. Even with all the technology, Victorovich and Peng considered their methods to be an art. Vanya was one of the few allowed to enter their sanctum.

  “One of us be with you shortly, Vanya,” Victorovich murmured.

  “Are those part of the package?”

  “Of course not. We finished those two weeks ago,” Peng answered, “Anyway, little birdy, how are you doing? How are things?”

  “I can’t complain,” Vanya said, taking a seat on the stool of an empty computer desk. “I’ve been preoccupied with this trade, and more recently with this gala I held for an afterschool program.”

  “Yes, we saw you in paper last week,” Victorovich spoke louder over the sound of a blade. “Making nice with beautiful young lady. They call her Brigita, eh?”

  “Oh… yeah. She’s also a donor. I see her a lot at those events – she’s a good friend.”

  “Mm, that’s not what it looks like in those pictures. That girl is after you,” Peng chimed in.

  “Oh, really?”

  “I’m a woman. We know these things.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Listen to her, boy. I’ve learned this well,” Victorovich chuckled as he began girdling the diamond he worked on. “I’m surprised your other woman is standing for it.”

  Vanya snuffed skeptically. “What other woman?”

  “Your other woman,” Peng insisted. “The one that just came back in town. You were set on marrying that girl, hmm? Darling, remember that amazing ring we made. My god, it was some of the greatest faceting you’ve ever done.”

  “Only because of your incredible designing, милашка.”

  “Aww, you’re sweet, my love.”

  Vanya sat up straighter, impatient with their flirtatious banter. “Ah, excuse me? You know Persephone’s back?”

  “Oh, honey,” Peng condescended, “everybody knows about that.”

  “Yes, it is hot news. It has spread like wild fire.”

  “Well, I’m glad everyone finds my affairs so entertaining.” Vanya crossed his arms and eyed the couple. They continued to work, not acknowledging him as they chatted about his romantic entanglements. It had only been a week, but apparently his business was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Curious, he probed for more information. “So, what’s being said?”

  “Oh, you know, that you follow her around town like a puppy dog and that you haven’t even spoken to her directly yet,” Peng answered.

  “I do not follow her around town! I’ve never done that!” Vanya retorted. Peng finally raised her head and looked him square in the eye. With anyone else, he wouldn’t have dared tell the truth, but there was some maternal vigilance about her that always made him give it up. “I haven’t followed her around town exactly. I hired that out. I hadn’t actually seen her until today.”

  �
��And did you talk to her?” Peng asked rhetorically.

  “Um, no. Max said we might want to wait it out until the deal is finished.”

  “Mm hmm,” Peng hummed and turned back to her work.

  “Of course that’s what he said,” Victorovich rejoined. “That’s his job. To keep things in line. You don’t need to let deal stop you from taking back your woman. She tore your heart out last time; had you crying all around Europe for weeks. Ridiculous! Give her good spanking and bring her home!”

  “Vasya!” Peng exclaimed, rebuking her husband.

  “What?! You only live once! Hah! That’s what shop boy told me yesterday. That’s what they say now! It’s true!”

  “That was a long time ago,” Vanya defended himself. “We’re both adults. I’m sure I’ll talk to her in good time, дядька. I’m sure we’ve both moved on in different directions.”

  “Hmm, moved on? You know, Vasya, Vanushka never gave us back that lovely engagement ring. It would be great to show as an example of our work. I never got around to getting it photographed for the portfolio since he was in such a rush to have it finished. Where do you keep that ring, Vanya?” Peng turned on him with an arched eyebrow.

  “Alright!” Vanya stood. “I think you’ve reached a stopping point now, eh? I should go ahead and collect the stones.”

  “Hah! That’s what you need! Stones! You need enough stones to take back your woman! Heh, heh! See what I did there, милашка? Heh, and you say I need work on my English!”

  “Vasya. We’re going to have to get a new shop boy if you keep coming home with this.”

  To Vanya’s relief, Peng rose and moved to the back of the workshop. She opened a closet that revealed a large safe. She shut the door behind her. After a few moments, Vanya heard the safe creaking open and shut. In all the years he’d known the Lyadovs, he had never been in that closet. Before he had too much time to ponder over its contents, Peng emerged with a small wooden case.

  “Here, take a look. For all their importance, they’re quite unremarkable. It was easy enough to execute the specified cuts. It’s really the diamond, I suppose.”

  Vanya took the thin mahogany box. It was shaped like the case for a tennis bracelet. However, when he opened it, he found twenty-five point cut diamonds, two carats each, all snuggled into their own velvety mold. Because of the cut, there was relatively little brilliance. Vanya took one gem from the case and carefully shifted it in the light to prove to himself Peng hadn’t just handed him a box of glass beads.

  “Yes, it’s hard to tell with that boring cut, but they’re the real thing. You’ll want to transport it in this briefcase here. It’s the same fingerprint locking mechanism, as always. Go ahead and test it out now.” She watched as he unlocked the black leather briefcase after placing his thumb on a panel by the handle. It clicked open and the top raised itself slowly. The case looked normal enough, but the leather hid the steel casing. There was no penetrating it without Vanya’s warm, living thumb.

  “Are you satisfied?” Peng asked when he finished his inspection.

  “Yes, thank you for all the hard work.”

  “No thanks is necessary. Just be careful tomorrow.”

  “I will.” Vanya placed the case of diamonds in the briefcase and locked it. Before he could make his way through the workshop exit, Victorovich called out to him.

  “And bring that woman around sometime when you get opportunity! We only meet her like what – two times?”

  “Goodbye, дядька!”

  ☐

  Vanya rubbed his temple. It had been a terribly long day and now the Germans were intent on making it longer. He, Max, Yulian, and Lina had sat around all evening waiting for the clock to strike midnight. It had been the Germans’ idea to meet this late; an odd demand given that it would be in both parties’ interest to have this hand off happen as quickly as possible.

  This deal was to be a simple hand off. They’d view the stones, inspect them, and hand over the weapons. The two groups sat around the large work table in one of the warehouses that Mikhail had sold off. A secure venue in the city’s industrial corridor, the warehouse was perfect for this type of trade. Six men accompanied Vanya and his family members. At the time, Vanya thought Lina’s last minute insistence on that much security was overkill, but now he wasn’t so sure. Their proceedings were crawling at a snail’s pace. The problem was the leader of the German contingent.

  Felix Meijer was being an absolute pain in the ass. He’d ordered his jeweler to inspect each of the diamonds for authenticity. They sat for an hour while the rotund man hovered over the jeweler and his equipment. The insinuation that the Pravdins wouldn’t uphold their end of the bargain was insulting, and Lina had said as much to Meijer’s son, Sven. Sven had urged things along at her behest, but Meijer was intent upon slowing things down. As time passed, his entourage became more and more agitated.

  Vanya eyed the men in Meijer’s employ. Large military types, they seemed alert and on guard. It didn’t sit well with him and Vanya’s intuition screamed at him to finish soon. “Alright, Mr. Meijer. We’ve complied with your requests. Please give the case to Yulian here for inspection and we’ll all be on our way.”

  Meijer rubbed his goatee. He looked at the large case toted by one of his companions and placed a tanned, leathery hand on it. The longer he waited to speak, the more Vanya dreaded what he was going to say.

  “Mr. Meijer, we’ve been more than patient with the delays,” Lina said with her hands folded in front of her. “If you want something else, be candid. We’re not overly fond of having our time wasted.”

  “Yes, of course, Ms. Pravdina.”

  “Kittredge-Pravdina.”

  “Yes, of course, excuse me. My jeweler has proven that these diamonds are authentic. However, he has not proven that they will work.”

  “So, what are you after, a demonstration?”

  “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Meijer smiled and adjusted his round framed glasses.

  “If it will get this over with,” Vanya retorted. “Yulian will operate the gun.”

  “With all due respect, we know these weapons in and out. We don’t know what to expect when we place these particular diamonds in the charge manifest. Sven and his team designed these models. He should be the one to operate them.”

  “Okay, but we stick together, since we’re all such good friends.” Vanya stood and walked over to the Germans. He motioned for one to stand and then took his seat. Yulian, Lina, and the others followed his lead.

  “Set up our briefcase in a chair over there. There’s a strong steel alloy under that leather. That should be enough of a demonstration for you.”

  They watched as Sven nervously loaded the diamond into the gun’s charge manifest. Even his fingers seemed to sweat. After the diamond was placed securely and the safety was turned off, he took a shooting stance several feet in front of the others. Sven turned back and looked to his father.

  “Go on,” Meijer urged.

  Taking his cue, Sven fired a shot. A green beam of light hit the case. The case didn’t move, but there was a clank of metal in the shelves situated behind the chair.

  “Well, that was unimpressive,” Vanya remarked and folded his arms.

  “No,” Lina stopped him from going further. “Look. Look at the moonlight. It’s shining through the case. It just cut through steel. Jesus Christ. Max take one of their guys and see how far it went.”

  Max took a member of the other party with him. They came back after a few minutes of inspection. Sure enough, the beam had cut through the case, the shelves behind it, the wall, and clear through to the next building. Vanya was astonished. They’d expected to be wowed, but this was unprecedented.

  “Alright, gentlemen,” Lina was the first to get back to business. “You’ve seen what you wanted to see. The other diamonds have already been authenticated. Let’s pack things up.”

  “Actually, I want Sven to demonstrate for us one more time,” Meijer insi
sted.

  Before, Lina or Vanya could voice their outrage, Sven turned on his father and spoke hurriedly in German. Lina watched them carefully and Vanya guessed she was trying to decipher the argument with the German she’d learned in school. He didn’t know a word of German, but Vanya could see that Meijer and Sven were disagreeing vehemently with a loaded weapon between them. This certainly didn’t bode well for the evening.

  When Vanya demanded that Sven put the weapon down, the shouting began. Everyone slowly backed away from the quarreling father and son, hoping things didn’t escalate. Unfortunately, when Sven moved to place the gun on the table, Meijer intercepted and wrested it from him. Before Meijer could take his aim, Max came forward and placed a gun to his head. Startled, Meijer pulled the weapon’s trigger, and a shot fired straight through Sven’s shoulder.

  His cry of agony and the smell of burning flesh filled the space. Guns were drawn. The groups quickly separated, hovering around Max and the now shaken Meijer.

  “Put that weapon on the table now,” Lina commanded.

  Meijer complied and Max gently pushed the item down the table, closer to Lina. She snatched it with a deftness that Vanya found disconcerting. After inspecting it, she turned to Yulian.

  “Can you disarm this?”

  “Um, yeah,” Yulian stammered.

  “Do it. Place the gun in the case and the diamond on the table. Bring the case of the guns and the rest of the stones over here.”

  Yulian disarmed the weapon fairly quickly, but was more hesitant to make his way across the table. When he wouldn’t move, Lina shoved past him and crossed the divide to the seize the cases. When she received resistance from the man holding the gun case, she reminded him that Max would have no qualms about putting a bullet through Meijer’s head. He backed down and she made it back over to her people.