by P. W. Child
At last he saw Nina’s slim body tense and then go limp. She collapsed forward, her head falling onto Sam’s shoulder, and he gently lowered her onto the bed. Sam curled himself around her. Purdue tried not to remember the scent of her soft skin, lightly laced with sweat, or the sound of her catching her breath, or the feeling of her head resting on his shoulder or on his arm. Then Sam said something to her, and she answered over her shoulder with a sleepy smile, then he swept her hair aside and kissed the nape of her neck and a pang of something resembling pain shot through Purdue. “Enough,” he whispered. “Please.”
“I take it that’s the end of your obsession with protecting her?” Renata smirked. Purdue said nothing. He closed his eyes, pressing them shut, and did not look up. Satisfied with the outcome of their conversation, Renata got up and left him alone with his jealousy.
Chapter Fifty-One
Sam could not tell whether Nina was awake or not. Her breathing was deep and regular, as if she was asleep, but it was impossible to be sure. He did not want to speak in case she was sleeping and he woke her up, but at the same time he wanted desperately to talk. Though, conflictingly, he also wanted to preserve this moment of uncomplicated intimacy. The feeling of her body against his was comforting and sweet.
It had been sex with someone who wasn’t a stranger, someone he deeply cared about. Not that there were many people he cared that much about. ‘Not if we’re talking about people who aren’t family,’ he thought. ‘Or Paddy, who’s practically family. And I definitely wouldn’t want to be doing this with him.’
The mental image of him spooning Patrick Smith, recent acquisition of MI-6, after a moment of passion caught him off guard, and the laugh was out before he could prevent it. He burst into an unstoppable snort of mirth, his whole body convulsing as he tried to fight it. ‘Well, if Nina wasn’t awake,’ he thought, ‘she will be now.’
Sure enough, she turned over and looked at him as if he was mad. “Are you ok?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” said Sam. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. It’s just… oh, god, I can’t believe I’m telling you this. I was thinking about how there were none of my other friends that I’d have wanted to sleep with and suddenly I got an image in my head of lying here with Paddy and it just…” He dissolved once again into helpless laughter.
“I’d just been thinking that you’re probably the most normal man I’ve ever slept with,” Nina sighed. “But I take that back. The best I can say is that considering recent years, you’re the least alarmingly abnormal.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Sam grinned. She rolled her eyes and sat up.
“Come on,” she said, reaching for her underwear. “We’d better get dressed. We need to plan. Any idea how we’re going to get out of this place?”
“By playing along, I think. In the first instance, at least.” He pulled his shirt over his head and ruffled his fingers through his hair. “They don’t know that we know about the trip to Russia being a suicide mission. So if we agree to go, apparently out of growing loyalty, we should be able to get out of here. Then we’ll figure out a way to run and keep a low profile until we find a way to make contact with this other faction.”
“But they’re only going to send one of us, aren’t they? Presumably the other one stays here as a guarantee of some sort.” She crossed the room to retrieve the boot that she had kicked off a little harder than she had intended. “So what do we do? Whoever gets out tries to break the other one out?”
“It doesn’t sound so hopeful when you put it like that, does it?” Sam lit the last cigarette and took a draw before passing it over to Nina. “Still, we’ve got one thing on our side – Alexandr. After what happened to Axelle… he’ll help us. I think he’s had it with this lot. He’ll probably come with us if we ask, and he’s about as useful an ally as we could have right now. Chances are that he’s still in my room. I’ll head back along there now and ask him what’s happening.”
He jammed his feet into his boots and pulled on the laces, then went to climb out of the window. Just as he was about to step out, something occurred to him. “Nina… can I make a suggestion? I think it should be me that volunteers to go.”
“Why’s that?”
“At the risk of painting you as some kind of damsel in distress, I think you’ll be safer here. Renata seems to have it in for you, for whatever reason. If you’re out on some dangerous journey there’ll be plenty of chances for you to come to harm. If you’re here, at least you’ll have Purdue on your side.”
At the mention of Purdue’s name there was an awkward pause. Nina winced. “Perhaps,” she said. “I’m not quite sure how well-disposed he’s feeling towards me at the moment.”
“Did things get awkward?”
“A bit,” she nodded. “He told me he was in love with me.”
“And what did you say?”
“That I didn’t feel the same,” she said, looking slightly pained. “And… that I didn’t actually believe him. I’m not sure why I said that, because I do – or I believe that he thinks he’s in love with me, at least. It just pissed me off the way he said it, as if it was supposed to make everything alright. I think I hurt him more than I meant to.”
Sam stepped back down onto the bed and looked at her seriously. “Nina, this… what just happened between us… That wasn’t just because you and Purdue are fighting, was it? Because it if was then fair enough, I’ll understand, but if it wasn’t…” He groaned and pulled a face. “There’s no way to say this without sounding awkward, is there? It’s all right; I’m not making any grand declarations of undying love. I just want to know where I stand, that’s all.”
“There is no ‘me and Purdue’, as far as I’m concerned,” Nina said. “I turned him down, it’s done. Over. There’s no way to continue a casual relationship once you know that one person has that kind of feelings. But I wouldn’t want to hurt him or push this in his face. He doesn’t need to know that anything happened between us. I’m not saying we should deny it, just that I’m not exactly planning to run downstairs and share the news.”
Sam nodded. “That seems fair.” ‘And if it doesn’t tell me where I stand in so many words,’ he thought, ‘it gives me a pretty clear idea. Fling between friends it is.’ He felt a flicker of relief, strangely tinged with melancholy. ‘I’ve got other things to concentrate on, anyway,’ he told himself. ‘Like getting us out of here, and getting some kind of justice for Trish against Steven Lehmann if I can.’ “All right. I’d better go. I’ll offer to take the mission.”
“Wait!” Nina stopped him, catching his hand. “They might send you straight away. This could be goodbye, for a while at least.”
“Err, I suppose it could,” Sam stood awkwardly, halfway through the window. He had not considered that. “Well, I…” he trailed off, not sure what to say or do. ‘I was never much use at big goodbyes, he thought, and certainly not in situations as weird as this.’
Fortunately Nina took charge. She stepped up onto the bed, up on her toes to reach him. Her cool fingers crept up one side of his face and guided his head down to kiss her. Preoccupied with each other, they did not hear the sound of someone approaching along the corridor. They heard nothing at all until the sudden clunk of the lock sliding back.
They sprang apart, surprised. Nina jumped down from the bed, instinctively ready to fight, and Sam clung to the window frame to regain his balance.
Steven Lehmann stood in the doorway, an old-fashioned revolver in his hand. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’ve been asked to bring you two down to the meeting room… now that you’ve had time to get your clothes back on.” He eyed Nina up and down. “First me, then Purdue, then him… For a woman who made such a fuss about finding out that I was married, you really do put yourself about, Nina. It’s probably for the best that I didn’t marry you, no matter what Father thinks. At least my wife was capable of keeping her legs shut.”
Sam
’s fist clenched instinctively, but Nina’s reaction was one of disgust rather than anger. “If you’d been capable of getting your wife’s legs open you wouldn’t have needed to fuck me in the first place, Steven.”
For a horrible moment Sam thought that Steven was going to raise his gun and shoot her on the spot. He did not. Instead he lashed out with his left, the back of his hand connecting hard with Nina’s cheek, dropping her to the floor. Sam heard a yell of rage that could only have come from himself and lunged forward, but Steven had him covered by the gun in a heartbeat. Sam stopped abruptly.
“I’m alright, Sam,” Nina gasped, gingerly touching the livid pink mark on her face. She glared up at Steven. “Just wondering how I could ever have walked away from such a charmer, that’s all.”
“Enough talking,” Steven snapped. “You’re wanted at once, and you’ve already kept everyone waiting long enough.” He gestured with the gun, ushering Sam and Nina out of the door. As they walked they exchanged a swift, weary glance, acknowledging that their secret had not lasted long.
Chapter Fifty-Two
The moment she walked into the meeting room and her eyes met Purdue’s, Nina knew that he knew. The undisguised look of pain that flashed across his face was only there briefly before he got it under control, but she saw it. ‘I wish you knew how sorry I am,’ she thought. ‘I didn’t do it to hurt you. I did it because I got caught up in the feeling of hope. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a chance to explain myself, and I doubt you’d understand even if I did, but I wish I could try.’
A wheezing sound from the other side of the long table caught her attention. Professor Lehmann was in one of the high-backed chairs, half-slumped over the table, fighting to catch his breath. Nina went straight to him and crouched down to meet his eye level. “Are you alright, Professor?” she asked. He certainly did not look it. His face was deathly pale, and he looked as if he was in a great deal of physical pain.
“I am -” Professor Lehmann coughed violently and tried again. “I am well enough, Nina.” He patted her hand. “Nothing you need to worry about. Old age, asthma, nothing other than what is to be expected.”
She would have enquired further, but Steven grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her into a seat beside Sam. Looking round the table she saw Renata next to Purdue, then Alexandr. The two guards stood at Renata’s shoulders, but with a swift command she dismissed them. That seemed strange to Nina. ‘Being at the head of the Order must be a dangerous position,’ she thought. ‘I would have expected her to have her guards with her at all times. Why wouldn’t she?’
Her question was quickly answered. “Now this is what I like to see,” Renata beamed at them all. “A room full of people I can absolutely trust… can I not?”
“This should not be the sum total of people you can trust, Renata,” Purdue said softly. “If you have doubts about your own guards, replace them.”
“Admonish me again and you will learn that I do not need my guards to have you silenced.” The threat was issued in a tone that made Nina’s blood run cold, but it seemed to have little effect on Purdue. He merely smiled, a little bit sadly.
“You have never bested me yet,” he said. “This is not a question of trust. This is an attempt to keep word of your mishandling of this situation from spreading.”
Riled now, Renata turned around. “Purdue, I am warning you. I will tolerate more from you than from any man alive, but you will push me too far. There has been no mishandling. I am free to handle these matters as I please, and it pleases me to test these two thoroughly before I admit them to our ranks. After everything they have done, would you not agree that their loyalty must be well and truly tried? Well?” She stared him down furiously. He looked away. “As I thought. Now do not speak again unless I invite you to. That goes for all of you. I have brought you here to discuss my plans for these new potential members, and I will tell you these plans without interruption or interference. Is that understood?”
A low ripple of assent ran round the room, though Sam thought he still detected the hint of mutiny in the atmosphere. He got the impression that Purdue and Alexandr were already party to these plans, judging by the looks the two men exchanged and the discomfort their body language expressed. Steven also appeared to be at least passingly familiar with them. He stood behind Sam and Nina and greeted Renata’s pronouncements with a wide variety of approving noises, looming over the chair backs in a manner clearly intended to be intimidating.
The plan that Renata outlined was that Sam and Nina should no longer be allowed to choose which one of them made the trip to Russia. That decision had been taken for them - it would be Sam. He breathed a silent sigh of relief at this. Alexandr would accompany him. They would pose as defectors from the Order, seeking refuge at the rebel headquarters near Mönkh Saridag. They would bring back as much information about the rebels as they could, including the names of their leaders and the layout of the base. They would also retrieve the Longinus.
Sam raised his hand. “Longinus?” he asked. “What’s that?”
“A weapon,” Renata explained. “An extremely potent weapon. The rebels are in possession of a… prototype, of sorts. The weapon itself will be perfectly safe for you to transport. It is small and inconspicuous. But it is of massive importance, which is why I will be taking precautionary measures to see that you bring it back safely under the Order’s control.”
They had expected to hear that in Sam’s absence, Nina would be held hostage to ensure his good behavior. It had crossed Sam’s mind already that she might be entrusted to Purdue’s care for the duration of his mission. He had wondered how awkward that might be for them both.
What neither of them had anticipated that her warden during her time as hostage would be Steven.
“What?” Three separate voices rang out, Sam’s, Nina’s and Purdue’s. Heedless of Renata’s instruction to remain silent, all three burst out with a torrent of objections, exclamations and threats.
“Renata, listen to me,” Purdue spoke rapidly, urgently, “if you place her under Steven’s care you will not be able to guarantee her safety. Keep her here instead, or entrust her to me, otherwise you will lose your -”
“Oh, Purdue, when are you going to learn?” Renata’s smile was ice cold. “Look at her. She doesn’t want you. No, I mean it, look at her. Is your memory really so short? Don’t you remember what you saw on the monitors just a short while ago? You will not win her heart by making her your prisoner!”
Purdue bristled under her mocking tone, but said no more. Sam began readjusting his plans at top speed. The first thing would be to find out where Nina would be held – not at Steven’s home at Cold Ash, presumably. At Professor Lehmann’s house in London? Or at some secret address used by the arms ring? Purdue would be able to find out, surely – obtaining that kind of information was a specialty of his. Assuming, of course, that Purdue would be willing to help, though Sam was encouraged by his outburst to think that he would be.
‘I’ll be able to talk Alexandr into it, I’m sure of it,’ he thought. ‘But I have a feeling that getting her back from Steven is going to be a lot harder than breaking her out of here. I doubt Renata would have chosen him to guard her otherwise.’ He glanced at Nina, who looked stunned and horrified. She could imagine what awaited her as a prisoner of Steven’s.
“Renata,” Professor Lehmann rasped, raising his head. “With the greatest respect… I must raise an objection to your plan. My son…” He broke off, gasping with sudden pain. Sam thought he saw Lehmann’s left arm stiffen. “My son is not a fit guard. He is… volatile. Unsteady. Entrust her to someone else. I offer my own services gladly.”
“That’s a very generous offer,” Renata said with exaggerated courtesy. “But with the greatest respect, Professor Lehmann… look at yourself. You are an old man, and if I am any judge your heart is failing. Your days of holding anyone hostage are past. Besides, you have already demonstrated an alarming level of preferential treatment in Dr. Gould’s favo
r. Am I to believe that I could trust you with her? Forgive me, Professor, but I don’t believe I could. Only this evening you disobeyed a direct order to stay away from her. An order which, as I believe I made clear at the time, was given upon pain of death.” She smiled sweetly at Professor Lehmann’s son. “Steven?”
“No!” Nina screamed. She leapt up and spun around, her chair went flying as she knocked it out of the way, but by the time she was on her feet it was already too late. The deafening sound of a single shot reverberated through the room. The gun in Steven’s hand smoked. Professor Lehmann slumped forward completely, and his blood flowed out and pooled upon the dark wood of the table.
Chapter Fifty-Three
The noise of the gunshot and the sound of Nina’s scream hung in the air and then dissipated. The thick, dark smell of blood filled the room, metallic and sour. Sam’s head spun. The memories of Trish and crowded in on him. He felt sick. He could not reconcile the slumped, wasted corpse in front of him with the keenly intelligent old man he had known so briefly.
“Good God, Renata,” Purdue whispered, the first to break the silence that followed the death. “What have you done? They will destroy you for this.”
Even Renata appeared a little taken aback – less by the killing and more by the horrified reactions of those around her. The only person who did not look sickened, worried or devastated was Steven. His face was alight, elated, glowing with the fervor of a man who has done something unspeakable and, in doing so, removed the last restraints upon himself.
“They won’t,” Renata shook her head a little too emphatically. “The Council will understand. A demonstration of power is sometimes necessary. Traitors cannot be tolerated.” Her eyes were wide and fixed on the bloody mess that had once been Professor Lehmann. “He was no longer useful, anyway. What functions he retained are easy enough to pass to Steven.”