He was tall, just an inch or so over six feet and towering above her by at least seven inches. His hair was short and neatly combed, and was a shade of brown that matched his eyes that seemed to pierce right through her. His chin and jaw were strong as if he had been chiseled from solid granite. To support that claim his shoulders were wide and she could imagine the muscle that was required to hold his body up like that.
If she had thought that Yuri was intimidating then it Alexi Romanov made him look like a puppet on a string meant for children’s shows. But if Alexi’s fingers could make people dance she would happily move to his tune.
“Ah, Ms. Wells,” Alexi said. She saw that she was correct about his size and she suddenly felt somewhat diminished to stand before him like this, like David confronted by the Biblical Goliath.
Goliath was never this handsome, she caught herself thinking.
He extended a hand outward towards her, “A pleasure.”
She noted how well his English sounded, like perhaps he had been schooled in an institute of higher learning. She shook his hand and it felt like there was indeed the strength of a god in his grip. His hand felt like it could have been made of tungsten steel and crushed her hand like an egg, yet it was surprisingly gentle. “Mr. Romanov,” she said with a polite nod and keeping her handshake as firm as she could.
“Please, call me Alexi,” he corrected. “I prefer to be a little more familiar with those who work for me. Will this be a problem?”
She shook her head, “No, not at all,” she said with a confidence that she did not feel. “But Mr. Romanov… Alexi… may I ask what’s happening here? I was told that we would have some time to prepare…?”
Alexi freed her hand and settled back down into his chair and she followed suit. “The judge has arrived and is being pressured by aristocracy in Moscow. Court will commence at once.”
True panic began to seep inside of her, but she managed to hold it in check as she spoke. “But, I haven’t had time to prepare. We haven’t conferenced, I’m not familiar with the details of the case… and I understand this was supposed to be a simple meeting.”
Alexi smiled at her and though his expression seemed somewhat gentle, it looked like he had the kind of grin that could reduce mountains to gravel. There was something ominous in so appealing an expression, like a shark that had learned to smile at a fish it intended to eat. “Well, circumstances have changed somewhat. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it seems that you shall be my attorney in this matter. There is no more time for me to be… what is your expression… picky?”
She felt a chill run through her. Despite the circumstances it didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t had any time to prepare, apart from what she already knew about the case in the public eye and the brief that Carver had given her.
She took a calming breath. “Very well, Alexi,” she said with a smile. “I trust that the opposition will disclose all of their evidence against you before this hearing begins? That might give me breathing room.”
Alexi shook his head. “They will not.”
She paused and another surge of panic welled up inside of her that she was just barely able to control. “They won’t?”
He gently shook his head. “Russian courts do not function as you are accustomed to here in America. There are many parties in play that are; shall we say, skilled at twisting the system?”
She let her mouth hang agape for a moment before replying, “But that’s not proper court method! Even in international court…”
“Parties involved believe that if I have time to prepare an adequate defense I will inevitably fill the judge’s ears with lies and secure a means to escape what they define as “justice”. However, if proceedings occur as they wish, I may yet prove my innocence.” He gave her a sideways grin. “Opposition tends to look favorably on those who think swiftly on their feet. And if what is said in court can be easily verified then so much the better.”
“Alexi…” she began, looking for some way to help him see reason. “What I have… what I know about this case… it’s not enough.”
“I did not expect it would be. We will have time to strategize this evening. Today is merely a formal meeting for declaration of intent. This is an old custom in Mother Russia.”
She was about to protest again when a voice from behind her spoke up. This one, she noted right off, sounded about as calm and soothing as napalm… or a volcano on the verge of erupting.
“Alexi…” the voice said familiarly, “how good to see you again.”
Regina’s eyes turned to the voice that had spoken and she saw an elderly man standing before her. He was short, perhaps even more so than herself, but with a head of silver hair and a matching beard that reminded her loosely of Carver. This man seemed almost soft… withered… but underneath she could sense that there was malice that would make liquid nitrogen seem warm. And from the dark suit he wore she was able to easily mark him as a lawyer.
“Abram,” Alexi said, again getting to his feet, “so good to see you again. It has been what… nearly three years?”
The other man, whom Regina noted was called Abram, stood before her and she rose to her feet to stand between him and her client. The old man crossed his hands and smiled almost pitifully at Alexi. “You have been too long in this country, I think. You do not even speak your native language.” He looked to her and Regina felt another chill in her body. She could almost smell the danger that this man posed outside of the legal system. “And this is who? Your woman?”
She stiffened her back. “Regina Wells of Graham & Associates. I’ll be representing Mr. Romanov in these matters. And if you wish to discuss anything with my client, your appointments must go through me first.”
That she could speak Russian didn’t seem to impress the older man. His look of pity endured as though she hadn’t spoken at all. He gently shook his head and looked over her shoulder to Alexi. “I pity you. When you go home, there are some very angry people who wish to… discuss certain matters with you.”
“Home is a long way from here, Abram. And I understand that Ms. Wells is one of the best at what she does.”
Abram looked to her with a baleful eye and lightly scoffed. “An American woman practicing Russian law… you’re more of a fool than I thought, Alexi.” And with that, Abram turned and seated himself behind the plaintiff table.
Regina turned with Alexi and together they sat back down.
“I was unaware that you spoke my language, Ms. Wells,” Alexi said.
“Call me Regina,” she said comfortably. “And yes, I speak Russian… and French… and a little Italian.”
“A woman of many talents,” he said approvingly. “I hope this means your talents extend into the law as well?”
She gave a gentle puff of the lips. “Well, my supervisor told me that this would be a first. I’m beginning to see what he meant. But before we begin answer me something… who is that?” she asked, gesturing to Abram.
“That is Abram Fyodorov. He will be your opposition in this case.”
She shook her head. She’d been doing this job too long to not know when someone was lying or even worse, when they were telling a half-truth. “That’s not what I mean. I mean, who is he really?”
Alexi shifted in his seat, “He is my former father-in-law.”
Chapter 3
Regina felt a chill when the judge entered the courtroom from a side door. Like any man who sat behind the bench he wore a dark flowing robe that distinguished him as the man to be reckoned with in these proceedings. He wasn’t an old man as she had envisioned, but perhaps just the right side of fifty. His hair was long enough to touch his shoulders with a thin beard that masked his chin and both were of a jet black color. He wore a few wrinkles and his face had the kind of sternness that she would have associated with bullying school principals.
She, Alexi, and Abram all stood as the judge entered into the chambers and silently sat in his chair behind the elevated bench that faced them.
She watched as the judge opened up a notebook and scribbled a few marks inside of it before turning his eyes to them, which she saw were cold and as silently dangerous as icebergs.
“Be seated,” he commanded.
She sat with Alexi and Abram too reclaimed his chair.
“I am Judge Utkin,” the court’s master said simply. “I will be presiding over these affairs until they reach their conclusion. As this matter involves the financing of several parties with ties to military contractors and possible criminal allegations I would prefer to keep this matter as informal as possible. Do the plaintiff and defendant agree to these terms?”
Abram stood. “The plaintiff will agree to this, your honor.”
She stood, “The defense will agree to this as well, your honor.”
The judge turned an eye to her and she felt the weight of his stare, like he really could have crushed her with a single look. She’d seen that kind of glare before in other judges and in other lawyers but she stiffened her back and didn’t let the brunt of his scowl show. If he was surprised that she could speak Russian he didn’t show it. “Very well, court will then officially begin.” He banged his gavel. “At this time, both parties may make their opening statements.”
Regina sat as Abram spoke his piece. She turned on her pocket recorder and took in everything that he said while simultaneously pulling a small notepad from out of her briefcase and scribbling notes on it as he went, looking for ammo that she could use to blow holes in his case.
Abram Fyodorov’s case was simple enough to structure. He was the representative of the people back in Russia that Alexi had supposedly offended with his business practices. The foundation of his case was the people that Alexi had pissed off wanted him back home to face full justice, which she was able to translate as: murdered out from under the eye of the rest of the world. He of course threatened Siberian prison as the “soft” punishment for Alexi but she recognized it for what it was: smoke screen. No, she was certain that the threat of prison was only for the eyes of the public. If Alexi was taken back home then the real dangers would begin.
The basis Abram was using for Alexi’s extradition were equally simple. Alexi’s company had dispensed money that belonged to other parties and had been sunk into projects for which that capital had not been designated for. People turned angry and blamed Alexi for it, but because he was on U.S. soil he was protected from being extradited because the charges seemed groundless, even to a public defender. Despite that, there were people in Russia that wanted their financial injuries dressed.
I’ve worked with less, she thought as Abram reached his conclusion.
“The matter I present to you, your honor,” Abram said, “is that this man has swindled millions of rubles from rich patrons in Russia for projects that they were not intended for. As the representative for those with interests in seeing justice done, I move to have this man returned to Russian soil where he will make financial reparations for the damage done.”
With that, the older man took his seat.
Utkin looked to her, “The defense may now make it’s declaration of intent.”
Regina gave one final glance at her notes before rising to her feet and speaking her piece. She counted herself lucky that at least she wouldn’t have to prepare any detailed remarks for the court’s consideration. The opposition certainly hadn’t done that and she would have time to prepare a proper response once they got down to the nitty-gritty of it all.
She spoke as to how the accusations against Alexi’s business dealings were completely groundless. Unless the prosecution had access to Alexi’s finances – which was privileged information in any country – then they couldn’t have known that the money that they’d lost was theirs. From her standpoint it seemed as if business partners were looking for a way to put a financial burden on Alexi for whatever reason. From the research she’d done she knew that Alexi’s company generated over 50 billion in Russian currency every year, that would have given anyone motive to want a piece of the money that he was making however they could get at it.
Next she built up the case as to how the money that had been lost didn’t amount to a fifth of what Alexi’s company made in a year. Some business companions – and jealous ones it seemed – were simply looking to put her client in a bad light. How could the plaintiffs know that the money lost was theirs unless they had spies – an illegal practice in Russia – within Alexi’s business ranks?
She made her conclusion that Alexi’s business empire – being so large – clearly had to be overseen by a board of operators and that he obviously had to have business managers that could cut checks or move funds without his needing to sign off on every little transaction. He could not keep track of every single ruble that passed through his company on a daily basis. A business as large as his surely did multi-million ruble deals every day… could he really be expected to keep track or be advised on every transaction?
“In closing, your honor,” she said as she paced confidently before the table where Alexi sat, “the evidence against my client is at the least completely suspect and circumstantial at best. I move that my client be cleared of all charges and the allegations against his business dealings dismissed… or at the very least investigated by a neutral party.”
The judge’s face became unreadable as she took her seat and she watched as the elder man made notes on his notepad before looking up at both parties. “I will ponder these matters thoroughly. We shall reconvene tomorrow morning at 8:00. Until then, court is dismissed.”
He banged his gavel and rose from his chair. Regina, Alexi, and Abram all stood and watched as the judge gathered his notepad and exited out the side door. Without a word, Abram also gathered up his possessions and exited ahead of her, but not before casting one final and hateful glance over his shoulder at Alexi before disappearing into the hallway beyond.
As she switched off her voice recorder and gathered up her notes into her briefcase Alexi stood and she noticed he was smiling at her.
“I am impressed,” he said and the smile was warm and full of feeling. She felt an odd kind of fluttering in her stomach. “You almost had me convinced.”
She smiled back. “Well, it was the first shot. Tomorrow, I think it’s going to get really rough.”
Alexi’s smile endured. “Your Mr. Carver was quite right… you are very good.” He turned to Yuri who had been sitting close at hand. “Take Ms. Well’s things to her room. And tell the kitchen to prepare us supper.” Yuri wordlessly turned and carrying her bag, left the courtroom, leaving her and her client alone.
“We’ll have much to discuss tonight Mr. Romanov… er… I’m sorry, Alexi.”
“Yes, we shall,” he said, gesturing towards the door.
She followed him. “Everything being such a mess I hardly know where to begin in all of this. I’m hoping that you can shed some light on the subject.”
He chuckled and the sound filled her with a chill. “Well, perhaps we should begin with how I swindled money from rich men in Russia and gave it to people for whom it was not intended.”
Chapter 4
Though she felt naked without her voice recorder or her notes, Regina listened as Alexi told her the story of how he had come to make the decisions that had led him to his present circumstances. As a lawyer she was comfortable with patient-attorney privilege and in her time she had heard some wild stories about what her clients really had been guilty of. But in all of her time she had never heard the like for Alexi.
While there was something comforting knowing that he was indeed guilty of what he was being accused of knowledge didn’t always guarantee safety. In law school she had heard plenty of old stories of lawyers – often employed by mobsters or other persons with violent histories – who were turned into fertilizer once they served their purpose because they knew too much. And if what she’d heard and read was correct, Russian business tactics were as cutthroat as that of Ancient Rome.
The thought gave her a cold shudder inside.
Over dinner, Alexi had begun the story. Their evening meal being held in a private and secure wing of the embassy’s living quarters where he and Yuri had both been lodged until the hearing was resolved. Their supper was a serving of coulibiac, a dish containing fish with hard-boiled eggs, rice, mushrooms, dill, bread, and of course an open-serve bowl of caviar and all the vodka or wine she could drink. She had learned to appreciate such fare during her time abroad in Kiev and learning Alexi’s language, though her mind was hardly focused on the food.
Alexi’s history was marred with all of the usual hallmarks of a billionaire on his rise to power. He’d come into his money honestly if not eagerly. She’d known people of means who did whatever they could to get what they wanted, but Alexi didn’t fit into that description… at least not entirely.
He’d lost his mother at an early age. His father blamed him for it and as a result he and his father never really got along. He spent much of his adolescence rebelling against his father’s control, refusing to wear fine suits, getting kicked out of the best schools, terrorizing the well-to-do of business circles and like that. Eventually the desire to get away from his father became overpowering so he joined the Russian military, joining the Spetsnaz – Russian Special Forces – and did pretty well in it.
That frightened her. She didn’t know much about the Russian military but she did know that the Spetsnaz were their heavy hitters and that they were trained to be all kinds of ruthless when it came time to get a job done. If that kind of mentality had followed him into his business practices – which it seemed it had – then she felt certain that she could expect problems.
Still there was something in his features that belied his appearance, making her think that his very looks were somewhat deceptive. Calm, cool, and handsome on the outside, but inside there was a figure that could tear her lungs out if he wanted. Just like how she might expect a killer to be if it came down to it.
She recalled what she had heard of his reputation as to how it translated to his social activities and not. By all accounts he was someone to avoid and after hearing about his military training she began to understand the reason for that as well.
REGENCY: Loved by the Duke (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Short Stories) Page 13