I’ll have time to figure it out later.
Her thoughts were shut down completely when the elevator bell chimed and she stepped off into the familiar hall containing all of the doors marked with court rooms or judge’s chambers. She found the proper court room and stepped inside and found that it was empty, save for Alexi standing beside the same table as yesterday, talking to Yuri in hushed tones.
He had cleaned up again, and handsomely, she noted. His hair was combed and though he still had the same kind of appeal he’d had last night, she noticed that there was something different about him. There was something… serious… in the way he looked.
As she drew nearer she could hear Alexi whispering to Yuri and was only able to catch the tail end of their conversation. And from the sound of things, it was not a pleasant one.
“…is madness, Alexi!” Yuri said with a tone that rang of life-and-death urgency to her ears.
“Just see it done,” Alexi replied smoothly. “You’re the only one that I can trust with this, Yuri. And you are the logical choice.”
Yuri registered her arrival as she stepped in behind the table and gave her a sharp and piercing looking before looking back to Alexi.
“Can I count on you?” Alexi whispered to his oldest friend.
Yuri’s shoulders shrank as he let out a deep breath. “Are you certain?” he asked resignedly.
Alexi replied with a nod.
Yuri again gave another deep breath. “Then I shall… for you.”
Alexi smiled and patted his large friend on the shoulder. “Thank you, Yuri.”
With that, Yuri turned and urgently left the court room, not sparing a look back as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialing and number before disappearing through the doors.
She looked to Alexi, “Is everything alright?”
Alexi nodded. “Yes. Business is all.”
She nodded back. “Alright, listen… I was thinking about today. And I think I have some ideas about how to put reasonable doubt in Utkin’s mind to get you acquitted. Now it won’t be easy, but I was thinking about what you told me about the…”
“Regina,” he said, putting a hand up and silencing her with two of his fingers upon her lips. The simple gesture held tremendous power, she noticed. “I have full confidence in you…”
The doors to the court room opened and she turned to see Abram walking in, a look of determined malice on his face. Surrounding him was an air of confidence – perhaps it was more of a certainty – that gave her a fresh chill about the hearing to come.
“… but I have a plan,” he added quietly, withdrawing his fingers. “And I will need your support when the time comes.”
She didn’t have time to ask what he meant. The door to the judge’s chamber opened and she saw Utkin come strolling in, adorned in the same garb as he had been the day before.
He settled into his chair and regarded both her, Alexi, and then Abram. “Be seated,” he said.
They sat as the judge flipped open his notes and reviewed what was written there before looking back to them. “Mr. Fyodorov, you may now make your opening statement.”
Before Abram could speak, Alexi surprised her by rising to his feet. “Your honor, if I may be heard?”
Regina felt a bolt of fear shoot through her as he did so and she quickly tried to silence him, but he waved her off.
“Mr. Romanov, this is my court room… I will not have you turn it into one of your business meetings,” Utkin said, his voice ringing with warning. “We will observe the proper procedures for…”
“If you will indulge me, your honor, I can save Mr. Fyodorov some effort and I can also save you precious time. I would like to confess my crimes and bring this matter to a close,” Alexi said matter-of-factly. “That is what you were most interested in, was it not, your honor?”
Utkin’s face was blank and Regina spared a quick look to Abram’s face and saw a look of complete surprise on his features as well, though he still looked smug. Her mind began to reel again for the second time in as many days, though the first time had been in bed with Alexi. She would have preferred that.
The judge leaned forward in his chair and stared across the room at Alexi as if his gaze could have turned men to stone. “Mr. Romanov… just to be clear… you are in fact admitting to your crimes?”
She tapped at Alexi’s flank and whispered furiously, “Alexi, what’re you doing?”
He silenced her with a gentle clasp her hand. To the judge he said, “I am admitting that I have a connection to my business dealings, your honor… but whether or not I am guilty of any crime… that is for you to say.”
Regina began to rise in her seat, but Alexi put a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into it. The strength that he did so hurt her shoulder but she felt the urgency in his action more. From it she was able to understand a simple truth; He knows what he’s doing.
Every fiber of her professional mind warned her to prevent this from happening. But somehow, she felt the insistence in his grip that the best course of action that she could do was to remain quiet.
“For the record, your honor,” Alexi went on, “what I have to say is going against my council’s advice.”
“Noted,” the judge said, scribbling on his notepad. “Now, what do you have to say, Mr. Romanov?”
Alexi took a deep breath. “Your honor… Mr. Fyodorov represents parties that have stated that I am guilty of swindling… stealing… perhaps one might even say embezzling. Perhaps I am in the eyes of those that have something to lose.”
Regina stayed quiet, listening and watching.
“That I am guilty of something, I suppose is true. But the severity of the crime that they are accusing me of does not match their hatred for me.”
“Mr. Romanov…,” the judge said, holding up a hand to silence him, “I would recommend that your attorney in this matter be the one to offer these words. Perhaps you have not thought this matter through clearly.”
Alexi nodded. “My attorney is not aware of the true severity of my crimes your honor. And I’m sure that you’re well aware of whom Mr. Fyodorov represents and what it is that they require you to perform on their behalf.”
The judge’s face turned red and Regina feared for a heartbeat that he might actually explode. She gripped the armrests of her chair nervously.
“Mr. Romanov!” the judge barked.
“If I may…” Alexi went on, “I know that the old system of life has not been entirely done away with. There is a way you can provide them what they ask for and serve justice simultaneously.”
The judge’s face remained red, but Regina noticed a curious twitch of his eye. He seemed to regard Alexi carefully, as if weighing his words for any sign of deception. Finding none, he relaxed his chair a little. “What do you have in mind, Mr. Romanov?”
Abram chose that moment to speak up. “Your honor, if I may be heard?” he asked fretfully. “I would like to go on record…”
“No, Mr. Fyodorov… I would very much like to hear what the defendant has to say… irregular as this may be.” He looked to Alexi, “Proceed.”
Alexi straightened his tie. “I am aware that those who are baying for my blood would very much like to see me returned to Russia… mostly to satisfy their own ends. And at some point I will likely be found dead drowning myself in numerous bottles of vodka if they are feeling generous.”
“Your honor…” Abram began to object.
“Silence please, Mr. Fyodorov,” the judge said, his tone a bit more relaxed. “Continue, Mr. Romanov…”
“I would very much like to continue living as much as the opposition would like to see their money returned. I’m prepared to do so… just not on their terms.”
Utkin arched a curious eyebrow.
Alexi gestured over his shoulder at the court room doors. “I have just sent my trusty friend, Yuri, to see to the dispensation of funds to the parties in question whom I have apparently mishandled. Very shortly, the intereste
d parties in this case will find that three-times the money that they lost will be returned to their accounts.”
“Your honor…” Abram said, again trying to speak up.
“And all of it will be coming from my private financial account,” Alexi interrupted. “And this is half of what Mr. Fyodorov was sent to achieve, is it not?”
Regina felt a shock shoot through her heart. She wasn’t aware of what Alexi’s assets were in total, but she could do the math in her head well enough to know that such a gambit could ruin him financially. Not to mention that $5 billion had been earmarked for her firm and if she failed to deliver… she felt a shudder at what Carver would do.
“It is,” the judge said, silencing Abram with a look. “And I’m certain that the interested parties would be satisfied with a settlement that large.” He gave Alexi a stern look, “But this is not all that they require in order for justice to be served. The interests of the people – all of them – must be served.”
“I am aware of that your honor. My actions, though illegal, have also seen the building of new schools… proper highways… facilities meant to keep our people from freezing to death when winter returns. My assistant, Yuri, is also seeing to it that the persons Mr. Fyodorov represents will get credit for their “donations” to see these structures built. Surely it could not hurt them to show a little respect for the people whom they labor to serve?”
Utkin took that in and Regina also noticed that even Abram seemed to be mulling that idea over favorably in his mind. His face even lit with an unexpected smile, as if he had just discovered some wonderful bonus for his efforts.
“No… it wouldn’t hurt their reputations at all,” the judge said favorably. “That still leaves the problem of your extradition, Mr. Romanov. Federal requests dictate that the matter is to be handled.”
“I have also considered that, your honor.” Alexi drew up a breath and squared his shoulders. “To that end… I believe that the opposition would accept a political avenue,” he added pointedly.
The judge’s face changed in a way that Regina wouldn’t have thought possible. It lit with glee. She found that expression more frightening than when he had looked red with rage.
“You are aware, of course, Mr. Romanov, of what that will entail should I rule so?” Utkin said, his smile nearly dripping with anticipation.
Alexi nodded. “I am, your honor, and I am prepared to accept it. I have already made preparations for such… my companion, Yuri Salnikov, has agreed to oversee the transition of my estate into federal hands.”
The judge was quiet for a short time before bridging his fingers and gave an approving nod. “In the old days, a sacrifice like this would have seen you well-rewarded for your service to people and country, Mr. Romanov.”
“Alas, these are the new days, your honor,” Alexi said, though Regina thought she detected a note of sorrow in his voice.
Utkin nodded. “Very well.” He looked to Abram. “Mr. Fyodorov… do you object to what Mr. Romanov has proposed?”
Abram, who looked as if he had been in some fantasy of how to spend vast amounts of money shook his head. “No, your honor… what the defendant has proposed sounds quite agreeable… but if I might make one small addendum?”
“Yes?”
Abram gave a small look to Alexi and Regina saw a brief flicker of… forgiveness? But just as quickly as it had come it had gone and the plaintiff turned his attention back to the judge. “Your honor, I would move that my clients give the namesake of one of the community centers that they donated to my late daughter. Many of these projects were her ambitions, after all.”
Regina was not religious by nature, but she did believe that she had just witnessed a miracle. She held her quiet and waited to see if other miracles may yet follow.
The judge nodded. “Very well… I’m sure it would not be a terrible effort.” Utkin made a note on his pad and gave one final look to Alexi. “Are you prepared to hear your sentence, Mr. Romanov?”
Alexi nodded knowingly. “I am your honor.” With that, he sat back into his chair and Regina struggled to keep from reaching out to hold his hand. She wasn’t entirely sure what was happening here, but whatever it was, Alexi was comfortable with it.
The judge made a final note on his pad before speaking, his voice becoming official once more. “Alexi Romanov… in my judgement, you have abused your powers of business for selfish purposes. If we were in Russia, such an action as that would be grounds enough to revoke your business license. Yet the money you have diverted has gone to the benefit of those in our country who cannot help themselves. Admirable as that aim might have been, I cannot allow your methods for doing so to go unpunished.” Utkin sat up straight in his chair. “In light of this new information, the court sees fit to accept the financial reparations that your associate, Yuri Salnikov, will make on your behalf and I shall see to it that he is made the executor of your estate.” He paused and his voice became lightly stern. “For your crimes, you will be sentenced to political exile, and all of your family’s assets in Russia will be confiscated by the state, and you will remain here in the United States of America until such time as you are decreed a legal immigrant or the American jurisprudence finds you worthy of resident alien status.”
Regina’s heart skipped a beat at hearing this. It wasn’t a miracle, but it certainly was a better outcome than what she had managed to envision for an outcome at the end of this trial. It’s not perfect… but it’s not a bad outcome either.
“Court is adjourned,” Utkin said, banging his gavel. The sound carried like thunder across the empty room. Utkin stood, as did she, Alexi, and Abram as the judge gathered his notes and made an exit from the room.
Abram was next, picking up his briefcase – which he hadn’t even opened – and made for the exit. Before reaching it, he stopped, and turned to look at Alexi. Regina waited and watched, expecting there to be a final hateful glance or a threatening remark. But neither came. Abram Fyodorov silently turned and walked out of the room, saying nothing.
Alone with Alexi, Regina’s mind was still spinning with what had just occurred here. In the silence of the court, she looked to Alexi and felt the questions bubbling within her.
Alexi answered them before she could even ask. “This means that I will stay out of Siberian prison… but it also means that I can never return to Russia. Ever.”
She nodded. “And you’re ruined, financially.”
He turned a sly look at her. “Am I?”
Her face became inquisitive. “Aren’t you?”
He chuckled and much to her surprise – and pleasure – he reached out and put a hand on her hip, gently rubbing at it. “Through political exile, the Russian Federation will confiscate some of my accounts, Regina… but not all of them.”
She felt her eyebrows furrow. “Huh?”
“I’ve had accounts here in America for several years now. By now, the interest alone is… substantial. And the Russian government cannot touch those.”
She found that this puzzle was falling well into place. “So… you’re not broke?”
He smiled at her. “The five billion that I promised your firm can be paid twenty times over if I choose.”
She smiled. “When did you come up with this plan?”
He touched the underside of her chin. “This morning… while I watched you sleep. I knew there was no way I could ever return to Russia with honor… or without fear that one day my caviar might be poisoned. At least this way, I am as good as dead to them. My troubles are – for all intents and purposes – finished.”
She looked over her shoulder to where Abram had left. “And him?”
Alexi shook his head. “We have – in our own way – made our peace. Perhaps it was not done as he would have planned, but it was also done in a way that he would not shun, either.”
She gathered up her brief case and they walked towards the exit of the courtroom and again she had to fight the urge to put her arm through his affectionately. They wer
en’t clear of this place yet and until then, she had to retain some manner of professionalism.
“So, in the end, you didn’t really need me at all for this, did you?”
“Not so. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the thoughts that led me to your room last evening. I was prepared, for all intents and purposes to fight this as best as I could to its inevitable – and troubling – conclusion. But seeing you… I felt… different.”
She smiled. “You needed me.”
“I still do… with my alien status now in question, I will need representation to become a United States citizen.” He smirked. “I don’t suppose you could recommend a firm to aide me? Perhaps you know of one with experts in international law whom I could work with closely… for long periods of time?”
She smirked back. “It will be a long process, Alexi… and after today my record will be…”
“Untarnished. You did not win, but you did not lose either. And I will be happy to give your supervisor my highest praises for your efforts. And a case of this nature, settled in two days, will surely bring you much favor, yes?”
She wasn’t able to suppress it any longer. She took hold of his neck and brought his mouth down to her own. The kiss was simple but as passionate as it had been the night before. Again, he did not fight it and she desired to try again that which they had both admitted shortcomings. But there would be more time for that later.
When she broke the kiss she replied, “You know… I can think of someone who would love to work the case.”
THE END
Wanted By The Outlaw
Chapter 1
Carlie checked her appearance in the mirror on the reverse side of the sun visor. The mirror wasn’t large but she was able to give herself an appraising look. She was full figured and buxom, and the chocolate color of her skin clashed with the dark blue of the dress that she had gotten into for tonight. The single blonde highlight in her hair gave a splash of color to her otherwise jet black hair.
REGENCY: Loved by the Duke (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Short Stories) Page 17