Worth The Risk

by Richard Gustafson

  She didn't reply, just stared ahead. After several steps she said, without looking at him, "What job are you going to do?"

  "None," Nick replied. "I turned him down and he took the nice gun back.” Anya snorted and nodded. “But Maxsim and his goons are after me, and I need protection, so he took pity on me. He gave me a phone, too.”

  Anya held out her hand. “Good, I was hoping he would. Here, I’ll put my number in.” He passed the phone over and she typed in her contact info.

  “For a good time, call…” Nick said and smiled as she handed the phone back.

  They passed an ice cream cart on the side of the road. Painted on the side was a Russian version of an ice cream bar with a huge grin.

  Nick pointed to it. "My god, is all of your food happy in this town?"

  Anya laughed, and nodded when he asked if she wanted one. He bought two ice cream bars and they found a nearby bench to sit on.

  "You know what I don't get," Nick said as he and Anya dug into the treats. "Why are Sergei and Maxsim so intent on bringing me down? I mean, things got out of hand at the club, and again after I left the restaurant, but it certainly wasn't worth killing Lauren over." He felt a twinge at the mention of her name.

  "Apparently it was," Anya said. She finished off the bar and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "You don't know these people, Nick. They don't care who gets hurt. You embarrassed Sergei in front of many people, including his bodyguards and his girls. Then you beat up one his bodyguards."

  Nick sighed. "I know. It just happened so fast..." his voice trailed off as he thought about what had happened. “We all should’ve just kept to ourselves."

  "Yes, you should have," Anya said with force that surprised Nick. He glanced at her as she continued. "These are bad men, Nick, and you shouldn’t be involved with them."

  "I'm trying not to be involved with them, Anya," Nick protested.

  "By buying a gun?"

  "I didn't buy it, Andrei gave it to me to protect myself," Nick said, knowing how lame it sounded as he said it.

  Anya turned to face him fully and laid her hand on his arm. Her hand was hot, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Andrei doesn't just give something to someone," she said. "He expects something in return."

  "Like me killing one of his enemies?"

  "Yes. But you don't have to do it! Just stay away from Sergei. And stay away from Andrei, too. You don't want to get too close to either of them. You’re here for your baby! Don't forget that."

  "But can't you see, Anya, that's why I’m doing this. Me getting killed and dumped on the side of a road isn’t going to help Nonna get out of the orphanage. I need to stay alive for her."

  Now the tears did fall from Anya's eyes. "Just promise me you'll stay away from the bad guys."

  "Of course I will," Nick said. "But will they stay away from me?"

  Nick was preoccupied when he got back to his room, so it took him several minutes to realize Scott was still not there. The plaid blanket Scott had used was folded up and placed on one end of the sofa. In the bathroom, Scott’s toothbrush sat at an angle on the edge of the sink, but the rest of his toiletries were gone.

  Nick smiled to himself. Scott and Katie must have made up, or at least come to an understanding. He was a bit surprised it only took a few days, but nobody wants to be alone so far from home, and for such an important process. Perhaps they decided to put their differences on hold until they returned to the states.

  He grabbed the toothbrush and made a quick run down the hall to Scott and Katie’s room. He intended to return it but they weren’t in, so he brought it back. Nick wrote a quick note to Scott saying he still had his toothbrush, and slid it halfway under their door.

  He went back to his room and locked the door behind him. He peeled off his clothes, which clung to his skin limply after hours in the heat and humidity, and took a quick shower. After that he crawled into bed with a big sigh and was asleep within minutes.

  He woke up hours later to a pounding on his door. He lifted his head a bit, not sure if he had really heard the pounding. It repeated, this time louder.

  He groaned and swung his legs out of bed. He pulled his shorts on quickly and padded lightly over to the door. On the way he glanced at a clock Kelli had propped on top of the TV. Seven o’clock in the morning.

  “Who is it?” he whispered through the door.

  “Michelle.”

  Heart suddenly thumping, Nick unlocked the door and swung it open. Michelle stood in front of him, holding his note.

  She looked terrified.

  Chapter 13

  “Two days!” Michelle yelled. She threw the note at Nick, and neither one noticed as it fluttered limply to the floor between them. “He’s been gone for two days and you’re just getting around to writing a note?” She was dressed in a black tank top and white running shorts, nothing on her feet. Her short hair stuck up on one side and she looked like someone who had just gotten up. Nick assumed she went to Katie’s room as soon as she woke.

  “I figured he was back with Katie,” Nick answered, feeling the heat of embarrassment rise in his face. The truth was, he had other things to worry about than Scott, but he didn’t want to go there with Michelle.

  She swore and muttered something that sounded like “dumbass.” Nick wasn’t sure which guy she was talking about, but figured it was both, and she was probably right. She took two steps away, then whirled back at him. “So now he’s had two days to get himself into trouble, and we have no idea where the hell he is!” She rubbed her eyes. “So, no notes or calls or anything from him?”

  Nick shook his head.

  “And you last saw him Saturday morning.”

  Nick nodded. “On my way out to the orphanage. I didn’t get home until late that night, and he was gone.” He hoped she didn’t grill him on where he had been or who he had beaten up. He didn’t feel like launching another round of lies.

  “I haven’t seen Katie, either,” Michelle said. She plopped heavily into the sofa and leaned back. “I heard her crying in her room on Saturday, I guess it would be. Late in the day. It was quiet yesterday, though, and she wouldn’t answer my knock.”

  “Is she still in her room?” Nick asked.

  Michelle closed her eyes, let out a big sigh, then opened them again. “The key lady says she is. She says Katie hasn’t left since Friday.”

  “And you believe her?”

  “Why would she lie?” Michelle asked.

  Why indeed, Nick wondered. “Maybe we should check her room,” he said.

  “I tried that,” Michelle answered, “but the old bitch wouldn’t let me in. She said something in Russian and glared at me.”

  “We need to check on Katie,” Nick said. “She’s been alone long enough.” He walked to the door and heard Michelle stand up.

  “You ask her this time,” she said from behind him.

  The key lady heard them coming, because she had swiveled in her chair and was facing them as they rounded the corner. One arm on the desk, one elbow on the top of her chair, one sullen expression on her face. There were several old women who rotated the position, but Nick always seemed to run into the one who yelled at him on his first day, when he left with his key.

  “Room 406,” Nick said, holding up four fingers and then six fingers.

  She shook her head and said something negative in Russian, then made a show of turning back to her desk, her business with him complete.

  The keys were in cubby holes on the right side of the desk, each one in a labeled box. Nick scanned the boxes behind her back and saw the empty one for 406. On the top row of cubbies he saw a keychain with several keys. Odds were good they were master keys for the fourth floor rooms. He reached over the startled woman, grabbed the keys, and started back to Katie and Scott’s room.

  The woman stood up, her chair scraping a few feet across the floor with a screech, and reached for the keys in Nick’s hand, but he easily sidestepped her. She yelled something at him.

 
“Nyah zhnyoo!” he told her sharply. She stopped and looked at him strangely. He took the opportunity to quickly walk down the hall to Katie’s room.

  “What did you say?” Michelle asked, almost running to keep up.

  “I told her I didn’t give a damn,” Nick replied.

  “No, you didn’t,” Michelle said.

  Nick turned to look at her, not slowing. He didn’t see the key lady following them, which he wasn’t sure was a good thing or a bad thing. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “You said you didn’t know.”

  “Huh?”

  In spite of the circumstances, Michelle giggled. “Our driver told us that ‘Nyah zhnyoo’ means ‘I don’t know.’ Or maybe it was ‘leave me alone.’ I don’t remember which.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, it stopped her, so get off my case.”

  The fourth key opened the door. Nick and Michelle stepped inside, leaving the door open. Michelle yelled out, “Katie, it’s us!” while Nick quickly checked out the room.

  It was empty.

  Michelle stood in the middle of the room, looking like she got hit by a truck, while Nick checked the closet, the tub, the floor between the double bed and the wall. Nothing.

  “Her clothes are still here,” Nick called out.

  “Not all of them,” Michelle answered. She quickly recovered, her police training taking over. “She had a red day bag. Do you see it?”

  Nick looked around. “No.”

  “Then where the hell is she?”

  Nick dropped the keys back in their cubby hole with a clang. The key lady, who Nick decided to call Olga because there was no way he was going to ask her for her name, avoided his gaze.

  She knew what happened to Katie. And he feared the worst.

  “Nick, I have to visit my son,” Michelle said. She sounded guilty.

  “I know you do,” Nick answered. “Go play with him, give him some love. We’ll figure this out when you get back.”

  She left with Tom, both of them feeling they should stay and help out. They had a ninety minute trip to Taganrog, so they would likely be gone all day. It was Nick’s turn to feel guilty for being relieved they were out of the way.

  As soon as the cab left the curb, Nick grabbed his new cell phone and dialed Anya’s number. It was slightly past eight o’clock but he didn’t think she’d mind if he woke her.

  She didn’t. Her only comment after he explained his morning was, “What can I do?”

  “I could really use your help in tracking Scott and Katie down,” Nick said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to talk to most of the shop owners, and I think the best way to start is to walk the streets, asking if anybody’s seen them.”

  “Of course I’ll come with you,” Anya said without hesitation. “That poor woman. I can’t imagine what she’s going through.”

  “Thank you, Anya,” Nick said.

  “But what makes you think they’ll tell us anything?”

  “Because you’re going to ask them nicely,” Nick said.

  She arrived thirty minutes later, out of breath and slightly flushed.

  Nick looked at her and said, “You didn’t have to run.”

  She waved him off. “I could’ve taken my car, but I wanted a walk. It’s good for me. I was thinking on the way over that we should talk to the key lady first. She might have an idea where they were going.”

  Nick wasn’t so sure about that idea, but didn’t say anything. Perhaps if Anya did the talking they might learn something.

  They went up the stairs and approached the key lady on Nick’s floor. She watched them less impassively than usual. As Nick walked up she glared at him, and the corner of her wrinkled mouth curled up.

  “Friend of yours?” Anya murmured.

  “She’s the one who sent Lauren to my room,” Nick replied under his breath, even though he knew she didn’t speak English. “Oh, and I just stole her room keys.”

  Anya looked at Nick sideways. “Unfortunate,” she said. “That means she works for your new friends. And she probably hates you anyway for stealing her keys. I doubt we’ll get anything out of her.”

  They stopped in front of the desk. Anya smiled and said hello. When the woman didn’t reply, Anya cleared her throat and started to talk in Russian. The woman listened to her words but kept her eyes on Nick. When Anya was done talking, she replied in staccato Russian. Nick got the impression she didn’t like being interrupted. Or didn’t like Americans. Or maybe she just didn’t like people.

  Anya turned to Nick and shook her head. “She doesn’t remember seeing either of them leave.”

  “Well, they didn’t climb out the damn window,” Nick shot back. He was reaching his limit with old ladies. “Ask her if she remembers either of them at all.”

  Anya repeated the question to the old woman, who nodded slightly and said, “da.” She rattled off a string of words that caused Anya to wince.

  “What did she say?” Nick asked.

  But Anya just shook her head. “Nothing that would help us. She remembers Scott but didn’t seem to like him.”

  The woman paused, then said something else. Anya translated to Nick. “She said he was quite angry when she last saw him. He went from one room to another. Maybe from yours to his wife’s.”

  “Did she say that?”

  Anya blushed slightly. “No, that was my comment.”

  Nick let it pass. “But she never saw him leave.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  “Do you believe her?”

  Anya shrugged. “I never know when to believe these crazy babushkas.”

  Nick pulled out a hundred Ruble note and handed it to the woman. She looked at it briefly and put it down the front of her shirt. Nick winced.

  But she started talking.

  Anya gave a running commentary. “OK, she’s suddenly starting to remember now. He did leave two days ago. Twice. He left after you, came back quite angry, then left again late in the day. She said he carried a package with him when he left the second time.”

  “A large package.”

  “No,” Anya replied after asking the old woman. “Small. He carried it in one hand.”

  “Hmm, OK. Anything else?”

  She asked the woman, who shook her head. “No, that’s all she remembers. You could give her more money, but usually one bribe opens them up. I think that’s all she knows. Or at least all she’ll tell us.”

  “What about Katie?”

  She asked. Nick didn’t need any help translating the shake of the old woman’s head. But he wasn’t sure if she really didn’t know, or was afraid to tell them.

  Anya thanked the key lady and they walked back down to the lobby and out the door. “Let’s try the stores,” she said.

  Five shops and five negative answers later, they trudged slowly along the sidewalk together, their energy waning.

  “Are you asking them nicely?” Nick said.

  Anya forced a smile. “I’m trying, Nick,” she said.

  “Because I feel like we’re getting the brush off.”

  “What do you mean, brush off?”

  Nick pantomimed brushing something off his shoulder. “It means nobody wants to tell us anything.”

  She nodded, lips pursed. “In that case, we’re definitely being brushed off.”

  He stopped suddenly. Anya took another step and then turned back to him. “What?”

  “Hold on a moment,” Nick said. He walked back to the coffee shop and looked in the window, nose pressed against the glass, hands cupped around his eyes to shield the glare. He stood there for a moment, then slowly walked back to Anya, eyes on the pavement, deep in thought.

  “What?” Anya asked again.

  He looked up at her, still thinking. “So,” he said slowly. “In the protection biz, if some of the shops get protection from somebody, do the other ones fall in line with the same guy?”

  “You’re better off asking Andrei that,”
Anya replied, averting his eyes.

  “I’m asking you.”

  She shrugged. “Well, from what I know, usually they all fall in line, as you say. Declining protection when everybody else has it would make you a target.”

  Nick nodded. “Yeah, that’s kind of what I’m thinking, too. This last guy was on the phone just now. He saw me and looked like he just ate a worm. I think he was calling the bad guys.”

  She nodded. “Probably, yes. They’re keeping tabs on you. On us.”

  “So let’s give them something.”

  “What kind of something?”

  He motioned to the record shop in front of them. “Let’s talk to Boris. And this time it’s my turn to ask nicely.”

  Chapter 14

  Boris didn’t meet Nick’s gaze. So Nick knew.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “Who?” the Russian said, running a finger along the counter.

  Nick leaned forward, knuckles on the counter on either side of the finger. “You know who,” he said. “And I need to know. They’re in trouble. You’re a good man. So tell me where they took them.”

  Boris shook his head. Long gone was the flippant nature from yesterday. He was one scared man. “I don’t say,” he said. “They kill me if I say.”

  Nick knew it wasn’t an idle threat. He was sure the mob provided protection for at least a few stores along this street, and probably all of them. Maxsim or Sergei could easily kill the man, or at least bring enough pressure down on a simple store owner to close him down quickly.

  Nick was at a loss. There was nothing he could do to apply more pressure to Boris, except perhaps shoot him in a knee with a Czech pop gun, and Nick wasn’t about to do that.

  But then Boris came to the rescue.

  “They tell me to call them if you here,” he mumbled, still looking down.

  Bingo, Nick thought. “Then you’d better call.”

  Boris looked up, his eyes wide. “You want me call them?”

  “Yes,” Nick replied. “Do it now.”

  Boris looked at Nick as if he was crazy, then took out his cell phone and dialed a number. Nick told Anya to leave the store and keep an eye out from across the street. When she reluctantly left, he leaned against a wall. He crossed his arms and faced the front door, a look of relaxation on his face. Relaxation that didn’t touch the rest of his body.