Geminae

by Alan Richards

  “Good, we need some sort of plan. Letitia will already be planning the killing of Andrei and we need to get there first.”

  “And we...” Ian was interrupted by a knock at the door. “That should be our help,” he said as he left the kitchen to answer the door. Alexa heard the door open and a muffled conversation. The voices got louder as they walked towards the kitchen. She got up from her seat at the table, picked up the kettle, filled it and flicked the switch to boil the water for another drink.

  “Hello Alexa.”

  She recognised the voice, she turned quickly. It surely couldn’t be who she thought it was.

  “What the fuck is he doing here, have you sold us out to Letitia,” she said as she stared at Ian.

  “He works for me,” Ian replied.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Blain worked for your father and Giles for years at Soteria but when Letitia took over and turned it into an organised criminal gang Blain came to me.”

  “I wouldn’t trust anyone that works with her.”

  Blain stepped towards Alexa.

  “Don’t come any fucking closer, I am sure I could reach that knife on the worktop before you get anywhere near.”

  “Alexa, you have to believe me. I am on your side and hopefully the information I have will help stop Letitia.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Let’s get on with this,” interjected Ian. “We need to know everything you have and then you need to get back before she misses you.”

  Twelve

  It was the morning after the news had broke about the corruption within the Russian ruling classes - the fake news that he had created with the help of Darya his assistant. The president had called a cabinet meeting, he would need all of them to toe the line and deny everything. He would want them all to come out publicly and announce that the allegations were false and that the author, Andrei Sokolov had conspired with western government’s to overthrow the President and put their own weak minded replacement in place. Russia must stand strong, together. That would be his line. Renat had no intention of doing that, he wanted a better Russia and the only way he could achieve his goal was to be the Russian President. He didn’t like it that he was having to work with people he knew nothing about and he knew that they would want their pound of flesh eventually. A knock came at his office door.

  “Come.”

  “Sir, your car has arrived to take you to the cabinet meeting.”

  “Good, this will be our day Darya. Today will be the start of a new Russia.”

  “Yes,” Darya replied as she moved into the office and closed the door behind her. “You will be a great President.”

  “And you will be at my side.”

  “Always,” Darya said as she moved around the desk and spun Renat’s chair to face her.

  “We had better go, we don’t want to keep the president waiting,” Renat said, he could never fight his urges when Darya got close.

  “We have a few minutes, you will be president soon. Let’s celebrate.”

  * * *

  Cabinet meetings were always held in the same palatial room in the Kremlin. Darya had been many times but every time she sat in the room she was awestruck by its grandeur. She was looking forward to this meeting, this is the one where Renat would make a stand against the president and he would win, he had garnered support from other ministers over the last day. Secret meetings had taken place and he had enough support to overthrow the corrupt president and a new fair Russia would emerge. Yes she had lied and cheated and she had sacrificed the life of her friend Andrei in the process, but it was all for the greater good. She also had hope, the man she knew as Blain had promised to help Andrei, maybe he could spare her friends life and get him out of Russia safely.

  All of the ministers were sat around the table in the middle of the room waiting for the president, Darya knew who was on the side of Renat, she had sat in on the secret meetings. It was nearly half the cabinet and once the others knew that the change of president was inevitable they would fall in behind Renat. The large door in the corner opened and the president walked in flanked by his two bodyguards. He nodded to everyone around the table as he took his seat.

  “Welcome comrades, today is a black day for Russia,” President Arken announced. “The fabricated reports of corruption in my government are a blatant act of war against Russia by the western powers that want to take over Russia. We must all denounce these reports.”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen Mr President,” Renat said. “It is obvious from the report that you are corrupt. You have been lining your own pockets while the people of Russia struggle. It has to end and the only way for that to happen is for you to resign.”

  “I would be very careful Renat, the punishment for treason is death in this country.”

  “Treason, you idiot Stepan, we have known each other for years. This is not how Russia should be. It shouldn’t be full of people syphoning off money for their own benefit while hard working Russians struggle for food. This is not why we took office. This is not why I supported you as President. It is time to go.”

  “And who will be the new president - well Renat, will it be you. Craving power has taken you over and it will be your downfall.”

  “Yes I want to be president, but I want to make a difference, give Russia back its pride. Give Russians their pride.”

  “I see. Maybe resigning is my only choice and then you can take over Renat.”

  “That would be for the good of Russia, Stepan,” pleaded Renat.

  “I would like us to take some outside advise first,” Stepan said as he waved one of his bodyguards to the door.

  Darya thought everything was going well, it looked like Renat would finally get the presidency he craved and Russia would be great again. She watched as the bodyguard opened the door. A wave of panic hit her as she watched Letitia walk into the room and sit next to President Arken. Darya couldn’t move, the fear had taken hold. Had Letitia betrayed them.

  “This is Letitia Trent,” Stepan said. “We have had a very long conversation this morning about my resignation and you taking over as president Renat.”

  “I hope she has persuaded you that it is the right course of action,” Renat replied.

  “She has... enlightened me.”

  “What does that mean?” Renat said. “I have never seen this woman before.”

  “You may not, but your assistant, your lover has.”

  She watched as the president pointed straight at her. She looked to Renat for support but he didn’t turn from his seated position. The bodyguards moved towards her. She was fixed to her chair, she couldn’t move and even if she could she had nowhere to go.

  “Renat?” she pleaded, but he still didn’t turn.

  “Answer your lover Renat, are you not going to stand with her.”

  “She is not my lover, I have no idea what you are talking about. This woman has been telling you lies.”

  “No Renat, it is you that has been lying. It is you that has conspired with your lover to spread fake news about corruption so that you could grab power.”

  “You are corrupt Stepan.”

  “Maybe my good friend but the evidence you have released to the press is all fake. I will denounce the reports as a blatant attempt by the west to interfere in Russian politics and it will all blow over.”

  One of the bodyguards grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her to her feet. The other grabbed Renat and dragged him from his chair at the table. She stared at him as he was turned towards her.

  “You pig,” she said as she spat in his face.

  She was dragged out of the room to a fate she knew would end in her death.

  Thirteen

  Alexa still didn’t trust Blain but he had provided them with a way of tracking the whereabouts of her brother and at this point in time that was the only thing she cared about. She had so many questions and the only way they were going to get answered was if her brother was alive. The safe
house had come very well equipped for what looked like a very basic Russian flat. False walls within rooms gave way to hidden storage spaces that were brimming to the top with weaponry and electronics. They had all chosen their weapons of choice, Alexa had chosen her usual Sig pistol and rifle. Finally everyone was wired up with closed loop communication devices, the kind that couldn’t be intercepted.

  The flat also came with a standard issue Range Rover. Alexa was sat in the passenger seat, Adrian and Lyndsey in the rear. They had decided to leave Vladimir at the flat. They had enough to worry about knowing that they weren’t the only ones hunting Andrei without having to look after his father as well. Alexa was giving directions to Ian, following the route shown on the tablet from their current location to the blue dot that was flashing at the top left of the screen.

  “You seem quite at home driving in Russia,” Alexa said.

  “I was stationed here for a while early in my career, it’s not...”

  “Second exit at this traffic island,” Alexa interrupted. “You were saying.”

  “Was I... Oh yes. It’s not that hard really once you get used to it.”

  “I’ve never driven in a different country.”

  “Plenty of time for new experiences, once we get home.”

  “I’m going back to my hiding place, although I may need a new one now you know where it is.”

  “Let’s talk once we get through this. I want you on my team.”

  “What about Letitia?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  “How... third exit at this one onto the E115 and then stay on that for quite a distance.”

  “She can either go to prison for her crimes, be put in a dark hole that no one knows about or you can kill her.”

  Alexa didn’t say anything, she didn’t know how to respond. Ian took the exit off the traffic island and settled into the long drive ahead of them.

  “No need to make a decision yet, lets get this job done first.”

  * * *

  They had been in the car for over two hours and Alexa was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. She looked at the tablet, zooming in to get a closer look at the map now that the two dots were closer together.

  “Filter to the left at the next bend, it should be signposted Lake Pleshcheyevo.”

  “Got it, where then?”

  “There’s a left coming up, take that and then follow the road around the lake. I’ll let you know once we are close.”

  Alexa watched as the trees flashed by, her anxiety levels growing in correlation to how close the dots were getting to each other. She had no idea if her brother would be alive when they arrived at the cabin. Her feelings were confused, she hadn’t ever met this person, they would be a stranger but it was her twin brother. She had lost her sister when she was a child after her father had experimented on her to make the perfect soldier. He had succeeded with Alexa but Sarah had died from leukaemia brought on by the drug combinations that they had both been given. She now had the chance to get to know a brother and she wanted that so much.

  “Find somewhere to pull over,” Alexa said as the dots were nearly on top of each other. “The cabin should be around here.”

  Ian found a space between a few trees and pulled the car in-between, it would be hidden from the road so if anyone was taking the same route as them they wouldn’t spot it. Everyone exited, Ian opened the boot and they all grabbed the gear they had brought from the flat. Vladimir had explained the layout of the cabin. It was a single story wooden building with four rooms. Two entry points - one on the front leading from the small veranda into the lounge and one from the kitchen to the side of the house. The layout was simple, the lounge and kitchen at the front. The lounge had two doors, one leading to the kitchen the other led to a small hallway which had doors to the one bedroom and a bathroom. The plan was to hit both doors simultaneously and move through the cabin. As well as the firearms they had all chosen they all had a taser, they had no idea if Andrei would be armed.

  “Okay, everyone set. Remember lethal force only if you really need to,” instructed Ian. “I really don’t care how many of Letitia’s people you kill if they are here but I would rather not leave a trail of dead Russian FSB agents. Alexa, your with me. Lyndsey, Adrian you take the kitchen door. Remember the taser gun is for Andrei only if he is armed, if you can talk him down and let Alexa get to him it would make it much easier to get out of here.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “The cabin is here,” he said, pointing at a location on the tablet that showed just forest, with a blue dot flashing at regular intervals. “The cabin was built without permission and so doesn’t show on any map. From our current location we need to head north one click. Let’s do this.”

  Fourteen

  Letitia stood as the President entered the room she had been taken to.

  “Please, sit Miss Trent.”

  “Thank you Mr President.”

  “I should say thank you to you Miss Trent for bringing this treachery to my attention.”

  “I felt it was the only thing I could do in the circumstances.”

  “I do have one question though,” he said as he sat behind the large mahogany desk that sat in front of the large window that overlooked Red Square. “How did you know about this plan?”

  “Oh that’s easy to answer, I orchestrated it.”

  “Why would you tell me this. Surely you know that it will mean the same fate for you as all the traitors. Why would you interfere in Russia? Why would you cross me? Many people have tried and many people are dead because of it.”

  “Mr President I’m a business woman and I side with the people who will provide me the best opportunity to make money. That was going to be Renat, but I changed my mind and now its you.”

  “Go on Miss Trent, I am intrigued how you think conspiring with one of my cabinet to overthrow me and then changing your mind is going to persuade me to let you live let alone work with you.”

  “Mr President, you do ask some very simple questions,” she said as she pulled a Manila folder from her bag. “The documents in this folder detail your criminal activities, where all the bodies are buried and more importantly all the details of your Swiss bank accounts.

  The President pulled the folder to his side of the desk and took some time leafing through all the paperwork. Letitia broke the silence after she had given him enough time to digest the contents of the folder.

  “By the way Mr President. If I don’t leave here in the next hour, the information you have there will be passed to SiS and the CIA.”

  “And what is it you want Miss Trent?”

  “I want nothing... for now. Once I have your agreement the release of the papers will be stopped and you can carry on as if nothing happened and as a show of good faith I will bring you the journalist. My people are in the process of collecting him at this very moment.”

  “You have gone to a lot of trouble Miss Trent to ask for nothing.”

  “You misunderstand Mr President. I own you now, I may not want anything now but I will ask for something in the future and when I do, you will do exactly as I want. You work for me now Mr President.”

  “I am the President of Russia, I answer to no one,” he shouted as he stood from his desk. “You will end up in the same place as Renat and his tart.”

  “Sit down Stepan, by the end of the day you will be able to parade the journalist in front of the assembled international press. Keeping your presidency is a small price to pay.”

  Stepan sat down behind his desk, a dejected look wiping across his face.

  “It would appear I am in your debt Miss Trent.”

  “Good,” Letitia said as she stood from her chair. “I will be in touch once we have the journalist.”

  Letitia turned and left the room.

  * * *

  Darya couldn’t stop crying. When she had been approached by Letitia, she hadn’t taken much convincing to play her part. She loved her country, she didn’t love
how it treated the normal person. There was corruption at the highest levels but they all looked after themselves. Letitia had promised her a new Russia, a Russia for the Russian people. The lying and fabricating of evidence was just a means to an end. Now she was sat in a locked room with Renat, the man she thought she loved, the man who had abandoned her at the first sign of trouble.

  “Darya, please stop crying,” said Renat.

  “Why?, will it make you feel less guilty. You pig, you abandoned me in there. You could have stood up for me or even denied I had anything to do with what we have done.”

  “I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea who that woman was.”

  “She... she is the one who provided all the false documents.”

  “What...” Renat stood, pacing in circles. “If she provided the evidence to sink Stepan why did she go to him to tell him... I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do I. She lied to me and now we will end up in the gulag.”

  She watched as Renat paced in ever increasing circles around the room

  “Going round in circles isn’t going to help.”

  “Nothing is going to help,” he shouted.

  At that point the door was unlocked and a man that they both recognised walked in. Darya went cold, the fear was taking hold. She knew she wouldn’t survive the gulag. She was going to die. She watched as the man shut the door behind him and sat in one of the empty chairs in the room.

  “Sit down Renat.”

  Renat sat.

  “It would appear you have both got yourselves into a little bit of a mess,” said Pavel. “Trying to overthrow the President of Russia with false news articles about corruption... I must admit its a very nice idea, it’s a shame your co-conspirator turned on you. Maybe she has more on Stepan than she told you.”

  “Leave Darya out of this, Pavel. Send her somewhere, just don’t put her in the gulag.”

  “I have no intention of sending either of you to the gulag.”