A Life Less Ordinary Read online

  Now to work out where the bastard might be hiding so he could finish this. He wanted them both dead, that was true enough, but what he really wanted, more than anything, was to be able to rest, to be able to wipe the demons of his past from his memory. Would killing them achieve that? He did not know, but he was at the point where he was willing to try. If it did not work, he had resigned himself to the fact he was going to have to just end himself. Shaking off the thought, he checked the directory in a nearby phone-box and found that the number was still in his papa’s name.

  Seeing that name, printed there as if his papa was still living, sent another surge of sadness through him, almost too painful to bear. If it was still in Sergei’s name, then that meant it was still in his ownership. If Ivan had taken the little fag there, they’d be trespassing and he’d be well within his right to shoot them. Smiling nastily, he walked down the muddy main street of the village, his personal hunting rifle, fetched from the private storage vault of the arms depot in Moscow, thrown over his shoulder. The pistol Ivan had so foolishly left him was on his hip.

  Last night he’d picked up the two women at a local nightclub. It was easy enough for a man in uniform to do so in these small towns. Pulling on his uniform with expert precision, he’d gone out of the small hotel room knowing precisely what he was looking for. It hadn’t taken long before two over-painted and underdressed slags were all over him. Whether or not they were whores, he never asked, the money had been left in case they were not, just to remind them he’d used them all the same. It never bothered him much, all through his military career, he’d seen their kind, and he’d always treated them the same. The women, for their part, all saw the dream of being married to a military man, which was one of the few stable, and halfway-decent paying, legal occupations these days. Of course, Dmitri had talked himself up just a bit. Maybe more than a bit. In truth, he’d been released from duty almost a month before Yuri was released.

  They, the military officials in his court martial, said his behavior had become erratic, dangerous even, all because he shot someone in the neck when they walked up behind him in the latrine tent. That, he had insisted, had been an accident. But the officers above him had then asked him why he’d had a gun on him in the latrines, and why he’d been wearing body armor around his own countrymen. Unable to reply in a way that made him not seem paranoid, Dmitri had been forced to take the discharge, which had been honorable, but that hadn’t made things any easier to swallow.

  He moved slowly up the muddy, seldom used driveway through the morning mist, his eye on the silhouette of a large country estate set back beyond two symmetrically planted rows of sycamore trees that lined either side of the drive. His keen eye could just make out lights on in one of the upstairs rooms, so he knew the house was occupied. Still, the general state of disuse made him a little uncomfortable. Had he really let things go so badly downhill in the years following his father’s passing? Probably, he nodded to himself. Having a country estate just hadn’t mattered to him, as he’d been far away near the Black Sea the last few years of his assignment.

  When he opened the front gate the door swung inward and his hand twitched towards his pistol, but stopped. Better he did not arouse suspicion, not now, not when the door could still be slammed in his face and locked from within. The familiar face of the butler appeared and old man gasped in utter surprise.

  “Dmitri, sir! We have waited for years…please, come in sir! I will have kitchen fix you breakfast. Why did you not call before you came? We might have sent car into village to pick you up.” The butler fussed over him until Dmitri was ready to shoot him, just to shut him up. Finally the man’s excitement seemed to settle some and Dmitri was able to get a word in edgewise.

  “Have my brothers arrived yet?” He asked, casually, as if were all planned, but at the dumbfounded look on the butler’s face he knew the answer immediately.

  “Sir…I am sure I do not know what you mean…Ivan is away working in carnivals and….surely you know...young Master Yuri is lost to us?” He asked, looking more suspicious now than he had. “How is it they could be here, then?”

  “We were supposed to meet here, I thought. Perhaps I was mistaken. I need to settle affairs of this house anyway, since I am out this way.” Dmitri said, his tone calm though his mind was white hot with rage. It seemed, at least to him, that he really was the fool Ivan took him for. Now he knew exactly where to find all three of them. London. It was getting there that would be the problem. Heading into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, he requested the finance books and ledgers and any other thing to set the estate right. Might as well get something done, since he’d be here a few days until the next train to Moscow arrived.

  Chapter 12

  “Just so you know…I do not usually follow strange women to their rooms….” Ivan said as Rosa unlocked the door, his attitude one of mock wariness, as if she might take advantage of him. Already she had captured his interest, and he was curious to see if he had captured hers.

  “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to.” Rosa said, not turning around so that she could keep her smile hidden, but Ivan could hear the mirth in her tone. “I’ll take my bags from here and you can sleep on the sofa downstairs…it’s uncomfortable, but I’m willing to bet you don’t want to share a room with Alex and…what’s his name?”

  “Yuri and no, you are right about that. I am not inclined towards their preferences.” He heard Aleksei give an impatient grunt at his comment, but did not look back just listened for the door to the adjacent room to close, softly. “I am not big fan of leather couch for sleeping. Maybe I will take you up on offer for nap?”

  “Nap. Right.” Rosa said and then grabbed his shirt and yanked him into the room, slamming the door and leaning on it, the look in her golden eyes now that she had him trapped was positively wild. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find real men around here?”

  “Living in this apartment? Da, I can guess.” Ivan smirked down at her and she laughed. “You mean on campus? I would think for woman as beautiful as you it would be matter of declaring yourself to be single and looking.”

  “No, you couldn’t be more wrong, actually.” Rosa put her soft, manicured hand in his giant rough one and pulled him into her private sitting room-style den. He settled on the sofa and she moved about, fetching them both a beer. Not his favorite drink, but he didn’t care, his mind was only on learning all he could about the woman now sitting to his right. “Most everyone here is job-oriented. They’re not worried about getting into a relationship and in fact, most of them are afraid of an unexpected pregnancy or…or any other thing that could happen.”

  “And you are not worried?” Ivan was alert now, not that he had any concerns. The particular genetic oddity that made him so tall had also left him completely sterile. Much to the chagrin of the Russian government, who had wanted to, for lack of a better phrase, stud him out.

  “Of course not! I know how to keep from getting knocked up…it’s not like birth control is rocket science anymore. Maybe in the twenty-first century or before, but not now!” Rosa said and Ivan breathed an inward sigh of relief. “I’m safe from that until I decide to have the procedure reversed. Even when I tell them that, men are still wary. Then their fear shifts to charges being brought because some women kiss and file charges.” She sighed heavily. “I’ve got to get some sleep, really. Are you sleeping out here or…?”

  “I will sleep wherever you permit me to sleep, pretty one.” Ivan said to her and she pulled him into the bedroom, slamming the door once more as if she were trying to keep him from escaping. To answer the obvious question, no he did not have actual intercourse with her, though he had an aching desire to do so. He had grown out of that phase many years ago, and now he was more interested in not hurting her when he had to leave, which he knew would be inevitable. As soon as she saw him sitting on her bed, untying his heavy conscript’s boots, Ivan knew from her expression she had lost her nerve. No, he wanted to get to know
this one, she had the look and fire and brains of a woman he might like to one day settle down with.

  But, still, deep down he knew the truth, and it hurt him now as much as he suspected it would hurt her when the time came. He could not remain in London forever. The three of them being in one place made Dmitri’s errand all the more simple, and he knew that sooner or later, his half-brother would figure out he and Yuri had been here all along. Even Dmitri, whose wit Ivan considered to be severely-lacking, would eventually arrive at that conclusion.

  Chapter 13

  Life went on after that, much as it had before Yuri, and later Ivan, had turned up. With Ivan in the domicile to keep Yuri occupied during the day or night, depending on their shift that week, Rosa and Aleksei were able to keep up a façade of normalcy. Ivan had already warned them that Dmitri was probably watching and that it would be best if they carried on as casual as possible.

  “Eventually, he will grow impatient because he knows his target is here. Then he will show himself, and we will be ready.” Ivan produced a large envelope from inside of his bag and held it out to Aleksei. “Put these documents where you can grab them at a moment’s notice. They are forged, but they are excellent forgeries, Uncle Oleg hires only best in business, you will be able to take Yuri safely out of country with them. Rosa…”

  “No! I…I’m staying here with you!” He and Rosa now had a kind of thing for each other, Aleksei knew, but he hadn’t any idea just how far that ‘thing’ had progressed.

  “You are going with Alek…Alex. Though where you will go I have no idea.” Ivan looked troubled, but Rosa perked up immediately.

  “My family has a summer house on the coast of Spain…No one will be there now because it is almost winter, they will have gone back into the city. It is gated and even has guards…” She looked slightly embarrassed but Ivan smiled broadly, so she returned the smile.

  “That sounds perfect. Do not leave any information about the place here but what you can tell me. It would be better Dmitri not know address, you know?” Ivan asked, and she nodded, though her expression was a little sad. Perhaps she, too, had realized that eventually Ivan would have to leave. Aleksei studied her quietly, but said nothing, just chewed his vegan meal in silence.

  Only three days passed before the inevitable actually occurred. They were sitting in the living room when someone pounded heavily at the door. Ivan had to grab Yuri and drag him with one hand and a furious Rosa with the other, up the stairs to Rosa’s rooms, as previously arranged. They had planned for every eventuality and still both Rosa and Yuri were a handful to control, even for Ivan, and that was saying a lot. Aleksei hurried about, clearing the table to look as if he’d dined alone, giving them time to get settled and quiet upstairs. The knocking got more ferocious with every passing minute and Aleksei was silently thankful he had opted for an apartment with the steel security door.

  Finally, after composing himself using his reflection in the microwave oven door, he went to the front door, which was actually moving from the beating it was receiving. He opened the door a crack, not unfastening the chain, then jumped back as Dmitri slammed it open, tearing the chain from the wall. Just as Ivan had said he would.

  “Where is he, Aleksei?” He asked, pushing past the slender doctor as if he were nothing and heading into the empty den area.

  “Who? Ivan? I have no clue.” Aleksei said, deliberately keeping his tone light and casual, unconcerned even. “Why are you asking me?”

  “Because I know of all three of you, you are worst liar. And no,” he added, “not Ivan. Is Yuri I am looking for…but you knew that already, did you not?”

  Aleksei laughed, hoping inwardly it was convincing. “You have gone right out of your tree, my son. You know as well as I do that Yuri is in asylum in States. Far away from where you can do him harm. I made sure of that…we all did.”

  In a flash, Dmitri had him pinned against the brick wall by the gas-log fireplace, his hand so tight around Aleksei’s throat that it was cutting off air. Before he could speak again, however, a woman’s sharp voice interrupted.

  “Okay, enough.” Rosa said softly, but authoritatively, having just appeared, her mobile phone at the ready. “If Alex says he doesn’t know, then he doesn’t know!” Aleksei gave a soft groan as Dmitri turned to size her up, releasing him completely. Not that Dmitri understood what she had said, he didn’t speak a word of English, though he did seem to catch the name ‘Alex’ and it appeared to gall him considerably.

  “Well, well…you must be feeling very lonely having,” he sneered out the next word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, despite the fact he was speaking in Russian, it was clear Rosa had picked up on the threatening tone. “Alex for roommate. What is pretty woman like you doing living with fag like him?”

  “Stop, Dmitri. She is just my roommate, nothing more.” Aleksei said, but he could tell by the way Dmitri was moving closer to Rosa he had no intention of stopping with simple words. Grabbing a wine bottle from the garbage bin, he slipped up behind Dmitri and hit him hard across the back of his skull. The blood that came was immediate, but his loss of consciousness, not so much. He managed to pull a gun, but his vision was so blurry he was waving it all around, pointing it in the complete wrong direction. Ivan slipped down from Rosa’s room, where he and Yuri had been hiding, and finished knocking him out with a stiff punch in the side of the head. As soon as Dmitri was out, Yuri ran to Aleksei and clung to him, sniffing him all over, as if he were looking for injuries.

  “You take Yuri and woman…sorry, Rosa, get out of here. Go out of country…somewhere, anywhere. Keep cell phone on you. I will contact you for location in three days but you must not tell me where it is you have gone until I request it. I should be able to find you without asking, but to be on safe side...” Ivan said, putting a heavy booted foot on the back of Dmitri’s neck, as he was already beginning to stir. “Take envelope that I brought you…it has everything you will need. Go! Now!”

  In mere seconds after they had fled, Ivan ripped the landline phone cord out of the wall and crushed the handset with his boot heel. Then, as Dmitri was beginning to find his feet, Ivan tripped the security alarms, drew his weapon and pointed it at Dmitri, who froze and stared at him in utter confusion. “What?” he finally managed to slur out, “You are so afraid now you call in police?”

  Ivan let out a bark of laughter as sirens sounded in the distance. He reached into his right inside coat pocket with his left hand and held out a rather official looking badge. “I am professional bodyguard and you…you are sick man who has been stalking my client. Do us favor and keep right on playing along.”

  When the police stormed into the domicile, Ivan held up his badge and was immediately overlooked as Dmitri was hauled to his feet and put into cuffs. Once he was safely in the back of a police wagon after giving them a hell of a struggle that resulted in a Taser being used, the police returned to Ivan to question him.

  “Who is that man?” The duty sergeant, still out of breath from the struggle getting the furious Dmitri safely contained, asked and Ivan shrugged.

  “Obsessed man. Not really sure where he attached himself to my client, but as she works in emergency department as part of her school, I would have to guess he saw her there.” Ivan said, his tone one of a man who simply wanted to help control a dangerous criminal. “She hired me because…well, I suppose you can see why.”

  “I’ve never heard of this company you work for out of Russia…if I call this phone number, what am I going to find out?” Ivan was, of course, prepared for this line of questioning, and smiled amicably.

  “You are going to find out that boss misses me because I am good employee. As for you never having heard of our company, all I can say is of course you have not. We typically do not work outside of Russia, but client was offering whopping fee and no good Russian man ever turns down money.”

  “Where is your client now? We would like to speak with her if you don’t mind.”

  “She has gone out
of country, because of stalker, but I can give you her mobile number if you wish to contact her. All I can ask is that you not give this information to her stalker…for reasons I am sure you can understand.” Ivan said, then dug out his day book and tore out a sheet of paper written in Rosa’s own hand. On the opposite page was a pencil sketch of her sleeping, fully clothed, that he’d done only two nights prior. He glanced at the picture and smiled slightly, his heart skipping a beat. “That crazy bastard is former Russian military, possibly another reason why she selected our agency. I have dealt with his kind in past, so, I had contingency plan in place to get her safely out of country at moment’s notice.”

  “But you can’t tell me which country you’ve sent her to?” The policeman eyed him suspiciously.

  “Nyet, I gave her choice of five. I will find her in less than three days…if you see fit to let me be on my way?” Ivan asked the final question in as humble a tone as he could manage.

  “No, don’t leave town for a couple of days, at least not until we make contact with your client and verify we’ve arrested the right man. You know how it is mate…we have to be careful.” The policeman shook his hand and Ivan looked over at the police wagon, where a woozy-looking Dmitri was glaring at him with murderous vitriol. When the officer turned his back, Ivan shot him the middle finger and then walked back into the apartment building with his chest thrown out. Once out of view of the cops, he immediately texted Aleksei’s phone, telling them so far so good but that they should not deviate from the plan.