Julia Gousseva - Gray Shadows - Russian Historical Thriller

A moment later, Nikolai’s phone buzzed. It was Vanya.

“Your guys are here,” Vanya said. “Can you come to the front gate to help me identify them? There’s enough manpower here to take over a small country, so you’d better make sure these guys are on our side.”

“You’re learning fast,” Nikolai said. “I’ll be right there.”

A minivan was parked outside the main gate. Nikolai nodded to Vanya and walked out of the compound to the van. He greeted the driver, a dark-haired young man, but did not recognize him.

“Mind if I look inside?” Nikolai said.

“Go ahead,” the driver said and opened the passenger door.

Nikolai leaned in. He saw Andrei, his buddy from training, and Viktor, Centurion’s computer expert, next to Andrei. He recognized the other four men as well. Nikolai greeted them, stepped away from the van, motioned for Vanya to open the gate, and walked back inside the compound.

“Anatoly sent our computer guy, too. Mind if he takes a look at your system?” Nikolai said.

“But we have Oleg,” Vanya said.

“As they say, two heads are better than one,” Nikolai said.

Vanya shook his head. “Right. I know what you’re doing. You don’t trust anyone, do you?”

“Trust but verify. Anyway, why don’t you have Viktor check the network, and you take the guys to the hotel. Meanwhile, I’ll talk to Andrei, my replacement,” Nikolai said. “Once you’re done at the hotel, bring them back, and we’ll chat.”

“All right. I guess I’m no longer in charge.” Vanya opened the door of the van and climbed inside. Two young men jumped out, and the van took off towards the hotel.

Both men were dressed in thick dark-colored parkas, big boots, and fur hats, but even in these similar outfits, the differences in their appearances were starkly obvious. Andrei, Nikolai’s replacement, was short and stocky, with dark curly hair. Viktor, the computer expert, was tall and slender. As he came out of the van, Viktor adjusted his fashionable rimless glasses and pulled on his gloves. He worked hard and was well-compensated for the late nights and the long hours, and that explained his expensive tastes, in his outfits and in his choices of exotic vacations. He loved spending time somewhere on warm beaches in Turkey, Spain, or Greece, and his affinity for warm weather was indicated by his tanned face, a sharp contrast to the infinite whiteness around them.

“Not my favorite climate,” Viktor said. “Next time you have computer problems, can you have them in a Monaco casino or somewhere in the Mediterranean?”

“I’ll do my best,” Nikolai said.

“I bet Nikolai doesn’t mind this job, despite the freezing weather,” Andrei said. “Guarding a young girl. What a cushy assignment. I bet she’s pretty, too.”

“Not my type,” Nikolai said. “Let’s go chat while Viktor checks the network. I want to tell you more about Natalya and this whole assignment.”

“I hope the computers are someplace warm,” Viktor said. “I hate this cold.”

The three of them walked inside the security office. Nikolai handed Viktor a piece of paper. “All the network passwords are here. Make sure to destroy this information after you’re done.”

“Yes, boss,” Viktor said. “I’ll eat it, just like spies do in the movies.” He chuckled. “I’ve got all I need, so just give me an hour or so.”

Nikolai and Andrei stepped outside and started walking the perimeter of the fence. The weather was freezing cold, as always, but at least the wind had died down, allowing Nikolai and Andrei to talk without blowing snow blinding them.

“I’m listening,” Andrei said, putting his gloved hands deeper into his pockets. “Tell me all I need to know.”

“In a minute. First, tell me how you’ve been,” Nikolai said. “I haven’t seen you for a while. Busy?”

“Pretty busy,” Andrei said without looking at Nikolai.

“What assignments have you been on? Worked with anyone I might know?”

“I’ve been away, you know,” Andrei said.

“Away where?”

For a moment Andrei was quiet, with only the crunching of their footsteps on the snow breaking the silence. “I’m not too proud of what had happened,” Andrei finally said, “but Anatoly told me to make sure you know. Just in case.”

“What is it?” Nikolai wondered if Andrei got himself into some legal trouble over a client.

“I just couldn’t get my life back on track after my wife died. I started missing work, then got into drinking, and everything was just falling apart. If it weren’t for Anatoly, I don’t know where I would be right now. Probably dead. Anatoly pretty much forced me to get into rehab for alcohol. He saved my life.”

“I’m glad you’re better, Andrei,” Nikolai said. Of course, Nikolai remembered the car accident that killed Andrei’s wife, but he also remembered Andrei getting back to work after it, and then Nikolai got so involved with his own work and with Olga that he lost track of Andrei. Now, he felt a twinge of guilt. Andrei was not a close friend, but he was a colleague, and Nikolai should have at least called him on the phone.

“I’m, too. It was tough for a while.”

“I am sorry to hear it,” Nikolai said. “Anatoly always told me he was keeping you busy, and I never questioned him. I just thought you were working.”

“That’s fine,” Andrei said. “We all get busy, and Anatoly knew more than anyone else in the company since he’s in charge. He’s a good guy. He left it up to me to tell you what really happened. So, now you know.”

“How are you now?”

“Much better,”Andrei said. “I’m fine. It’s all in the past. I learned how to handle stress without drinking, so you don’t have to worry about me. What about you? Are you and Olga married? Any kids yet?”

“No to both. That’s not happening. As they say, our life is like a fairy-tale: the further we go, the scarier it gets.”

“I thought you really liked each other. What went wrong?”

“Olga is great. It’s me. I have a hard time adjusting to all these changes, to her new career, to the fancy functions she attends. And our job, as you well know, is not too conducive to family life.” As soon as Nikolai said these last words, he regretted them. Andrei was doing just fine with his family life until his wife died. “I’m sorry, Andrei. I was just talking about myself. I didn’t mean to include you in that statement. Sorry.”

“I know what you meant, buddy. Don’t apologize,” Andrei said. “How’s your recovery going?”

“I’m pretty much back to normal. The wounded leg aches once in a while, but not enough to prevent me from doing what I need to do.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Andrei said. “So, we’re both back to normal now. That’s good to know. And it’s good to see you again.”

“You, too.”

They were almost half-way around the compound. The street lamps were all working, and the cameras were glowing with their tiny green lights.

“So, tell me about this Natalya and what my job is,” Andrei said.

“Natalya’s pretty smart and hard-working, despite what her dad led me to believe,” Nikolai said. “She has an English degree and works as an interpreter for Pyotr Alekseevich, the company’s director.”

“And why does she need a bodyguard?”

“Up until now, she really did not. It was just her dad’s way to have somebody watch over her and keep her out of trouble. Since money is no issue for him, he contacted our company, and I got the job. But now that the situation around Pyotr Alekseevich is getting pretty tense, some extra protection for Natalya couldn’t hurt.”

“Makes sense. Is she easy to work with?”

“Not too bad. I’ll introduce you as soon as I show you something.”