Julia Gousseva - Gray Shadows - Russian Historical Thriller

It was unlikely that there was going to be a true merger. Most likely, another acquisition of a company in one of these fields. And if the deal had not been finalized, it made sense that Denis Fedorovich did not want to give the details to Olga.

Nikolai pushed his laptop aside and got up. That search was pointless. He would not find any information that would convince Olga not to accept the job offer. Nikolai rolled out his yoga mat and started doing physical therapy exercises that he was taught in the hospital. He needed to recover.

A few minutes into his stretches, Nikolai’s phone buzzed.

“You’re in luck, professor,” he heard Anatoly’s voice. “I got an easy assignment for you. Can you be here in an hour?”

“Of course.”

Fifty-five minutes later, Nikolai, dressed in jeans, heavy boots, and a winter jacket that easily concealed his shoulder holster, walked into Anatoly’s office. Anatoly was at his desk, dressed in his white karate uniform. His black belt hung on the coat rack in the corner.

“New dress code?” Nikolai said.

“This client was a last minute thing, and I got a karate class to teach. But don’t worry, I changed into the uniform after I called you. The client had already left by then,” Anatoly said. “Have a seat.”

Nikolai leaned his cane against the wall and sat down across from Anatoly.

“From what I can tell,” Anatoly said, “it’s a case of an overprotective dad who’s worried that something bad will happen to his young daughter or that she’ll get in trouble once she’s away from home.”

“How young are we talking about? A child? He’s concerned about kidnapping?”

“No, nothing like that. The girl is twenty-two but sounds immature and prone to bad decisions. And dad can’t control what she does anymore,” Anatoly said.

“And how can I help with that?”

“How would you like to get away for a while?” Anatoly said.

“Olga would like me to, no doubt,” Nikolai said.

Anatoly kept his gaze on Nikolai. “Are things okay? Is there anything I need to know?”

“As okay as they have been lately,” Nikolai said. “Some time apart will be good for both of us. So, how far are we talking about?”

“A couple of hours by plane. Your client is going to a small town in Komi Republic to work as an interpreter for an oil company.”

“An interpreter of what?”

“A Russian-English interpreter. She has a linguistics degree and impressive experience from what I’m told, despite her young age, so the company hired her right away. It’s a joint company with the Canadians. She’ll be working with the director of the company.”

“And that’s her first job? Sounds pretty high-level.”

“First job away from home, lots of short-term free-lance assignments in Moscow. Most Moscow interpreters don’t want to travel to a small town that far north, but she’s adventurous enough to want to go.”

“Or desperate to get away from her overprotective father?”

“That’s possible, too.” Anatoly nodded.

“How far north are we talking about? Siberia north?” Nikolai asked.

“Farther.” Anatoly got up, pushed his chair back in, and turned to the large map on the wall behind his desk. He circled a large area northeast of Moscow. “This is Siberia.” He traced a line straight up on the map. “This is Komi Republic.”

Nikolai followed the line with his eyes. Komi Republic was further north than he had thought.

Anatoly glanced at Nikolai, then moved his finger up on the map, all the way to the Arctic Circle. “And this is Upper Luzinsk.”

Nikolai shook his head. “She must like the Arctic cold weather and remote places.”

Anatoly did not respond. He simply turned back to his desk, sat down and looked straight at Nikolai, probably expecting him to say something else.

“What’s my role exactly?” Nikolai said. “What am I protecting her from?”

“Not much, and I don’t see much danger there, to anyone, so mainly your job is to demonstrate that she has a bodyguard, a chaperone of sorts. Contrary to what we usually do, feel free to tell everyone you’re her bodyguard. I think that’s what the dad wants. That way, nobody will mess with her. No dubious boyfriends or married guys looking for adventures. Are you good with that?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“You could stay at home and recuperate.”

“I’m going to Komi,” Nikolai said.

“Good answer,” Anatoly said. “I know it’s more of a babysitting assignment than a real one, but you need time to recuperate. Nevertheless, I’m taking it seriously, and so should you.”

“Of course. A job is a job. Tell me more about her and her family,” Nikolai said.

“Her dad worked abroad for many years, which means he was making decent money even when she was still little. They lived all over Europe, but mainly in Germany.”

“What did he do?”

“Trade attache for the Russian embassy,” Anatoly said.

“I see,” Nikolai said. “Does he still work for the government?”

“Not anymore. As soon as they got back to Moscow, he left his job, got into the banking business and made some serious money. And, like many people who suddenly became rich, he lost his head.”

“Can you elaborate?” Nikolai asked.

“Fancy cars, exotic vacations, that kind of thing. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that he was always raising his daughter like a princess, and the new wealth made him want to spoil her even more. He bought her anything and everything she wanted, and that ruined their relationship. She started seeing him as a source of new fancy things and easy money, nothing more. Not my words, his.”

“Where’s the mom?” Nikolai said.

“That’s another problem in that relationship. Her mom died when the girl was very young. The dad never remarried and devoted his whole life to his daughter. His way to make up for the loss of her mom was to spend more and more money on the daughter. Good intentions, and we know where they lead. Now, he’s worried that she’ll go wild as soon as she’s on her own for the first time. She graduated from college last spring, and this will be her first job away from home,” Anatoly said.

“Got it. What does the dad do now? Any background on him?” Nikolai said.

“Any background? No. Complete background? Yes. He’s a banker. Quite successful. Nothing fishy in his business. Other questions?” Anatoly said.

“No. The task is clear. Keep the girl out of trouble. Not too exciting but better than sitting at home,” Nikolai said.

“Excellent. You’re on the charter flight tomorrow. Here’s all the information.” Anatoly handed Nikolai a printed page. “The dad and the girl will be at the airport. She’s Natalya Abramova. Dad’s name is Konstantin.”

Early next morning, Nikolai woke up alone. Olga had spent the night at her parents’, at least according to the curt message she left on his phone. Nikolai wrote a long apologetic note, attached it to a bouquet of flowers, and dropped both off at Olga’s office on his way to the airport.

When he got to the charter flights terminal, he spotted Natalya and her dad immediately. In the crowd dressed in long thick pants, big boots, heavy parkas, and carrying drab-looking luggage, Natalya in her expensive mink coat and her dad holding two Louis Vuitton suitcases stood out. Natalya was tall and slender, with an unruly mane of red hair showing from under her fur hat.

Nikolai came up to them. “Natalya and Konstantin?”

Konstantin, a middle-aged man with tired eyes, greeted him politely and shook his hand.

“Ah, the bodyguard,” Natalya said. “Can you help?” She pointed to two bags on the ground next to her.

Nikolai picked up one bag with his left hand. His own luggage consisted of an old backpack and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.