S Ison - Russian Doomsday

The man lifted a finger, pointed at Dalton, and mouthed something over and over. Dalton looked hard, trying to understand what the man was saying. Then he understood. Run for your life, run for your life.

Hamish was receiving conflicting reports. Mermaid said the processing plant had shut down its housing for the nuclear reactor, yet Kilian seemed to suggest that production had stalled for a time, but had picked up again.

He picked up the phone and dialed. Caroline Jenson wasn’t happy with the reports and neither was Hamish. He needed to get to the bottom of this, and fast. He didn’t want to get on Jenson’s shit list, and he was on the fast track there if he didn’t get on top of things.

“My contacts are giving me inconsistent information on the housing situation,” the voice on the other end said.

“Then we need to tap into our other assets on the ground. We can’t rely solely on Mermaid. I need to get some clarification asap. This thing can go sideways quick, and we’re on the losing end. Make it happen,” Hamish said, then hung up the secure line.

Dina was frustrated. She’d been getting plenty of intel from Borin’s pillow talk, but none had been about POSEIDON. She didn’t know if he was doing this on purpose, which meant he knew she was an operative, or if nothing was proceeding since the accident. Her main mission was to report on POSEIDON, yet there was almost nothing.

She knew her superiors were as frustrated with her as she was with Borin, but there was no way she could ask him point blank. All she could do was pass on all intel, hoping that at some point she’d get lucky and he’d say something.

She also had another big problem: she was pregnant, and she didn’t know what to do. She knew Alexei didn’t have any children. What would he say if she told him? She was only four weeks along, but she knew that, at some point, she would have to tell him. She could get an abortion, but she knew that word would get back to him. She supposed she could tell him and see how he reacted. She wanted to keep the baby. If it was a boy, she would name him Gregg, her one and only true love, childish though it was. She didn’t want to be tied to Borin.

She looked at the clock and sighed heavily. He would be over shortly. She’d already bathed and perfumed up – he liked her squeaky clean. A fastidious man. It would be tricky, telling him she was pregnant. If he were to get angry, he could drop her and that would end the likelihood of her ever gathering any more intel.

Perhaps she would wait a while longer. she didn’t think she would start showing for a couple more months. She hoped. It was a delicate balance.

Kalvin and Mikey sat in Kalvin’s truck, waiting. They were on a job. He’d heard that the house had some huge TVs, really nice flat screens, and that the home owners weren’t around for a few days. Kalvin had let Mikey know, calling him on the burner phone, and he’d been hot to go for it.

He was worried. He’d heard Mikey bragging about Julia, that he’d kept her a couple days. He’d never done that before. He’d also let slip that he’d kept her handcuffed. Mikey was getting out of control. It wasn’t up to Kalvin to monitor Mikey, but letting him spiral wasn’t an option.

“Mikey, I wanted to talk to you, you know, about you and your ladies. Dude, I don’t care what you do, but I think maybe you might be going too far.”

Mikey looked at Kalvin. He smiled, but it didn’t go to his eyes. It was dark out, but the moon was shining on Mikey’s face. Kalvin knew Mikey was pissed, but he had to say it. He didn’t want to be an accessory to murder or a serial killer.

“Look, Mikey. I’ve known you all my life. You’re starting to escalate and I’m just worried you’ll get mixed up into something that you won’t be able to talk yourself out of. Your business is your business. I don’t want to overstep. Just sayin’.”

Mikey let out a long, low breath. He looked out the window at the house they were going to rob. He was quiet for a long moment. He didn’t look back at Kalvin. “I hear ya, yeah, I guess I might be a little over the line. You’ll not hear any more about it. Will that do?”

Kalvin knew better. Not hearing about it didn’t mean he’d stop, but he’d keep it quieter. Kalvin figured one of these days he’d see something in the newspapers about some poor girl gone missing or found dead. He’d done what he could.

“Okay, let’s go see what we can find,” Kalvin said, getting his mind back on business.

The outdoor oven was coming along nicely. Sayer had come by early to make a start. Pike had gathered in the supplies over several weeks, not wanting to spend a lot of money at one time. Though he was making it fine paycheck to paycheck, the modifications to the cabin and property were putting a strain on their wallets. Pike wanted to be cautious with their money and not overspend.

He and Margo footed most of the bills since, if nothing happened, they’d be the ones to profit. The thought of Margo made his heart skip. They’d become intimate over the last few weeks. He’d even gone so far as to move into her bedroom, the master suite. They were still a little shy, but it was building and becoming more powerful. He was also looking for an engagement ring.

He knew he was probably rushing it, but he thought perhaps he’d get the ring now and then, when he felt the time was right, ask her to marry him. He wasn’t in a hurry per se, but he did love her and wanted her to be his. He was old-fashioned that way.

He’d seen Joy’s smiles and had blushed badly. Sayer had slapped him on the back. “You two make a great team and an even better couple. I’m happy for you, man.”

Now he and Sayer were sitting in the camp chairs drinking beer. “I was trying to think about what we can do for perimeter early warning systems,” Pike said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Well, we can use fishing line with some kind of small explosive device but if a deer trips it, or you or Margo, that won’t be any fun. Plus, if a neighbor sets it off, then you might be looking at a lawsuit. But post-apocalyptic, all bets are off.” Sayer laughed, looking over at the women, who were working in the garden. He nodded at them. “They sure are working hard.”

“Yeah. Margo wants to get the garden ready for planting. Some of the seedlings are getting really big, so will need transplanting soon. It is really warming up this spring. I even had to shave my beard.” He laughed, his hand going to his freshly shaved face. “I also went dumpster diving and got quite a few windows that had been thrown out at a building site. They’re in the barn now. I’m planning on building Margo a greenhouse from them. The seedlings are starting to take over the house. I got a couple designs off the internet, so I’m just trying to figure out what is the best way to go.”

“Something simple and straightforward, I’d say. We can come up on the weekends to help weed and take care of it. You guys shouldn’t have it all on your shoulders,” Sayer suggested.

“Sounds good. She’s planning on a huge garden. I think we’ll be eating good. Especially if everything grows well,” Pike said, taking another sip.

They had started vegetable seeds in February and set them by the large living room window that caught the southern sun. It was usually Binx’s spot, but he’d been usurped by the metal shelving unit that held all the seedlings. They’d used the worm casting and the seedlings had shot up.