From Russia Without Love

4

In the villa north of the pool, Animus stood in the living room while Evelina sat slouching on the sofa. “What was that all about?” he asked.

“What was what all about?”

“Who was he?”

“Who was who?” Evelina said innocently.

He was determined to get an answer. “You know who I’m talking about,” he said.

She sighed. “If you must know, his name is Chris. He’s a legal attaché from the US Embassy.”

A hard knock came at the door, and they stopped talking. Animus reached for his pistol, keeping it concealed under his suit jacket as he approached the door and looked through the window. “It’s your father.”

She stood up from the sofa. “You know how he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Xander was more than a mentor to Animus, he was the father Animus never had. While Animus’s contemporaries earned their bachelor’s degrees in subjects like business and biology, he earned his in the art of killing. And Xander was his sole professor.

Animus answered the door and invited him in.

“I was looking for you,” Xander said as he stopped in front of Evelina. “I could not find you in the main residence, so I came here.”

“Is something wrong?” she asked, worry creasing her brow.

“Before the party, I tried to reach you, but your phone was off. I sent a text asking you to stay away from the party. And I left the same message with your answering service.”

“I’m sorry. I was having trouble with my phone,” she explained.

Xander took a deep breath. “It is okay. I understand, sweetheart.” He paused for a moment. “There was an American here tonight from the State Department, a legal attaché.”

Evelina hesitated for a moment. “Yes.”

“Did he ask you about Michael Winthrop?”

“He did, but I didn’t tell him anything,” she said.

“Are you sure? I will not be angry. It is simply important that I know what you told him.”

“I didn’t tell him anything. When he brought up the subject, I walked away and came here.”

“He was not like any diplomat I have ever met,” Xander said. “Too calm for a bureaucrat. Did either of you see what his colleagues were up to this evening?”

Animus and Evelina shook their heads.

Xander hugged Evelina and kissed her on the head. “Could you bring us some drinks, please?”

She smiled and left the room.

“Our Albanian friends might need some help,” Xander said to Animus quietly. “Make sure the rest of our people are standing by to back them up at a moment’s notice.”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Kidnapping Michael Winthrop has already caused concern among the other UKP employees participating in the pipeline project. I tried to milk this for all it is worth, but with these attachés snooping around, we may have to kill the kid sooner than I expected. We may need to move on to Phase Two.”

“UKP headquarters in London, sir?”

Xander nodded. “Go ahead and make reservations for our crew. Get us as close to the target as you can. I want to be ready to move in an instant. We can always cancel the reservations if we decide to begin Phase Two later.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We may not be able convince UKP’s leadership to stop constructing TAP, but if we hit their employees hard enough, we should be able to slow construction down.” Xander patted Animus on the shoulder and smiled. “Striking fear in their hearts is key.”