The Devil's Handshake

60

London

Replacing the handset, his encrypted call with Igor over. Thomas left his office and took the short walk across the floor of the Berkeley Square townhouse and entered Mikhail’s office where he found his old friend behind his desk his feet up, drinking a cup of coffee.

Immediately the bodyguard knew why he was there.

“It’s on, Igor advises they are good to go,” stated Thomas as he closed the door behind him.

“I will let the pilots know,” answered Mikhail as he began to pick up the phone.

Unlike their usual mode of transport, this time they would be using an old cargo Boeing 737 they had chartered especially for the trip and all of them would be traveling on false passports of Canada, courtesy of the Special Services of Russia.

Leaving Mikhail and returning to his own office, Thomas closed the door, picked up the phone and then dialed the number of his father.

After their meeting at Litchfield House Thomas had over the last week put into place with Saul all the necessary documents to make his father in the event of his death the protector of Victoria’s trusts and most importantly her Guardian.

“Father I will be leaving tonight,” he said as his father answered.

“Good hunting,” was his Father’s short but sweet response.

“Thank you,” answered Thomas in return. Their relationship may always be complicated, but blood was blood.

He put down the phone as Mikhail entered the room to let him know they were good to go.

Thomas said, “I need to go home first before we go to Gatwick.”

Twenty minutes later they reached the house. He first found Tania who was sitting in the lounge.

The attractive woman had taken Nara’s death understandably very badly, and as he entered the woman quickly got to her feet out of respect to his position as he was the titular head of their family. He walked up to her and stopped her doing so.

“Sit,” he ordered as he gestured with his hands then followed suit at her side as she did as she was told. He took hold of hands then looked into her eyes.

“I shall be leaving tonight to avenge our beloved. If I do not return, you’re to stay with Victoria until she says otherwise,” he ordered in Turkmen.

“Yes, Thomas,” answered the woman her body and hands shaking.

“If its God’s will that it is my destiny for him to take me and join Nara, then my father will take care of you,” he continued using language she would understand.

Again the woman nodded before looking up him.

“Ar Almak,” answered Tania, meaning “Take Revenge,” in Turkmen before she reached up and kissed him on both cheeks.

Leaving Tania in the lounge, Thomas went upstairs to find Victoria. This would be a much more challenging conversation for although she had just had her first session with the grievance counselor, she still hadn’t spoken.

Upon finding her alone in her room playing with her iPad she smiled at him as he walked into the room.

“Plum, I need to speak to you for a moment,” he asked gently as he reached her and got down on one knee, so he was level with her. Face to face.

Putting down the iPad and sensing something was wrong she turned towards him, still not saying anything but touching his face with her hand, and taking it in his own hand he said, “I need to go away for few days.” Horror surfaced in her eyes, quickly she grabbed him close to her, shaking her head violently as her way to plead for him not to.

“Plum, it will be okay Nana is here, and so is Mr. Pritchard,” he continued on as she refused to let go.

Looking into her eyes stroking her hair, trying to comfort her, he kissed his daughter’s head three times. Releasing her grip after a few moments, he got back up off his knee, turned and walked away towards the door.

“D-a-d-d-y! Please don’t go!” she cried over sobs delivering her first words for weeks in the process.

Stopped in his tracks by her voice Thomas turned back around just as she flung herself into his waist.

“Please D-a-d-d-y!” Victoria desperately pleaded again so much, so he almost caved into her.

“Victoria,” he said using his finger gently lifting her face up him, before continuing, “I have to do something for Mummy!” He was struggling to keep his emotions in check.

“WHAT?” she demanded, tears in her eyes.

“A debt of Honor,” he whispered.

“I don’t understand Daddy?” she asked while holding on to him for dear life.

“You will one day, Plum.”

“But for now I have do this for your Mother,” he said seriously not wanting to answer her. “I need you to look after Grandma for me,” he requested so to change the subject giving his now speaking daughter a responsibility to focus her mind and still processing the fact she was talking again fully.

“Will you do that for me?” he asked as he looked down at her.

Looking up him the little girl, sensing the pain in her father’s eyes, suddenly grew up.

“You will come back? Won’t you Daddy?” she asked

“If Allah wills it, Victoria,” Thomas replied not wanting to lie to his daughter and treating her as an adult. “Will you let me go?” he asked finally.

“Yes, Daddy,” she answered firmly thinking that was what her mother would say if she were here sensing the trip was dangerous despite her father not saying so by his response.

When her mother was alive, she often told her that her father fought bad men who wanted to hurt them as an answer when she first asked why they had bodyguards. This must be one of those times.

“Thank you,” the former solider answered with a stiff upper lip making every effort not to cry over the fact that Victoria was talking again and trying to show strength for the task he now had to do while experiencing for the first time since his first operation in Northern Ireland all those years ago that being: genuine fear.

Not fear for himself but fear for the little girl in front of him if he didn’t come back.

“Mama will keep you safe!” replied his half Turkmen-English daughter with her mother’s eyes staring back at him as she leant up to kiss his cheek and hug him firmly. Holding her for a few moments longer himself for now it was his turn let her go reluctantly. Releasing her, he turned and left his daughter, his eyes changing in the process as he did so.