Heroes In Uniform (4 page)

Until now, he hadn’t really acted on his attraction. But it’d been a week of frustration. He’d thought he’d found the most promising lead and it had led to nowhere. His disappointment, after months of continual failure, was bitter medicine. Tonight he’d gone out to make some money to pay for the recent expenses and there she was, beating him at the job. So, at spur of the moment, he’d decided he needed a consolation prize.

Luke frowned. With as much travel as he did, they shouldn’t have met that often. Unless—Konstantin’s exaggerated sigh interrupted his reverie.

“You should really ask more questions about her,” his friend said, flapping his papers again.

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Are you offering it for free? That file you sold me cost a fortune.”

“Hey, I need to pay bills too, you know. And the landlady raised the rent.”

“I gave you extra rent money,” Luke pointed out.

“Only for the time you’re staying here. What about when I’m all alone to fend for

myself?”

He laughed and took another drink. Konstantin made enough money but spent too much on high-tech games and gadgets.

“Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll cover next month’s rent if, and only if, you have good information, something that tells me what her handlers are after. We’ve been around the same places too much lately. I can’t see how my project ties in with her people’s interests. Find me something that gives me a clue.”

Konstantin smiled wickedly. “Done.” He pulled a disk from between the pages of his newspaper. “Your wish is my command. Those who seek will find.”

Luke scratched his stubble with the bottle’s mouth. He should’ve known Konstantin had something up his sleeve. He reached for the disk.

His friend shook his head and laid a hand over it. “Uh-uh. First, we agree on the month’s rent?”

“Only if the information is useful.”

“You know, if you weren’t a friend, I’d just take the disk back and let you find yourself another sifter. Most people just pay and take what is there.”

“That’s flea market information. You’re a specialist.”

“Why, thank you.”

“Not that your sifting skills have helped me in
my
quest the last ten months,” Luke said. Every piece of information Konstantin had provided had led to dead ends or more questions. It was time to push his friend a bit harder. “Maybe it’s beyond your skill level?”

“Ouch. You wound me. And I suddenly feel insulted. You’re lucky you have a bottle in front of you or I might not fight this urge to punch you.”

Luke grinned back mockingly. “Now you’re trying to distract me. I don’t dispute your amazing ability to get news about lost objects, but maybe missing people isn’t your forte.”

Konstantin was a first-rate sifter and in spite of recent setbacks, Luke was confident he would eventually dig up a key piece of information that would help. But, he’d also kept the real reason why he’d kept on going from Konstantin, in spite of depleted funds and numerous dead ends. Ten months missing was a long time, but he refused to give up.

“Yet you’re curious enough about La Niina you asked me to assemble a file for you. Technically, she isn’t a missing object or person, so how do you know my info is correct?” Konstantin mocked back. He pushed the disk across the table. “Do you want this or not?”

“You’re a pain in the ass when you’re argumentative.”

“And you’re cute when you’re mad. Now come on, let’s do some good drinking. That woman’s obviously gotten under your skin. Either you get laid or she’s going to make you a bad-tempered poor man.”

Luke agreed. He’d barely tasted her. He wanted to do more.

Later, after another hour of shared alcoholic small talk, he sat at his desk in his room. Konstantin had tried to play down the lack of new avenues, advising him something unexpected always appeared. Trying to avoid thinking about his disappointment and a certain hot kiss, he’d drunk quite a bit more than he’d wanted, until Konstantin had checked his watch and abruptly sent him to bed, joking that he should go dream about La Niina.

Oblivion would be welcome. Curiosity got the better of him, though. He inserted the disk into his laptop and started clicking on the objects in the open folder. A personal email. Familiar items they’d both gone after. One was an envelope she’d gotten hold of before him. Photos. Probably blackmail ones. Fixers generally were asked to retrieve those. He clicked on one of the thumbnails. The image made him sit up in his chair, the warmth from alcoholic consumption receding like a bucket of ice water.

“Damn you, Kostya,” Luke muttered. His friend had played him well.

* * *

Tonight’s job was relatively simple. Pick up an envelope at the old hotel’s desk. Deliver it. No dressing up. No taking off to another country. Nothing strenuous, unlike the last assignment, that had included scaling a building in the dead of night. The meeting was going to take place at a much later hour, giving her time for a quick meal.

Looking out the bus window, Nina rubbed the back of her neck. Easy night but then, it wasn’t over yet, and she was still tired. She needed some downtime soon. Traveling all over the place meant little time to adjust to different time zones. She’d been making do with naps but her energy wasn’t at peak level. Not good. She needed to be on her toes at all times. She might be called La Niina after the wind, but currently, she felt neither quick nor powerful.

Tonight, she’d slipped, allowed her curiosity to get the better of her.
Cowboy
. That name whispered through her mind, fanning a memory like a warm summer breeze. She’d already let him get to her, and now she’d gone one step further. Why had he kissed her? That was the last thing she’d expected—him acting out her fantasy.

She must be tired. Or she would have given him a reason or two not to touch her again. She felt her lips involuntarily curve into a smile thinking about him. He did look good in that leather jacket, though. She’d wanted to put her hands inside it to find out whether he was as hot as he looked. Her smile turned into a grin which she hastily hid with a hand, pretending to suppress a yawn.

She stood up as the bus neared her destination. Good-looking or not, she couldn’t afford any distractions right now, and especially with someone in this business. Things were murkier than ever and adding another emotional complication into her life would be exactly like the little missteps that led to a fatal one. Of course, her father was referring to chess pieces she lost to him one by one during their games, but she’d always known he was teaching her something else entirely.

A cold blast of air hit her as she exited. Exactly what she needed.

She walked briskly down the winding streets, the old crumbling cobblestones under her shoes sticky with wet dirt and trash from the day. There weren’t too many people out at this hour but no one was ever alone in this part of town. The tourists had gone back to their hotels, warned by their guides to stay away at night; most of the locals avoided the area, knowing well it could erupt in sudden violence in the darkness of night; and the law, paid off, mostly looked away. The result was an area on the seedy side of the town that was mostly self-governed by crime groups.

Some, like her, had a pass to walk through without too much fear of being accosted by gangs. Nina kept one hand in her jacket, though. It didn’t pay to be complacent.

In the daylight the old city had the charm of history mixed with modern high rises, but late at night, parts of it became gothic, shrouded with its secrets. The underground world came alive. Cobbled alleys and ancient arches led to sweaty clubs playing techno music and forbidden back ways that opened to other forbidden dens of iniquity. This was where things got exchanged without being traced, where deals were made between parties preferring to stay anonymous, and where those playing international espionage games sometimes chose to meet. Tallinn was a city churning with foreigners and Nina knew she was thought of as just another person seeking her fortune between the borders of Russia and Finland, as so many had done throughout the centuries.

She rapped three times at the door of a massive structure that had been the house of a nobleman a century ago. Now it was run by people not quite as noble. Nina suppressed another smile. Something was wrong with her tonight. She couldn’t seem to stop joking about every little thing.

A little hole slid open and a face peered out. “What’s the problem?” he asked in Russian.

The code word was “found.” “I found something you lost,” Nina replied, “and would like to return it to the owner.”

The slider shut and the door unlocked with a loud clack. She pushed it open with a foot. A big burly man sat at a high round table, playing solitaire, a gun by a stack of cards. He didn’t look up.

“Left passage, second door. Don’t go in anywhere else or you deal with the consequences.”

Nina strode into the dingy foyer. She placed cash on the table, right beside the weapon.

“Relax, Mikhail,” she drawled. “I’ve never caused any trouble here.”

The burly man turned over a card. “Keep it that way. I like you, La Niina, but there’ve been reports you used your weapon in the market place. I don’t want any attention drawn here.”

Nina shrugged. “The market place is different. Everyone’s trigger happy and thinks with his dick.” Her persona, La Niina, was a cold and unapproachable character and she played that part well. Fuck with La Niina and she used her weapon. It was good way to keep the hooligans at bay. She looked in the direction of the left passage. “Is the owner here or do I wait?”

“Not here yet.” Mikhail finally looked up. His eyes, mismatched in size, made him sinister- and dangerous-looking even without the gun. “I wouldn’t dawdle with this one. Whatever you’re up to, finish with him quickly.”

“Didn’t think you cared,” she murmured. Behind those doors were clandestine meetings going on. The man sitting there didn’t look it, but he had good information.

Mikhail picked up her cash and pocketed it. His gaze met hers, dark and emotionless. “Nah,” he said. He pointed a beefy finger to his bald head. “Just wanted you to think about who you’re dealing with. Money is everything but some money takes everything.”

Nina held his gaze for a moment. Warning?

“That’s a roundabout way of saying money isn’t everything,” she retorted lightly. “I absolutely agree. I’ll talk to you later.”

She went to the designated room, a simple small 5x5 place with a table, chairs and a jug of water. It was actually one of the more “luxurious” rooms in the building. She’d been inside a couple that were cubby holes, not unlike confessional booths in churches, except those using them were probably planning to commit more sins rather than to repent.

She picked the chair facing the door. Five minutes passed. Usually, they were on time or her handler would call her on her cell. Ten minutes. Her rule book said, if there were no communication, an item not picked up went back to the open market at her discretion. Patting her jacket, she thought of the large envelope hidden inside. She didn’t know what was in it and should first call to ascertain everything was in order. Missed meetings were not a usual thing. She stood up.

Nina nodded at Mikhail, giving him a shrug as information. He checked the monitor on the wall, pulled a lever and the heavy wooden door unlocked. Outside, she zipped her jacket up again as she slipped into the semi-darkness.

Across the street, a group of youths were dancing as their thug friends jeered on. Down the road, she could see prostitutes sitting on their stools under some brightly lit corridors. Parked cars. No one hurrying toward the building. She cast a furtive glance to her right. She took a side alley. Down another. She finally turned around.

“You’re a lousy tail,” she remarked conversationally. “I usually shoot first when I’m tired. You’d better come out, Cowboy.”

He emerged from behind, much closer than he should be.

His voice floated toward her, dark with promise. “I’m much better on top.”

Dangerously Hot
: Chapter Two

Luke had caught the car keys Konstantin had thrown in his direction as he’d hurried out of the flat. He’d ignored the grin of triumph thrown at him. There hadn’t been time to stop to cuss his friend out for the deliberate delay. As it was, Konstantin had timed the whole incident, cutting it very close. Barring any accident, he might miss her—damn it, Kostya, this wasn’t an online game. Luke was very aware that he’d just shown his hand on how important the information was by practically running off without a word.

Never mind that he’d arrived with just enough time to wait for La Niina to conduct her business. He’d drunk enough to know he was acting more on emotion than reason. There hadn’t been much time to plan and here she was, strutting about in the back alleys of Tallinn like she owned the place.

A woman of experience would know she was being followed. He didn’t bother being too covert. She had something he wanted.

“Twice in a night, Cowboy?” The mockery in her voice was obvious.

He didn’t want to flirt. He had questions that needed immediate answers. But the vodka had relaxed his mood, addled his usual caution. Right now, he felt more himself that he’d been for months.

“Or more,” he said, “if needed.”

Her laughter echoed softly in the darkened alley. “Tempting. But the night’s almost gone. Why are you here, tailing me?”

He suddenly realized she was speaking with an American accent. He shouldn’t be surprised. He’d heard her with different ones—thick French, slurred Russian, broken English. The woman had a gift with languages, which pretty much covered most of the citizens in this part of the world.

“I’ve business that can’t wait.”

“You knew where to find me. I’m curious. How?”

“Lady, this is our job, remember? Besides, maybe I have business inside the same place.”

She approached. In this darkness, with that bottle of vodka swirling in his brain, his other senses seemed to have taken over. Her every moment stroked him like soft velvet. He needed to implement a plan quickly or he was going to lose it.