CHAPTER 36
PHONE CALL
“Yelena!” Sydney cried, recognizing her aunt, whom she had met for the first time less than a month ago.
Yelena rolled to her knees, still gasping. Her niece packed a wallop! “I guess I should have knocked.” She said wryly.
Sydney picked up the gun, removed the clip, and placed it in the pocket of her robe. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but you are a Derevko and Mom’s sister.” Sydney was remembering the taser shots she took from her mother. “Perhaps we should retire to the living room and give Jan a chance to dress.”
“Yes, please,” he said in a muffled voice from under the covers.
Yelena still held her side and slowly got up. “Good idea. It smells like sex in here.” She stood a moment taking a deep breath and flashed Sydney a grin. She was going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow on her abdomen and her leg. She pushed open the door and left. Sydney closed it behind her to give Jan privacy.
Sydney walked to the kitchen and started drawing water into a kettle. “Tea or coffee?”
“Tea.” Yelena moved to one of the chairs and sat down gingerly.
Sydney turned the fire on under the kettle and placed three cups and saucers on the counter. She put the tea in a metal strainer and dropped it into the teapot where it would steep. The door to the bedroom opened and Jan disappeared into the bathroom. A couple of minutes later he joined the pair.
He pulled Sydney into the warmth of his arms and the couple faced Yelena. Sydney spoke first. “Tell us why you invaded the apartment with gun in hand.”
Yelena chuckled. “Your grandfather asked me to hunt for you. He is worried.”
“Just how did you locate us?”
“I knew Irina told father she could disappear into the heart of Moscow and no one would find her.”
The whistle on the kettle sounded. Sydney stepped away from Jan and, taking the kettle off, poured scalding hot water into the teapot. “How did you find us?” Sydney repeated, a little more stiffly.
Yelena caught the increased emotion. Her niece was like her mother. Irina wanted answers not preliminaries. “I check public records for property owned by Irina.”
“And you found—what?”
“She own two apartment buildings in Moscow. The one where you live and this one!”
Sydney handed her a cup of tea. “I saw there was difference in seventh floor and the roof top. There was possible apartment above seventh floor. I find switch, then button and…I am here.” She sipped the tea, which was just right, hot, and strong.
Sydney went to the small refrigerator and got out a bottle of cream. She poured a bit into her cup and into Jan’s. “So if you thought I was here, why the gun?”
Yelena shrugged. “Just seemed prudent to be careful.” She wanted to rub her stomach, but didn’t want to show Sydney she still hurt from the blow. Everyone knew Derevko women were supposed to be tough. Her dark eyes regarded the couple openly. She had not had the chance to know her niece and her new husband.
“Are you really a special forces soldier?” She asked Jan calmly.
“Why would you ask that?” Sydney said, allowing Jan’s arms to enfold her again. “He has been on two missions with the family. He got a promotion after the last one. He is the bravest, most courageous man I know…well, maybe there’s another, my Dad.”
Yelena laughed. “Ah yes, pragmatic Jack Bristow. I was only eight when your mother was sent to Central City to train—train to be seductress and spy.” She watched her niece’s reaction.
Sydney smiled. “My mother and father have one of the strangest relationships in the world. She was a spy, yes, but she spent ten years married to a man she learned to love and care for deeply. I only hope that Jan and I will have the same deep love they felt for each other, even when they were apart.
“I don’t know you too well, yet, Yelena, but someday I hope you will also find a man like my Dad or Jan. You seem to be, how should I put it, less emotional than Mom or Katya. Maybe you have someone to love now.” Sydney’s eyes held those of Yelena, who had the grace to blush slightly. Sydney noticed it immediately. However, she would let her aunt talk about it when she wanted to speak.
“So what now, Yelena? You found me. What are you going to do about it?”
“Tell father, I guess. He sent me.”
“I don’t think that is a good idea.” Sydney said quietly. “I do not want grandfather to get into trouble with his government and, knowing him; he would bluster and perhaps blunder into a trap. After all, this is not an SVR case because the bomb was set off internally.”
“Internal police are sometimes idiots.”
“All of them?” Sydney probed.
Yelena shrugged, “No, not all. Yes, you are right. I should not tell father where you are.”
“I think I need to talk to Mom.”
“Where is she? Do you know how to reach her? Father is very worried. We all are.” Yelena stood up.
“Sit down,” Sydney ordered in a quiet, but firm voice. Yelena recognized she was operating only because she was the aunt. She sat back down.
“Jan, please watch her while I get dressed.” Sydney turned around and walked to the bedroom. Jan smiled at Yelena, leaning against the sink. Neither spoke.
Sydney showered and dressed. She wanted desperately to talk to Irina and Jack. She missed them and had gone through a rough three days of interrogation without their knowledge. Of course, it had been Jan and Grigor who pulled off the raid with Aleksey’s help. Thank God not all the Bristows and Derevkos were out of town.
Suddenly she heard a phone ringing. One of the phones on the desktop was on just in case Aleksey needed to get in touch. She had used it to reach Sophia to help them get food. Now maybe Aleksey had something new to tell her. She rushed out of the room, tying her hair up into a ponytail. She picked up the phone. Behind her, she could feel Jan and Yelena’s eyes on her.
“Hello?” She hoped she had the accent right.
“Nice to hear your voice, honey.” Jack said.
“You too! Where are you?”
“Cairo.”
Sydney blinked. Cairo! What were they doing there…still it was a lot closer to Moscow than Khartoum or the Sahara Desert. “When will I see you?”
“What’s wrong?” Irina asked after taking the phone from Jack.
“You didn’t hear about the plane blowing up, did you?”
Silence emanated from the other end of the line. “No—where?”
“Urals! Several important people were on board including—“she could hardly manage to say the name, “Vaughn’s wife, Lauren.” Sydney now felt Yelena and Jan’s eyes boring into her back. She turned around to see them standing only four feet away.
“Who is it,” hissed Yelena, her eyes narrowing. She had a hunch it was her sister.
Sydney shook her head. She couldn’t fake it any more. “Mom, they think I did it. My fingerprints were on bomb fragments they found at the site. I was interrogated for three days before Jan came and rescued me.” She explained how they kidnapped her after having dinner with her grandfather.
She heard her mother murmur something to her father. “Are they idiots? Who ran the interrogation?”
“The U. S. Government, France, Germany, and Russia. They were not pleasant discussions.”
“Who was in charge?”
Sydney sighed, “I think it was Vaughn.” She heard Jack telling her mother the same thing.
“I take it you are at the apartment,” commented Irina. “Did Grigor take you there?”
“Yes. Don’t be mad at him.”
“Sweetheart, how could I?”
“Mom, there’s a complication.” She looked at Yelena, who frantically kept shaking her head. She was going to lose. “Yelena showed up here this morning, early.”
“YELENA? What the f*uck is she doing there? How did she find the apartment? No, don’t tell me…let me talk to her.” Irina’s voice was strident.
Sydney handed the phone to Yelena, who said, “Hello, ‘Rina. How are you and where the hell are you?” She thought she would get her hits in before she took it from her older sister.
“What do you plan to do with the information about Sydney’s whereabouts?”
“I should tell father I found her, but Sydney said that would be dangerous for him. She’s right. I, as a member of the secret service, should tell some one where she is, but she’s my niece and we’re family.”
“Yelena, I do not want anyone to know about the apartment. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, dear ‘Rina, of course, as always, very clear.”
“Let me talk to Sydney.”
Yelena handed the phone back to her niece. “She wants to talk to you.” Yelena was glad she had not been facing Irina.
“Yes, Mom.”
Irina went into detail regarding what Sydney should do. “Your father and I are on our way. Stay safe if at all possible. If you have trouble, call this number in the United States. Aaron Tchaikov is a very good lawyer, excellent in fact. Tell him Irina Derevko is putting him back on the clock at the regular fee. Tell him everything you know and why you are being hunted.” She continued with a few more instructions.
“Do you suspect anyone?”
“Sloane!”
“Yes, of course.” She muttered something to Jack.
“Sweetheart,” Jack was now on the phone, “we love you and we know you can handle this, and if we’re lucky we will either have Sloane with us or following us. You can manage anything that happens, can’t you?”
“Of course, Dad.” She heard the phone click. They were gone.
“Yes, what?” Jan looked at his wife. “What your parents say?”
“To be careful. They agree it was probably Sloane who masterminded the bombing. They are going to bring him back or get him to follow them.” Sydney moved to the desk and placed the phone next to the keyboard. As she turned back, she cold-cocked Yelena, who dropped like a stone to the floor. “Pick her up, Jan. We’re leaving.”
*** :boxing: Now what's in store for Yelena.
PHONE CALL
“Yelena!” Sydney cried, recognizing her aunt, whom she had met for the first time less than a month ago.
Yelena rolled to her knees, still gasping. Her niece packed a wallop! “I guess I should have knocked.” She said wryly.
Sydney picked up the gun, removed the clip, and placed it in the pocket of her robe. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but you are a Derevko and Mom’s sister.” Sydney was remembering the taser shots she took from her mother. “Perhaps we should retire to the living room and give Jan a chance to dress.”
“Yes, please,” he said in a muffled voice from under the covers.
Yelena still held her side and slowly got up. “Good idea. It smells like sex in here.” She stood a moment taking a deep breath and flashed Sydney a grin. She was going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow on her abdomen and her leg. She pushed open the door and left. Sydney closed it behind her to give Jan privacy.
Sydney walked to the kitchen and started drawing water into a kettle. “Tea or coffee?”
“Tea.” Yelena moved to one of the chairs and sat down gingerly.
Sydney turned the fire on under the kettle and placed three cups and saucers on the counter. She put the tea in a metal strainer and dropped it into the teapot where it would steep. The door to the bedroom opened and Jan disappeared into the bathroom. A couple of minutes later he joined the pair.
He pulled Sydney into the warmth of his arms and the couple faced Yelena. Sydney spoke first. “Tell us why you invaded the apartment with gun in hand.”
Yelena chuckled. “Your grandfather asked me to hunt for you. He is worried.”
“Just how did you locate us?”
“I knew Irina told father she could disappear into the heart of Moscow and no one would find her.”
The whistle on the kettle sounded. Sydney stepped away from Jan and, taking the kettle off, poured scalding hot water into the teapot. “How did you find us?” Sydney repeated, a little more stiffly.
Yelena caught the increased emotion. Her niece was like her mother. Irina wanted answers not preliminaries. “I check public records for property owned by Irina.”
“And you found—what?”
“She own two apartment buildings in Moscow. The one where you live and this one!”
Sydney handed her a cup of tea. “I saw there was difference in seventh floor and the roof top. There was possible apartment above seventh floor. I find switch, then button and…I am here.” She sipped the tea, which was just right, hot, and strong.
Sydney went to the small refrigerator and got out a bottle of cream. She poured a bit into her cup and into Jan’s. “So if you thought I was here, why the gun?”
Yelena shrugged. “Just seemed prudent to be careful.” She wanted to rub her stomach, but didn’t want to show Sydney she still hurt from the blow. Everyone knew Derevko women were supposed to be tough. Her dark eyes regarded the couple openly. She had not had the chance to know her niece and her new husband.
“Are you really a special forces soldier?” She asked Jan calmly.
“Why would you ask that?” Sydney said, allowing Jan’s arms to enfold her again. “He has been on two missions with the family. He got a promotion after the last one. He is the bravest, most courageous man I know…well, maybe there’s another, my Dad.”
Yelena laughed. “Ah yes, pragmatic Jack Bristow. I was only eight when your mother was sent to Central City to train—train to be seductress and spy.” She watched her niece’s reaction.
Sydney smiled. “My mother and father have one of the strangest relationships in the world. She was a spy, yes, but she spent ten years married to a man she learned to love and care for deeply. I only hope that Jan and I will have the same deep love they felt for each other, even when they were apart.
“I don’t know you too well, yet, Yelena, but someday I hope you will also find a man like my Dad or Jan. You seem to be, how should I put it, less emotional than Mom or Katya. Maybe you have someone to love now.” Sydney’s eyes held those of Yelena, who had the grace to blush slightly. Sydney noticed it immediately. However, she would let her aunt talk about it when she wanted to speak.
“So what now, Yelena? You found me. What are you going to do about it?”
“Tell father, I guess. He sent me.”
“I don’t think that is a good idea.” Sydney said quietly. “I do not want grandfather to get into trouble with his government and, knowing him; he would bluster and perhaps blunder into a trap. After all, this is not an SVR case because the bomb was set off internally.”
“Internal police are sometimes idiots.”
“All of them?” Sydney probed.
Yelena shrugged, “No, not all. Yes, you are right. I should not tell father where you are.”
“I think I need to talk to Mom.”
“Where is she? Do you know how to reach her? Father is very worried. We all are.” Yelena stood up.
“Sit down,” Sydney ordered in a quiet, but firm voice. Yelena recognized she was operating only because she was the aunt. She sat back down.
“Jan, please watch her while I get dressed.” Sydney turned around and walked to the bedroom. Jan smiled at Yelena, leaning against the sink. Neither spoke.
Sydney showered and dressed. She wanted desperately to talk to Irina and Jack. She missed them and had gone through a rough three days of interrogation without their knowledge. Of course, it had been Jan and Grigor who pulled off the raid with Aleksey’s help. Thank God not all the Bristows and Derevkos were out of town.
Suddenly she heard a phone ringing. One of the phones on the desktop was on just in case Aleksey needed to get in touch. She had used it to reach Sophia to help them get food. Now maybe Aleksey had something new to tell her. She rushed out of the room, tying her hair up into a ponytail. She picked up the phone. Behind her, she could feel Jan and Yelena’s eyes on her.
“Hello?” She hoped she had the accent right.
“Nice to hear your voice, honey.” Jack said.
“You too! Where are you?”
“Cairo.”
Sydney blinked. Cairo! What were they doing there…still it was a lot closer to Moscow than Khartoum or the Sahara Desert. “When will I see you?”
“What’s wrong?” Irina asked after taking the phone from Jack.
“You didn’t hear about the plane blowing up, did you?”
Silence emanated from the other end of the line. “No—where?”
“Urals! Several important people were on board including—“she could hardly manage to say the name, “Vaughn’s wife, Lauren.” Sydney now felt Yelena and Jan’s eyes boring into her back. She turned around to see them standing only four feet away.
“Who is it,” hissed Yelena, her eyes narrowing. She had a hunch it was her sister.
Sydney shook her head. She couldn’t fake it any more. “Mom, they think I did it. My fingerprints were on bomb fragments they found at the site. I was interrogated for three days before Jan came and rescued me.” She explained how they kidnapped her after having dinner with her grandfather.
She heard her mother murmur something to her father. “Are they idiots? Who ran the interrogation?”
“The U. S. Government, France, Germany, and Russia. They were not pleasant discussions.”
“Who was in charge?”
Sydney sighed, “I think it was Vaughn.” She heard Jack telling her mother the same thing.
“I take it you are at the apartment,” commented Irina. “Did Grigor take you there?”
“Yes. Don’t be mad at him.”
“Sweetheart, how could I?”
“Mom, there’s a complication.” She looked at Yelena, who frantically kept shaking her head. She was going to lose. “Yelena showed up here this morning, early.”
“YELENA? What the f*uck is she doing there? How did she find the apartment? No, don’t tell me…let me talk to her.” Irina’s voice was strident.
Sydney handed the phone to Yelena, who said, “Hello, ‘Rina. How are you and where the hell are you?” She thought she would get her hits in before she took it from her older sister.
“What do you plan to do with the information about Sydney’s whereabouts?”
“I should tell father I found her, but Sydney said that would be dangerous for him. She’s right. I, as a member of the secret service, should tell some one where she is, but she’s my niece and we’re family.”
“Yelena, I do not want anyone to know about the apartment. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, dear ‘Rina, of course, as always, very clear.”
“Let me talk to Sydney.”
Yelena handed the phone back to her niece. “She wants to talk to you.” Yelena was glad she had not been facing Irina.
“Yes, Mom.”
Irina went into detail regarding what Sydney should do. “Your father and I are on our way. Stay safe if at all possible. If you have trouble, call this number in the United States. Aaron Tchaikov is a very good lawyer, excellent in fact. Tell him Irina Derevko is putting him back on the clock at the regular fee. Tell him everything you know and why you are being hunted.” She continued with a few more instructions.
“Do you suspect anyone?”
“Sloane!”
“Yes, of course.” She muttered something to Jack.
“Sweetheart,” Jack was now on the phone, “we love you and we know you can handle this, and if we’re lucky we will either have Sloane with us or following us. You can manage anything that happens, can’t you?”
“Of course, Dad.” She heard the phone click. They were gone.
“Yes, what?” Jan looked at his wife. “What your parents say?”
“To be careful. They agree it was probably Sloane who masterminded the bombing. They are going to bring him back or get him to follow them.” Sydney moved to the desk and placed the phone next to the keyboard. As she turned back, she cold-cocked Yelena, who dropped like a stone to the floor. “Pick her up, Jan. We’re leaving.”
*** :boxing: Now what's in store for Yelena.