What does Amanda's father have planned for her next? What will happen between Amanda and Paul? Read the BONUS to find out!
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To catch up on the story:
Part 1
Part 12
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Amanda knocked on the door loudly. Heavy footsteps sounded from inside. Male voices yelled at each other, one in German, one in Russian. The door slid open to reveal a large bulk of a man. His bald head gleamed in the lights of the entrance.
“Edward sent me,” she spoke in Russian. She had to do this correctly or it’d backfire.
The large man nodded and allowed her to enter.
The hallway of the place was lined with mounted animals of all shapes and sizes. It was rather unsettling and morbid. There were reindeer and elk, a brown bear’s head, the tusks of a boar, a rabbit, even a fish and a squirrel. Amanda shuddered. The man led her down the hall and into a small well-lit room. A fire spit and crackled in the grate of a marble fireplace at one end. In front of the fireplace, an overstuffed chair held a set of feet bedecked in maroon and gold slippers.
“Sit,” said the large man and he motioned to a chair placed opposite the feet. Amanda sat. The room was surprisingly hot and stifling.
“You have it?” The voice’s accent was English.
Amanda looked at the man in the chair and smiled. “Hello, Dick,” she said.
“So, you’ve fooled your old Pop?” The chair swiveled to reveal a wrinkled face and laughing eyes. Amanda inclined her head. “I wished I’d known. I’d liked to have had some fun with him. He is always too serious.” The man named Dick laughed for a moment and waved his hand. His face straightened and he opened his palm.
Amanda removed from her pocket a USB drive. “It’s all there,” she said.
Dick turned the drive over in his fingers. “I’ll trust you, but let me ask you this. Why now? Why for the child? All these years he’s refused. You must admit, it’s an unusual request.”
“I gave him no choice,” she commented.
That seemed to satisfy him, and leaning over he slipped a business card into her hand. “You be careful. These chaps aren’t friendly. They don’t like me and they definitely won’t like you. Good luck.”
Amanda rose. “Thanks, Dick,” she said. “I owe you one.” He’d collect someday. She was confident of that.
With a nod, she left him still sitting in his chair.
***
Bang! Amanda spun her gun around and fired. The bullet hit the Russian square in the forehead and he fell. Another one sprung around the corner and she fired again. He zipped left and the bullet grazed his shoulder. Angry, he fired back.
Amanda ducked behind a crate and listened as his bullets smacked into the wood. Raising her hand above her head, she popped a couple shots in his direction. One winged a metal pole and let out a loud clang. Bouncing off, it hit him in the arm. She heard him yell.
Dodging right, she squeezed between the crates and slipped from the room. Behind her, footsteps followed. The next room was dark. Seeking concealment, she climbed atop the crates, flattened herself and waited. Heavy breathing alerted her to his presence.
“Where are you?” he shouted in Russian. Amanda smirked.
A sudden noise startled him and he jumped. Turning sharply left, he aimed between two crates. He was paranoid now and looking the wrong direction.
That will work in my favor. Lifting a rock in her hand, she tossed it across the room. It thunked against the far wall and the Russian spun around. His back was now directly in her path. Lifting her gun, she aimed and fired. The bullet sunk into his flesh. He grunted and fell.
Amanda leaped lightly from the crate onto the floor. Continuing forward, she ducked through a doorway and ran down a set of stairs. At the bottom, a wooden door was barely visible in the dim light. Her hands trembled with the lock.
“Ivy?” she called. She heard a shriek from inside the room.
“Mama!” the voice called out. Tiny fists pounded on the backside of the door. Amanda yanked at the door and as it opened, the child tumbled into her arms.
“It’s ok,” she said over the child’s sobs, “I’ve come for you. It’s going to be all right now.” Lifting her up, she buried her face in the girl’s hair. It smelled dirty and unclean.
Turning, she carried the girl and retraced her steps to the entrance. She stepped over the first Russian, lying in a pool of blood. Slipping out a side door into the night, she wrapped her coat tight around Yvette and proceeded towards the metro.
The lights of the metro were bright in comparison to the darkness of the night. It high walls, dome ceiling, and decorative frescos came from another era of time. A handful of people traveled through. For a moment, Amanda scanned their faces. None seemed out of place. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to the girl.
Amanda pulled Yvette back and smoothed her rumpled hair. She looked thin. Her eyes were rimmed red from crying.
“Mama missed you,” she said. The girl threw her arms back around Amanda. “Never again,” she said softly, petting her hair. “You’ll never leave me again.”
At that moment, she spotted Paul. Bag in hand, he stood at the edge of the tracks, smiling.
“Come,” Amanda said, “Let’s get out of here,” and she walked to his side.
“All ok?” he asked.
Amanda let out a huge breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “It is now,” she said and smiled.
Paul rounded behind her and gazed into the eyes of the child. “Hello, lovely. I’m Paul. This is for you.” From his side, he pulled out a small brown teddy bear. Yvette blinked and reached for it, tucking it underneath her shoulder. “We’re going on a trip, you, your mom, and I. Sound like fun?” She nodded.
The noise of the train arriving drowned out everything else. Amanda watched the doors swing open. A couple passengers left and others moved on. Taking Paul’s hand in her own, together they climbed aboard.
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Suzanne
Suzanne Williams Photography
Florida, USA
Suzanne Williams is a native Floridian, wife, and mother, with a penchant for spelling anything, who happens to love photography.
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