Here Be Dragons: Three Adventure Novels Page 4

  The time he spent on the treadmill was actually peaceful and calm to Travis. Adam’s annoying voice was nowhere to be heard, so he could finally produce a clear thought. He had told the others to be ready to leave at about four in the afternoon, but was unsure if they should leave it that late. He didn’t particularly want to leave Mickey too much time to play with after they left his office, but on the other hand going there too late might mean the bail bonds office could be empty of other customers, leaving them quite vulnerable. He thought that at the very least, Mickey’s men would not attack them while other people were within earshot.

  The others understood why Travis was apprehensive; his plan was based solely on human nature and instinct,but they had nothing else to go on. They were all scared to leave the hotel and stuck to gathering in the bar or the restaurant, not even bothering to venture out to the pool deck or garden. They gathered in Thyri’s suite at about eight o’clock for breakfast and talked about the details of their plans for the day.

  “We’ve got to get out of London, actually the United Kingdom,” Thyri reminded them. “We didn’t even get around to discussing that last night. I did take the liberty of making some calls this morning though.”

  Thyri was fairly smart despite her outward appearance and the various assumptions made by the rest of the group. When she was younger, she had nearly dropped out of high school, but the nuns at the prestigious boarding school she attended had continued to educate her on a one-on-one basis until she graduated. In the end, she had become very grateful to them, insisting that her father sponsor a complete renovation of the chapel that housed the library. It had been her private classroom for her last two years at the school. She’d gone on to get a fairly useless degree in art history in Paris and though she had passed with honors, Thyri had spent most of the time eating, shopping and taking extended weekends in the countryside with her wealthy, influential friends. Strangely though, when it came to common sense, no one was more street smart than she was.

  While the others panicked privately and tried to figure out the different places nearby that might offer some safety, Thyri recognized it would be better to get out of the United Kingdom as soon as possible, even if it meant taking some unconventional routes. That was something she preferred not to do. As the conversation progressed, Thyri realized that it was possible she hadn’t given the others enough credit. They had some good ideas, even if they were more trouble than they were worth. She sat back and enjoyed her breakfast of hot semolina, wildflower honey, dried fruit and slivered almonds; licking the honey from her fingertips absentmindedly as Savannah spoke.

  “The thing is we have a big problem with the strict visa control at the Russian border,” explained Savannah, as she took a sip from the champagne glass that held the beautiful bellinis that had arrived with the breakfast cart. “We could try to get in through Finland or Estonia, even Latvia; all are pretty safe and close to St. Petersburg. Security forces right now are stationed all over the Crimean peninsula at the moment, so the security on the western borders is lighter.”

  “You’re telling us you want to sneak into Russia, as they are preparing to possibly go to war?” asked Adam. He smiled at Savannah who, for the first time, smiled back at him. “Sounds like a lot of fun, I’m up for it...But hold on a minute, has anybody seen Fiona?”

  “Oh no...” Savannah replied, “...well now, it seems we may have another problem on our hands. I pray she hasn’t left the hotel. She can get into trouble in no time at all. I can never get used to it, I worry about the poor girl sometimes.”

  “I’m beginning to think it was a mistake bringing her along.” Thyri said, matter-of-factly. “She’s a tad bit ridiculous for a grown woman. It’s difficult for her to keep it together for even 10 minutes and a true wonder she hasn’t gotten herself killed.”

  “Don’t talk about her like that,” Savannah said, standing up for her again. “She just has trouble focusing sometimes. Other than that, she’s really a brilliant environmentalist and she does have a lot of contacts in the European diplomatic circles, not to mention the media.”

  Thyri waved her hand dismissively, in that manner that rich girls often do, and the argument died.

  At that moment the suite door opened and Fiona entered the room in her usual nonchalant manner. They all stared at her in silence, wondering where she had been.

  “What?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Really dear, this isn’t the best time to run off without telling anyone where you’re going.” Savannah replied, as she hugged Fiona.

  “I know, I was downstairs making some calls,” she said, “and I think I might be able to get us into Russia sooner than we expected to.”

  “Truly? How did you manage to pull that off?” asked Savannah.

  “Do you remember a few months back, when I told you I was going with Stacy to Edinburgh?” Fiona asked, and Savannah nodded her head in agreement.

  Fiona paused for a moment, and went across the room to the breakfast cart and started to fix herself a plate of scrambled eggs. “I never went to Scotland.”

  “Well that much I knew. Quite frankly I didn’t care, as long as you were ok,” Savannah said, and took another sip of her drink. “Where is this story supposed to be going?”

  “I actually went to Finland, with this guy I met online,” revealed Fiona. “It turned out he worked as an advocate in the Finnish government; pretty high up, too. I called him just now and told him the situation, used some of my famous English charm and he agreed to help us. He said if we can get ourselves into the country, he could get us diplomatic visas, and easily get us into Russia on a ferry from Helsinki. Mark said it’s practically a cake walk to cross that way.”

  Adam scoffed loudly at her.

  “He’s just going to do all that as a favor? To you? What is this guy? A nutcase?” he asked, looking around the table for some back up from the others. All he found were exasperated looks.

  “No, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone just what we did that weekend,” Fiona smirked and winked.

  “Well, quite frankly, I’m impressed. Your questionable lifestyle has finally paid off,” Savannah acknowledged.

  Travis finally spoke up; at that point he was duly impressed with Fiona’s efforts and wanted to be sure the others knew it.

  “I like your idea, Fiona,” he said. “Very much actually; if we were absolutely without any other options I think we would have been saved. I only see one flaw in it.”

  “What’s that?” Thyri asked, deviously waiting to see what reply Travis would give at the end of her baited hook.

  “If we just call up and book five tickets to Finland, Mickey Large is going to be on to us in a New York minute,” he said.

  He saw Thyri’s lips stretch into a sly smile; clearly she approved of his observation.

  “I think the easiest thing to do would be to take the tunnel across the Channel to France,” Travis continued. “We can take the train to Calais and get a charter from there directly to Helsinki. They might be able to track us to Calais but if we move swiftly from there we’ll be in the wind; a private jet company won’t tell the Sheik of Saudi Arabia a thing about another client. From there we can decide how to get to St. Petersburg, with or without Mark’s help. At least our priority of getting out of the United Kingdom without being detected by Mickey and his goons, would have been accomplished.”

  “Agreed,” Thyri said smiling broadly. She fully intended to veto them all if she didn’t get an exceptional suggestion from the group. Her plan was spotless but it meant they would have to go to Oslo, her hometown, and Thyri never mixed business with pleasure. She had certainly been impressed by all of them except Adam this morning; but then again from the very beginning she had felt that he wasn’t going to have much about him at all. They exchanged a brief glance at one another before she turned her attention to Fiona.

  “I’m surprised by you, Fiona,” she said. “I’m glad you’ve redeemed yourself, some people were beginning
to classify you as a hopeless cause.”

  “Adam, is it possible to get tickets for the Eurotunnel for tonight?” Thyri asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I’ll get on it right away,” Adam replied, as he opened his laptop and searched for the information. “There are quite a few seats available on a seven thirty train. I don’t recommend that we make any advanced booking. Reservations will require names and a credit card which are easily traceable. Any ideas?”

  “Concierge!” was the only word that escaped from Fiona’s mouth as she dutifully chewed a mouthful of bacon.

  ***

  That afternoon Travis, Thyri and Fiona were holed up in Thyri’s suite picking out the best outfit for her to wear when she went to see Mickey. While they went over the details of the ruse, Savannah and Adam excused themselves; after all, their only role in the whole thing was to stand there and look sure of themselves.

  “I’m gonna go across the street and get a beer,” Adam said as he left the room.

  “Mind if I come along?” Savannah asked, rolling her eyes at how unnecessary it was for her to be there at that moment.

  “Sure.”

  The two walked out of the hotel lobby, talking about their mutual interest in Russia. After they bought some drinks from the local store, they sat down on a bus stop bench and continued to talk. Adam never admitted it to Travis, but he was a bit of a nerd when it came to Russian history and culture. Of course, being an antiques dealer, some of the most coveted pieces he had handled in his career had been Russian and there weren’t that many antiquities from the region on the current market with the country having been closed off for so many years.

  “Moscow is such a big city, but a bit stuffy. Almost like London. I prefer St. Petersburg over Moscow any time of the year. It is such a beautiful city, have you ever been?” Savannah inquired.

  “No, I haven’t,” Adam confided in her. “I am a bit ashamed to admit that I since I came back from college in the U.S., I’ve never left England again. Pretty sad isn’t it? Guess that’s how I got interested in this little wild goose chase. We still haven’t even began to look into Kitezh, it’s almost like we keep getting sidetracked doing stupid things and it just seems to keep getting worse.”

  “Adam,” Savannah responded, surprised to find herself feeling concerned for him. This was the kind of person Savannah was, always empathizing. “Everything happens for a reason, don’t forget that. Besides, have you never heard that it isn’t the destination, but the journey? Learn to enjoy yourself! You never know, maybe Kitezh will pop up in the middle of the Thames. If you’re like me and you would travel half way around the world to get a glimpse of a disappearing, floating city; then it isn’t a stretch to think that it’ll all work out.”

  Savannah got up from the curb and chugged the rest of the beer in one gulp. Adam laughed and was shocked that someone who he saw as “refined” and “classy” could be so down to earth. She stood silently. It was obvious she was in the middle of deep thought, but soon she snapped out of it.

  “Let’s see if the train tickets arrived yet.” Savannah suggested, as she extended her hand toward Adam.

  Adam smiled back and reached out for it; as he attempted to get up, he stumbled and was surprised at the strength with which she pulled him up, then laughed.

  “Careful there!” she said, jokingly.

  “And here I thought Fiona was the unstable one,” He replied jokingly. Suddenly he stiffened, bracing for a possible retaliation at the mention of Fiona’s name. “May I ask what the deal is with her? I mean, between you two. You seem very close to each other, but you aren’t siblings. Are you...you know...? Together?”

  “No! Not at all,” Savannah said dismissively. “Let’s just say, she’s like family. She was my family when I was in Europe all those years and had no one. I love her more than anything.”

  Chapter Three

  The door to Thyri’s suite flew open and Travis and Adam entered quickly. They were both visibly distraught and appeared beaten and bruised to the others.

  “We need to leave now!” Travis ordered the others. “Get your bags and let’s go, right this second,”. The group already had their bags packed. They had known that they might have to leave on very short notice after getting back from Mickey’s office; they’d just thought coming back to the hotel was safer than hanging around the train station waiting.

  “Come on then,” Thyri said. She was frowning at Fiona and Savannah from the door of the room as they fumbled around, clearly not understanding that they were all in mortal danger again.

  “Fiona!” Travis shouted. “Move your bony ass faster or we’ll gladly leave you here to Mickey and his men!”

  Thyri, Travis and Adam started out the door and went for the stairs. They didn’t want to risk meeting anyone who might be taking the elevator up to their floor. The two women struggled behind them.

  “I never pack more than I can carry myself,” Thyri retorted over her shoulder at them. “I need to be able to handle myself at all times; after all, there never seems to be a bellboy around when you need one.”

  Travis laughed at her quip. She was a special woman; even in the middle of this shit storm, she could still make the best of things. Properly motivated by her jeering, the other two stepped up their pace. They piled the luggage in and jumped into the waiting taxi. As they pulled away from the curb, they saw Mickey’s men coming around the corner and they ducked instinctively. They didn’t see them speeding away towards the train station.

  “What was that?” Fiona asked, finally.

  Travis scoffed at her and watched as Thyri rolled her eyes and looked out the taxi window, not bothering to answer.

  “That was you and the ‘Southern Belle’ almost getting us killed...again!” he shouted.

  “We’re sorry,” Savannah replied. “You took us by surprise.”

  “Well, it’s sort of the way things might be going for the rest of this trip, thanks to your friend over there. So try to stay on your toes.”

  He took a moment to relax. He knew they were waiting for an explanation, but his heart was beating so loudly in his ears he thought he might pass out. It took him a good five minutes to regain his composure. Then he decided to fill them in.

  “When we left Mickey’s office everything was fine. He had agreed to Thyri’s terms and admitted he had overreacted; his ego had just been badly bruised by Fiona and Matt’s trash talking yesterday. The mistake Thyri and I made was filling you all in on the outcome of the meeting too early because this one here decided to get on the phone with her dumb brother and brag to him about how we conned a conman.”

  If looks could kill Fiona would have dropped dead right there in front of them.

  “Couldn’t you have waited until we got back to the hotel before you called Matt?” Savannah asked.

  Travis didn’t give the blond a chance to answer her friend’s question. He just put both his hands up and scoffed at her. Adam took it as his cue to finish the story. He could tell his friend was about to have an aneurism.

  “Didn’t you think his goons would follow us as far as they could just to be sure they still had the upper hand in the situation? They heard everything you said, Fiona! While you ladies went back to the hotel, Travis and I stopped in at a pub for some fish and chips; not long after the food arrived, so did John and Ken. They dragged us out of there and proceeded to give us the beating of our lives. If it hadn’t been for two policemen patrolling the alleyway, they would have surely finished us right there. We got a head start while the policemen roughed them up a little but we knew they would go for their car and try to beat us back to the hotel.”

  “So all our efforts today were a waste of time,” Thyri said softly, her eyes were moist as if she would cry, but she didn’t let a tear fall. “I don’t know what to say.” Then she turned to look directly at Fiona.

  “Don’t you pick on her anymore,” Savannah started to say but she was met by Thyri’s raised hand signaling her to shut up.

&n
bsp; “I never pull rank on others. I think it makes me look like a spoilt, rich bitch; and I don’t ever try to portray that persona, but today I’m going to make an exception to that rule and this goes for all of you,” she took a minute to look at all their faces. “If any of you so much as raise your voice from here on in, this trip is over. Fiona, I don’t want to hear you speak unless someone asks for your damn opinion. And Savannah, if this expedition isn’t more important than your inane compulsion to condone Fiona’s bullcrap, then don’t get on the train to Calais with us; both of you can stay here and face Mickey Large’s music. Travis and Adam, I apologize in advance but I need you to help me keep them in line. I don’t tolerate violence against women but I’d really rather you knock her out than let her piss off an armed Russian so he can fill us with lead on the spot.”

  She turned back to Fiona and Savannah and gave them the haughtiest look she could muster.

  “Fiona, I know you think you’re well-connected with the few friends you have in the consulates all over the E.U. but let me assure you, there isn’t a thing on this green Earth that I can’t get by picking up my cell phone, so don’t even breathe so I can hear. I’ve had enough of you. Miss Summers, before you jump to her defense one more time, I’d like to remind you that you are a very long way from home and Fiona couldn’t help you to get out of a Chinese finger puzzle much less the kind of danger she’s been throwing us into recently. Watch yourselves.”