The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (46 page)

Vlad nodded. He looked like he wanted to
say something, but hesitated. “Have you explored much of the
house?”

I shook my head. “Your father kept us on
a tight leash.”

“I hope you have noticed I am
more...relaxed than he was.”

“I have,” I admitted. “I was used to guns
pointed at me wherever I went. It’s...nice.”

Vlad allowed a smile to breach his face.
“I can imagine.” He turned back to the window. “My father liked to
keep things he thought could be useful. He kept them in a locked
storage room under the house.” He paused. “It has a door to a
tunnel that leads outside the property.”

My heart pounded even harder. Escape?
“Th-that’s interesting,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. Was
our gear in there?

“Of course, the room is guarded, but only
by one man.” He turned around. “Midnight snacks are tasty, aren’t
they?”

I blinked, hardly daring to believe what
I was hearing. Vlad was telling me how to escape? “It can be
dangerous, wandering a house at night.”

Vlad nodded. “It can be. If you’re not
careful. But rewarding as well.” His eyes were pleading. “Sometimes
someone else’s safety is worth the risk. Elder protections can only
last so long against stronger men.”

I swallowed. I needed to find out where
you were.

“We leave on Monday. I know I can trust
you to...do the right thing.” He put his hands in his pockets and
then drew them out again, and something hit the ground with a soft
thud. “You’re a good man, Alex. I’m sorry I distrusted
you.”

I nodded, still disbelieving my
ears.

Vlad strode out of the room and closed
the door behind him.

I sat for a moment, looking at the closed
door and reflecting on what I had heard, and then walked over to
the cloth bundle that Vlad had dropped. Inside were several keys.
Praying this wasn’t a trap, I went to tell my men what I had
learned and to make plans for Monday.

“Vlad really did that?” Anna asked, eyes
wide. She’d put her fork down and listened intently as Alex told
her his story. Vlad really had risked everything to let Alex
escape. “Devin doesn’t know?” she whispered.

Alex shook his head. “No, Vlad and Peter only
have to hide it for a few more weeks, and with all the funerals,
Devin’s a little...well, he’s started to get a little paranoid.”
Harsh amusement lit his eyes. “I can’t wait to see him going to
Tyler’s funeral.”

Anna bit her lip. She understood Alex’s
feelings; hers weren’t much different. But the years of
imprisonment had hardened him. She could see it in his eyes. Or
maybe this was what he went through when preparing for a job. Then
again, this job was personal.

She reached across the table and put her hand
on his. He looked down, his eyes softening as he looked at her
hand. “Alex, I will respect what the Elders decide about me going
along,” she said softly. “But please consider the fact that it’s my
fight too. I want to see you stand up to Devin. I want to see the
look on his face when he realizes he’s lost.” She paused. “I’m the
one who had to live with him, who dealt with him every day.”

Alex pressed his lips together and nodded. “I
understand,
Schatzi
. I will speak to my father
tonight.”

Anna smiled. “Thank you.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes and
Anna’s curiosity got the better of her. “How did you escape?”

Alex took a breath, thankful for Anna’s
desire to hear his story. They’d missed so much of each other’s
lives. It was a way he felt that he could share of himself.

Monday morning, I watched from my window
as Vlad, Peter and an enormous entourage climbed into several SUVs
and drove down the road and through the gate that guarded the
property. If I counted correctly, there were only a handful of
guards left in the house. I inhaled deeply and went to discuss last
minute plans with the others.

At midnight, dressed in the darkest
clothing we had, I unlocked the door to the stairs and the five of
us crept silently downstairs. We carried a few possessions in
pillowcases, including the Book of the Elder that I had “found.”
Though we were out of practice, we moved as silently as ever,
prepared to attack whomever we came across. I was operating without
a full team, but it would have to do.

At the bottom of the stairs we paused
outside the door to the house. I listened at the crack and heard
movement. I motioned to my men that there was someone out there and
they moved into position. I pressed myself against the wall to the
side of the door and turned the handle and let the door swing open.
The guard grunted and poked his head through the doorway and I
grabbed his head and twisted his neck, breaking it with a
satisfying twist of my hands. Tony and I dragged the guard into the
corner of the stairwell and searched his body, coming up with a
pistol and several magazines. There was also a wallet and a
throwing knife, which I tossed to Erich, who grinned. I stuck the
pistol in the back of my waistband and we slowly crept along the
side of the dimly lit hallway, keeping to the shadows as much as
possible. There were no other guards until we reached the corner
that led down to the kitchen.

The man was too far away to sneak up on,
so Tony charged the guard and broke his neck, and we dragged the
body to a side closet, stripping him of his wallet and
weapons.

We crept down the stone staircase
silently, unsure if there was another guard in place. The kitchen
was dark except for the moonlight streaming through the windows. I
listened for a long while and when I was satisfied there was no one
in there, we made our way through the narrow doorway and began
searching. The only thing I knew was that the storage room was in
there. We gathered as much food as we could, dropping bread and
fruit into the extra pillowcases. I chuckled as I remembered doing
something similar with Kurt when we were children.

A low whistle from Greg told me the door
had been found. It was in the back of the pantry. I produced the
key and unlocked the door. It wasn’t quiet, but not loud enough to
overly concern us. Once the door was closed, Tony found a light
switch and the room lit brightly. We had to wait for our eyes to
adjust before looking around in amazement. All our gear was in
here, plus some.

We took a quick inventory and shrugged
into our darker “sneaking” clothes before divvying up the extra
gear from our deceased friends. Once we were somewhere relatively
safe, we could check our weapons, but the important thing was to
get out of there. Quickly. I located the door across the room and
opened it. It smelled of wet dirt and something else unpleasant,
but I trusted that it went where Vlad said it did. Once our
flashlights were on, Greg turned out the light and we filed into
the tunnel, closing the door behind us.

It was long and straight, with damp stone
walls and floor and a wooden ceiling. Our boots made little sound
as we quickly jogged through the narrow passageway. After about
fifteen minutes we came to a rusted metal doorway. I studied the
door. There was no visible keyhole or latch. I poked around a
little and found a hidden latch near the bottom and pushed the door
open. Fresh, cold air rushed into my face and I took in deep
gulps.

“Freedom,” I whispered in a husky voice.
I looked back and grinned at my friends. They returned the grin and
filed out into the dark forest, closing the door quietly behind us.
As much as I wanted to savor our newly found freedom, we had to
keep moving.

We were south of the mansion and I knew
there was a town a few miles away that had a local train into the
main city. We had to get into St. Petersburg to catch the train to
Warsaw, and then to Frankfurt. Train was the easiest way to travel.
Our ultimate destination was my father’s house. Vati would be able
to help me figure out what to do next. Maybe he even knew where you
were.

The five of us took off in a
southeasterly direction, not talking but concentrating our energy
on getting where we needed to go. A few miles into our journey we
were huffing more than we ever had in the past; confinement had
taken its toll.

By the time we made it into the town, we
were exhausted. The plan was to “borrow” a car and take it to the
closest train station. Seth and Tony would go find a suitable
vehicle while I waited on the edge of town with Greg and Erich. Two
men walking around weren’t as noticeable as five.

We didn’t speak much, but ate a snack as
we waited for Seth and Tony to return. If there was one thing they
knew how to do, it was get places without being noticed. That was
never the issue with getting away from Vitaly. The issue had been
guards that watched our every move, prepared to shoot to kill if we
even looked like we were trying to escape. I closed my eyes at the
memory of my friends’ deaths.

After what seemed like an eternity, a
dark sedan pulled up next to us and I heard the signal whistle. We
shoved our things into the trunk and squeezed into the small
car.

“Think you could have picked a smaller
car, Tony?” I asked in English. “I feel like a sardine.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Tony
responded. Seth laughed.

“What are you laughing at?”

“You better practice your English. Anna
won't be able to understand you.”

I growled. “She hasn’t had problems
before.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “Maybe the dreams
interpret better. I’m having a hard time understanding your
English, and I’ve been with you for the past several
years.”

“Is it really that bad?” I asked
Greg.

“You have an interesting mix of a Russian
and German accent.” Greg shrugged. “She’ll figure it out, I’m
sure.”

“Or you won’t need to speak at all,”
Erich laughed. “Just kiss her.”

I groaned softly and remembered kissing
your soft lips. Somehow, we had been able to touch the last few
times you'd come. Feeling you against me had been heavenly. Feeling
your lips against mine...I sighed thinking about it. I would never
let you out of my sight again once I found you. Never.

The drive was a short one, and Tony
parked the car in the back of the parking lot. We pooled our cash
and Greg went to buy the tickets. We always kept plenty of local
currency with us when we went on missions, as well as pre-paid
debit cards with extra. But I wanted to be out of the country
before we used those. Cash was always better.

Greg returned a few minutes later. “The
trains don’t start for a few more hours. It might be better to just
drive into the city. The train to Warsaw doesn’t leave until almost
midnight.”

I ran my hand through my hair. I’d wanted
to get out of the city as soon as possible. “Does anything else
leave earlier?”

“There’s a train to Helsinki, but we’d be
trapped there. I think it’d be better to find a place to stay for
the day and wait for the Warsaw train. Unless you want to go
through Moscow.”

I shook my head emphatically. “That would
be walking into the lion’s den. All right. Let’s go find a place to
stay, get rid of the car and get the tickets to Warsaw.”

We found a hotel near the station and
stayed there until it was time to go. Tony went out and purchased
us new clothes so we didn’t look like criminals or, well,
assassins. The hotel clerk had looked at us nervously as she
checked us in.

Nine nerve-wracking hours later, we were
finally aboard the train to Warsaw.

I shared a sleeper berth with my cousin,
who was snoring next to me. I was exhausted, but couldn’t sleep. I
missed you with everything that I had and was impatient to get to
you. Would you want me back? When you thought I was a dream, you
certainly wanted me, but what about the reality? Would you still
think I’d abandoned you? What was the best way to approach you?
Just show up wherever you were staying and say hello? Could you
handle such a thing? Or should I ease you into it, giving you hints
that I was there and then revealing myself?

No answer came to me and I drifted off to
sleep still wondering.

The train arrived mid-afternoon in Warsaw
with several hours until the next train left. I relaxed a bit,
knowing we were more than halfway there. Erich and I would have to
keep a low profile once we were in Frankfurt. It wouldn’t be good
if we were recognized. Our beards and hair helped, but the Kunze
family members were all well known, and our height alone could give
us away.

Arriving in Frankfurt early in the
morning was only beneficial if it was the weekend. It wasn’t. The
train station was busy on that Thursday morning, though not
overcrowded. Erich and I both wore hats and kept our heads down.
For once, I wished I weren’t so tall.

Fortunately, Uncle Friedrich and Aunt
Klara lived only about a half mile from the train station and we
headed out as soon as we found our bearings. My stomach churned as
we walked through the familiar streets. I was so thankful to be
home, but now the real challenge began. Staying out of Devin’s
sight and finding you.

I glanced over at Erich. “You all right?”
I asked.

Seth, Tony and Greg walked behind
us.

Erich let out a big breath. “How can I be
so nervous about seeing my family?”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels
that way.”

Erich looked at me, surprised. “I didn’t
think you got nervous about anything.”