Nicosia, Cyprus
July 2024
~~~~
We spill out of the bus together with thirty other tourists in the center of Nicosia. So far, the plan is holding up. As anticipated, the immigration officer didn't check out passports when we disembarked at the Limassol cruise terminal, though it was still a relief that everything went so smoothly. Three weeks of preparation went into this trip and today will show if our efforts to evade the Disciples and snatch Vitaly from right under their noses were enough.
The tour guide holds up an umbrella with the cruise logo. "We'll be exploring the Leventis Municipal Museum first, so follow me."
I slip him a hundred-dollar bill. "My wife and I would prefer to discover the city on our own."
"No problem, sir. The bus will leave from this exact same spot at five pm to take the group back to the cruise port. Don't be late because I'm unable to wait."
"Don't worry about us. My wife is pregnant and we might leave earlier already. We'll find our own way back to the ship." I wrap his fingers around another hundred-dollar bill to avoid further questions.
He catches my drift. "Then have a good day, sir."
He herds the other passengers away and I motion to Chelsea to follow me across the road. We sit down in a coffee shop; it's the best place to kill the last hours. As we wait for the server to take our order, I drum my fingers on the table. My gaze roams over the faces of the other patrons and the passersby. This is almost too easy.
"Bastian."
Chelsea's hissed word rips through me like a bolt of lightning. I'm sweating and my hands are clammy.
Take a deep breath and calm the fuck down.
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"I asked you twice how far Vitaly's school is from here."
"Four blocks."
"So that's what? . . . About a ten-minute walk."
"More like fifteen."
"And he gets out at two?"
I nod. "It's summer school, so it might even be a few minutes earlier."
As time winds out, every second stretches like rubber. I pat my pocket with Vitaly's birth certificate that will allow me to get his US passport at the embassy in Greece. We'll still be on hostile territory and I'll have to watch my back. In this part of the world, Icarus has a fuckload of government officials in his pocket; this is his stomping ground and anyone here could turn out to be an enemy.
I let out a shaky breath.
Chelsea squints at a building across the street.
"What?" I turn around but find the sidewalk empty.
She shakes her head. "For a second, I thought I saw Jackson."
I snort. We are both spooked. "Let's try not to be afraid of our own shadows."
"Aren't you nervous at all?"
My stomach is in such turmoil that I'm in danger of losing my breakfast. "It's gonna be alright. We just need to keep our cool and stick to the plan."
"Yeah, the plan is solid."
"Very solid." Except for the trillion things that could go wrong.
I order another spearmint tea to distract myself. The next hour passes by in silence; Chelsea is reading a book on her phone, though I can't detect her turning the pages. Together with the heat that has reached boiling temperatures, I'm a bundle of nerves by the time one thirty rolls around.
I toss the crumpled-up napkin I tore to shreds onto the table. "Time to go."
She is on her feet in an instant. More silence ensues as we walk along the street. Due to the heat, the foot traffic is scant and we encounter mostly women and small children. School is out for the summer and the beaches are calling. Many people who live and work in Nicosia take July off to spend time by the sea.
One more turn and the old, brick building stands tall across the street. Vitaly's school takes up an entire block, the esteemed halls funded by private tuition and donors like Icarus to guarantee the best education money can buy for their offspring. Two cars are parked in front; the limo my uncle uses to chauffeur Vitaly around and a white SUV of a parent whose kid must be another summer school attendee. This one was not anticipated.
I pull Chelsea into a waiting area at a bus stop to hide from view.
She bites her lip. "You said Vitaly would be the only one being picked up. What are we gonna do now?"
"We stick to the plan. If the other parent is still around when Vitaly's bodyguard drops, you just yell, "oh, my god, he fainted," and then use the commotion to disappear."
"And you think that will work?"
"There won't be another opportunity to grab him today and Icarus might be back as early as tomorrow. It has to be now or never."
She nods, though judging from her tight lips, she isn't convinced. Neither am I, but I'm running out of options.
I nudge her shoulder. "Okay, here we go."
The front doors to the school have opened and Vitaly walks down the steps, talking with a pretty girl about his age. He's putting on the moves, beaming and listening at the right time, without once breaking eye contact. They arrive at the bottom of the stairs and head for the white SUV just as Chelsea and I cross the road.
Vitaly opens the passenger door of the SUV. "I'll see you tomorrow, and maybe my grandpa is back and we'll be allowed to go for pizza."
"That would be nice." The girl lets out a flirtatious giggle.
I roll my eyes. Kids today start so young in the dating scene.
Chelsea passes through the gap between the cars while I round the trunk of the SUV. Right about now, the school's cameras will pick us up, but our disguises should be solid.
She approaches Vitaly's bodyguard. "Excuse me, but I'm totally lost." She holds up a map. "Could you show me the way—"
"Fuck off," the man grumbles.
He turns toward Vitaly. It's the moment Chelsea strikes, the needle of the syringe with the tranquilizer enters the guy's body just above his hip. He blinks a couple of times and falls over like a freshly cut tree.
Man, that's some potent shit I got on the dark web.
My son is frozen in place, staring at his bodyguard with an open mouth.
I stretch out my hand. "Vitaly."
He snaps his head around. "Babá?"
"Yes, it's me. C'mon, we need to go."
He shakes his head. "Grandpa said—"
"Fuck what Icarus said. You are my son, and you need to do what I tell you."
He stares at me with wide eyes.
At that moment, the driver's door of the SUV opens and a dude gets out. What is it with people these days, not minding their own business?"
Chelsea plays her part. "Oh, my god, he just fainted. Call an ambulance."
I grab Vitaly's arm. "Let's go."
He hardly fights me and we gain on the street corner.
"Hey, where are you taking him?" the SUV parent yells.
Chelsea pulls her gun. "If you value your life, get back into the car and drive away." Her face is a solid mask; her death glare is downright terrifying.
My son tears from my grip. "I want to go home."
"Vitaly—"
As he tries to get back to his bodyguard, Chelsea intercepts him. She cups her hands around his shoulders and shakes him gently. "I know you have no idea what's going on and this is fucking scary, but you need to listen to your dad. He's doing this because he loves you."
A few tears run down Vitaly's face and he allows her to pull him away. By the time they reach me, a spark of stubbornness remains in his eyes, but his bottom lip is quivering. He's close to a crying tantrum. I drape my arm around his shoulder in a desperate attempt to comfort him.
Rounding the street corner, I come to a screeching halt. Not even six feet away, a man blocks my way; he's tall, lean, and lethal. Even though the mirrored aviator shades hide a good amount of his features, I immediately recognize his face from the few photos Falk managed to snap of him and his entourage. With the next breath, a gun rests in his hand and he trains it right at the center of my forehead.
WP total word count: 36,155
So Bastian and Chelsea are able to get their hands on Vitaly, but an unexpected hurdle is in their way. As you could possibly already guess from the aviator shades, it's a certain someone who is not into bargaining and is quite the ruthless character. Let's see if Bastian can avoid a literal bullet or whether we will only have Chelsea as a narrator going forward.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to more; if so, please consider clicking the little star and/or leave me a comment. Three more chapters to go, which should be posted over the next week :)