Dance Till I Die (gxg) ✓

"The Boogeyman's Best Friend"

ACE

       "It's snowing,"  Isla said in disbelief. "It's still snowing and we've been here for, like, an hour."

       "Yes," Ace said, amusement tugging the corner of her mouth. "It does snow in Russia for longer than an hour."

       "I think I'm going to need a winter jacket."

       "I agree," Ace said, as Isla stuck out her tongue to catch a snowflake on the tip. "You are going to get sick."

       "Mierda!  Look at that building! It's pink and green and blue!"

       "Yes, the architecture in Russia is unique."

       "This is so cool," Isla said, her eyes following the swirling design of the cathedrals and restaurants. "It's like the Taj Mahal on drugs."

       Ace glanced down at Isla. "Malen'kiy nindzya, follow me. This is where we will get your jacket."

      After Aleksi had called, Ace had known for certain Mavis was already there―perhaps even in the room with him. Her only option, after arriving in Russia, was to walk to her nearest connection. Ace had always had spies of her own. 

      Driving―or taking the bus―would be dangerous. Most of the transportation in the city was monitored by Aleksi's men.

      This was why Ace and Isla had now been walking, hand in hand, for over an hour. 

      Ruski's was a small, cramped clothing store close to St. Basil's Cathedral. When Ace pushed open the door, a small bell rang in the corner.

      The three men in the shop froze at the sight of her.

      Ace knew there were others in the Mafia who got their information from Ruski, but if she had known one of them would be Nikolai Retkov, she would have stayed far, far away.

      Because there Nikolai Retkov was, an old man in a tophat.

      Not many people scared her, but he did.

      Baba Yaga. The Boogeyman.

      He had killed, if the rumour was true, thousands of men in this line of work. He had been trained in the KGB special operations long before she was even born. He was mastered in the art of making men cry for their mommies, and even her father―proud, mighty and arrogant―had admitted it.

      The moment she saw him, her hand was on her gun.

      If she had to fight him, she would.

      His hand reached for something in his own jacket.

      A split-second reaction, until Isla squealed―

     "Nicky!"

     Ace did not move fast enough to pull Isla back. She was already leaping through the sections of jackets and warm woolen coats towards Ace's own sworn enemy.

     And then―Isla hugged the Boogeyman.

     Nikolai Retkov stumbled back a step, a wheezing grimace on his weathered face. "Now, now, milyy, I told you I am an old man."

     Ace still kept pressure on the trigger of her gun, but Nikolai Retkov was no longer even paying attention to her.

     The tophat―where did Ace remember that from?