The Collectors

Chapter 16

The officer on the brain-numbingly boring duty of sitting outside the ward where the three Russians were installed, yawned mightily and counted down the minutes to his shift change. At home his wife and kids were holding dinner and waiting for him to bring the presents stashed in the trunk of his cruiser. He'd read and re-read the months old magazine provided by the waiting room book rack and he was fed up with recipes and gardening hints.

A young, plumpish nurse swished down the hall, smiled at him and stopped by a cart to select some items from a basket it held. He watched her idly, musing over the age of some of the medical staff he'd seen performing near miracles on some of the patients that showed up; this particular Christmas eve was providing its share of driving and walking accidents. He could just make out the soft sound of Christmas music from the nurses station down the hall and he checked his watch, urging the last hour of his shift to speed by.

The nurse turned from the cart and carried the basket back down the hall toward him and he readied his face for a smile. It turned to incredulous surprise when she produced a gun from inside the basket and fired a dart into his neck. He blinked, reached for the object, gagged and toppled off the chair onto the hard tile floor. She quickly checked his pulse and dragged him into the room he was guarding. There were four beds but only the three occupants.

She stopped and stood silently by the door listening for any sounds then she crept to the first bed and eased the curtain aside. Anton lay on his back with his eyes closed; his stomach was almost as high as she was tall. She stepped to the side of the bed and looked at the monitor. Carefully, she disconnected the power then went into her basket once again and held the silenced weapon next to his temple. A sharp snick and his head jerked violently away, a small hole appeared and blood oozed onto the pillow. She stepped back and closed the curtain, moving to the next bed.

Nikoli shifted and turned his massive bulk toward her as she stepped inside the curtain. She froze, watching the raw, ravaged doughy face and the thick lips flutter with each breath. The barrel of the gun stopped short of touching his forehead and when she pulled the trigger it rocked back and the eyes opened wide in surprise. She gave a slight gasp as one hand shot from beneath the covers and grabbed her arm. She fired again and most of Nikoli's head spread in a lumpy mess across the pillow.

She stepped back into the room and looked at the other bed. A blotchy red face stared at her from the next bed over the barrel of a large pistol. Gregory readied himself to fire and then his mouth dropped and the gun wavered, tilting down to the bed. The nurse gave an apologetic smile as shock froze him in disbelief. She stepped closer, touched his ravaged face with a gentle hand, and fired directly into it.

The limousine coasted up to the entrance long enough for the woman to climb in and swiftly left the area.

"It is done?"

"Da, all three."

"The policeman?"

"Drugged but otherwise fine."

A meaty hand patted hers with assurance. "The memory will soon fade. You realize why it had to be done?"

"Da." She glanced out into the night, a tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it roughly away. It was a sign of weakness she detested.

"Things will be much better for you now. You did a wonderful job with him but now there will be no more sneaking about for secret rendezvous, you can be open and free with me... Valry."

******

"When are you going to give it back?" Jacob sat staring at the Balzac sculpture under his tiny Christmas tree while he enjoyed a large, rum toddy. Holly had returned from Malcom's with the piece in a plastic bag and immediately stuck it under the tree, telling Jacob that it was safer in the open like that than trying to hide it somewhere. To celebrate their rescue and the fact that it was Christmas Eve, they went out to a fancy restaurant for dinner and spent the evening trying to coax secrets from each other before heading home for their traditional Christmas wine.