The Last Romanov (Under Editing)

Under Suspicion

Well, shit.

In that moment, Sasha really, really wished he wasn't so damned hurt: he'd be able to run out there and never come back, that way.

Of course, if he didn't have a bullet that had ripped right through his body, he wouldn't be in the hospital in the first place. And he wouldn't be facing the Czarina while being supported by a rebel. He would be in his apartment, probably drinking, maybe throwing darts.

"Well?" Anastasia asked. "What exactly is all... this?"

"I popped some of my stitches," Sasha said before Nikola could do something stupid. "This guy, here, just came and helped me to the hospital."

"And the girl?"

"My cousin," Nikola said. "She's been sick for awhile. I was bringing her here when I say your man half dead on a street corner, and decided to bring him here, too."

Anastasia watched him for a few moments, as if trying to figure him out. Actually, that was probably exactly what she was doing.

"And the gun?" she asked. "It would be rather unfortunate if Kozlov's savior were one of those terrible men that threatened my life, today."

Don't say anything, Sasha kept thinking. Don't you dare say anything!

"I could see what was going on from our apartment," Nikola said, hardly even batting an eye. "I needed a way to protect myself: I didn't want to be caught unprepared in that mess."

Once again, Anastasia didn't say anything to them: she was mulling over the information, trying to decide whether or not she was going to believe them.

Sasha hoped she did. He really, really hoped she did!

"Doctor, would you be so kind as to take Kozlov and Miss..."

"Vasilyevna," Nikola said. "Her name's Nadya Vasilyevna."

".... Miss Vasilyevna to a hospital room," Anastasia continued. "Make sure they're comfortable." She looked over at Nikola. "And who are you?"

"Nikola Maksimov, your grace," Nikola said with a slight bow.

"Mr Maksimov, thank you for bringing Kozlov here," Anastasia said as a few nurses put Sasha and Nadya on separate stretchers. Sasha had to admit: he was a little humiliated. "I promise you, your kindness will not go unrewarded."

Yep: Anastasia wouldn't leave this unrewarded. She would keep an eye on Nikola, figure out that he was a rebel, have him and Nadya arrested and tortured, and would probably kill them before burying them in an unmarked grave, filling up the old trenches outside the city so they could turn the land into God knew what.

"I-I really don't need any sort of payment, your grace," Nikola said he and the Czarina followed right behind the stretchers.

"Oh, I'm sure that isn't true," Anastasia said. "Every man has something he wants: perhaps you just can't think of what you want. Or you're afraid of telling me what that something is, for whatever reason. Honestly: just name your price, Nikola Maksimov. What is it that you want the most, right now? I can make it happen."

Nikola didn't say anything for a moment. Sasha wasn't totally sure what he would say, but he was still nervous. Perhaps it was just because he had too much bad luck for even this to turn out well for him.

"I'm... not sure, your grace," Nikola finally said.

"Very well," Anastasia said. "Let me know once you decide, and I'll make it happen."

Sasha couldn't decide just how far Nikola would take it. Would he throw somebody under the bus for all this and ask for a pardon after all was said and done?

Who knew? All Sasha knew was that it would probably end badly for him. Things had a habit of going south for him very, very fast.

The doctors, of course, got him to a hospital room very quickly. They got him in quite fast, and put some sedatives in him almost immediately so they would be able to get him into surgery.

It was only at that point that he was finally able to relax. His muscles went slack, the pain in his side turning into a dull ache, his chilled fingers warming up a little, his whole body beginning to feel like it was floating. It felt good, for everything to just be so... peaceful.

"Kozlov, we're going to fix up these sutures," the doctor told him as Sasha drifted off and as Anastasia walked into the room. "We'll wake you up in a few hours, alright?"

Sasha nodded. "Sure thing, doc. Sure thing."

The last thing Sasha remembered before he went under was the sound of Anastasia questioning the doctor about anything he might have said about the situation.

***

Anastasia walked out of the room where Kozlov was going into surgery. Commander Zelenko had been standing right outside the door, waiting for her to emerge, his arms folded over his chest. He almost looked like some punk teenager trying to look cool.

"Have you found out anything?" Zelenko asked, following close right behind her.

Anastasia gave him a look. "The way you're talking, I'm starting to wonder whether or not you know something about what's going on."

"Not quite yet, but I do have some ideas on where to start," Zelenko said. "What do you think of that kid that brought Kozlov in?"

"I think he was involved in what happened in the square, today," Anastasia said without hesitation. "Did you see him? He was pretty beat up, and there's no way in hell he didn't get to be like that without being involved in a fight."

"You're getting quite adept in my trade, I see," Zelenko said. "I was thinking something quite similar. Which is why I would like to bring him in for questioning. Nothing too horrible, of course: I'm rather hoping that some threats and a few questions will be plenty for him. He strikes me as the type who isn't nearly as tough as he plays himself up to be."

"And what are you going to use as motivation, exactly?" Anastasia asked. "I think it will probably take a little more than a few poignant questions to get him to open up to us."

"He seems quite close with that cousin of his: I think that threatening to hurt her might just do the trick," Zelenko said. "We'll put one of my men in there, cuff her to the bed, maybe, make sure that he sees it before we take him to the Peter and Paul. It should work quite nicely."

"Be sure that it does," she said. "What do you plan on getting out of him?"

"Everything, your grace," Zelenko said. "I plan on getting every ounce of information I can out of him."

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Bum bum bum!

Hello, everyone! So, some good news: I'll be entering this book and all of my other books into the wattys! I'm very excited. I'm not sure if this book will be able to win anything, but it's worth a shot, right? Never know what the judges will like. 

So, be extra sure to vote and comment to let me know what you're thinking: it's very important that I know what I'm doing well and what I still need to work on so we can make this book as good as it can be.