“We couldn’t catch the second guy, Comrade,” a man said to Kulagin. They were standing in the parking lot of the meeting hall.
“How much does he know?” Kulagin asked.
“I’m not sure, the first one died before we could question him.”
“You are head of security are you not?” Kulagin asked.
“Yes, the man said with his head down.
“How could you let this happen?”
“I am sorry, Comrade, it won’t happen again.”
“No, I should hope not.” Kulagin looked at another man standing to the right and nodded. The head of security saw this and his shoulders sagged. Kulagin got in his limo and left. Two men took the head of security away in a small car and he was never seen or heard of again. That is how Comrade Stalin would’ve dealt with such a failure.
CHAPTER ONE
“So, this is the guest list,” Dave said as she studied the letter written to Justin from the White House.
“That’s it” Justin said as he sat on Andy and Jozette’s patio drinking iced tea.
“Wow, the Holy Ones,” Will said looking over Dave’s shoulder.
“Will,” Lexi said firmly.
“Just kidding,” Will said.
“I’d stay here with you guys if I could,” Andy said.
“You don’t like the President?” Lexi asked.
“No, that’s not it and I was flattered to be asked but it’s Justin they want. He’s the writer, I’m just a reporter.”
“You write too,” Tatiana said.
“Yeah, but not like him. He gets the stories with meat and the ones with human interest and don’t think I’m jealous. He deserves it. There is a talented writer in that chair,” Andy said pointing to Justin who grinned.
“Don’t encourage him, Andy, I have to live with his ego and there’s barely enough room in the house for the rest of us,” Belinda said and they all laughed.
“Now, that’s funny,” Warren said. He and Ariel were on the list but as usual at the cookouts they kept to themselves and stayed quiet. Unless the topic was physics then he was on point.
“Let’s see, here is the roll call of honor,” Dave said as Tatiana rolled her eyes. “Shall I read the letter?” There were groans and Justin nodded for Dave to continue. “The persons of Justin Weaver, Belinda Fanelli, Andy Kline, Jozette Kline, David Swanzy, Tatiana Swanzy, Little Wolf Kline, Julieta Rodriguez-Kline, Warren Peabody and Ariel Peabody are cordially invited to join me on my trip to The Ukraine aboard Air Force One on June 16 through June 22. Signed, Yours Truly, Ellen Lexington, President of the United States.”
“I’m impressed,” Will said.
“You know, Dave, you could’ve spared all of us the drama, especially since Will and Lexi weren’t invited,” Tatiana remarked.
“Sorry, you guys I wasn’t thinking,” Dave said looking in Will and Lexi’s direction.
“Forget it, we’re very happy to remain here,” Lexi said.
“Me too,” Will added. “Given our track record you guys could end up on the moon.” They all laughed at that. Never have a group of reporters and their friends embarked on so many routine stories and vacations and ended up fighting for their lives.
“And, Will’s back has been acting up lately,” Lexi added.
“It has?” Ariel asked.
“Yes, that misaligned disc gives me fits if I move the wrong way.”
“The girls will keep you busy. You might get misaligned just trying to keep up with them,” Julieta remarked and there was laughter again.
“Why did they pick a group of reporters, et al from Bloomington, Indiana?” Will asked.
“From what I was told, the President had read some articles that Justin had written and his book on Stanley Burnham,” Belinda answered.
“Her staff did research and found that Andy and I were partners and Jo helped on stories. They found out about Dave and Tatiana, Warren and Ariel and of course Little Wolf and Julieta. And, here we are,” Justin related.
“What do you mean they found out about us?” Ariel asked.
“They know about Australia, South America, Stanley Burnham and everything I guess,” Justin said.
“You guys are the reporters, so, what are we here for?” Dave asked.
“I think the President is enthralled with our adventures and wants to learn more,” Andy said.
“Enthralled,” Belinda said with a grin.
“Hey, Justin can use big words, why can’t I?”
“Okay, relax, Andy, you can use all the big words you want. I won’t understand them but everyone else will,” Belinda said.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Lind, Andy probably doesn’t know what it means,” Jozette said and they laughed again.
“It means to hold in a spell, captivate or to fascinate,” Andy said with a nod in Jozette’s direction.
“Are you a dictionary now?” Jozette asked.
“I have to be something to keep up with Joseph Pulitzer over there.” Justin grinned and Dave let out a loud laugh.
“He doesn’t walk on water,” Andy,” Belinda said.
“I tried it once,” Justin said.
“How’d that work?” Warren asked chuckling.
“I got about one step and went down quickly.”
“Okay, let’s stop the sacrilege,” Tatiana said with a stern look. She was Russian Orthodox and though she wasn’t a Bible beater she didn’t like to mock any faith.
“I guess someone must’ve been looking after us to keep us out of the mouths of the Megalodons and the clutches of Stanley Burnham not to mention the desert and the Great Canyon,” Justin said.
“That’s better now, perhaps we should change the subject,” Tatiana said and they were all glad to do that.
“What is the meeting about?” Belinda asked. Everyone had a rough idea except her. She knew nothing about politics either international or domestic and didn’t care but she still had questions and when she did, they all turned to Little Wolf to inform her. Jozette got his attention and nodded.
“Miss Belinda, maybe I can help you,” Little Wolf said. She looked at Little Wolf and smiled. She loved Little Wolf… everyone loved Little Wolf but Belinda especially because he explained things to her without insulting her or making her feel stupid even though her comments and questions certainly put her on the trail of let’s say… underinformed.
“What is this meeting thing about?” Belinda asked and Dave grinned.
“Well, The Ukraine is a country in Europe.”
“Is that like England and France?” Belinda asked.
“Yes, but The Ukraine is farther east and actually touches Russia.”
“Are the Russians bad?”
“Not necessarily. The U.S. and Russia are at odds sometimes but they’re not bad.”
“Are they the ones who are meeting?”
“Yes, along with The Ukraine.”
“Are they good?”
“I guess so, they are friends with the U.S. and have shown interest in joining NATO.”
“What’s that?” Belinda asked and Jozette rolled her eyes. Belinda saw that and gave Jozette a look.