Not wanting to risk being caught, the assassin had headed back downstairs and outside. There she had witnessed the woman exit Building Two in a hurry, followed soon by one of El-Hashim’s bodyguards, and the confrontation that occurred.
So who was this woman? And what was she up to?
More importantly, how might she affect the mission?
The assassin would find the answers.
She always did.
Vanko Leonchuk had worked as a guard at Slavne Prison for three years. Before getting the job, he wouldn’t have believed the things women were capable of doing to themselves and each other. They were almost as bad as men. He’d seen drug overdoses, suicides, more fights than he could count, and five straight-out murders.
His sensitivities to such things had dulled quickly, so when he saw that the new prisoner’s arm was bleeding from the wound she’d received earlier that day, his only thought was to wonder if this was going to make him late for the barracks’ card game.
She said something to him in her native tongue. German? English? He wasn’t sure which, but he knew what she wanted, and what he had to do.
Annoyed, he escorted her into the administration building and up to the infirmary. When he opened the door, she rushed inside. He followed, hoping this wouldn’t take very long, but then he spotted the nurse on duty, and his whole mood changed.
Irina was an excellent example of genetics gone right. Round hips; nice, succulent ass; flat stomach; and breasts that just begged to be kissed. Her face wasn’t bad, either, but Vanko wasn’t much of a face man.
He could imagine what she’d be like in bed.
Unfortunately, imagine was all he’d been able to do. Since she’d come to work at the prison, he’d asked her out at least four times. And each time, he had been met with a quick but polite rejection. She never told him why, but he assumed there was a boyfriend in the picture somewhere.
So Vanko had finally stopped asking her. The lusting, though, didn’t go away. Maybe if she hadn’t been so polite in her refusal, he could have gotten angry about it and moved on. Women really knew how to toy with a man, and there was something about this one that refused to let him go.
Now, here she was, looking as ripe and tasty as ever, smiling up at him as he approached her desk. “Vanko, how are you?”
“Good, thank you. And you?”
“Good, also.” Another smile, then she looked around him at the prisoner who wandered over near the windows. “A problem?”
“She was the one in that fight earlier. It looks like her wound has reopened.”
Irina seemed surprised at the mention of the fight. She looked at the woman again before saying, “Let me get someone to examine her.”
When she returned, Dr. Symon Teterya was with her.
“What’s going on?” the doctor asked.
Vanko told him, then said, “She doesn’t speak Ukrainian.”
“What does she speak?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, then, what’s her name?”
Vanko didn’t like the attitude Dr. Teterya was giving him, but that wasn’t surprising. In Vanko’s view, the doctor had always acted superior to the guards. Of course, the real reason Vanko disliked him was that he got to work directly with Irina. Vanko wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but there was more than a little jealousy coloring his opinion of the man.
“I don’t remember her name. She’s a new prisoner. Came in yesterday.”
“Do you at least know what cell she’s in?”
Of course Vanko knew which cell. He knew everyone’s cell. “One eighty-five.”
Dr. Teterya nodded at Irina, who typed the number into her computer. In a low voice, she said, “Maureen Powell. Canada.”
“English, then, most likely,” the doctor said. He strode across the room to the woman.
Vanko couldn’t be sure, but he thought Dr. Teterya shared a quick look with Irina before he left. Vanko immediately forgot about it, however, when Irina said, “I could really use a cup of tea. How about you? Would you like to join me?”
His gaze flicked toward the doctor and the prisoner. Teterya was examining the wound. “I should stay here.”
It was protocol, after all.
“Dr. Teterya will be fine. She won’t be a problem.”
Vanko glanced at the other two again. Problem or not, having a cup of tea with Irina would be as close as he had ever come to a date with her. Besides, the break room was just down the hall. He could be back here in seconds if there was trouble.
Irina rounded her desk and started walking toward the door. “If you’d rather, I could bring you back a cup.”
“No. I’ll…I’ll come with you.”
She smiled. “Good.”
Vanko had to work very hard not to stare at Irina’s chest as they sat at the small break room table and drank their tea. This was the longest he’d ever been alone with her.
They talked about things two people who worked at the same place always talked about — their coworkers and bosses. It was funny. Irina was actually letting him do most of the talking, and seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say. He didn’t mind. It gave him a chance to puff his feathers a bit, and let her get to know him a little better. Maybe if he renewed his attempts to get her to go out with him, the answer would be different this time.
He was telling her about a prison yard fight he’d broken up the other day — adding a few flourishes, of course — when Irina jerked and pulled a phone out of her pocket.
She took a quick look at the screen and said, “They’re finished.”
A text from the doctor, Vanko thought, ending their break together. Yet another reason to hate the guy.
After they returned to the infirmary, and Vanko took charge of Powell again, his friend Danya Sosna — another guard — arrived with a prisoner in tow who was clutching her stomach. He and Danya exchanged a quick greeting, then Vanko and Powell left as Dr. Teterya led his new patient to the back.
When they entered Building One, Vanko couldn’t help but notice the looks Powell was getting from the other inmates. Powell had obviously made a mark on the rest of the population — and so soon, too. He’d seen it happen before, and knew she was either destined to be someone the others won’t mess with in the years ahead, or dead before the end of the month.
After locking her in, he headed for the exit, and his thoughts turned from Powell back to Irina. Just a few more minutes in that break room and he would have asked her out again. He knew she would say yes this time, and could instantly picture their date — a decent dinner, heavy on the alcohol, then a cheap room in town where the night could really begin.
Goddamn Dr. Teterya.
Vanko checked his watch as he entered the yard. His shift had officially ended ten minutes ago. Not as bad as it could have been. He might not be at the barracks for the beginning of the game, but he could join in as soon as he got there and wouldn’t miss much.
Irina. Drinks. A hotel room.
The thoughts danced with each other as he crossed the yard and reentered the administration building. After passing through the checkpoint, he looked at his watch again.
Maybe I can spare just a little more time.
Instead of going to the locker room and changing out of his uniform, he headed back to the infirmary. As he exited the stairwell onto the second floor, he almost ran into Danya and his prisoner.
“Finished already?” Vanko said.
“I think she’s faking it,” Danya told him. He gave the girl a shake. “Aren’t you?”
“No,” she said. She wasn’t holding her stomach like before, but she didn’t look particularly well, either.
“Isn’t your shift done?” Danya asked Vanko.
“Yeah. Just have one more thing to do.”