I woke up, the sun beating on me. I heard the sound of the ocean not far away, crashing its waves.
I frowned. Was I back in San Diego, at that beach house, where I first woke up?
"Maria. Good to see you woke up. Darn you, you're so much trouble." Stephan came up to me, and inspected me.
"You're still all fine. Good. Get into these clothes. We have to get you out of here soon." He threw me a pair of clothes, and I walked off to the nearest restroom I could find.
What happened? Why were they so mad at me?
I threw on the bright yellow pants and the matching, bright yellow and creme shirt with pink, blue and red butterflies. It was a very bright and warm outfit, nothing like they were treating me right now. I had to also put on a pair of circular beige earrings and beige stilettos.
I headed out of the restroom and to the boys who were all huddled up and talking. They stopped as soon as I came up.
"You look like a ray of sunshine," Misha smirked.
I knew he was trying to make the atmosphere less tense, and I appreciated that, but I really did not like the boys mad at me.
"Come," Stephan commanded and we all followed him.
Misha came over next to me and took my arm. He handed me a pair of dark sunglasses.
"Put them on."
I took them and put them on.
"We're in Australia, by the way. Sydney," he whispered to me, his breath slightly tickling my ear.
His breath sent shivers down my back. He was standing a little too close for my liking. But at least now I knew where we were.
As we walked by the ocean, I saw the Sydney Opera House, and the bridge. The tall buildings towered over the city. Everything was green, although it was already the beginning of September, and the sun was still very warm. A pleasant feeling, indeed.
"You can ask a question if you want. I won't tell Stephan." Misha whispered with a playful wink.
I rolled my eyes, but then took advantage of the generous offer and asked my question, "Where are we going? And why is Stephan mad?"
Misha sighed. "That's actually two questions."
I rolled my eyes again, waiting for him to respond.
"Well, we're going to a little old Russian meeting. We're introducing you to someone who will... help us. You see, at Cairo, we encountered a little bit of trouble, with that old traveler. It turns out that Alexander had more people in various places than we accounted for, and now we have to take some precautions."
With a frown, I asked, "Precautions?"
"Yes. Precautions. You're going to be known to the world as Kate, the daughter of Stephan Parfenov. The girlfriend of Mikael Kuznetsov. It's a step to further mask you, hide you from the world so we can continue with our traveling."
"By the way, what is the traveling for? I doubt it's because you all want me to have the time of my life."
Misha let out a laugh. "I'm afraid I can't answer that one completely, or Stephan will be coming after me. All I can say is that there is a reason Stephan has been going to all those various meetings and leaving you behind with me. You see..."
He looked around to make sure no one could hear him, and then in a hushed tone continued, "you see, you're not the only plan that we had to get Mr. Vasiliev to help us out. We're in a lot more trouble than Stephan has told you about, and we had to make sure Mr. Vasiliev really understood that we need his help before... well, before using our final piece, that would be you, to put him... in checkmate."
"Ah, it is lovely to have my life compared to a chess piece, while my husband's life is a chess game. Thank you."
Misha scoffed at me. "Sorry, but I can't silver line it. As... as intriguing and pleasant of a woman you are, you are still a hostage that we must use."
I didn't say anything and just continued walking. My little conversation with Misha once more showed me just how dangerous these men could be, and that they had a lot more genius plans cooking up than what I could see, or even think of.
Finally, we reached a large, tall building. We walked in, and I saw security at the desk wanting to come over and inspect us, but one cold and ruthless look from each person in the gang, including poor Shurik, made them sit still at their desk.
"You know how to act like a very important person, Maria. I know you do, you're Mrs. Vasilievna after all. You're going to have to act extremely high and powerful while we're here. Don't let the problems that Stephan told you about underestimate him; Stephan isn't quite as incredible as your husband, but he is still of very high power and importance. As his daughter, you are too." Misha whispered to me in a very hushed tone as we walked through several corridors to a large glass door.
Inside were several tables and some men in dark suits and women in dresses or skirts. I was the only one who wore the brightest colors, and out of the women, I was the only one in pants.
I felt Misha's hands circle around me, keeping me close to him. I felt glad that he was there because I had no idea what to do or say. And I also felt very out of place, in this duckling costume.
"You look fine, Maria. Stop worrying."
I glanced at Misha's bright, energizing blue eyes. How did he know exactly what I was thinking? Did we really get so close, that he already knew what I was thinking?
He just gave me a wink.
Goodness! He really did know me well!
"Stephan. Glad to see you made it, with the rest of your crew." A tall, dark man came up and shook hands with Stephan while nodding at everyone else.
His eyes stopped at me, and he smiled.
"And who would this be?"
Stephan approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "My daughter, Kate."
At the words 'my daughter,' the man quickly retreated, but after giving me a proper handshake.
"You have a beautiful daughter, Stephan. Married already?"
I frowned. How did he know?
I heard a faint curse word muttered from Eugene and several from Misha. Then I looked down at my hand. Blast! Oh, darn! Nobody had thought about taking my wedding ring off!
Stephan shot me and Misha a dirty look.
"No, she is engaged. To Mikael, over there." He quickly said.
"Ah. Lucky man, Mikael." The man turned to Misha.
He nodded, and took my hand, trying to be all lovey-dovey.
"Well, that's enough talk, let's sort things out," Stephan said, and the men all sat down.
The other men who had simply been watching came over now as well, and they all sat down. The table was full, and there were no more places left and so I decided to just stand near the entrance.
"Ah, no fiance of mine will be standing alone. Come, sit." Misha said, with a little grin.
I'm sure to everyone here this was a very ordinary thing coming from a fiance, but I just heard the playful, mischievous tone that he used, and his sly smirk warned me that whatever he had in mind was not great.
I couldn't just decline his offer, because I did not want to face the wrath of Stephan, so I made my way toward Misha. I thought he would stand up, and let me have his seat, but of course, this was Misha, the prankster, the one who loved to have fun at the expense of others.
He wasn't getting up, and just motioned for me to sit on his lap. I took a deep breath and gave him a glare that I hoped would kill him. Then, I sat down.
A deep, red blush covered my cheeks. I prayed that it wouldn't be noticeable to the others. The men began to talk. Papers were exchanged, drinks were poured, and some laughter was also heard. It was boring, but soon I began to pay attention.
"And the company?" the tall dark man asked.
I had learned by now that his name was Igor, and he was the owner of a large company. I couldn't exactly determine what his company did, but I could tell it was something involved with government.
"We have a plan," Stephan replied.
"Ah, I see. Tell me, please, what it is."
Stephan first glanced at me, but I pretended I had zoned out.
"Mr. Vasiliev is in a bad situation, currently. His wife suddenly disappeared."
Igor laughed. "Maria Vasilievna just vanished?"
Stephan nodded.
He laughed again. Well actually, it was more of a bellow, with his hand on his stomach, and he wiped away a few tears.
He took a shot of some alcohol and turned to Stephan once more. "You've got to tell me how the wife of Mr. Vasiliev just vanished."
"If only I knew. Rumor is that she was either hurt and her body is buried somewhere, or she ran off with somebody since she was so sick of Alexander."
I let out a little gasp. Thankfully, it was little enough that only Misha heard. He gave me a little glare and squeezed my hand.
"Oh, well do you believe any of those?" Igor asked, and without waiting for a reply he said, "I think the latter one is more believable."
I raised my eyebrows. Did people really think Alexander was so awful that I would run away from him?
"And how are you using this to your advantage?" Igor asked.
"All you need to know, Igor, is that while a man is in a state of deep despair, it is very easy to attack. We have plans of taking down the countries he has influence in, starting with the ones Jordan Jonathan also has influence in."
Igor laughed, but it wasn't the amused laughter. It was the cruel, evil laugh. One that every Russian man is capable of.
I shuddered. Misha felt it and gave me another stern squeeze.
"I can help, I have longed to get influence in the Middle East. Please, if you have time, I would love to hear in detail what you plan to do." Igor said, his eyes wild with mischief.
Stephan turned to Misha and me at this point. "Mikael, I think you and Kate should go out and enjoy the Australian air."
I heard Igor chuckle, but Misha just stood up, and since I was sitting on him, I stood up as well. We were squished together between the chair and the table.
The closeness of his body to mine made me extremely uncomfortable, and I knew that Misha knew that. He just loved to play with me, and I couldn't really do anything about it.
"Farewell, everyone," he said, and I waved, while I just nodded.
As he walked out, he brushed his body against mine and I shuddered. Ah, he was a horrible person!
We walked outside and as soon as we were out, I gave him a well-deserved slap.
"Misha!"
He just laughed and held a hand against his face. "Oof, Maria, you sure have a strong hand. Why was that for?"
I was very tempted to slap him again, but I just calmly said, "You know exactly why, you little..."
He laughed and grabbed my face, holding it tight so I couldn't escape.
He puckered up his lips and very slowly leaned down. My lungs stopped working and I just froze up.
'Lord, please, don't let this happen.' I prayed in my mind.
Thankfully, the Almighty God heard me and Misha, instead of kissing me just burst out laughing and let me go.
"Oh, Maria, you are so fun to mess with." He couldn't stop laughing, but I just stood with my arms crossed, driving holes through his head.
He came up to me. "Oh, darling, stop pouting. I'm only having fun. Come, let's go look at the city."
He slid an arm around my shoulders and tugged me along. I hesitated but then decided to just go with it.
We walked through the city, looking at the towering buildings and the ships that kept coming to the docks. Misha babbled about something all the time, while my mind was focused on the conversation that I had heard.
It scared me, what was happening to Alexander.