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“But there are a million places to hide on a boat.”
“Not zhis one. All zhe cargo compartments have been cleaned out. Zhe machinery room is locked, and zhe forecastle holds kitchen supplies. And it’s also locked. Everything is locked.”
“Then how is she supposed to get into the infirmary if everything is locked?”
“The key cards. There is one for the superstructure, and a different one for the kitchen, and yet another for engineering. But the master has access to everything, and only the captain has that.”
She sat down then, holding her tea. “But I have a plan.” And then she smiled.
Gold teeth, but something warm and even alive in her eyes. Pavel covered her hand with his, squeezed.
“Why are you helping us?” Fraser put down his own tea. “I know you’re friends with Moose, but this is dangerous. If you cross the Petrov Bratva—”
“Zhey killed our son,” Pavel said quietly. “It started vith a job vorking for ze gas company, vorking security, and zhen he vas promoted to vorking private security for Lukka Petrov, who oversees ze production here. Lukka is Arkady Petrov’s son, and soon Alexi vas flying all over in his Gulfstream. And zen he got a look at vat Lukka vas into. Trafficking women, guns, drugs, and he vas sick. He zhought he vas a patriot; instead, he’d turned into a zhug. He tried to get out, and Lukka sent him to oversee a project last summer in Mongolia. Turns out it vas a biological weapon. Somehow Alexi got exposed, and he died of smallpox.”
Fraser’s jaw tightened. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Lukka Petrov is the son of the devil, and so is his gulag ship. He runs it like a Siberian work camp, starving the inmates, vorking zhem to zheir bone, and pitting zhem against each other for food,” Sasha said. “Shae came in four days ago, scared to death. I vas zhere for her processing, and vhile she tried to be brave, I heard her crying in her container.”
“Container?” Ned tried not to let the words dig into his soul.Hang on, Shae. I’m on my way.
“The prisoners are all kept in private tree-meter-by-two-meter containers equipped vith a cot and a blanket. It gets very cold in the ship at night.” Sasha sighed. “And now Shae has an enemy. Vikka Morozova. She vas a former girlfriend of Lukka’s and crossed him by getting involved vith one of his bodyguards. Instead of killing her, he sent her to Sevvostlag.”
“What does she want with Shae?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it is because she is American. But zhis is good.”
“How?” Ned had stopped trembling, finally. But now his body buzzed with every word Sasha spoke.
“We use Vikka to get zhe card away from Captain Orlov,” Pavel said.
“You see, Shae has also made a friend. A man named Judah. He’s a longtime prisoner—I’m not sure vhy he is zhere, really. But he has been looking out for her a bit, and I believe he vill help her escape by getting zhe card. I just need to make it happen.” Sasha’s face twisted. “Unfortunately, it might mean roughing up your vife a little.”
Fraser’s hand found Ned’s shoulder, even as his breath tightened.
“How much is a little?”
“Every day, the prisoners are transported to a work site. Shae has already had an altercation vith Vikka, but tomorrow, Vikka vill bully her, and Judah vill step in. Ve vill make sure Captain Orlov is nearby—he particularly hates Judah—and Judah can grab his key card.”
“Your man can do this?” Fraser said. “Without getting himself killed?”
Pavel smiled. “Judah has skills. It is not ze first time he has gotten someone off ze ship zis way, although, yes, it is not vithout danger.”
Ned didn’t like it. Not at all. Especially when Sasha went on to detail the rest—Shae’s escape from her container, the break-in of the infirmary, the use of the cadaver bag—
“There are too many what-ifs,” Ned said. “The biggest being—what if the impact to the water knocks her out, or kills her? What if she can’t get out—or I can’t get her out?” He’d gotten up then, carried his bowl to the kitchen sink. “No.”
“Then what do you propose?” Fraser said as Sasha picked up his bowl.
He looked at Pavel and Fraser, then returned to his chair. “I propose we get aboard the ship, find her container, and spring her before she does something that is going to get her killed.”
Sasha gave him a look then that turned his veins to ice. “I believe it is too late for zhat. Zhe plan is already in motion.”
Already in motion.
Ned went to bed with those words burning through his head and slept not at all. It didn’t help that he and Fraser shared a bed little bigger than a twin-size and his brother took up most of the room. Ned had finally gotten up before dawn and taken a chair across the room, staring down the day.
He’d just have to get on the ship before it all went down.
