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“He went back outside to keep an eye on the building. We need to know who’s coming in and out of the building.”
“Ha! Just ask Ms. Jackson in the apartment underneath mine. She spends her days spying on everyone. She’s already written your license plate number down and is waiting until Mr. Turner, from across the hall, gets home so she can give the number to him and have him call his buddy’s son who is a policeman to run the plates.”
“No shit?”
“No shit. It’s partly why I’ve stayed in this crappy building so long. It’s not the best neighborhood, but the neighborhood watch is superb.”
Viktor just stared at me while he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed a number and spoke Russian when the person answered. He then ended the call and put his phone back in his pants.
“Please tell me you didn’t just order a hit on Ms. Jackson.”
He chuckled and said, “No, no. We just need to take precautions. We technically don’t exist, but we can take precautions that will satisfy your superb neighborhood watch.”
“Cryptic. How do you not exist? Are you not standing in my living room? Am I having a psychotic break and I just made breakfast for three when it’s really just me in here? Was I really that hungry?”
Okay, that was only partly a joke. How did they not exist?
“We are real. We just don’t officially exist in anyone’s database,” he said, adding air quotes around the last word for effect.
“Oh, right. The whole Ghost thing, right?”
“You are a very smart girl, sestrichka.”
“It’s a gift,” I said as I winked at him.
Since I didn’t have to work, I decided to turn my television on and mindlessly watch a movie. I was still quite tired from the festivities the night before, but I didn’t want to go back to sleep. I consulted with my giant guardian, and we decided on an action movie. As soon as the action started, Viktor was critiquing the hero’s every move. Actually, Viktor’s commentary on the movie turned out to be more interesting than the movie itself.
Even though I tried hard not to, I eventually fell asleep. When I awoke, I heard hushed voices in my kitchen. I assumed it was Viktor and Andrei, so I didn’t think before I said, “Okay, which one of you is making me dinner?”
The talking stopped and there was silence for a moment, so I sat up on the couch and looked into the kitchen. That was definitely not Viktor standing in the kitchen and he was definitely not talking to Andrei.
“Shit,” I mumbled to myself as I leapt off the couch and tried to put distance between me and the two new giant Russians in my kitchen. “Who are you? Where did Viktor and Andrei go?”
“Calm down. I’m Ivan and this is Misha. We replaced Viktor and Andrei so they could get rest.”
I looked Ivan and Misha up and down. Misha was slightly taller than Ivan, but both men were just as huge as Viktor and Andrei. Ivan was bald with a black goatee. He also had tattoos on his neck that I hadn’t noticed the night before. Misha looked younger than the other three. He looked less threatening than the others too. He had soft green eyes that gave the impression he was always smiling, even when he wasn’t. They were a striking contrast to his black hair.
Misha said, “Ivan was just filling me in on information and then he was going back outside. We’re sorry we woke you,” he said in a rather mild Russian accent.
“No, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Will Viktor and Andrei be back?” I asked. I felt weird missing them, but I suddenly felt a little empty knowing they weren’t in my apartment.
Misha smiled gently, “Yes, Sephie. They’ll be back in the morning. They needed sleep. We’re working in shifts.”
“So, they’re really not on meth,” I said, scratching the back of my neck and stretching my arms over my head.
Ivan turned to me with the most intense gaze I think I’d ever seen. “WHAT?” he said as he started toward me. Misha grabbed his arm to prevent him from moving closer to me as I took a few more steps backward and ended up against the wall.
Misha stepped in front of Ivan, to both physically and visually block him from me. “Ivan, it’s a joke. She was making a joke. Viktor told me she makes jokes, especially when she’s nervous. No one is on meth, especially not Viktor.”
“I feel vulnerably diagnosed, but he’s right. I was joking. I said Viktor was on meth because he couldn’t have slept much before coming to my apartment before my neighbor left for work this morning.”
Ivan took a deep breath. His body somewhat relaxed, but his gaze was still burning holes in my soul. He turned his back to me and left my apartment.
I stayed against the wall for a few more seconds, just to make sure he didn’t come back.
“Is he always such a jovial guy?”
Misha rubbed his face with his hands as he inhaled deeply. “Ivan didn’t mean any harm. Ivan has very strong feelings about drug use.”
