A Lighter Shade of Night by K. A. Bachus

Author:K. A. Bachus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: K. A. Bachus
Published: 2021-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

BLACK SHEEP

"It is only just past the border. I attended the gymnasium there, for a little while. My uncle…"

Misha interrupted. "Vasily, you are under a death sentence because of what happened in Gdansk."

The balding American they called Frank who sat with them in a dark corner of a seedy restaurant, spoke up. "What happened in Gdansk?"

Vasily and his two friends responded with a malignant stare. Vasily debated switching to Polish for privacy. Louis and Misha were fluent, but Frank had been studying too much and had added both semi-competent French and some basic Russian to his repertoire. Vasily did not want this American to take up his own language. He contented himself with an unmistakably hostile glare.

Misha set his empty glass on the table.

"If you will not wait here, then wait in Prague if you are able to avoid the Czech secret police, but do not come with us to Krakow. It is too dangerous for you, Vasily. This commission is simple. We will kill the target and be back within the day. Frank will wait with you if you stay in Vienna."

At the last words, Frank’s already bulbous eyes opened even wider in alarm. This made Vasily smile. Sweat formed on Frank’s forehead.

"It is not simple," insisted Vasily. "He is very high-level KGB, First Directorate. He will have body guards, an armored car, and a classified route."

"I will know the route within an hour of arrival," said Louis.

"But your rounds will not penetrate a ZIL-117. He will not stop, and his entourage will annihilate you."

"Then prepare a charge for us that will stop the ZIL, and we will use it. You need not be there."

"I must see the route to find where best to place it without detection and the most effective method to detonate. You will need me. I must go."

Misha signaled for more beer before answering.

"You are wearing your most obstinate face, my friend. I concede you are persuasive, but you do not become stubborn like this without a reason. What makes you so determined to risk summary execution?"

Vasily drained the first third of his new glass of beer before answering. They had a right to know, he mused, but then they would feel obligated to help, and he could not bear to endanger them for this. But they should know, he decided finally as he licked the foam from his top lip, because this is what it means to be a team.

"I have had a message from my uncle Henryk in Warsaw. My great-uncle Mateusz is under suspicion. I must convince him to leave."

"How many uncles do you have, Vasily?" Louis asked with a furrowed brow.

Vasily did not answer because he sensed Frank’s interest. The man would put the number in an American file to be stolen eventually by the KGB.

Louis did not press the question. His glance at Frank told Vasily that his understanding had caught up, and he now regretted asking.

"Where is Mateusz now?" asked Misha.

"In Krakow. He is a professor of medieval history at Jagiellonian University.

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