Shadows of Vengeance by Charles D. Taylor

Author:Charles D. Taylor [Taylor, Charles D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense & Thrillers
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Morrison had gone to the swim center at the Lushniki Sports Park based on a single-sentence message left for him at the beginning of the week. There were two immense pools in use when he arrived, divers practicing in one while two water polo games progressed in the other.

He paid his kopeks to the next swim for men, then lounged in the stands watching the divers go through their routines. It was a fine day for a swim and a number of men, mostly older, gathered in the same area, more attracted to the female divers than water polo.

The attendant handed Morrison a suit, still warm from the hot steam used each time to sterilize it. It was tight and the wool itched, but it was the standard outfit and there was no reason for him to look any different from the others. Bathing caps were required for sanitary purposes and some of the older men, pale and dumpy, looked outlandish as they dallied by the pool.

Morrison felt himself dozing in the hot sun until two short blasts on the horn at the top of the stadium jolted him awake. The divers still on the platform immediately climbed down and the water polo players halted their games instantly to climb out of the water. Such obedience, Morrison mused. Attendants in white slacks and shirts circled the pools with rubber squeegees pushing loose water into the drains. Others dragged nets across the surface of the water. The process took no more than two or three minutes and, as the attendants disappeared, there was a single blast on the horn signifying that they could now move into the pools.

The water was comfortable. Morrison felt refreshed as he swam easily down one of the racing lanes. The bathing cap proved an unusual sensation, but he was sure no one else looked any less foolish as he rolled over to backstroke for a while.

“You appear at ease in the water.” It was a voice directly behind him.

Morrison rolled back in surprise to see that the man who had spoken was smiling in a cordial manner. “I’ve been swimming since I was a small boy.”

“I learned how to swim in Lake Baikal as a youth.”

“We learned in the same lake,” came Morrison’s answer.

“I think I will use the steam bath in a few minutes.” And that was the way the contact was established.

They were the only ones in the steam room as the man explained that plans had changed somewhat. General Stalbo was deeply enough involved with Brezhnev that they would have to delay their original plans. It would take time to reconsider when and how and …

“When I accepted this job,” Morrison finally interjected, “I took it for one reason only. That’s touchy enough as it is. I’m not—”

“The girl,” the other said matter-of-factly.

“The real reason you agreed was the girl. You’ve found her. You sampled this past weekend to make sure she was the same one,” he added with a crude laugh. “No need to comment, my friend.

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