AT Bay by Mefford John W

Author:Mefford, John W.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sugar Hill Press
Published: 2023-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

29

Svetlana’s apartment

Berlin

We looked like we felt. Haggard. We’d survived a battle for our lives and were running on fumes as we walked along the sidewalk in front of the strip center near Svetlana’s apartment. Only a few people were out at this late hour, after midnight. While we’d already stopped at an all-night convenience store to purchase a cell phone, most shops were closed, including the bookstore, although a corner bar was still open and serving food and drinks.

We received more than a few curious glances, and my stomach had begun to rumble, but we just kept trudging ahead. There would be too many questions if we stopped. No one could be trusted, either. Anyone could be tied to Rudolph and Dambeck, or other agents for Operation Penkovsky.

“Got any food in the apartment?” I asked as Natasha unlocked the apartment door.

“Cans of soup. Take what you need, but for me…I cannot eat. I must get to Svetty’s diary.”

“Where did you hide it?” I asked, shutting the apartment door behind us.

She opened the pantry door, handed me two cans of Kartoffelsuppe soup—some type of potato concoction—then pulled out the diary that was on the back of the shelf.

“Do you think you missed something?”

“I never had a chance to read what Aunt Svetlana had written after she mentioned Operation Penkovsky. There could be something there.”

Natasha sat at the dining room table while I dumped the soup into two bowls and placed them in the microwave. While the soup heated, I looked over her shoulder. The words were the equivalent to alphabet soup, as far as I was concerned.

“Remember, I have no clue what this Russian means.”

Natasha’s lips moved as she ran her finger down the page. Wearing wet, muddy clothes and in an exhausted state, Natasha still had this unquestionable energy. Perhaps born from her quest to find the person who’d killed her aunt and to learn more about Operation Penkovsky. More likely a result of her tumultuous stay at the orphanage. A survivor—a state of mind I carried like my shadow. Sometimes quiet and other times not as much, she possessed a strength of spirit. One that must have emboldened those around her. At least it did for me.

“She is talking about her days at the bookstore. She was happy, but also talks about not losing focus on the mission.”

“Mission?”

She nodded and continued finger-tracing the text while reading to herself. I decided not to push it. The microwave dinged, and I grabbed two bowls, two spoons, and sat next to Natasha. I savored my first bite. The soup was delicious and warmed my chest.

“You’ll need your energy, so you should probably eat up,” I said before downing another spoonful. “That bowl’s for you, whether you want it or not.”

She continued reading.

“Natasha?”

She turned a page and ran her finger along the passage.

“Are you expecting to see a note that says, ‘The mastermind of Operation Penkovsky is Mr. X’?”

“Could be a woman. But no, I am not naïve. I am looking for breadcrumbs that will lead us…” She stopped, then tapped the page with her index finger.

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