A PALE HORSE

Max held the door open for Maggie as she made her way into the foyer, side stepping a gilt pillar festooned with fresh flowers and smelling of spring, odd in the late Russian fall. Since their arrival, she had not very much time in Max’s palatial home. They had been in St. Petersburg for a couple of days and they had been all over the place. Their first stop was Peterhof, just outside of the city. Maggie had been impressed by the grand castle and grounds, and found Max’s father’s lab there of even more interest. She had met no less than twenty men and women in direct employ of Max’s father, but had yet to meet the man himself. Max seemed not to mind his father’s absence, and, knowing what she knew of the mysterious and cruel Lev Avatov, she didn’t suppose that it was a great surprise that Max preferred to eschew his father’s company. She and Max were, all things considered, having a wonderful time. They dined and explored all over the area. He had taken her through Alexandria Park and Oranienbaum, and they had even made a trip to Gatchina. She was treated to the best of Russian architecture, cuisine, and culture, and all the while Max had kept her entertained with local lore and history, engaging in deep and fervent discussions about their respective pasts, interests, and dreams. She found him, unsurprisingly, engaging, charming, intelligent, and passionate. They enjoyed being with each other, laughing, exploring, and being affectionate. Just like a couple. They discussed the antiquities that Max had purchased in Louisiana and Florida. Max had explained that part of the purchases would go to the Hermitage museum and part to the Russian museum. There were a few special pieces that would stay in his family’s collection. They were to be tested and verified as authentic, then moved to the Avatov compound. When pressed, Max refused to elaborate and would change the subject. Since the laboratory and museums were their first stop, Max showed Maggie the Peterhof grand palace and explained that it was built by Peter the Great and was situated fifty feet above sea level. Maggie knew that Peterhof was usually mobbed in the summer, but she felt as they were the only visitors in the late fall snow and ice, and she could easily imagine them as the sole inhabitants of the vast compound. Her job didn’t leave her latitude for romance or romanticism, and she had always had a practical bent that was so rigid it almost hurt, but could really roam free in this place, and she let her fancy take flight. Max showed Maggie around the gardens and they talked about their lives. She talked about her life in the states. Some things she even let be factual. Max added a few snippets from his life in Russia, but for the most part he just asked Maggie questions about herself. Last night he had taken her to the Marrinsky Theatre. Once Maggie was inside the theater, she was awed. The spectacular U-shaped theater was sure to inspire anyone. Maggie remembered spinning around trying to look everywhere at once. The ballet performed Swan Lake, and Maggie thought it one of the highlights of her life. As she was ushered into a waiting car from the chilly steps of the theatre, Max protectively shielding her from the snow until she could get fully situated in the seat, and it occurred to her that the quality that she loved and admired most in Max Avatov was his utter lack of guile. Maggie lived a false life. Deception was her stock in trade, and it was refreshing to spend time with a man who, although a bit naïve and serious, wanted nothing from her except her presence and happiness. She sighed inaudibly at her complete contentment, and even allowed herself to find Max’s strong chest with the side of her head as she rested on this incredible man, closed her eyes, and re-lived in her mind the happiest four days of her life. Maggie wasn’t a woman that allowed herself much. She wasn’t given to indulgences of emotion or self. She lived her life on a perpetual mission, with every conversation, every destination, every person that she crossed paths serving as a means to an end. Not to say she was dismissive or a user, but she was a seeker in every relationship, always looking for… what? She thought briefly. Justice, mostly. Justice for Suse had been a driving force in her life since she was seventeen years old. It was the reason she originally became a cop and, eventually, became an investigative journalist. She had found out early on that what she did as a journalist was far more exciting and effective. In law enforcement, her adversaries would be turned over to the court of law and a plodding, corrupt system for judgement. Because of what she did, the bad guys were turned over to a far more severe and unforgiving jury. The court of public opinion could be far more damaging and its verdict always lasted longer than a prison sentence. Every day of her life from the time of Susanna’s return to a week ago, she began her day thinking of her best friend and returning the smile to her face. Every day but the last four. Here I am, she thought. I always promised myself that I would find time for … whatever this is, after. After justice. After restoration. After I did my duty and completed my mission. Oh, God! Hadn’t it taken her nearly five years to get to where she is? To put her in position to take down the very slime that had preyed on, not only her best friend, but on countless others, some just little girls? She had no right to be in this place with this person and be this much in love. But, here she was, and fully aware that she was in way too deep with Max. She had thought this assignment was supposed to be easy. She wasn’t supposed to like Max, let alone fall in love with him. No complications. No strings. It was always that way so that exposing his father would be easier on everyone involved.

“We are here.” Max’s baritone reverberating, joining his heartbeat in her ear, snapped her back to the present and her current situation.

Avatov. He was here and the moment of their introduction was upon her. Here we go, she thought, as the door opened to her left and Boris’ hand extended into sight. She took the proffered fingers, and was ushered from the back seat of the long black car, where Max, who had exited quickly and was arriving to take her arm, appeared. In any other place and in any other time, if I were any other girl, this would be perfect, she thought. This would be everything I could want. IF. Just two little letters makes such a big word, she thought. I don’t live in a world of ifs. I live in reality, and my reality is a lonely one… at least for now. Maybe someday, but not today. Max strode confidently through the open doorway and, after a brief exchange with a butler, he turned and walked back to her. The little man smiled at her as he rushed past to tend to other duties, and Max returned to her, somewhat regaining his composure.

“My father is in the library. We have been instructed to present ourselves to him. Now.” He said this through clenched teeth, and Maggie now understood why Max was glowering so ferociously. He had been summoned to his own house like a lackey, like one of his father’s goons, and this was by design. Lev wanted to drive home to his only son that he was still in control, no matter where in the world Max found himself or what he was up to. Lev called all of the shots, even in this place that was so special and safe.

“Do I have time to freshen up a bit?” She asked Max.

He smiled briefly and said, “Yes. Do not be too long. Boris and I will go in first.” He kissed her on the cheek and she scurried up the stairs to the guest room she had been given. Maggie went to the closet and opened it to change the outfit that she had worn for sightseeing. She pulled out one of the dresses that Max had purchased for her yesterday and put it on. Heels next, and a gold bangle. She went into the bathroom and made sure her hair and make-up were flawless and spritzed herself with Chanel No. 5. It was not odd that she had everything that she would need for the meeting laid out in almost a militarily-precise fashion. She had drilled for this time since they had arrived and was well prepared. As she looked down into the drawer at the display, all of the tools of her trade, she couldn’t help but wonder what Max would think once the piece was done and published. She had many things at her disposal to take down the bad guys, wherever she was, but the most important weapon in her arsenal was always with her. She removed the pretty, large pendant from her neck, an undetectably porous crystal surrounded by an intricate golden wire cage of leaves, and opened the concealed clasp to remove the microrecorder that had been running since her day with Max started. Once the small pearl recorder had been curated and the fresh one placed and concealed, she refastened the necklace in place, put on a matching bracelet, and left her room. She made her way down the hallway and descended the ornate staircase. She thought to herself as she walked steadily and deliberately toward the library, at how different the house looked to her now. When she and Max had arrived at the start of the week, the grand home seemed welcoming and stately, just the sort of place that she preferred. She loved the history and attention to detail, and Max had taken great pride in showing her all of the things that made it such a special and beloved place for him, including many pictures of his mother and sister, and treasured mementos from his childhood. Max had had a cultured upbringing, and his mother was very nurturing, according to him. He thought of her fondly and she could tell that Max loved her, and missed her very much. She was touched at his sentimentality. She reached the last step and stopped to look at the house’s interior. It was evening and light from the Russian countryside trickled through the snowy windows. She did not see a warm, inviting country estate tonight. Tonight she saw a shadowed, massive hall, hauntingly stark and hollow, not reflective at all of the kind and caring man that she had come to know so well over the last year of her life. No, tonight, this house is all Lev Avatov and his evil. And she was about to do everything in her power to put a stop to whatever he was planning. She had a promise to keep.