Mitchell's Revenge

“This bloody pylon race,” said Natasha, as she walked into Snatch’s office. “It’s interfering with everything.” PB pranced after her and then made a circuit of the room, sniffing everything he could get his nose into.

Snatch looked up from his desk. “What do you mean?” he asked. “And get that dog away from my schedules!”

Papers were spread all over a low table at the side of the room. Everything that could be in place at this stage was. The dance floor was completed and checked. A practice area was set aside, changing facilities, catering, medical staff, security, music were all set to go. Natasha had inspected the venue and re-inspected it. Snatch was sick to death of the whole thing and it hadn’t even started yet. The championship comperes and adjudicators were due to arrive with the dancing families from Menageron in a few days’ time.

Natasha scooped PB up into her arms and stroked his head. She glared at Snatch. “Father has only two security people with him,” she replied. “He’s asked me to find some more.”

“But he’s more than able to protect himself, isn’t he?”

“Yes, But after so many attempts on his life he’s completely paranoid. He hasn’t left Tarasov for years, and he’s coming directly into the bear’s mouth, so to speak. It’s a headache. I don’t know anyone capable of putting up with his temper, let alone someone who’d want to do it!”

“Do you think he’s in danger?”

“No, not at all. Not amongst a bunch of ballroom dancers. He’s too well known in dancing circles. They’ll stay clear of him,” Natasha laughed. “I bet Mother isn’t helping him. She’ll just be feeding his paranoia.”

She walked around in a circle stroking the little dog, and then stood staring down at the schedules. Snatch had an idea.

“Olga and Phillip will be on general security detail during the championship,” said Snatch. “Why not brief them in terms of “keeping an eye on my family for me” and then tell your father it’s sorted. You don’t have to give him full details surely? In fact, it would better if he didn’t know what you’ve arranged.”

“And you can keep an eye on everything in the control room during the championship via vid link,” added Natasha. “That’ll have to do. I’m more concerned with security around the betting places, as you know.”

Sonny Riccardo appeared in the doorway behind her.

“The dancers are arriving,” he announced. “And I believe your family is here, Natasha. Time to get to work!”

“Excellent,” said Natasha. I’ll leave you two to it.”

She put PB back on the floor. The little dog followed her out of the office. They headed directly to the docking bay where the Orlov family were disembarking from the Zond. Elena Zeitsev waited at the bottom of the boarding ramp as Natasha arrived. Yuri appeared first, followed by Daria, then Anja and the three Ostrakovs. Sergey Kuznetsov completed the party at the rear.

Natasha hugged her father, then greeted her mother more formally with a kiss on each cheek. She shook hands with Anja Stern and then the Ostrakovs. They were subdued and tired. Anja and Aleks made a striking couple with their blond hair and blue/grey eyes. She greeted Elena and Sergey with a curt nod. The amount of baggage they were unloading was staggering. It contained shoes and costumes, several changes of clothes, makeup kits, hair accessories, and all the other paraphernalia they needed for the coming week.

Natasha had reserved rooms for them all at the Dorado hotel, which was the only one capable of hosting VIP’s. It had excellent security and was close to the arena where the juniors would be competing. She led the way to their accommodation, talking quietly with her father as they walked. The automated baggage trolley whirred along behind them.

Natasha explained that she had arranged for some hours of private practice for the juniors in the arena each afternoon leading up to the first day of competition. She reassured Yuri that she had tight security arrangements in place and that he was not to worry about anything. He watched her with distaste as she petted the small dog she was carrying.

Elena and Sergey followed at the rear of the party. The mercenaries were alert to any irregularity in the surrounding foot traffic, scanning the walk ways carefully whilst watching the group in front of them. They had been to Tiberion before. They were familiar with its alleyways and garden paths. Neither of them was susceptible to the population pacifiers. They were focussed on keeping the family safe over the week they were here.

Pavel Azanov was to stay with the Zond while it was docked. Maxim and Nadezhda were to join the transport to the U.S.E. shipyard in a few days’ time. They planned to return the same way after the pylon race.

Anja felt sick as she walked behind Yuri and Daria. She was so close to home, and there was nothing she could do about it. The pressure that Daria had put on her and Aleks in the three weeks before they left Tarasov completely exhausted her. They practiced for hours every day at Givi’s studio. The physical exertion and the travelling to and from the studio every day took its toll. She was grateful for the respite aboard the Zond and slept as much as she could.

Aleks and his parents kept very much to themselves on the journey from Tarasov. They were so aware of the stakes involved in this competition that Anja felt it as a physical force surrounding them. Aleks became more serious as the time grew closer. It was make or break time for the juniors.

Lucy, Em and Lou arrived at the same time as the Orlov party. Their transport docked at the bay furthest from the Zond. Lucy fought the impulse to run and find Anja as soon as they disembarked.

“I haven’t felt that for a while,” she thought as they headed for their accommodation. “She must be here already.” She bent to stroke Em’s fur and the feeling faded.

There were a couple of establishments on Tiberion that allowed assistance animals to stay with their owners, and the Draco was one of them. Lucy was relieved to learn that the rules about animals were not as strict here as they were at the shipyard. She could keep Em with her, provided she was on a lead most of the time.

Lou spent the next couple of hours dying her mousy brown hair a vibrant dark red. Then she tied it back into a sleek pony tail. Next she fitted green contact lenses to her normally blue eyes. She changed into a tailored pantsuit. Now she looked like the manager of a sports team. Natasha had only ever seen her dressed in her cargo handler shipsuit, and her hair had grown long since she was picked up by The Guardian Angel. She hoped it was enough of a disguise.

Grabb and Flex came in from EQ2 a few hours later. Flex shouldered his handipak and made for the most disreputable accommodation house he could find. His plan was to keep as low a profile as possible. He intended to stay right away from the ballroom dancing event. He did not want to run into Natasha or Snatch. He had a job to do. Grabb watched him expertly disappear into the crowds of disembarking travellers.

Grabb had agreed to meet the girls in the foyer of the Draco before heading to the ballroom for practice. After Lou completed her transformation, the two women sat in overstuffed armchairs in the foyer by the window. Lou watched the passing parade of guests checking in and checking out. Lucy sat stroking Em’s head gently. The panther sat on the floor beside her, a lead attached to her emerald collar. She stiffened suddenly and growled.

“May I have this dance?” said a voice, and a hand appeared in front of her. Lucy looked up.

Other than his voice and his height, Grabb was unrecognisable. His sandy hair had been cut severely short and dyed jet black. It tapered into the back of his neck, revealing a deep tan above the neckline of the T shirt he was wearing. His eyes were dark brown, instead of their customary pale blue. The shirt sat loosely over a pair of soft black trousers. Black shoes and socks completed the ensemble.

“Good grief!” exclaimed Lucy. “I really didn’t think you’d be able to do it. I hardly recognise you!” She stood up. Lou grinned at them both. Grabb stared at her.

“By the time I finish with you Lucy, no one will recognise you either!” Lou stood up. “I want to see you two dance. Time to practice!”

“Yes, team manager,” Grabb and Lucy said together. The three of them started to laugh. Em pulled at the lead in Lucy’s hand.

“Come on you lot, stop mucking around,” came Em’s voice clearly to Lucy and Lou. “You have work to do.” She tugged again at her lead.

“Em’s ready to go too,” Lucy said to Grabb. “I know how to get to the ballroom from here, so let’s be off!” They gathered their shoe bags from the floor.

They left the hotel and moved along the garden pathway that led to the ballroom. The walkways were swarming with the eclectica that congregated on Tiberion. Humanoid, strangely coloured, furred, and many armed creatures moved from place to place. They could see from the posture and grooming of some of the humans that ballroom dancing competitors were already arriving in time to get their bearings for the competition.

Lucy and Grabb were not the only ones using the ballroom for practice. And it was just as ugly as Lucy remembered it. Their faces took on a greyish hue under the garish fluorescent lighting. They sat down to change their shoes. They quickly joined the other dancers on the floor while Lou ordered tea and sandwiches for them all. She and Em settled down to watch.

Lou’s arm ached if she sat still for too long. And it ached a lot during the next week. She accompanied Grabb and Lucy to practice and watched them steadily improve each day. She was amazed to see that Lucy was as competent as Natasha on the dance floor. Grabb was increasingly excited as the week went on.

The day before the championship started he was able to get into the arena to make a reconnaissance. He confirmed their registration and loaded a copy of the schedule onto his handipalm. That evening the three of them sat in Grabb’s room studying the program.

“This is excellent,” exclaimed Grabb. “The adult event that we’re registered for is running alternately with the junior event.”

“And what does that mean, exactly?” asked Lucy.

“It means that we’ll dance one round, then the juniors will dance the next,” replied Grabb. “Then we dance again, if we make it through. Then the kids dance, then we dance, etc.”

“So we’ll all be in the arena at the same time,” observed Lou.

“Exactly,” said Grabb. “There aren’t as many juniors registered as adults, so they’ll be finished first. The question is, when do we make the snatch?”

“How far are we likely to get in the competition?” asked Lucy. “And what about the kids?”

“That’s anybody’s guess,” said Grabb. “I’d like to think we might make two or three rounds. My guess would be that the juniors will be expected to win. I doubt that the Orlovs would have gone to all this trouble if they didn’t think their kids will win.”

“So we watch a couple of junior rounds and assess the situation from there,” suggested Lou. “Maybe I can get close enough to the Orlov party for a sense of what they expect. Then we can decide when to move.”

“Jake arrived this afternoon,” advised Lucy. “He and the Mitchell’s Revenge crew are in place should we need them. They’re staying with the ship. Matt will be monitoring our tech all day tomorrow.”

“Even better,” said Grabb. “These contact lenses have some fancy features that could be very helpful. Are you planning to watch the pylon race tonight, or get some beauty sleep?”

“Sleep I think,” said Lucy. “I can’t bear to watch the racing when I’d rather be doing it. And I’d be far too nervous to watch Rufus.”

“Do you think he can win?” asked Grabb.

“Oh, absolutely,” replied Lucy. “We’ll know in the morning. See you then.”

She and Em got up and headed towards the door. She turned to face Grabb as she opened it. “I just hope we’ve got this right,” she said as she left the room.