Listen To Her Heart, page 24
“Oh,” was all Briana said, causing Yalen to laugh again.
“Amy Winehouse lived here as well. Sadly, this is where she died, too. She had a townhouse over on Camden Square.”
“I loved her music. I was so sad when I saw it on the news,” Briana said, frowning.
“Yeah, I liked her too. Did you know that A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was set here in Camden Town?” Yalen asked.
“Nope, I didn’t know that,” Briana said, shaking her head.
“When he wrote A Christmas Carol, England was suffering from a severe economic depression and the book was almost autobiographical for Dickens. It was his way of bringing awareness to poor people and he was hoping that those who were better off would donate to charity. He knew all about social inequality. As a child, he was very poor and his writing was a way of trying to change it. The house Bob Cratchit’s family lived in was very similar to the small four-room house over on Bayham Street where Dickens lived. If you look at Dickens’ children, they were very similar to Cratchit’s kids and what most people don’t know is that Dickens had a younger brother named Tiny Fred who was sick all the time and provided the basis for the character Tiny Tim.”
Briana stopped to look at Yalen, her expression one of amazement. “How in the hell do you know all of these things?”
Yalen laughed and then shrugged. “I like to read and when I knew we would be coming to Camden Town, I needed to know everything about it but with Dickens, that’s a little different because he’s one of my all-time favorite authors.”
“Damn. Your memory is crazy sick,” Briana laughed, still shaking her head.
“I know. Sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s bad,” Yalen sighed and when Briana stopped in front of a shop called Dragon to look through a rack of baseball caps, she used the time to search through the crowd of people and sure enough, she saw the two Americans from the airport on the other side of the street. They were now playing the role of lovers to the hilt, holding hands and laughing as the woman pretended to try on a pair of sunglasses.
Two shops down from where she and Briana were standing was the man who she had pegged from Scotland Yard but his partner wasn’t with him and Yalen had a good idea where the woman was. He was easily recognizable because he was still wearing the clothes he had on at the airport.
As they approached the next building, Yalen’s eyes were everywhere and part of the reason she had chosen to go in this direction was two-fold. One, it provided the exit she needed to ditch those following her and Briana and two, it would take them directly in front of Vladimir Lebedev’s Gentleman’s Club, Mystics.
She smiled as she looked up at the building. Hanging from the purple painted brick façade, was a twenty-foot, 3D replica of the seventeenth century French cat called Puss in Boots and the relevancy of that cat was that it was the calling card for the Russian, Vory V Zakone.
Every member of the Vory had the same cat tattoo somewhere on his or her body and anyone caught with the symbol that wasn’t a member of the Vory, would be killed. When Yalen had first been introduced to the Vory and their way of life, she was amused that they had chosen to idolize a fairy tale about a cat that used deceit and trickery to obtain wealth and power for his poor master, so he could marry a princess.
As she glanced at the entrance, the first thing she noticed was the two goons standing on either side of the door. She could tell by the bulge on the side of their leather jackets that they were heavily armed. She turned her head, looking toward the street in order to avoid eye contact with the men as they passed by the club.
Briana placed her hands on her hips. “That is awesome,” she exclaimed excitedly as she looked up at the building in front of them. It was another shoe store called 4 Quarter Shoes and like Mystics, it had a huge replica of a High-topped Converse gym shoe protruding from the building.
“Listen,” Yalen said, linking her arm through Briana’s arm as they approached a shop called the Dark Side. “This is our shop and once we go in, just stick close because we won’t have much time once we go out the back door.”
“Welcome to the Dark Side, how appropriate,” Briana laughed as they entered the shop. Without wasting any time, Yalen took Briana by the hand and led her through the crowd of customers, toward the back of the store.
“You are not allowed back here,” a young man dressed like a Goth, said in a thick British accent.
Yalen shrugged both her arms through the backpack straps. “Sorry, we’re just passing through,” she said, pushing the back door open. They were now behind the building. “We have to hurry,” she said as the two of them stepped out into a small alleyway between the shop and the building that housed the Arlington Conference Centre. Still holding Briana’s hand, Yalen took off running, following the alleyway around the corner that would take them directly to Arlington Road.
“I need to rest for a second,” Briana said, bending over at the waist to catch her breath once they reached Arlington Road.
“Okay,” Yalen said, slowly peering around the corner of the building. She looked down the street toward the 55 Bar, which sat on the corner of Arlington and Jamestown Road.
“I’m ready now,” Briana said, coming over to stand next to Yalen.
CIA Headquarters - Langley, Virginia:
“Where the fuck are they? How long have they been in there?” Sykes yelled, looking at Daughtery.
“Almost ten minutes, Sir,” Daughtery answered.
“Something’s not right,” he said, shaking his head.
Up on the screen was the view of the Dark Side shop on Camden High Street. They had been watching Yalen and Briana from the moment they had left their hotel.
“Officer’s Demescko and Kramer just left the airport,” Loshe said to Sykes.
“Get her on the phone now,” Sykes instructed, looking at Loshe.
Several seconds passed by and Loshe shook her head. “It went straight to voice-mail.”
“She must be on the phone with them,” Daughtery said, nodding toward the screen. They watched as Demescko’s two officers ran across the street, the woman with a phone to her ear.
Damn it, they’ve lost her, Sykes thought as his eyes scanned the various screens on the wall, which showed different camera angles all along Camden High Street. The women were nowhere to be seen. “Get me a camera on the back of that store and quick!” he yelled.
Sgt. Mueller was just about to go in the shop when he had seen the two Americans from the airport run across the street. He knew they wouldn’t find the women, so he turned around, heading in the opposite direction with his cell phone to his ear.”
CIA Headquarters - Langley, Virginia:
“Got it,” Daughtery yelled just as one of the screens on the wall changed to show the area directly behind the Dark Side shop. A minute later, the back door flew open and Demescko’s people walked outside.
The two officers looked down the alleyway and after a few seconds, went back inside the building.
Sykes shook his head in disgust. If that was the best that Demescko had, he had a big problem. “Get me cameras of the entire area. I want to see up and down those streets.”
Having checked to make sure the Prius was empty; Yalen and Briana hurried down Jamestown Road, passing by their hotel on the opposite side of the street. She glanced up at the cameras mounted on the outside of the building next to the 55 Bar and said a silent prayer, hoping like hell that big brother wasn’t watching. It was a risk she had to take. They took a sharp left past the building, going between a brick entryway that led into a parking lot next to a row of townhouses that were now converted offices.
“We’ve only got a few minutes if that long,” Yalen said, heading toward a five-foot tall, privacy fence that enclosed the back yard of the yellow townhouse on the end. “Climb up on this guardrail and I’ll help boost you over the fence,” she said, nodding at the large, silver piece of metal.
Without a word, Briana climbed up on the rail and then jumped, grabbing the fence with her hands and swinging her legs over it. Yalen couldn’t help but laugh at the thump sound she heard, followed by mumbled cursing. Both were a good indication that Briana had fallen on her rear end when she landed on the other side of the fence.
“I heard, that,” Briana grunted as she scrambled to her feet.
“What? I didn’t say anything,” Yalen laughed as she hoisted herself over the fence, landing on her feet next to Briana. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Briana by the hand.
They had no idea how lucky they had been. Just as Yalen closed the door behind Briana, live photo images of the backyard and the surrounding area, popped up on the screens in the surveillance room at Langley.
Sgt. Mueller ran up to the Prius just as Sgt. Whitley climbed into the driver’s seat. “What are you doing here and where are the women?” she asked as he climbed into the passenger seat beside her.
“I tried to ring you because I lost them. The Americans were following them as well.” He shook his head. “She’s good, Liz. I mean really good,” he said, still shaking his head.
“What the hell happened?” Sgt. Whitley asked, looking at him.
“They went into a shop and I was watching them and after several minutes passed by they still hadn’t come out, so I started to go in and then I saw the Americans running across the street. They went inside and I knew then that Martinez had to have gone out the back door, so I doubled back to see if you had seen them.”
“I don’t know if they came this way or not but I know they didn’t come back to their hotel, at least not in the last ten minutes because I just got out of there. Lebedev’s men were in there for almost a half-hour but I was able to plant two wires.” She ran her hand through her hair in frustration. “Are you going to ring the Inspector or do you want me to?”
Sgt. Mueller sighed heavily. “No, I’m the one who fucked up. I’ll ring him.”
“She’s still got it,” the blond-haired man said as he stood in front of the back window of his flat. “He had watched Yalen and Briana come down the street and then cut into the parking lot before climbing over the fence. He was concerned about the cameras. They were everywhere, he had no doubt that Yalen, and Briana’s every move was under surveillance via satellite photos.
“You’re gonna have to get up a little earlier, old boy, if you plan on pulling one over on Martinez,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
Briana followed Yalen up three flights of stairs and using the keycard that had been left under their hotel door; she unlocked the only door on the floor.
Yalen slowly pushed the door open and held it for Briana. With Briana close behind, she cautiously walked down the hallway, stopping at the first doorway on her right. She smiled as she walked into the dimly lit room, Briana right behind her. She sat the backpack down on a chair just inside the door, the grin still on her face.
Standing next to one of three curtained windows, peering out into the street with her back to Yalen and Briana, was a blonde-haired woman wearing a black leather miniskirt, fishnet stockings and knee high boots. She was the same woman who had sat at a table the night before, watching the dancers at Lebedev’s Gentleman’s Club, Mystics.
She turned and smiled at Yalen.
Briana looked at Yalen with a stunned expression on her face. “You brought me to meet a hooker?”
The blonde-haired woman looked at Briana and then Yalen and shrugged. “I like her already,” she laughed.
Yalen grinned at the woman. “You do kinda look road hard and hung up wet with the blonde hair.” Yalen nodded. “Yep, definitely a little on the trashy side if that’s the look you were going for.”
The blonde frowned, her hands on her hips. “You know what? I think I’ll just pack up all of my toys and go home if you two can’t play nice with me.”
“It’s, so damn good to see you, girlfriend,” Yalen said, walking up to the woman.
Briana stood there staring as she watched the blonde remove the wig and then shake out her long black hair. “It’s good to see you too, hon,” Rheyna said, wrapping Yalen in a bone-crunching hug.
Briana, still in shock, looked first at Yalen, then Rheyna, and then back at Yalen. When she finally found her voice, she managed to say, “My god, the two of you look so much alike, you could be sisters.”
“I’m the better looking one,” Rheyna said, bumping Yalen with her shoulder.
“And I’m the one with the brains,” Yalen teased back. She turned to Briana. “Briana Latham, I would like you to meet my best friend, Rheyna Sorento.”
“It’s nice to meet you although I wish it were under different circumstances and if Yalen trusts you, then I do as well,” Rheyna said, holding her hand out to Briana.
“Um … I’m sorry,” Briana stammered. She shook her head, finally taking Rheyna’s hand in hers. “I can’t get over how much you two look alike. Are you related?”
Yalen and Rheyna both laughed.
“No, we’re not and my eyes aren’t really brown, these are contacts,” Rheyna smiled, pointing at her eyes. “Mine are grey and I’m also Italian, whereas my friend here is Hispanic.”
Briana laughed. “You would never know.”
“Believe me, you aren’t the first person to point it out,” Yalen said.
Rheyna looked at Briana. “Lei è molto bella,” she said, turning to Yalen.
Yalen nodded as she looked at Briana. “Sono d’accordo, incredibilmente bella.”
“All right you two. This is not fair,” Briana said, standing with her hands on her hips. “What did you just say and what language was that?”
Yalen looked at Briana. Her eyes started at Briana’s feet and slowly travelled up and over the tight fitting, curve hugging blue jeans, pausing for just a split-second at the crème colored cardigan sweater that seductively clung to full breasts. She smiled as she met Briana’s eyes, feeling as if time had suddenly just stopped. “We were speaking Italian, and Rheyna said, ‘You are very beautiful’, and I said, ‘I agree, you are incredibly beautiful’,” Yalen answered.
Briana looked at Yalen. “You speak Italian too?” she asked and then said, “Oh,” as it dawned on her what the two women had just said about her. Her face flushed slightly as she looked at them.
“One of many languages,” Yalen answered as she watched the color continue to deepen on Briana’s cheeks.
“Lei è carina quando arrossisce,” Rheyna said, winking at Yalen.
Yalen grinned at Briana. “Before you ask, she said, ‘You’re cute when you blush’.”
“This is unbelievable. As if having one of you to deal with weren’t bad enough. I now have clones,” Briana laughed. “Let me take a wild guess here. You speak Russian as well?” she asked, looking at Rheyna, although it was more of a statement than a question.
“Da,” Rheyna said, nodding. “Odnovo jazyka nikogda nedostatocno.”
Briana laughed. “And that means?”
“I said, yes, ‘I speak Russian’ and then I said, ‘one language is never enough’. In our world,” Rheyna nodded toward Yalen, “the more languages you can speak, the safer you are because it’s more difficult for those around us to speak openly, because we can understand them.”
Briana nodded. “How many languages do you speak?”
“Counting English, seven,” Rheyna answered.
“And you?” Briana asked, looking at Yalen.
“Counting English, six,” Yalen answered.
“This is just … hell, I don’t know what this is,” Briana laughed, throwing her hands up in the air. She looked at Rheyna. “May I borrow your restroom, please?”
“Only if you promise to bring it back,” Rheyna said with a grin, causing Yalen to laugh.
Briana looked at Rheyna and then Yalen. “You two even sound alike.” She shook her head. “What have I gotten myself into here?”
Yalen and Rheyna looked at each other, then looked at Briana, and then shrugged, their hands out in front of them.
“Bathroom’s directly across the hall,” Rheyna said, winking at Briana.
Briana started for the hallway and stopped. She turned and looked at Yalen and then Rheyna, a smile on her face. “Thank you for the compliment.”
As soon as Rheyna heard the bathroom door shut, she turned to Yalen. “You never said how gorgeous she was. Damn, girl!”
Yalen smiled. “Tell me about it and she has the brains to go along with it, which drives me nuts most of the time.”
Rheyna sat down on the chair next to the window. “It’s about time you have someone in your life who can keep you on your toes,” she teased as she unzipped and then removed both boots.
“Oh no, there’s nothing like that going on between us,” Yalen said, shaking her head.
Rheyna laughed. “Well, why the hell not?”
Yalen began ticking off the reasons on her fingers why it would never work between her and Briana. “For starters, she’s almost fourteen years younger than me. She grates on my last lesbian nerve. She’s stubborn as hell. She doesn’t listen half the time. She back talks. I’m not one-hundred percent sure that she’s even a lesbian because we’ve never talked about it, and did I mention she’s fourteen years younger than me?” she said, putting an emphasis on the word fourteen.
Rheyna busted out laughing. “Oh, girl,” she said, shaking her head.
Yalen frowned. “Oh, girl what?”
Rheyna looked at Yalen with raised eyebrows. “Oh, you know what. You’re already falling for her.”
“I am doing no such thing,” Yalen protested.
Rheyna got up from the chair and walked over to Yalen. “She likes you too, you know.”
“I can’t allow anything like that to happen,” Yalen said, shaking her head adamantly back and forth.
“Why not?” Rheyna placed her index finger over Yalen’s lips to stop the words she knew were about to come out of Yalen’s mouth. “The reasons you gave aren’t good enough. As for the age difference, it’s just a number and it would be different if she was eighteen and you were thirty but you’re both grown women and just from talking with her for the last few minutes, it’s obvious to me that she is mature.”
