Page 74 of Betrayal from Beyond
“Not distracted enough, or none of this would be necessary.”
“Still. He is unsuspecting at the moment. If we fail, however…” Petra sighed. “He will put the pieces together. He will be on alert. If anyone could track it back to us, it would be him. He will come after us.”
Who?Kara wondered. Whom were they talking about?
“So. We will make sure he dies.”
Kara put a hand to her mouth. An assassination. They meant to kill someone? But whom? Whose death were they plotting?
“Everything you say makes me think we would be wiser to deal with Sedwick now,” the gentleman said. “Remove the distraction he represents while we have the chance.”
“No. We can brook no delay. We must go before he arrives. We must remove every trace of what we have been up to. There is no way Kier can have any idea of our plans—and we must not give him the chance to learn a thing. He has the sort of connections that could ruin everything.”
“But—”
“We go,” Petra insisted. “We accomplish our aim. We clear your path.”
“And yours.”
“And mine. Afterward, I will have time. I will have focus. And I can concentrate on filling Kier with misery before I finally kill him.”
The Russian laughed. “I find you admirably bloodthirsty, Petra Scot.”
“I have many other admirable qualities that I may allow you to explore, but not now. We must go.”
He laughed again. “So single minded. Here—this is the last of them. All are tucked in, safe and snug.” The Russian paused. “But what of the last piece? Now that your gunsmith has proved the concept of those pins, we know we need a good deal more of the explosive to fill them. I sent out a man to investigate the manufacturer that supplies the British military. If he reports back here and finds no one—”
“No. His report matters naught. I told you, we cannot raid a military supplier. Suspicions would be aroused. And in any case, there is no need. I have found a way to get what we require. I took care of it just today.” She gave a nasty laugh. “And I was able to punish an old adversary at the same time.”
“Fascinating,” the Russian breathed. “Very well. We will proceed as you say. Now. Go and call your men to come in and nail these crates and carry them out. Then you must sit down and breathe for a moment and enjoy a cup of proper tea. I put the bellows to the samovar just before you came in. It must surely be ready by now.”
“Are you not listening? We have no—”
“Stop there,” the Russian interrupted. “First, Rybakov is extremely formidable. I believe the odds are high that we will not see Sedwick at all tonight.” Petra made a sound, but he did notallow her to interrupt him. “Yes. I do believe we should prepare, in case he prevails, but I assure you, he will not have an easy time besting my man.”
Petra grumbled something that Kara could not hear.
“Second, while you wear interchangeable gowns and no doubt live right out of your trunk, I have an actual wardrobe.”
“It is only sensible to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” Petra said.
The Russian sighed. “My very fashionable wardrobe is currently spread out across the abominable quarters I occupy here, and I assure you I will not be leaving without my waistcoats. Bad enough that I will be forced to leave a very decent samovar behind, but it will be entirely too hot now to think of packing. At the very least, I will enjoy a last decent cup of tea. So, go and summon your men, then you may enjoy one too, while I pack my things.”
“Fine,” Petra grumped. “But pack quickly, will you?”
Kara scurried to plaster herself against the wall on the far side of the hutch. She held her breath as the Russian passed through on his way to the kitchen. All she could make out was that he was short in stature, and slender. He did indeed appear to wear a fancifully embroidered waistcoat and linen with billowing sleeves. She could not see the color of his hair, but it appeared to be a mass of curls, slicked back and tamed with pomade.
He did not spot her. He went through to the kitchen, where she heard a brisk and efficient clatter as he prepared the tea tray.
Kara crept back to the other side of the room to stand so that she would be hidden behind the door when he came back through. She cringed, though, when she heard the front door open and Petra return. If the woman decided to head to the kitchen, Kara was caught.
“Sit down, my prickly little bear,” the Russian called. He came through the door, trailing the scent of lemon and orange behind him.
Kara tucked herself further behind the open door.
“Here you are. Enjoy the warm spices. Let them calm your nerves.”
Kara heard the rattle of cups as the tea was poured.
