The cold war 41 - End

Bunny nodded slowly, her eyes darting from the smiling Irina to her stiff faced mother.

There was a moment of silence, where both parties expected the other to speak before Irina turned to her mother and said something in Russian. Bunny understood every word and knew Irina was encouraging her mother to speak.

“Well, you must have question”, Elena said, “I will answer you with truth”.

Bunny thought for a second but not wanting to beat around the bush went straight for the big question that had been on her mind for a long time, “did you kill my father”? she asked as a hushed silence fell once more across the table.

Elena shook her head, “no, he was killed in duty”, she replied.

“Danila said you were poisoning him”, Bunny said trying not to shake, “is it true”?

Elena lowered her head for a second before lifting it once more to meet Bunny’s gaze, “In beginning, yes”, she said as Bunny gasped, “but I love your father, I don’t hurt him”.

“Don’t hurt him”, Bunny exclaimed, “you just said you were poisoning him”.

“It complicated”, Elena said, as Bunny noticed her getting a little flustered for perhaps the first time ever, “let me explain, when I come to America with Danila, we very poor, I am young and make bad decision but your father was kind good man, he make me change”.

“But you have killed people”? Bunny asked, her voice now quivering.

Elena nodded, “I not feel proud of this, Bunny”, she said quietly.

Bunny looked over at Irina who looked back at him calmly, the confession had left her feeling stunned even, she already knew it was true but hearing it said so plainly, direct to her face was still shocking.

Elena continued, “I can not change past, but I try to change, I take you and Irina and get far from Danila, I try to give you good life”.

“A good life!” Bunny shot back, “when we lived in New York, you gave Irina everything and you treated me like an inconvenience, you never wanted me there”.

“No, Bunny, this not true”! Elena quickly answered, looking visibly upset, “you are family, I want you to have good future”.

“You never gave me anything, I had nothing”, Bunny replied, her voice cracking as she spoke.

“This is what your father want”, Elena replied, “he want you to be strong, like him, he not want me to spoil you, I try to honor this wish”.

Breathing out deeply, Bunny raked her long fingernails across the top of her head, “this is a lot to take in”, she said leaning back, “I need some time to process all this”.

“Take your time, you’re here for ten days, right”? Irina said jumping into the conversation, “we’ve both missed you and are really happy you came”.

Bunny looked back at Irina and curled her plump lips, giving her a little smile. Glancing over at Elena who was her head, she decided it was time to change the topic of conversation, for now.

(See image 10.3)

“Just give me some time, ok”? Bunny said, “but while I'm here, I’d like to see how you live”.

Irina’s smile grew even wider, “of course when we’re done eating, we’ll take you to the apartment, we have a room all set up for you, and tomorrow I thought we could see some of the local sights, do a little shopping”, she said reaching over and taking Bunny’s hand.

“I’d like that, I do need some warmer clothes”, Bunny replied, “but don’t you have to work”?

“No, I can take some time off, “Irina answered, “I may have to call in the office once or twice, but you don’t have to come with me”.

“No, I can go with you", Bunny replied smiling, "I’d like to see where you work”.

“Really!", Irina replied sounding surprised, “it’s not very interesting but I can show you around if you really want”?

“I just want you to live like you normally do”, Bunny answered, “it might sound silly, but I think it will remind me of old times”.

Irina looked at her mother who nodded, “you got it, sis”, she announced enthusiastically, “but first let's eat, are you hungry, yet”?

“I can eat, but can you order for me”? Bunny asked, “if you don't mind, I’d like to give Jake a quick call just to let him know I've arrived safely”.

“How is Jake doing these days, are you guys still together”? Irina asked.

“He’s doing ok but witness protection was pretty tough on him”, Bunny answered lowering her head, “I don’t think he knows what he wants anymore, he keeps going through phases of living as a man and them a woman, I’m just trying to be there for him”.

“That sounds really tough”, Irina replied nodding, “but he’s got you, so he’ll be ok, I’m rooting for you too, you’re so perfect for each other”.

Bunny smiled shuffling over to the edge of the seat and reaching down into her coat pocket and the seat next to her to retrieve her phone, “I won’t be long, is the bathroom through that door”? she said pointing.

Irina looked around and confirmed the door she was pointing to was in fact the bathroom as Bunny once again heaved herself up onto her tired legs and trotted off across the room.

Through the door, Bunny looked around to see if the coast was clear and seeing that it was, wasted no time in dialling the pre-programmed number in her contact list.

“Southern utilities, marketing department, how may I help you? The woman answering the phone said.

“Code name Alpha Lima, Echo, six, five, four, seven, Delta, Charlie”, Bunny said in a clear voice.

“Please stand by, we are directing your call”, the woman replied, followed by a click.

“Report”, said a man in a deep voice, joining the call.

“I’m in position and ready to move on to phase two”, Bunny said, her eyes locked on the door in case anyone tried to enter.

“Yes, we heard your conversation, Agent Quinn, good work”, the man replied, “remember now, stick to the plan, and don’t forget who you are dealing with, Elena Volkova is a dangerous individual; she may be telling the truth about your father but I’m sure the families of the other men she murdered would see her in a different light. We underestimated her once and she slipped through our grasp, keep your guard up, Agent Quinn, she’s been selling state secrets to the Russian for years right under our nose, it's imperative that you discover who she’s working for”.

“I understand, sir”, Bunny replied, “I know what I have to do”.

“Good, once you’re in the office, plant the listening device and get out, don’t take any unnecessary risks, once we have the information we need we’ll brief you for extraction”.

The line went dead, and the conversation was over. Dropping her arm to her side, Bunny ran her hands down the side of her satin dress and took a deep breath. Back in her previous life as Benjamin Quinn, she had dreamed of adventure and travelling the world. As a field agent for the CIA, she had the opportunity to do both even if the prospect of what she was about to do, made her feel as though she was about to pee her panties.

“Time to get to work”, Bunny thought to herself, lifting her left nylon clad leg, enveloped inside its painfully tall platform boot, off the ground to give her leg muscles a momentary break. “You can do this, remember your training, in and out without raising suspicion and don't let your emotions get in the way”.

(See image 10.4)

The end