Chapter 14

Looking back, Ludmilla spent eight months with Boris until she awoke one morning to find he had died in his sleep. The police questioned her but she denied that he ever touched her. They took her to a hospital and upon examination found her hymen was fully intact.

She was allowed stay in the tiny apartment as long as she paid the rent. Boris showed her where he kept his money so she had enough to spend the winter and eat meager meals. Ludmilla got herself a small job cleaning the building she resided in. It started with lowering her rent to half. She made more money for herself making coffee for Starbucks, an American coffee house. She spent much of what she made on Pepsi. She loved the soft drink and the sugar started to put weight on her. Being so thin, the weight gain was in the right places.

Later she found a female her age and she moved in. Her name was Olga and was very pretty. She worked as a beautician. On her days off she taught Ludmilla the tricks of the trade.

Being good friends, they soon became lovers. Neither wanted Russian men. So they pooled their money to buy lovely clothes, then had to pay a photographer to have their pictures taken. They signed up to be brides for westerners, preferrably rich Americans. They got some hits from men looking for wives but nothing turned out for Ludmilla. Olga found an American and married him. She talked the man into giving Ludmilla enough money for another year.

Ludmilla thought she should have been the one the man married. She could speak English, Olga couldn't. She thought she was prettier than Olga. Plus Ludmilla could cook, Olga couldn't. Since she wasn't chosen by that American, she wished Olga the best of luck and they parted in tears. Olga Norwich, her new last name, felt bad that Ludmilla had to stay back.

Then a week after Olga flew off to New York City with her new husband, Ludmilla ran into a school chum on the streets. His name was Georgi and he asked her for a big favor. He would give her 200 rubles for the errand.

It was all a setup and when she made delivery of the small package to another man, she was arrested. The man receiving the package was a KGB agent. Taken to Lubyanka, she was subjected to all kinds of insults and sexual harrassment. Two of the guards were sadistic. They beat her trying to make her give them oral sex. She was fed food that was barely edible. She was awakened every night from a sound sleep and taken to a special room to be hosed down with icy water. Soaked, she was sent back to her cell where her blankets, pillow and mattress were removed. She'd sit in the corner, arms hugging herself, teeth chattering silently cursing Georgi promising herself that she would get her revenge upon him.

This kept up for months. She mentally remembered the names and how she was violated. Ludmilla never weakened. She never gave in. Almost, but something always held her together and the hatred built up. She was ordered to kill someone. It was a test from the Russian hierarchy to see if she could do any such thing. She did and her victim was Georgi himself. It was a pleasure emptying her handgun into that punk leaving him a bloody mess in the street.

She avoided Gorgan and his two gorillas as much as she could. They were stationed in Prescott Valley, AZ because it reminded Gorgan of the mountains back home far east of Moscow. She sat in coach on their way to the United States while the fools yukked it up in first class almost consuming all the alcohol in that section and making fools of themselves by disturbing the other passengers around them. She just sat looking out the window embarrassed that she was associated with them.

Ludmilla Eketrana Viroch did her job and had as little to do with them as possible. She intercepted the funds smuggled through from Mexico for their operations. The only smart thing Gorgan was buying the two houses in Prescott. Then the trio spent a year digging the tunnel. Ludmilla refused to lift a finger. She claimed that women might be treated like mules in Russia didn't mean they were that way here in America.

In the two and a half years in which she was in the United States she had carried out three assassinations. The first was a defector so she had no feelings toward him. The second was last year when she had her doubts but killed him anyhow. She loathed killing Rhonda Dahl. It didn't make any sense at all. They wanted information. They lost it when they insisted that the redhead had to be killed. How do you squeeze intelligence from a dead body? A seance? Ridiculous!

Little Fox's last Inaugural Address took place on a pleasant January day. Cold but sunny. She gave a 22 minute speech telling the nation her new plans. She promised by the time she left office and ride off into the sunset with her newly rejuvenated husband that the flat tax would be ten percent. Cards were being printed to hand out to Americans who couldn't afford the ten percent consumption tax. These would not have to pay tax at all. If a person could afford a luxury yacht, mansion, car or other items; he could afford an extra ten percent. If a person couldn't afford the ten percent tax on a loaf of bread or a quart of milk would be excused from that additional amount.

This was Chris' advice as he found how much money the Department of the Treasury had in excess in its coffers. Then she told the nation that she would do her best to keep American and the Western Hemisphere out of the war in the East. She named off nations for the Russians, Chinese and Japanese to keep their hands off of. In essence, it was fine by her that if the three wanted to wipe themselves off the earth, let them. Just leave the rest alone. This was called The Cunningham Doctrine which was a renewed version of the old Monroe Doctrine.

Doctor Goldman looked like a new man walking in the main ballroom with Fern, looking absolutely gorgeous, on his arm. The dinner in the President's dining room was sumptuous. Filet Mignon, twice baked potatoes, veggies, with chocolate mousse for dessert. The wine flowed freely, hard liquor was gone in two hours, the beer was about the only thing left once the dance was over. The President and Chris were gone. No one saw them leave. Little Fox wanted to start her last term off just right. She ambushed Chris in the nude when she had Angela stop him to ask a frivolous question. She was on her knees, unzipped his fly, and had Walter in her mouth.

Though arthritis bothered her kneeling before him, this was going to be a night to remember. She had a full schedule ahead of her the next day. General Emerson came up with an idea for a new weapon that scientists came up with in their research to keep America the number one power in the world. The government would have to fund the research of this new device. She had no idea what it was but it was all down on paper and would be presented to her at that time.