Chapter 6

When their plane landed any apprehension Mickel and now his girls might have had disappeared when they saw Becky and Tara along with a bevy of female minders. Seeing Don might have also interested one of them, Alexis it was.

To see girls their same age (I had said, Tara usually looked older) made this seem like it was to be some party venture, not a command performance from Viktor.

Don and Mickel just looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders then tried to shake and greet each other the Russian way at the same time. Their frustrated efforts received some giggles from both sets of girls for their clumsiness.

Both believed that the other was in-charge. Reality sunk in when both Tara and Nikki spoke up. A man’s role was to pay the bills and ensure the woman were happy. Becky had the sheet of paper Don had received from Becky, translated into Cyrillic. She handed it to Nikki who read it, nodded and past it on to Tasha and Alexis to read. Both men would never stand a chance now. Sam’s expected plight also came to mind, they should only know how ‘hard’ things were for him. When they would meet Carla, Brie and the Eve’s they would be a might surprised. Words could not express what emotions were when they would be meeting Bianca (Viktor’s Wife, Mr. Black’s sister) or Tarinka. (The Eve’s sister)

Both sets of girls followed by a dozen or so minders piled into waiting cars and took off like they all had known each other a lifetime. Unfortunately, a couple of the menfolk had been left behind. This did elicit deep sighs from both men. Nikki still had that Sat phone so ... They went up the steps and into the plane.

Monica, the FA took pity on them. “For just a little, teeny, wienie favour?” she held out the phone used for updates about the plane. In a short time, cars were on the way and Monica would have a little vacation compliments of her stranded friends.

In Virginia.

‘Uncle Sal’ was going from the ‘communion’ to do the ‘confirmation’. What bothered him was, no not missing lunch, but that he had not mentioned a few things to Don about Miami. Then again, he thought Tara would have understood what he meant by what he had said. She was a ‘smart’ girl and would make Sam a fine wife; even though she was only part Italian. He liked her. He had a place for her too in the organization, an important place. Bianca would like her he knew; she was his ‘family’ too, after all.

Back in Florida

It was, or seemed to those girls, maybe even to those dozen or so female minders like a big sleepover. To an observer and anyone trying to listen in, (Sorry Ft. Fumble) it appeared that several conversations, in several languages were going on at once. To the girls they were just being normal girls and for the first time on this trip Nikki, Tasha and Alexis were having fun. For Becky and Tara this was not what they had expected, they were having fun also.

No one seemed to miss or wonder where Mickel and Don where, they had more important things happening. Nikki was telling Becky and Tara about the ship they came in on and how the Coast Guard boys seemed to find a dozen things they just had to inspect. Tara meantime kept telling them about Epcot while Tasha argued they ‘want to see mouse’ not go to this ‘Epi cot’ place.

Becky added fuel to the fire when she asked if they meant here in Orlando or the one in California. Tasha looked at Alexis, who looked at Nikki who stopped her soliloquy about the ship, looked at the approaching Mickel and said, “yes”. They were now going to Disneyland/World/whatever. If seeing more than that would have been more fun and if someone had said there was one in France, and Japan and ... You get the picture, they would want to go there too, luckily no one did, for now.

Both Don and Mickel were red in the face. (Don was not even Russian. Red, get it, Russian ... Bah you’re no fun) As he fumed some and approached, Nikki held out the sheet of paper Becky had given her. Both men had to laugh now.

“Change of plans, I think, no mouse now.” he said.

“Yes, we see both mouse now, Orlando and California. Where is this California?”

Don did not help. “I’ve, excuse me, the girls and I have got to go to Vegas anyhow, we can all go together, it’s a hop, skip and a jump from there.”

Now Mickel was certain that Don was in-charge, he only was here on a vacation. What he did not know was that Viktor and Sal both subscribed to that ‘carrot and stick’ philosophy. It was turning into the ‘mushroom’ thing now though.

If there was any doubt who drove the bus, steered the ship or flew the plane, it was clearly answered when Nikki said. “Good, we see mouse here, then take boat (it was a ship) to friends then we see other mouse in this California, Da?”

Both men, for different reasons began to think that Nikki and Tara were sisters, or related in someway. Both were not even 18 yet. There was no thought of Sam by Don; he had his own things to worry about right here, now five of them.

In Virginia and Moscow

Sal called Viktor. “Both the ‘Confirmation’ and ‘communion’ are done. However, we now have a slight, shall we say, ‘blurb on the radar screen’.”

“I am playing, what you say, ‘Big Bird thing’ and placing ears in sand. I do not wish to see this ‘blurb’ thing or hear any problem ‘you’ have.”

“Ostrich, head in the sand and not blurb, problem ‘we’ have, Several in-fact. Our beloved Vince, whose funeral is tomorrow, won’t be going to Miami, at least not in one piece. I got the Doc, his girl, Sam’s Tara there. You got Mickel, Nikki, Tasha and Alexis there. Our ‘Associates’ now want to move on Cuba, Vegas wants to move on Cuba, Mexico wants to move on Miami and the Columbians want to move on the Mexicans. Are you getting the picture?”

“So?”

“WE got two options, maybe we send this Mike and Inga from Cuba, their cover is pretty much blown by now anyhow, at least to each other or we send, I mean ask Bianca to straighten things out and you know what that means. Right?”

“Yes WW III!”

“It may be good for business though.”

“The old man will have us both fish food, not to say what Viktor would do. Anyone else?”

“Strip London, send the Eve’s and promise them... , aww, Hell, we already promised them things; at least you did. Is the other sister old enough yet, Tarinka.”

“She, she is almost as bad as Bianca only she uses the Russian saying, if one is good, 100 is better. We will have bodies all over almost as bad as with Bianca. She is already training to go up to one of the new MIRS and play with her toys there. She combines everything in her sisters.”

“Viktor, they are twins, they are identical twins.”

“Yes, it is what I have said. Tarinka is twice as bad as them.”