“Now look,” Lucky said. “Use it when I point at someone in the room, but only use it when that person’s back is to you. Spray some into their face. Make sure you don’t breathe any of this stuff yourselves. We don’t need any of you falling unconscious just when I might need you. Keep your eyes on me when we’re inside and when the time comes, you’ll know when to use it. I’m not wearing a suit, but there’s a reason for it, which we’ll get into later.”
“Wait,” the professor called. “Before you leave, I need to make sure that the suits work, that they are indeed invisible. Hold tight a moment so I can let you know for sure.”
The professor pushed a switch on his console and was pleased with the results as the guys inside the spacecraft disappeared from view. With strong concentration and the sole intention of finding something, the eyes could detect nothing more than a faint outline as each person moved about. Lindstrom warned the group even though they were invisible, they should not rush their movements and under any circumstance, nor should they run, explaining that the computer may not be able to keep up, to process the billions of computations necessary for the cloaking process. In fact, it might cause the computer to freeze and best not to risk it. If the group moved slowly and deliberately, they would remain invisible.
Lucky had a plan, not this incredibly well thought out ingenious plan, mind you, but a plan nevertheless. He began to discuss it with his team before leaving.
“I’ll ring the doorbell,” he told the rest of the guys.
“What if they don’t open the door?” Nicky asked.
“They’re expecting me,” Lucky answered. “Trust me when I tell you, they’ll open the door. Now, once it’s open, I’ll just stand there and pause, as if I’m hesitating as to whether to enter or not. The Russians will see me, as I’m not wearing an invisibility suit. They may take my hesitation as uncertainty, maybe being a little afraid even, but while I hold the door open, Mickey and Nicky, Sal and Casey, you slowly and silently walk in. They can’t see you, but remember what the professor said: every movement you make, make slowly. There’s no rush, no danger, as they cannot see you. Then follow me wherever I go. If the situation becomes serious, I’ll know you have my back.”
Lucky then nodded at the professor. He began taking the craft down into a parking lot away from the building and the building’s radar whose coverage extended probably about thirty feet above and around the building. Even though he was certain of his creation, the invisibility suits, he still took no chances, opting to land far and away from any area with cameras. The stairs slowly extended and the group began to head down the spacecraft’s steps and into the light. Sal, Casey, Mickey, and Nicky left the ship and walked alongside Lucky, completely undetectable.
“I feel like I’m walking with the wind,” Lucky whispered. “Where I can feel you but not see you.” The group lightly chuckled.
Lucky removed the paper from his pocket and checked the address on the building. Satisfied that he had the right building, he approached the door and rang the bell twice. Moments later, the door opened to reveal a blond Russian male, every inch of six feet five, looking down at Lucky. He had a look of surprise at first, which in a matter of seconds changed to a menacing grin. Lucky played the part. He opened his eyes wide, took a deep breath, as though he was a bit scared, and stood there frozen in the doorway, eyeing the big beast before him. The Russian stepped aside and motioned for Lucky to enter. Instead, Lucky moved to one side of the door and acted as though he was still unsure. Secretly, he was hoping that he had left enough space for his buddies. The longer he stood there, the bigger the grin on the Russian. Lucky motioned for the guy to step aside so he could feign taking a peek inside to see if anyone lurked behind the doors, waiting to jump him, but unbeknownst to him, Lucky had just given the boys enough room to pass by the Russian giant. The boys entered silently and invisibly and walked about a third of the way down the hall to another open doorway, where they stepped into an alcove making way for Lucky and the man to pass. There, they fell into line behind Lucky and followed the men down the long hallway, past the disco, and past the clubroom into a room at the end of the hall, in the rear of the building. There, the Russian stopped and motioned again for Lucky to enter. Lucky once again held the door open with the pretext of looking around the room, and again the boys entered without notice. A thin balding man of average height was sitting behind a desk. His face lit up. He smiled as Lucky entered the room.
“Mr. Campo,” he said in his thick Russian accent. “How kind to accept my offer to visit us here. Allow me to introduce myself. I am KGB Head of Security, Oleg Karpov, but there is problem here,” he said as he looked around. “Where is professor?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Lucky said. “He’s nearby in a safe place. I wanted to meet you first, before I allow him to be manhandled by your goons. Which one of you was the moron who I spoke to on the phone?”
“That is Sergeant Mikilov,” Oleg said. “Man who greeted you at the door. Speaks better English than most of us. He was chosen to contact you.”
“Let’s get to it, Oleg, before you make me mad. It’s not pretty when I get mad. Now granted, you may have me outmanned here as it is just one against an army, but let me tell you something, Oleg – I came here for my friends. . .” he said as he was cut off.
“Mr. Campo, Mikilov is man who
enjoys
hurting people. I feel confident that if and when time arrives, it will be Mikilov who is mad and Mikilov who gives pain, not other way around. I do not like threats, Mr. Campo. I prefer not resort to certain
unprofessional
methods, but when order is given, soldier must obey, yes?”
Lucky just glared at Karpov.
“You are difficult man to track down,” Karpov continued. “You are resourceful. You prove this with what happened to the team we sent after you, but I ask you place yourself in my position, Mr. Campo. I have questions. You have answers.”
“I want to see my friends before we talk any further,” Lucky said, determined not to allow the man another word.
“But of course. Mikilov, please invite guests to join us.” He turned back to Lucky. “They will be here shortly. I knew you would come, Mr. Campo, because I have read your file – a very interesting file, if I say so myself. In other time and other place, I would consider it honor to know you as friend, but for now, I have priorities. I demand answers.”
Lucky wasted no time. “Who put you up to this?” he asked. “Was this your idea or was it someone else’s? Give me a name.”
“Well,” Oleg responded. “If it brings you happy, why not? Rudolph Zofski. Works for President. He is what you say, ‘Secretary of State.’ I report to President, but Zofski is more powerful position. Please understand. I do not answer to Zofski, but President Putin listens to him. Of course, the President is no fool, always make his own decisions, but Zofski is persuasive at times, and in some cases, Putin seeks his counsel.”
“Is Zofski’s office in this building?”
“No, it is in Kremlin right down the hall from President’s office,” he laughed. “You are in no position, Mr. Campo, to visit
anyone
, anywhere, especially since your friends are our guests.”
“Well, I beg to differ with you on that, but I’ll let you in on that little secret sooner, rather than later,” Lucky shot back sarcastically.
At that moment, the door opened and Mikilov led a group into the room. There they were, Dukie, Sam, and Charlie, all with their hands tied behind their backs. Four men with machine pistols stood over them, watching their every move. Lucky could not help but notice how low their guns were hanging even though they were being held upright. They weren’t too intimidated by Lucky, that much was obvious.
Lucky said to Karpov, “Take me to Zofski’s office.”
He smiled and said, “Mr. Campo, I like your style, but you are in no position to demand anything. You act as if you hold cards, as you Americans say.”
Lucky answered, “Oh, but I do hold all the cards, Oleg, and I can prove it. I can also perform magic. For example, when I point to a man and I want him to fall unconscious, he falls unconscious.”
The room full of Russians broke out into laughter. How they understood him, he had no idea, but they did.
“As an example, I don’t like Mikilov, so let’s start with him,” Lucky said.
Mikilov stood glaring at him, but shifted his position a little, uncomfortable with the conversation. He was just about to say something, probably some smartass response, Lucky thought, but Lucky pointed his finger at him, there was a slight, almost negligible, hissing sound, like that of a snake, and plop, the guy fell to the floor completely unconscious.
The roomed filled with gasps. Oleg shouted something in Russian in an attempt to calm his men. Lucky ignored him and continued, “Now, how about that gentleman standing by the door?“
He pointed at him and he, too, fell to the ground. The remaining guards and Oleg himself gasped this time. No one had any idea as to what was happening.
Lucky looked at Karpov and said, “Do you doubt me now, Oleg?”
Oleg stared. Lucky then pointed at one of the two remaining guards and then the other. Each fell to the floor. Lucky walked over to the men, took their guns, and handed one to Charlie, one to Dukie, one to Sam and kept one for himself.
“Dukie,” Lucky said. “Take our friends outside. The professor will be waiting for you.”
Dukie took the guns and wrapped his jacket around them. He had no idea that Sal, carrying the radio he would use to communicate with the professor, was right behind all of them. Lucky approached Oleg and searched him for weapons. Oleg did not resist. Lucky found a 9mm automatic in a shoulder holster but nothing else.
“What business do soldiers like us have putting up with these petty politicians, following orders that sometimes make little sense?“ Lucky asked. “Let’s chat, Oleg, just you and me.”
“Chat, Mr. Campo?” Karpov asked.
At that moment, P.T. Barnum’s words came to Lucky’s mind, for some reason. “Never give a sucker an even break
and never smarten up a chump
.” For Lucky, this meant not to elaborate on anything about himself, his time travels, the magic in the room, nothing at all. He could like the guy, but he didn’t have to give up anything but . . . a little teaser couldn’t hurt.
“Oleg,” Lucky said. “When I walked into this room, I was never in any danger.”
Oleg looked around the room, a little spooked by what he had said.
“Oleg, if Zofski were to resign, or just disappear, who would be appointed to his position? Any chance that would be you?”
“I do not know,” the Russian responded. “I know that I am one from two or three men perhaps for position, but I do not know if I am chosen.”
Lucky, gun in hand, just stood there casually, not in any hurry at all to leave. First impressions counted a lot with Lucky and his CIA antennae usually were right on target. He liked this guy for some reason; couldn’t put his finger on it, but he liked him.
“Oleg,” Lucky said. “Take me to see Zofski. I’d like to meet the man who kidnapped my friends to get to me. Isn’t that why I’m here anyway? Sooner or later, I was going to meet up with him, right? Well, let’s make it sooner. You just act as though you’ve captured me and are bringing me into him. That makes you the hero. Now here’s the deal. You cannot speak a word of Russian the entire time. Now you probably already know that I speak a little Russian, but I don’t need you using any kind of trickery. If you do, you will fall unconscious, on the floor, just like those men of yours over there and I will decide what happens to you after that.”
“Mr. Campo, why I choose to take you to Zofski? Give me good reason.”
“Tell you what, Oleg, I’ll give you two, how about that? One, I am not asking and two, this might mean a little promotion for you, well, a big promotion.”
“I do not understand,” Oleg said.
“You don’t have to,” Lucky answered. “But you do have to take me to him. Now, just act like a hero and tell him that you are proud to show him that you captured me. This man kidnapped my friends and I feel certain that eventually he would have harmed them. Let’s see how it goes, but to be honest, if it goes the way I think it will, it will be nice to have a Russian contact that I can trust. If you get that position, you will become that person. Just think of what we can accomplish working together and yet, never compromise our countries. It is a big, powerful thought. Now let’s go see your boss.”
Chapter Twenty
The guys remained invisible as Lucky and Oleg left the room and began to walk down the hall. Oleg took Lucky by the arm and guided him into the KGB clubroom, over to the bar area. He walked around the bar, grabbed a bottle of vodka off of the shelf, set down two glasses, and carefully poured two shots of the clear alcohol in equal measurements. Oleg looked curiously at Lucky and asked, “Why you stare? What troubles you, Mr. Campo?”
“I’m trying to decide something,” Lucky answered. “I came here to rescue my friends and I was prepared to kill you and now here we are slamming back shots of vodka, the Russian man’s drink, a drink he shares with friends.”
Oleg laughed, held up his glass and said, “На здоровье!” meaning, “to your health.”
Lucky said, “
Naz dah royve yeh
” right back in his best Russian accent as they turned up their glasses and swallowed the Russian gold.
“Very good, Mr. Campo. Nice Russian.”
“Oleg, it’s Lucky. Just call me Lucky.”
“Okay, Lucky,” he answered.
Lucky leaned over the counter, faced the Russian man, and said, “I would venture a guess that you were under tremendous pressure from two fronts. One from Putin and the other from Zofski, am I correct?”
Lucky looked around the room, checking for any signs that their conversation might be overheard. Oleg picked right up on this.
“I brought you here for reason, Lucky. No electronics in this room. Designated area for free conversation. No worry. Yes, you are correct. I received report from agent of mine that there is American operative able to travel in time and American inventor with engine that uses no fuel. Now, naturally, this is big news. I passed information to President Putin and from moment on, since he read report, he, President, and Zofski have made demands for me to bring you in for questioning. Zofski saw video we copy from courier. Zofski wants to know how you disappear.”