Moscow turned out to be an easy city to do business in. It was no
different than New York, La, Chicago, Mexico City, Hong Kong or any
other city I had been in all over the world. I made my connections
with less problems than most places. In fact the ease of fitting in to
the Moscow night life worried me that something was just not right. How
could I be meeting all these big fish in Hackers Canyon without ever
getting some kind of resistance or demand for proof of my credentials?
"So you're the Bar Man?"...."Your a hero in Moscow" was repeated to me
by almost every person I met. Only one, very hot lady, asked for my
code name sent ahead of me by the Old Man. I figured She could be the
only legit HC member and all the others were Government agents or the
place was just very loose as far as security and making sure someone
was who they said they were. That "very hot Lady" gave me very little
attention the first night I met her. That hurt my pride and confused me
even more. She was the only one who knew I was really who I said I was
but she acted like she could care less if she said another word to me.
To all the others I as a modern day hero and to her I was just another
face in the crowded night club.
The Old Man sent me to Moscow to meet a Russian General who wanted his
daughter smuggled into Canada because he feared the Russian Mafia would
harm her to get at him. I was sent to make it happen. We couldn't go
through regular channels because no one could know where she was. The
General had enough pull to make it happen through legitimate channels
but he trusted no one. Well no one by the Old Man in Hackers Canyon and
if the Old Man sent me, he trusted me. This was a tricky job but the
pay was very good. Besides, any mission the Old Man sends you on looks
so good on the resume that most would do it for free or even pay to do
the it. If I succeeded I was a "made man" throughout the Canyon.
Instead of looking for jobs they would come to me. If I failed the Old
Man I was through doing business in Moscow. What I never dreamed of was
just how beautiful the General Daughter would be. Her picture was
forbidden to be taken by the General. Falling in love was not in my
plans and it sure wasn't allowed when on a mission for the Old Man.
Don't get me wrong it was okay to fall in love on a mission just not
with the clients daughter.
Tasha was twenty four years old. She was highly educated. Just what you
would expect for a Generals daughter. She was working on her Masters
from Harvard and got her undergraduate degree in economics from Moscow
University. I wasn't worried about keeping up with her intellectually.
My education pedigree exceeded hers but little did I know how smart a
Russian Generals daughter could be. Daddy didn't raise a dumb daughter
and he sure showed her how to succeed in her country that was
full of Russian tough guys. I was raised on the mean streets of St.
Louis and used my street smarts to get my formal education. She was
handed hers on a silver platter and trained like a princess in a
Russian Monarchy.
I soon found out that these Russians were not loose with their security
and that my reputation would mean nothing to them or the General until
they had tested my metal. He wasn't going to let his baby girl be taken
anywhere by anyone until he was sure what they were made up and that
they were who they said they were. The friendly night life changed
suddenly after being in Moscow for right at two weeks. My "first
contact" meeting was set for the next day so I wanted to enjoy one more
night on the town before things got serious. It got serious all right
but it all started one day earlier than I expected. My metal would be
tested in ways that only my russian friends knew how to do.
