Page 53 of Wraith
“One more time.” Wraith warned.
The man stared into Wraith’s eyes then crumbled.
“Where is the painting?” Beast questioned in broken Russian.
“I do not know!” The shaking man replied. “It was there yesterday! I hid it there after I stole it off a man in Moscow. I was going to try and sell it, leave Russia.”
“If you’re lying…” Beast warned.
“I swear!” The man sputtered.
“Who is the man you took it off?” Wraith asked.
“I don’t know his name. Two weeks ago, I kinda crashed the party—got in when security was busy with others—I went to the bathroom and saw it, figured it would be worth something. Then two days later, all hell broke loose! They started coming to my house, following me around…”
Wraith dropped the man back to the floor and glanced over at Beast. If he were to believe this joker, he saw a pretty thing and figured he could get rich quick. Too bad for him the fucking painting was cursed.
“Where was the house of the party,” Wraith asked.
“Moscow—in Rublyovka.”
“That’s a long way from here,” Beast said.
“I know.” Wraith grumbled. “We should go. We’ve already spent too much time in here.”
“You may want to get out of town.” Beast advised the man. “The next wave of people coming for the painting won’t be as nice as we are.”
Wraith uncuffed him and the man scampered out of the space as if someone had lit his clothes on fire. Wraith and Beast followed, guns holstered and silent. They picked up Barbie and Amelia and headed back toward where they were staying. Amelia cuddled into Wraith’s side but said nothing otherwise. Barbie shoved the bag with her rifle under the front seat and exhaled loudly.
Once they returned, and with Tex’s help, they switched hotels. It wasn’t good to stay in one place too long. They then sat down over dinner to plan how they would get from one point of the country to the other in less time than a car ride or a train.
“They can put a man on the fucking moon but still no teleportation devices.” Amelia muttered irritable.
Wraith laughed.
“I like her.” Tex laughed out loud. “She does have a point.
“It wasn’t to be funny.” Amelia told them.
“We know,” Barbie said. “But we all need a little humor right now.”
“Speakin’ of which.” Tex’s voice cut in. “Can I please point out we have no idea what house in Rublyovka he was talkin’ ‘bout. It’s not like the owner could go to the cops and report the damn Lala missin’.”
“Before we trek all the way there,” Wraith said. “We have to at least get some proof of what he said is true.”
“My gut said he wasn’t lying.” Barbie crunched into a chip.
“How far is Omsk to Moscow?” Amelia asked.
“Let’s just say we can’t make it in a few hours if we don’t fly,” Beast told her.
“Okay—so how do we get on a plane?” Amelia wanted to know. “It’s not like we can just walk into an airport and buy a ticket. I’m pretty sure by now whoever is after me and this painting is on the lookout and they seem to have eyes everywhere.”
“That’s where I come in.” Tex cut in excitedly.
“Oh, brother.” Barbie groaned. “We’re not hijacking a plane.”
Wraith leaned forward and peer at the screen. “How long do you need?”
