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Jul-25-2009 17:35

"This book was written by Heimlich VonVictor & describes true events that occured during his time as a detective." As he finished these final words on his manuscript he dropped his pen onto the desk. He had just referred to himself as a detective in the past tense for the first time in his life.

He didn't want to believe that it was over, but when one takes pen to paper and scribes one's life story as a matter of record, there was a sense of finality to it.

He picked up the stack of papers before him, each page a piece of a life he would never get to live again. He looked up at the framed newspaper article celebrating his 100th case solved as a detective. It had already started to yellow and fade.

He walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of gin and a glass. Even if it was a bittersweet occasion, it called for a celebration, and that meant a good Tom Collins.

He looked up at the plaque on the wall that his agency presented him upon his retirement.

"Retirement! Psh! That's rich!" he grumbled out loud to no one in particular. He remembered the exact conversation.

Eric had called him into his office and said it very clearly, "Heim, you're a liability. Some of the stunts you've been pulling lately have got the other detectives mighty scared."

He had tried to brush it off, "I'm a liability!? Do you realize how much money I pull in for this agency each year? You should be down on your hands and knees thanking me for being able to make bank!"

Eric sighed at him, "Heim, I can't keep you on. The Baltimore incident was the last straw. We'll let you retire, and we'll let it look like it was your decision to do so. We'll keep it out of the papers."

What choice did he have? He had put on a grin, went to the dinner, accepted his plaque, and faded into obscurity.

He was reliving this oh so favorite of memories when the phone rang. Startled, he dropped his drink on the floor and the glass shattered.

Aug-16-2009 16:39

"Doesn't look like anything is broken," one said, "although you re-opened a wound. You probably just stressed your body too much from pain. I'd say a few days bed rest should do it." He assured him.

Eric shook his head, "No," he insisted, "give me a morphine injection now. I need to find my friends."

The paramedic shook his head, "Your body has been through too much," he said, "and morphine would only be a temporary fix."

Eric stared him down, "That's what I'm looking for. Now give it to me or you will be responsible for the deaths of a district attorney, a Soviet National, and a Detective!"

The paramedic sighed, "It's your life," he replied as he pulled out the syringe, "just don't come crying to me when you're addicted and useless."

Eric shook as he received the injection. A few minutes later he stood up and walked over to Barnes who they were just loading into the ambulance, "Did you get the plate off of the car?" he asked.

"The plate?!" Barnes shouted, "That's your biggest concern? I'll have your shield for this Marvington! You are the worst cop I have ever dealt with! And you will address me as Captain Barnes!"

Eric shook with rage and ripped his badge off. He threw it on Barnes' chest, "You want my shield? Take it! If it means I have to work under you then it means nothing!" he shouted. He turned as if to leave, before turning around, "Oh and one more thing," he snapped. He leaned in close to Barnes and spit right in his face, "Lieutenant Zeo and I are twice the cops you'll ever be Graham."

He stumbled off. He had to find Leon, and Joseph had the only possible link to Leon on a small paper card in his pocket.

Aug-16-2009 17:35

(reserve account,since my other one is in shangri-la at the moment.)

As Joseph and I went to the local liquor store to get a nice bottle of champagne for all the 6 of us,we saw an ambulance rushing towards city hall. "Hmm,probably nothing" I said to Joseph and we got in the car and started to drive towards Heimlich's house.

As we stopped for a traffic light,we saw a young boy with newspapers,screaming : "EXTRA,EXTRA. LOCAL POLICE CAPTAIN SHOT DOWN AT COURT".

Joseph and I began to sweat and Joseph got out of the car quickly,bought a newspaper and the traffic light went green when he got in.

"Listen to this. Local police captain Graham Barnes was shot down while trying to apprehend a suspect. The captain saw a fugitive wanted by the police,tried to apprehend that person and got shot down in few seconds.
An other policeman was seen to fled the scene. It was believed to be an Mr. Marvington,as Captain Barnes said.

Mr. Marvington spat in the face of Barnes,because Marvington was insulted by a comment made by Barnes. Marvington is now wanted for questioning and may be hiding. If you see something,please call..." Joseph said.

"Sh*t* I said and I hit the brakes near Heimlich's house. "Almost there and we get this kind of trouble again. Why,o why,does this always happen!" I yelled. "Beats me. Main problem is,we need to check if Heimlich and Kobetz and Cambridge were at home. Probably not" I said and Joseph rang the doorbell.

No reply. Another ring. No reply.

"They're not home. Let's wait until Marvington arrives here. I know he will." Joseph said and so we sat in the car,waiting for Marvington...

We waited and waited and waited...

And there,on the corner,Marvington strumbled towards the front door.

"Marvington,over here!" I yelled and Marvington came at us. "Yees,you look like sh*t" Joseph said.

"Anyway, Leon Kobetz got..."

"Heimlich,Cambridge and his brother,Sergei. We know." I said...

"Heimlich,Cambridge an

Aug-16-2009 18:16

(srry about that beneath repeting part. Sleuth can sometimes be strange xD)

Aug-19-2009 09:58

"What do you mean there's a mole inside our headquarter?" Zeo demanded.

"That's what Richard said right before they were… captured." Marvington replied. Someone had been passing information to the NKVD. No wonder why they seemed to know their every move.

'What did they want from Heimlich, Richard and Sergei?' Zeo wondered in his head. 'And why didn't Leon take Eric as well? Could Eric be the mole? Impossible!' Zeo shook at his own silliness for such thought. 'Eric wouldn't have told us that if he is…'

"It must be Barnes." Zeo concluded as a matter of fact.

Vulkie shook her head to their surprise. "No. The pig is selfish, greedy and he's an opportunist, but not a criminal. He may have accepted bribes from Adele to frame a guy so that he can put the case away, but working for them from the inside? That's too sophisticated for that simple brain of his. Beside, didn't you just say that he was shot?"

"By a professional killer, ha! and survived!" Marvington mocked. "Isn't that enough proof that they're putting on a show?"

"Whoever the mole is, we are keeping to ourselves from now on." Zeo said, "We keep way from the station; who knows which other phones are tabbed?"

The three drove to a quiet roadside café where their colleagues seldom visit. Vulkie grabbed a bite and Zeo borrowed their telephone to call Trepov. The Russian ambassador picked up the phone quickly and Zeo updated him about what was going on. The phone went quiet for a short while; Zeo could hear Trepov's brain churning away. "Come." Trepov finally said, and gave him an address and a code.

Aug-19-2009 10:01

The three drove for one and a half hour and finally came to a non- descript villa in the middle of nowhere. "The place is big enough to host a grand ball!" Vulkie commented while she pulled up the car on the side of the building. Marvington seemed to be in pain again from his injuries, but didn't say a word.

They reached the front door and Zeo knocked 3 times, paused, then once, paused, then twice. A small windowpane on the door slid open, but all they saw was a large mouth with graying stubbles and a gap between the two front teeth.

"It snowz in zhe winter and snowz in zhe fall." The mouth said with a heavy Russian accent.

"It snows in the summer so it doesn't matter at all." Zeo replied, according to the code Trepov gave him over the phone.

The window closed and the door cracked open. The owner of the large mouth loomed over all three detectives. The Russian bodyguard said nothing else and led them down the hall. They saw no one else along the way, but Zeo's nose told him otherwise. He could tell there were at least half a dozen men nearby who honestly needed a shower, but he guessed that it was not the custom to bathe everyday for people used to residing in extremely cold regions.

Aug-19-2009 10:02

The big man with the stubble unlocked a large door leading down to a basement. Once they were inside, he locked it behind them. Eric eyed the man uneasily and Vulkie said nothing. Zeo's face turned white.

Vulkie saw Zeo's face and smiled weakly, "This place is not THAT bad."
"No, not the place, but the scream…" Zeo winced.
"What scream?" Vulkie perched her ears but heard nothing.

From the distance, Zeo could make out the most horrific scream he had ever heard in his entire detective life, but he remained silent and followed the giant down the cellar. They passed through a long winding passageway older then the house itself, lit by the weak glow of fire sticks on the ancient stonewall. Finally they came to a half opened iron door. By then, everyone could hear heavy breathing from the inside, as if the man was too weak to scream anymore.

The giant muttered something in Russian and Trepov popped his head out. "Ahz, finally, you are all here, what perfect timing!" The ambassador came out and closed the door behind him. Before the door was shut, Zeo could make out a shape of what used to be a man, chained upside down from the ceiling, dripping. The scent of iron filled his nostrils. Trepov examined his soles to make sure they weren't stained. Zeo noticed that Trepov was holding a piece of paper with red markings all over it.

Aug-19-2009 10:02

Trepov and the big bodyguard escorted their guests to the room next door. "Good newz, we just found out where the NKVD hide out iz located."

"That's impressive." Vulkie commented.

Trepov smiled. "When I found out what happened from Mr. Zeo, I know we muz act quickly, and therefore tripled our effortz. Leon's hideout zhould be near Pier 39." Trepov put the piece of paper with red markings on the table and pointed at an "X". This was apparently a map, drawn with blood. "The place is so buzy no one would zhink twice about suzpiciouz people coming in and out."

"And should go now and find Heimlich, Richard and Sergei!" Vulkie exclaimed and prepared to dash.

"Hold on," Zeo said without straying his gaze away from Trepov, "I need to know. Why?" Zeo asked.

The Russian ambassador cocked his head in question, looking amused.

"You have more men at your disposal then you cared to admit; you don't need a few American detectives to capture your own renegades! You could've gone after Leon on your own."

"And rizk damaging zhe Russian-American relationship, as stained as it already is? I don't want to risk a war here, Mr. Zeo. We have no jurizdiction here on this soil, it's bezt to let American polize take care of this." Trepov gave a smile that didn't touch his eyes. Zeo felt that there were things Trepov had left unsaid. He wasn't sure what was Trepov's' relationship with the Russian secret police, or what political games he was playing at large, but to Zeo, getting Heimlich and Richard to safety was their primary goal for now.

Zeo allowed his questions to be unanswered and left the villa with Vulkie and an unusually quiet Marvington.

Aug-20-2009 20:30

"So this is it..." Eric said aloud as they stood in front of the docks, "Leon Kobetz and any rogue agents he still has with him are waiting for us somewhere on these docks." It had taken them until dark to reach the docks, and deep down inside he wondered if it was too late.

Zeo nodded. "Well," he started, "I guess at this point there's no turning back. None of us got into this because we wanted to, but I guess that's why we're finishing it."

Vulkie smiled. "Cheer up boys!" she said, "We'll go put the cuffs on Leon, get our friends back, and we'll be popping open that champagne before it gets warm!"

They all chuckled nervously in false confidence, but each knew that this could very well be the last time they stood together.

Eric took a deep breath and walked with his companions towards Pier 39. The docks were eerie at night. A dense fog hung in the air and the sound of their footsteps echoed through the night.

"Did you hear that?" Vulkie whispered.

"Hear what?" Eric rasped.

"I heard voices!" Vulkie replied pointing towards their destination, "They were coming from that direction!"

"I hear them too!" Zeo said in agreement, "Looks like we're getting close." As they approached, the mumbles grew louder and they began to hear snippets of conversation.

"These pigs... glory of... tomorrow!" they managed to discern the voices as saying. As they approached closer they could hear a distinct Russian accent. The three detectives took cover behind a stack of crates and peered through at the scene unfolding in front of them.

"That man in black!" Eric hissed, "That's Leon Kobetz!" Leon stood with a pistol in his hand. Sergei stood next to him with a look of pure despair on his face. On their knees, bound and gagged, with weighted chains wrapped around them were Heimlich and Richard.

Vulkie placed her hand on her pistol, "I'm going in. How hard can killing one man be?" she wondered aloud.

She heard a click behind her and felt a gun barrel against her neck.

Aug-20-2009 20:44

"Don't move." The voice ordered in a heavy Russian accent, "If you move I kill you."

Vulkie immediately knew the voice, "Ambassador Trepov?" she asked. She felt the gun being lowered.

"You need to get out of here." Trepov ordered, "I received a call at my residence that Judge Cooper was found dead in his chambers about an hour ago. There was a knife in his back."

"Do you think Leon did it?" Eric asked.

"I have no doubt that he or an associate did it." Trepov lamented, "Now I have no choice. I must take him back to the Soviet Union so he can face justice there. Captain Barnes is no longer cooperating and will go public with what he knows."

"That will cause an international incident!" Vulkie cried, "We can't let that happen!"

"Indeed," Trepov agreed, "which is why I need to get him back home before Barnes has the chance to prove anything. If I let him get arrested by you, then I fear relations between our countries may never recover."

Zeo stared at him with contempt. "He committed his crimes on American soil Trepov. He will be brought to justice." he hissed.

"Ah Mr. Zeo," Trepov lectured, "that is where you are wrong. You see in America you have a system of laws and rules. In the Soviet Union we have a system of justice. When we are through with Leon, he will have wished to have been arrested by you."

"So what do you propose?" Eric wondered.

Trepov pulled out a set of handcuffs. "I will arrest him. He wouldn't dare resist me. He knows the consequences of treason." he said. Then standing to approach he turned to the detectives, "One more thing. Do not do anything until I have Leon in custody. If anything goes wrong, you must flee. This is no longer your fight detectives."

He walked around the crates and approached the four figures. His booming voice rang out over the docks, "Leon Kobetz!" at the mention of his own name, Leon jumped nearly a foot in the air. "I am ambassador Aleksandr Trepov of the Soviet Union!"

Aug-20-2009 20:57

"You have illegally crossed borders and come close to creating an international incident!" he continued, "I am placing you under arrest and bringing you back to the Soviet Union. Do not attempt to escape or I will fire!"

"Ambassador Trepov!" Leon called back, "I am bringing glory to our nation! I am taking care of defectors and traitors!"

Trepov took a step closer, his gun still trained on Leon, "You acted outside of the bounds of the law!" he countered, "You have caused many problems and have killed many of your own people!" As he spoke, a shadowy figure stood up directly in front of the crates and began creeping towards him.

Vulkie opened her mouth to scream and warn Trepov, but Zeo put his hand over it and shook his head. "Remember what he said. Don't do anything!" he whispered.

The figure reached his back, and threw something over his head and around his neck. "Piano wire!" Eric hissed. The figure wrestled Trepov to the ground pulling tighter and tighter on the wire until Trepov moved no more.

Leon rushed over and slapped the figure, "Idiot!" he screamed, "He was an ambassador! Do you realize we've committed grand treason now?"

The figure responded in a feminine voice with a slight Russian accent, "Bah! He would have arrested you and ruined everything! Better to be rid of him!"

That voice! Eric knew the voice from somewhere. The figure walked over to the two bound prisoners and finally came into the light. As her face lit up all three detectives let out a collective gasp at the sight of Eunice.

"Natasha!" Leon yelled, "We have to get rid of him!" he pointed to Trepov's lifeless body and a third set of chains. So Eunice was a fake name, Eric thought to himself.

Natasha laughed, "Hold on Leon. I want to have a little fun first. Sergei! Get over here!" she ordered.

Sergei did as he was told. "Natasha is it? I never would have guessed." he spat out with contempt.

She let out a laugh, pulled out a pistol and pressed it to Richard's forehead.