Intrigue and Deception
Secrets are revealed and the dangers pass.
When I heard Kassandra's voice in my phone saying, 'Hello Todd', I answered, "Hello Mother."
She coughed and said, "Yes, about that, would you and Traci like to come over for dinner?"
I said, "Yes we would, we have a lot to share, it seems. We'll be there soon," and disconnected the call. Then I said, "Traci, Kassandra is home, and she has company, would you like to have dinner with her?"
Traci gave me that thousand-watt smile of hers that said yes, and we went across the hall. When I knocked on the door, it was opened by a beautiful young woman who greeted us with, "Come in, you must be Todd and Traci. I'm Katrina, Mother has told me all about you."
The first thing I noticed about Katrina, was that she was the image of her mother, with the same lithe body, shoulder length curly blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes, only thirty years younger. This of course, I expected. What I noticed next was the manner of her speech. She spoke English without the hint of any accent or dialect. There was no British, Scottish, Irish, Canadian, or any geographic American hint in her speech patterns or inflections as to where she had been living. It was almost as if she had learned to speak the language from a dictionary.
When I saw that Katrina and Traci had settled on the couch and were engaged in 'girl talk', like they had known each other all their lives, Kassandra came out of nowhere, put her arms around me and gave me a passionate kiss. She said, "I'm sorry I disappeared on you Darling. You see, my Katrina was the 'little detail' I needed to take care of.
I guided her into the kitchenette out of earshot of the girls and said, "Darling, you do not need to explain anything to me. You see, I met the two people in Indiana over the holidays that I am certain were the reason you were distracted during our trip home last month and why you disappeared."
When Kassandra looked at me questioningly, I took her by the arm and led her into her bedroom. I closed the door and had her sit on the bed. I sat next to her and continued, "There was a short stocky man with thick bushy eyebrows who said his name was Bob Barton, and a tall slender woman who said her name was Natalie, his wife I think. They both spoke with thick Eastern European accents and asked everyone in our group a lot of questions about you. The only thing any of us said was that you were unable to accompany us on the trip. Honestly, I think their names were fake because they reminded me of Boris and Natasha on the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons."
Kassandra nodded and calmly said, "Actually Todd, they are both ex KGB agents, and their code names were in fact Boris and Natasha. I don't know who they have been working for since the early 1990's when the Soviet Union broke up, but whomever it is, they could be potentially dangerous. Ever since Putin took power in Russia, he divided the remnants of the former KGB into what are now known as the FSC (internal security), and the GIU (International espionage). I noticed Boris and Natasha at the back of the group on the beach last month the day we left, and that was why I was so deep in thought on the way home."
She paused to take a breath, and continued, "The reason I disappeared was to assure the safe return of my daughter from France, where she had been attending a private school in the Alps near the border with Switzerland since she was a small child. She was supposed to come home and start college at Indiana University in Bloomington, but when I saw Boris and Natasha, I knew we had to change our plans. I intercepted her journey enroute to Paris and secreted here with the help of some old friends. I don't know if Boris and Natasha are planning anything, but knew I had to find a secure place to hide my Katrina until I knew for sure that she was safe."
I thought for a moment and asked, "Kassandra, I recently discovered a secluded log cabin off the grid, in the middle of a remote wildlife refuge in Northern Wisconsin. Would a place like that be a safe enough place to hide her while you verify her safety?"
When she asked me how I knew of such a place, I told her about my exploits in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and all about Ariel. I told her that Traci and I were planning on heading up there early the next morning for a week of sex and photography.
I added, "As much as Ariel hates the government and anything to do with what she calls 'The Man', I am certain that she would love to keep your daughter safe while you deal with 'Boris', 'Natasha', and whomever else in involved."
She kissed me and said, "That could work Todd. Let me make a couple of calls and see what I can arrange. We should have plenty of time, so let's have dinner as a family first, OK?"
We walked back into the main room and saw my sister and Katrina still in a very animated conversation. As Kassandra took a casserole out of the oven, I walked over to Traci and Katrina and said, "Time for dinner ladies."
We all sat down at the snack bar, and ate Kassandra's version of Goulash, which tasted very much like my grandmother's recipe, but was a bit spicier than what I was used to. After dinner when Kassandra and I were doing the dishes and the 'girls' were chatting on the couch, she asked, "Todd, would you spend the night with me? I have really missed Toddy. Katrina could spend the night with Traci, in your apartment. During our trip here, she shared with me that she has yet to be with a man but had become an accomplished cunnilinguist."
I looked at Kassandra and asked, "So your daughter a virgin? Is she waiting for the right man to give her virginity to? By any chance is she the woman you had in mind for me?"
She got very serious and said, "Katrina is her own woman and I don't own her. I hope when she decides to give up her virginity, she will do it for the right reason, and will give it willingly to the man she loves. If that man happens to be you, I will be the happiest woman on this earth."
I kissed her and said, "I understand. I will guard her with my life and obey your wishes."