Don't Order Dog_ 1(65)
Tatyana smiled. “Are you American?”
“Yes. Well, sort of,” the man replied. “I mean, I’m probably more American than anything else. But I really hate to be defined so categorically.”
Tatyana stared at him, confused.
“Look, I’m sorry. I know my presence here must be very odd to you.” The man reached into the breast pocket of his jacket as he spoke and felt around for something. “I doubt you often get unexpected visitors showing up in the cafeteria at this hour of the evening. But if you had any idea what I’ve gone through to be here, I think you would start to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, and the importance of this meeting.”
Tatyana’s eyes widened in surprise. “So you are here because of me?”
“Indeed I am,” the man said with a smile. His eyes flashed with excitement as his hand found the item he was looking for and pulled it from his jacket. “In fact, Dr. Tatyana Aleksandrov, I’m here to end your life as you know it.” He extended his hand towards her, a small object wrapped in foil pressed between his fingers. “Would you like a piece of gum?”
Tatyana blinked vacantly at the man, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. “What did you just say?”
“Would you like a piece of gum? It’s spearmint.”
Tatyana pushed her chair back from the table. “What did you say before offering me a piece of gum?”
The man looked at her with a blank stare. “I said I’m here to end your life as you know it. But please, don’t get up.”
A thin glaze of cold sweat suddenly coated her skin as Tatyana slowly stood up. She could feel her heart pounding beneath her blouse as she stepped behind her chair and glanced around the room. “Is this a joke?” she asked. “Are you completely a lunatic?”
“Not that you’re in the mood for an English lesson, Tatyana,” the American replied, holding her stare. “But the correct way to say that would be “are you a complete lunatic?” I know it’s seems like a subtle difference, but that’s the right way to say it. Now please, sit back down and try to relax.”
“Who the hell are you?” Tatyana demanded. The sound of her own voice, shaky and frightened, was even more unnerving than the man sitting in front of her.
“Me? Oh, I’m afraid we just don’t have enough time to get into that right now. Honestly, Dr. Aleksandrov, I don’t think you’d find me all that interesting even if we did.”
Tatyana continued looking around the room. What the hell is happening? she thought as the dark-haired American calmly sat and watched her. She considered throwing herself onto the man and using everything she’d been trained in her boxing classes to physically subdue him, but another, more rational voice in her head told her this was a very bad idea. She glanced at the nearby wall and noticed the old intercom box, just a few steps away. There was a chance that the intercom was connected to the security office downstairs. Tatyana decided even if it wasn’t a good chance, it was probably her only chance. She swallowed back the fear in her throat and met the American’s eyes.
“Why you would want to kill me?” she asked matter-of-factly. “I’m hardly worth the trouble.”
The man grinned as he slowly unwrapped the piece of gum in his hand. “You’re a very modest woman, Dr. Aleksandrov, but please. That’s like Yuri Gagarin landing after the first manned voyage into space and saying ‘it was just a little spin around the planet.’ As for killing you, I–”
Tatyana suddenly bolted towards the wall and smashed her fist against the speaker button. “Pavel! Pavel! Te nuzgna mne v kofetirie sechas! Pavel! I need you now!” She released the button and stared desperately at the speaker, waiting for a response from the security guard. A numbing silence filled the room.
“I’m afraid Pavel is in no condition to join us right now,” the man replied flatly. He crossed his leg and glanced nonchalantly at his watch. “Last time I checked, his blood-alcohol level was about three-times the local definition of intoxication, and he was pretty comfortably stretched out on the floor of the security office.”
Tatyana stepped away from the intercom and turned to face the American. A sudden awareness of her own breathing came over her as the air in the room seemed to take on a dense, oppressive weight. The man met her stare with a knowing, almost sympathetic softness.
“You didn’t let me finish. You asked me why I would want to kill you.”
Tatyana gave him a slight nod. The American examined the unwrapped piece of gum in his hand for a moment before popping it into his mouth. He stared silently at her as he chewed, appearing to Tatyana to be deep in thought. She found the man’s state of calm to be nearly unbearable.