Beyond Cover: Chapter 6
Emily and Dwayne's reactions to their meeting with Ruslan; Emily meets with Gustav's long-time girlfriend and encounters something unexpected.
Last chapter, Emily and Dwayne met with Gustav’s boss, notorious mobster Ruslan Archangelsky. Ruslan suspects Emily and Dwayne of having something to do with Gustav’s murder. To clear their names, he wants them to prove someone else did it, and who, or else it’s their lives on the line. Where do they start? And where do they go from here? Let’s find out…
“What the hell were you thinking in there?” Emily asked the moment she slammed the passenger car door.
She gazed at him incredulously. Was Dwayne trying to get himself killed?
He huffed out a breath as he started the car. “I am fucking tired of being called crazy when these imbeciles do nothing but go at each other’s throats all the time. It’s real old.”
“Yeah, it is. But you can’t just snap at a boss. Especially if we want to be on his good side. It could be our key to survival,” Emily replied.
Dwayne went quiet. He stared out the windshield as the street outside the Garnet Lounge faded along more nondescript city scenery. Buildings so tall they might scratch the sky. Afternoon light glinting off windows, a golden hue giving indication of winter’s early sunset. Emily watched his dark eyes remain dim despite it. Once more holding in his rage and need to vent; the things which would only detonate in time. She’d always seen him as so strong, someone experienced at this undercover work who could guide her along in her first mission.
And he still tried. Yet she could only watch him slowly unravel. She was losing him.
The realization, which she withheld as silently, delicately, as snow blanketing the earth, muffling background noise and voices, hung heavy on her chest. A sinking heart for a fractured man. If emotional states had a physical form, his would manifest as two people trying to rip away from each other in a violent, spiteful grapple which could only end in self-destruction.
“You’re all I have right now,” she said softly. “And I know that feels like a lot to put on your shoulders because I can see you struggling. I can’t make this situation any better. I wouldn’t still be alive without you. You never left me alone. But me being here means you aren’t alone, either, even when you feel like it in your own head.”
Dwayne didn’t speak until he braked for a stop light. He cracked the window and lit a cigarette. “What’s in my head doesn’t need to be a burden for someone else.”
“And what if I don’t consider it a burden to help you carry this weight of this stupid world we both got thrown into?” Emily said, her voice void of Kira’s sternness, replaced with a soft attempt at convincing her partner to crack the facade that would become an inevitable demise without relief.
“Dwayne,” she continued. “We just watched a man die. And we were powerless to help him or even the police without compromising this mission or our lives. This isn’t normal. Even for undercover work. I don’t need your years of experience to know that. And now we have to help this smug prick solve a murder that we know is going to cause another man’s death. Whoever killed Gustav will see the same end. We have to stop that, somehow. We have to deal with Inger, somehow. And possibly evade our own assassinations. And we have to act like we care about some stupid diamonds going missing. This isn’t a mission. This is madness.”
She let out a long breath and leaned back in her seat.
“It’s madness, all right,” Dwayne mumbled between drags of his smoke. “We need to update Oliver. Not that he can do anything, but we can at least have things documented in case… in case the worst happens.”
Emily nodded and gazed out the window, blinking back tears.
“Hey, kiddo,” Dwayne said.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll try not to make this worse than it is.”
Well, it was something. She gave him a small smile, then looked out the passenger side window again. Madness. The only word she could think of to describe this mission — and, perhaps, Dwayne.
“Look, Gustav was totally paranoid in the last year or so. If you ask me, he knew someone was out to get him. He knew his murder was coming. And probably by who.”
Emily listened to the woman walking alongside her on the darkened street. An elegant blond who shared Kira’s love for fur coats and fine jewels. A burgundy blouse hung loose over her slender frame, paired with black wide-leg trousers. Her neck adorned with a glinting diamond necklace, with matching earrings. But Agnia had also loved something else which, at that moment, Emily was far more interested in.
“I don’t think that’s far-fetched,” Emily replied. “Agnia, you were his girlfriend. And I know this is hard. His death is already having ripple effects across everything. Did he ever say any names?”
“You and your father are being blamed,” Agnia said with a Russian accent. “You were there that day. Why don’t you tell me?”
“We lose with his death, too,” Emily said for what felt like the millionth time. “What would we gain from murdering Gustav?”
“Those diamonds, of course,” Agnia said with a scoff.
“We made much more money with him alive. You know that as well as I do. Besides, do you think we’d be stupid enough to be at the scene when it happened?” Emily said in exasperation.
Agnia sighed. “I don’t know what to believe, Kira. You and I are friends. Or so I thought. I don’t want to believe you or your father, as crazy as he is, would hurt my beloved Gustav. I mean, even Nikolai seemed to take a liking to him.”
“My dad did like him,” Emily said with a nod. “We had nothing against him and are trying to figure out who did this. Not only to clear our names. The cops will treat this as a mob slaying. But we must treat it as the death of a friend and find our own justice. This person must pay.”
“They must pay,” Agnia mused. Her voice softened. “Yes. I agree. He never told me much. You know, men. But leading up to his death… he mentioned a cop and a bribe. Said if anything happened to him, this guy had something to do with it.”
Emily frowned. “A cop?”
“Yes. From the… the international agency, I believe.”
“The International Crime Bureau?”
“That one, yes.”
“Who was bribing who?”
“I don’t know. He never said.”
“Well,” Emily said. “It’s no secret that some of the ICB agents are corrupt. Usually, that’s good for us, but if someone has gone rogue even on us…”
“Then what’s to stop him from doing this to others?” Agnia asked.
Emily sighed. “Gustav didn’t happen to ever say his name?”
Agnia shook her head. “No. Not to me, at least. I should have asked more questions. Maybe… maybe I could have helped him. I never thought…”
Tears filled Agnia’s eyes. She blinked them back behind her long, mascara-covered eyelashes.
“I never thought he would end up dead,” she continued. “You know, everyone remembers him now as just a paranoid man. But not the Gustav I knew for the last ten years. He was so funny. I have never laughed so hard in my life than I have when with him. I don’t think I ever will again.”
“It’s true,” Emily said with a small smile. “He wasn’t always so jumpy. His sense of humor could get a laugh out of anyone. Even my grouchy old dad. I’ll miss that too.”
“You knew a joke was hilarious when Nikolai laughed, too. Oh, my Gustav,” Agnia said. She paused, put a hand to her chest, and turned to Emily. “Find who did this for me. Please. He didn’t deserve to die on a cold sidewalk over some stupid jewels. And I didn’t deserve to lose the love of my life.”
Emily watched the other woman withhold tears. A gentle, eloquent exterior which refused to crack on a busy street.
“You’re right. Neither of you deserved this. I will find this person. They will pay. This I promise.”
Agnia nodded, then hugged Emily without another word. Emily wrapped her arms around Agnia and felt Agnia’s shoulders shake slightly. At the moment Emily usually withdrew from an embrace, Agnia held onto her with the weight of a crushing grief she didn’t know where to put. With a shaky sigh, Agnia pulled back, straightened her coat, and nodded at Emily.
“Thank you, Kira. I’ll do some asking around. We’ll talk soon.”
“Of course. You be safe out there.”
Agnia pulled a tissue from her purse as she disappeared down the street. Emily watched her go with a sympathetic sadness heavy on her chest. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself and made her way towards the pub where she and Dwayne were meeting.
Poor Agnia. These executions over petty grievances of criminals were committed with no second thought to the loved ones waiting for that person to come home. To those who knew them as far more than a thief or mobster. A criminal was a criminal in Emily’s mind, but she also believed in due process serving justice, not someone else who got to decide life or death in the street. Mob bosses weren’t gods. They didn’t deserve to have that power in their hands. The alternate reality in which they lived often proved to be delusional at best. Destructive at worst. If Gustav deserved to go to prison for his part in thefts, so be it. But it wasn’t worth his life.
Lost in thought, Emily passed the alley beside the pub. In her peripheral vision, she spotted a shadow swoop out before two hands grabbed her and dragged her back into the darkness. The man, broad and tall, overtook her before she realized it. He shoved her against the wall so hard it forced the air from her lungs. She went to scream, but a hand covered her mouth.
“Don’t you dare make a sound, Agent Abbett. We need to talk.”
Breathless. Panic jolted through her like an electric current buzzing with paranoia and anxiety that had been brewing. Emily’s eyes flickered up to the man before her. Thin but strong. Average height, but still towering over her. Brooding, dark brown eyes glared. Short, neat brown hair. She took in his features quickly, feeling the metal of a handgun at her stomach. She committed his face to memory for if she should survive this ordeal.
She took a breath through his clasped hand before she recognized him as the corrupt agent she had spied on two nights before.
Jeff Inger.
Dread flooded her. Had he spotted her the other night? Did he, too, believe she and Dwayne had something to do with Gustav’s murder? Or were his intentions more sinister?
Her heart raced.
“Seems you and Agent MacMorris are in some trouble,” Jeff said with a sneer. He leaned in closer so his lips were by her ear when he whispered a taunt.
“I can make your problems go away.”
He pulled his hand from her mouth to reach into an inside pocket of his jacket. He plucked a small bag which clinked with the distinct sound of jewels. Emily kept her stare on his face, nodding to acknowledge the bag. Her hands held above her head.
“Is that so?” she said, her tone low but stern.
“You and your useless old guard dog need to back off from Dean Johnson’s business. And mine. And maybe, just maybe, I won’t hand these over to him as proof you two have gone rogue and killed a fence,” Jeff said. He smirked as he clutched the bag.
“Bold of you to talk about who’s gone rogue,” Emily said. She glared back at him. Fear flooded her, but she stayed in Kira’s character. Kira wouldn’t be frightened by this man. Not by an agent defying his oath and career. Not a man corrupt with greed and malice.
“We’re all rogue, sweetheart,” Jeff said. “Some of us are just better at it. This is your warning. Back off or else —”
“Or else what? You’re going to kill me?” Emily snapped. “You’re only the second person to threaten that today, Inger. I’m surrounded by men much scarier than you all the time. You might be rogue, but you’re a coward.”
He shoved the gun into her stomach.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. This is your last warning. Back. Off. You want these?” he said, shaking the bag. “You need to back off. You get the diamonds, and maybe I tell Dean it’s time to pull you out of this.”
He knew she was desperate. He could smell it. A predator with the need to feed on her fear and inexperience. An attempt to maybe even make her switch sides.
Emily hesitated. Could she use that to her advantage? Or would she dive in too deep into danger and drown?
“Well?” Jeff asked. “Do we have a deal?”
Thanks for reading! Chapter 7 will be up on February 24, 2026. If you’ve missed the previous chapters, visit the “Beyond Cover” page:
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