Poisk

POISK Chapter 15

St Petersburg

They'd stayed in the cafe longer than anticipated. It was two hours before the authorities left the Kozlov residence, the dead bodies being taken to the morgue. The local police canvassed the area, no one could tell them anything, as they'd not heard the gunshots.

Two police entered the cafe, they scanned the area, looking for anyone who looked out of place. Callen, his father and Commander Farrell, were laughing over a funny story Garrison had told them. It was from Callen's childhood, and although Callen had no memory of it, he enjoyed hearing the story just the same. The timing was perfect. They looked the part of locals, enjoying time together in a cafe.

They waited until the coast was clear. Callen swallowed the remainder of his second cup of coffee, leaving a tip on the table, before standing up. He said something to his father in Russian, telling him it was great to catch up, and next time he'd bring his wife and kids with him. The three of them exited the cafe still chatting about everyday things, and walked in the opposite direction of the Kozlov mansion.

No one noticed. No one suspected, that they had been involved in the invasion and take down of the country's defence minister. They walked past two more policemen who stood at the corner, searching for clues on the assassination of Eduard Kozlov and some of his men. They knew he had more men searching throughout the city for an escaped prisoner. No one had seen Arkady Kolcheck since the previous day. It was a good thing the team arrived when they had, and Arkady was moved out of the city and country within a matter of hours of his escape. Else, they were certain, he would be on the top of the police's suspect list of this latest attack. Arkady's prospects for help would have been slim, if they hadn't come.

Three blocks up, Callen and the commander parted from his father, keeping the illusion they'd only met up for coffee. But it did nothing to dispel the worry having his father alone in the city. He knew his father was good as it came to becoming a ghost or someone else. He hoped they all made it to their rendezvous point, north of the Neva River. They'd all been on radio silence since they'd left Kozlov's mansion, just incase any of the authorities found them and worked out this had been the work of the U.S. Government. The political repercussions were too high to risk being caught. Callen had no idea how and if Sam and Aidan had made it out of there in once piece.

Callen and Commander Farrell strolled along the Moyka River until they reached the Neva, and headed east for the Troitskiy Most, otherwise known as the Trinity Bridge. The Art Nouveau landmark spread out over the river with Rostral Columns flanking the sides. It was a long walk, but moving on foot to their rendezvous point had proved to be the safest, with the amount of police about and road blocks.

"Took your time," Sam stated, when he saw his partner and Commander Farrell arrive. The worry for them was evident in his eyes.

"You made it." Callen was relieved to see Sam and Aiden leaning against their SUV.

"We've been waiting for you for the past hour."

"We had to stay put inside the cafe until it was safe. The amount of police around was crazy," Callen argued.

Sam nodded. He understood, but he couldn't help but worry, just the same. "Gibbs left with the rest of the team, half an hour ago. Where's Garrison?"

Callen looked at his watch. "He should be here in about ten minutes. We separated three blocks from the cafe, taking different routes to get here."

"Good. We've waited around long enough."

***

An hour later, Callen knew something wasn't right. His father had vanished, and they had no idea where he was, or if anyone had him.