RUSSIA
“Edith,” Dane nodded.
She reached into her satchel and brought out a small leather pouch, which she handled as if it were explosive. She walked to the table, opened the drawstrings, and gingerly deposited a single item onto the table in front of Doc.
He picked up the wooden icon. A hand-painted Virgin Mary on one side. On the other, five signatures in Russian. “What is it?”
“It’s your key,” Dane said.
“To what?”
“For getting close to the last Tsarina,” Edith said. “Empress Consort Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Nicholas the Second; the last Tsar.” She pointed. “The signatures are her own and her daughter’s, the duchesses. It’s dated 11 December 1916. Only 19 days before Rasputin was killed. It was on his body at the time. The tale of what happened to his body is complex and you’ll get that in your download.” She gave a sideways glance at Dane, who gave a twitch of a smile in approval of her brevity. “It was reportedly stolen from Rasputin’s corpse just before it was burned. The icon disappeared.”
Doc looked up. “Then how did you find it?”
“That’s her job,” Dane said, “and she’s the best in the world at it.”
Edith flushed again, a deeper red than before.
“Sooo,” Doc said, drawing the word out. “Rasputin is dead and I’m showing up with something stolen from his corpse?”
“You’ll figure it out,” Dane said.
“It will get the Tsarina’s attention,” Edith said. “She was utterly devoted to Rasputin. She believed he saved her son, Alexei’s, life. He was heir to the throne but a hemophiliac. Also known as the Royal Disease. Many of the Royalty at the time were related and Queen Victoria, the Grandmother of Alexandra, passed it on to quite few of them. It only manifests in males—”
“I know what the disease is,” Doc said.
“He has a lot of PhD’s,” Mac said. “He usually starts conversations with that.”
“And I’m a physician,” Doc added.
“Hence the Doc,” Mac said.
“And once you get the data download,” Dane said, “you’ll know more about the entire era than anyone.”
Doc looked at the others. “Is this the way Black Tuesday’s briefing went?”
“Pretty much,” Mac said.
“I can see why you were pissed,” Doc said.
“We’re giving you all we have,” Dane said.
“So I’m meeting with the Tsarina,” Doc said, putting the icon back in the leather pouch and then in his coat. “Why 15 March?”
Edith beat Eagle to the history. “On 15 March 1917 Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, abdicated. It was the end of Russia under the Tsars. Technically, the first Tsar was Ivan IV Vasilyevich—”
“Better known as Ivan the Terrible,” Eagle said, getting a historical jab back in.
“In 1533. That monarchy ended on 15 March 1917, ushering in what became the Soviet Union.”
All Doc could do was nod as the implication sunk in.
“Why the Tsarina and not the Tsar?”
Dane gave Doc the look. Doc slumped back in his chair. He put the icon back in the pouch and held it out to Edith.
“You keep that,” Edith said. “It’s your key to getting the Tsarina’s attention if you need it. The Tsarina, the duchesses, and Alexei, were holed up in the Alexander Palace just outside Petrograd, what we call St. Petersburg. The Tsar was there also.”
“That’s where you’re going,” Dane said. He pointed at Edith. “We’ve made a few adjustments in mission prep since Black Tuesday. The icon is one example. Where we can, we’ll give you talismans to assist in the mission. Edith?”
She pulled a piece of cloth out of her satchel and handed it to Eagle. “That is the original Badge of Military Merit.”
Eagle took it reverently. “The first Purple Heart.”
“It’s commonly known as that,” Edith said, referring to something that was only commonly known to her and Eagle. “But actually, it was announced by Washington in 1782 as an award for exceptional bravery.
“Edith,” Dane nodded.
She reached into her satchel and brought out a small leather pouch, which she handled as if it were explosive. She walked to the table, opened the drawstrings, and gingerly deposited a single item onto the table in front of Doc.
He picked up the wooden icon. A hand-painted Virgin Mary on one side. On the other, five signatures in Russian. “What is it?”
“It’s your key,” Dane said.
“To what?”
“For getting close to the last Tsarina,” Edith said. “Empress Consort Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Nicholas the Second; the last Tsar.” She pointed. “The signatures are her own and her daughter’s, the duchesses. It’s dated 11 December 1916. Only 19 days before Rasputin was killed. It was on his body at the time. The tale of what happened to his body is complex and you’ll get that in your download.” She gave a sideways glance at Dane, who gave a twitch of a smile in approval of her brevity. “It was reportedly stolen from Rasputin’s corpse just before it was burned. The icon disappeared.”
Doc looked up. “Then how did you find it?”
“That’s her job,” Dane said, “and she’s the best in the world at it.”
Edith flushed again, a deeper red than before.
“Sooo,” Doc said, drawing the word out. “Rasputin is dead and I’m showing up with something stolen from his corpse?”
“You’ll figure it out,” Dane said.
“It will get the Tsarina’s attention,” Edith said. “She was utterly devoted to Rasputin. She believed he saved her son, Alexei’s, life. He was heir to the throne but a hemophiliac. Also known as the Royal Disease. Many of the Royalty at the time were related and Queen Victoria, the Grandmother of Alexandra, passed it on to quite few of them. It only manifests in males—”
“I know what the disease is,” Doc said.
“He has a lot of PhD’s,” Mac said. “He usually starts conversations with that.”
“And I’m a physician,” Doc added.
“Hence the Doc,” Mac said.
“And once you get the data download,” Dane said, “you’ll know more about the entire era than anyone.”
Doc looked at the others. “Is this the way Black Tuesday’s briefing went?”
“Pretty much,” Mac said.
“I can see why you were pissed,” Doc said.
“We’re giving you all we have,” Dane said.
“So I’m meeting with the Tsarina,” Doc said, putting the icon back in the leather pouch and then in his coat. “Why 15 March?”
Edith beat Eagle to the history. “On 15 March 1917 Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, abdicated. It was the end of Russia under the Tsars. Technically, the first Tsar was Ivan IV Vasilyevich—”
“Better known as Ivan the Terrible,” Eagle said, getting a historical jab back in.
“In 1533. That monarchy ended on 15 March 1917, ushering in what became the Soviet Union.”
All Doc could do was nod as the implication sunk in.
“Why the Tsarina and not the Tsar?”
Dane gave Doc the look. Doc slumped back in his chair. He put the icon back in the pouch and held it out to Edith.
“You keep that,” Edith said. “It’s your key to getting the Tsarina’s attention if you need it. The Tsarina, the duchesses, and Alexei, were holed up in the Alexander Palace just outside Petrograd, what we call St. Petersburg. The Tsar was there also.”
“That’s where you’re going,” Dane said. He pointed at Edith. “We’ve made a few adjustments in mission prep since Black Tuesday. The icon is one example. Where we can, we’ll give you talismans to assist in the mission. Edith?”
She pulled a piece of cloth out of her satchel and handed it to Eagle. “That is the original Badge of Military Merit.”
Eagle took it reverently. “The first Purple Heart.”
“It’s commonly known as that,” Edith said, referring to something that was only commonly known to her and Eagle. “But actually, it was announced by Washington in 1782 as an award for exceptional bravery.
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