The Romanov Prophecy Page 0,63
just done, but there was little choice. In a few more seconds the room would be full of police.
He swung out the window and grabbed hold of the pipe. The metal chilled his hands and the dampness caused his grip to slip, but he clenched tight. He planted his feet against the brick and started down.
He heard pounding on the room door.
He dropped himself faster and passed the second-floor windows. Wood splintered from above as the locked door was apparently forced. He continued down but lost his grip as one of the wall braces appeared. He started to fall just as a head popped out the open window above. He braced himself for impact as he scraped the rough brick on the way down and his body pounded to the concrete.
He rolled once and slammed into the tire of one of the parked cars.
Glancing up, he saw a gun appear in the policeman's hand. He ignored the pain in his thigh and sprang to his feet, grabbing Akilina and shoving her to the other side of the car.
Two shots cracked in the night.
One bullet ricocheted off the hood. The other shattered the windshield.
"Come on, and stay down," he said.
They clung to their bags and crawled forward down the alley, using the parked cars for protection. A trail of bullets followed them, but the fourth-floor window did not afford the best firing angle. Glass shattered and metal screamed as bullets raked past. The end of the alley was just ahead and he wondered if more policemen would be waiting.
They left the alley.
Lord whirled his head in both directions. Shops on both sides were dark. No street lamps. He quickly shouldered his bag, grabbed Akilina's hand, and raced with her to the other side of the street.
A car slid around the corner to their right. Headlights blinded him. The vehicle raced straight toward them.
They froze in the middle of the street.
Brakes screeched as tires grabbed damp pavement.
The car skidded to a stop.
He noticed the vehicle was not official. No lights or markings. The face through the windshield, though, was recognizable.
Iosif Maks.
The Russian stuck his head out the driver's-side window and said, "Get in."
They climbed inside and Maks slammed the accelerator to the floor.
"Good timing," Lord said, glancing through the rear window.
The big Russian kept his eyes on the road but said, "Kolya Maks is dead. But his son will see you tomorrow."
TWENTY-FIVE
MOSCOW
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17
7:00 AM
HAYES SAT DOWN TO BREAKFAST IN THEVOLKHOV'S MAIN DININGroom. The hotel offered an exquisite morning buffet. He especially loved the sweetblinys the chef prepared with powdered sugar and a fresh fruit topping. The day'sIzvestia was delivered by the waiter and he settled back to read the morning news.
A front-page article recapped the Tsarist Commission's activities of the past week. After the opening session Wednesday, nominations had started on Thursday. Stefan Baklanov's had been the first name placed forward, his candidacy proffered, as arranged, by the popular mayor of Moscow. The Secret Chancellory thought using someone the people respected would give further credibility to Baklanov, and the ploy had apparently worked as theIzvestia reporter editorialized about the support growing for Baklanov's selection.
Two rival clans of surviving Romanovs quickly nominated their senior members, asserting a closer blood and marital tie to Nicholas II. Three more names had been offered, but the reporter gave none a serious chance, the three all distant Romanovs. A boxed story off to the right noted that there actually might be a lot of Russians with Romanov blood. Laboratories in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Moscow were offering, for fifty rubles, to test a person's blood and compare genetic markers to those of the imperial family. Apparently, a lot of people had paid the fee and taken the test.
The initial debate among commission members on the nominees had been intense, but Hayes knew it was just for show since, at last report, fourteen of seventeen members were bought. Debate had been his idea. Better to let the members appear in disagreement and be slowly swayed than for a quick decision to be made.
The story ended with a note that the nomination process would conclude the next day, an initial vote on narrowing the field to three candidates was scheduled for Tuesday, and then two more days of debate would be held before a final vote on Thursday.
By the coming Friday it should all be over.
Stefan Baklanov would become Stefan I, Tsar of All Russia. Hayes's clients would be happy, the Secret Chancellory would be satisfied, and he'd