In the bitter wind, Captain Sasha was the last to step down the gangway. He pulled the collar of his civilian clothes tight, shook a cigarette from the pack, and lowered his head to shield the flickering lighter flame with his hand.
The pungent smoke filled his lungs, and the faint warmth at his fingertips was instantly scattered by the Baltic Sea wind.
Yet for some reason, he truly felt a little warmer—
Perhaps it was the solidity of the ground beneath his feet, or perhaps it was the relief of being away from that cruise ship that roamed the icy seas year-round like a ghost ship.
He narrowed his eyes at the gray sky, slowly exhaling the oppression in his heart along with the smoke rings.
One crewman had not, like most of the others, happily taken the money Attendant Officer Vincent had given them to spend at bars, dance halls, and other entertainment venues. Instead, he stood quietly on the dock, waiting for Sasha.
Olev was an outstanding graduate of Moscow University. Like Sasha, he appeared to be employed by Maria of the Stars, but was actually drawing a salary from the Federal Security Service as well.
When Sasha reached him, Olev lowered his voice. "Boss, should we report this and have the Bureau send people to inspect the ship?"
"We can't alert them. You and the others should go have fun as usual. I'll contact the higher-ups and see what they want." Sasha crushed his cigarette butt against the harbor's iron railing, leaving a scorched black mark amid the rusted metal.
He entered an old-established hotel alone. In the shadowed corner behind the front desk, the Federal Security Service insignia, recognizable only to insiders, was still there.
So he asked the attendant for Room 00. This was