Hardy stood and extended his hand around Natasha. “Hi Sabina, I’m Aaron Hardy. We spoke on the phone two days ago. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” After he finished shaking hands, he acknowledged her sister. “I’m sorry, Romana, for not telling you about this ahead of time. I didn’t want your hopes to be dashed,” he glanced at Romana’s sister, “in case Sabina was not your sister.”
Romana pointed her finger at him. “You did all this? This whole thing…” She quickly looked at the table and around the restaurant. “You planned this from the beginning? You found my sister…” She was putting the pieces together in her mind. “And, this luncheon was to bring us together.”
Hardy bobbed his head back and forth. “Well, I didn’t actually find her. I only made a few phone calls to people I’ve helped along the way and asked if they would do some ‘digging’ for me.” He was referring to Jack Stevens, the United States Ambassador to Austria. Hardy had rescued the Ambassador two weeks earlier from Muslim terrorists, who had stormed the U.S. embassy in Vienna, killing everyone inside and kidnapping Stevens. When he received Hardy’s call, the Ambassador had been extremely gracious and promised to do everything in his power to locate Romana’s sister. Hardy did not expect to hear from the man so soon. It had been nearly twenty-five years since Romana and her sister had been separated. Stevens informed Hardy that he had to call in just about every favor that was owed to him; however, it was worth it, considering if it had not been for Hardy, Stevens would not be alive today.
Over Sabina’s shoulder, Hardy caught a glimpse of a man walking toward their table. “Excuse me.” He moved to the left and around the table to greet the man. When he got to the corner of the table, near Mika, Romana rushed him. She threw her arms around him and their bodies collided. Almost falling backwards into the fireplace, he grunted, feeling a twinge of pain in his shoulder.
Romana hugged him with all her strength. Her left arm was wrapped so tightly around his neck, that her hand was practically touching her upper back. “Thank you,” her lips touched his ear and her voice broke, “thank you, thank you. I don’t know,” she sniffed, “what to say. I’ll never…be able to repay…”
Her body trembled in his arms, the moisture from her eyes wetting his cheek. He patted her lower back. “There’s nothing to repay, Romana.” His voice was low and steady. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy that you and Sabina are back together again. I can only imagine what you’ve been going through all these years.” She would not let go of him. After a full minute, he smiled. “Besides, just seeing you…speechless for a change…is payment enough.”
She laughed into his ear before pressing and holding her lips against his cheek for several seconds, giving him a long kiss. Releasing him, she swiped her fingers across her nose and sniffed.
Hardy retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “I told you, you’d regret busting my chops, earlier.’’ She broke out into laughter again, as Hardy patted her upper arm and headed toward the man he was going to meet.
As Hardy approached, the man finished a phone conversation and slipped the cell into his pocket. Hardy stretched out his hand. “Ambassador Woodward, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m Aaron Hardy.”
Ambassador Woodward shook hands with Hardy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Hardy.” Woodward was in his early forties and had a full head of dark hair, parted on the left side. He stood a little over six-feet tall and had a lean physique. He wore a dark gray, pinstripe suit with a white shirt and a blue tie. Gold jewelry accompanied his fine clothing—cuff links, tie tack, collar bar and a pin of the American flag on his left lapel. “I apologize for the delay, but I had to take that call.”
“No trouble at all.”
Woodward observed Sabina and Romana. “I see everything worked out well.”
“Yes, it did.” Hardy watched the two women, who were hugging again. He faced Woodward. “I want to thank you, Ambassador, for doing this. I know you’re a busy man.” Woodward and Ambassador Stevens had worked out the details to get Sabina to Moscow, where Woodward had agreed to meet the woman at the airport and bring her to the restaurant.
Woodward gestured toward the women. “Seeing these two has made it more than worth my time.” He put his hand on Hardy’s shoulder. “And, thank you for what you did for my daughter. She told me the whole story. If you had not done what you did…” His voice trailed off.
Charles Woodward was the United States Ambassador to Russia. His daughter, Michelle, had been a guest at the event where the assassination attempt on the Premier’s life had taken place. Hardy had saved the lives of Michelle and her friends, getting them out of the building before the bomb detonated. Hardy and the ambassador had never met, but Michelle had told her father about Hardy. When Hardy contacted Woodward for his help in reconnecting Sabina and Romana, the ambassador had been eager to assist once he knew who it was who was making the request.
“Your daughter is a great kid, sir. This world needs more good people like her.” He raised a finger. “That reminds me.” He left and came back with a small square box and handed it to the ambassador. “This is for Michelle. To my knowledge, she never got a piece of cake that night. And, if I remember correctly, she said chocolate was her favorite.”
Woodward smiled and accepted the box. “It is. I’m sure she will be quite pleased to get this, especially when she finds out it is from you. You know, for the next week, she didn’t stop talking about you.”
Hardy laughed.
Woodward leaned closer and grinned. “I think she had a little crush on you.”
Hardy smiled and the two men spoke for a few minutes before the Ambassador indicated he needed to leave.
“Well, I think things are going well here, so I must be getting back to the office.” He shook hands with Hardy, who thanked him again for his help, before the two men went their separate ways.
Hardy returned to the table. Before he could take his seat, however, Natasha pulled on his arm. He faced her. She hugged him. When she released him, he felt a hand on his other arm, spinning him to the left. He was greeted with another hug from Mika, who was careful not to tug too hard on the injured arm. “What’s this for?” he said, still in Mika’s embrace.
“You still don’t get it, do you, Hardy?” Natasha glimpsed Mika and Romana. “The three of us are like sisters. No, we are sisters. What you do for one of us, you do for all of us. Thank you.”
Mika kissed him on the cheek before stepping back. “Yes, thank you.”
Natasha glanced over her shoulder. “Wasn’t that Ambassador Woodward?”
Hardy nodded, while watching Woodward leave the restaurant.
“I guess you really did have to pull a few strings,” said Mika.
“Only a couple…but those individuals had to cash in a lot more favors to make this happen.” He observed Romana and Sabina. “That brings me to something else. I need your help, Natasha. The individuals, whom I was referring to, had to make some promises to people along the way. Do you know where I can get some good Russian vodka? I have no idea what good vodka is, compared to what is not. Can you give me some idea on where to start looking?”
Natasha leaned forward, slid a small napkin toward him and put a pen on top of it. “Just write down the names and addresses and I’ll take care of it. You’re not paying a single ruble or dollar for it. I’m picking up the tab.”
Mika pointed her chin at Natasha. “I want in on that as well.”
Hardy rotated his head back and forth. “Listen, the two of you don’t have to pay for this. I’ve got money.”
Natasha laughed and shook her head. She was not going to let him pay for anything. As far as she was concerned, the matter was settled.
Hardy protested again, but Mika stopped him.
“We’ve got it, Hardy.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done. Please…just let us take care of it.”
Realizing the women would not be deterred, he relented. “Thank you.”
Romana placed a chair for her sister at the end of the table, between her and Natasha. Standing behind Sabina, Romana caught Hardy’s attention. She smiled and winked at him before miming the words ‘thank you.’
Hardy smiled back and nodded his head.