The young Russian pulled his dirt bike over to the side of the road. He needed to make a call, something that couldn't be done driving at eighty five miles an hour.

"I've got it!" he said with great pride.

"That's wonderful Alex," said the woman on the other end of the phone. "I can't wait to hear all about your adventure. You know what you have to do now."

"Yes I do," replied Alex. He hung up.

Alex hopped on his bike and jumped on the kick-starter.

Gunshots came blasting from behind him. Alex sped off as fast as he could. One hundred meters, two meters, and then two Chinese men started shooting from in front. Instinctively, he rode his bike off the road. This is exactly why I chose a dirt bike, Alex concluded. The right tool for the right job.

The ground was rocks, dirt and the odd bush. This bike made the road incredibly easy to navigate. The only problem was that he had no idea where he was going. And who the hell were those guys? Alex wondered if they worked for Vladimir.

Gun shots again came from behind. Alex briefly turned around. Oh shit, a Toyota Land Cruiser. This wasn't going to be easy anymore. Alex pulled his gun from his front jacket pocket and fired off a couple of shots at the SUV. He missed the first shot but hit the windshield with the second one. And then came the rocket launcher. Peter jumped off his bike and rolled on the ground, feeling every rock. The bike expolded. The Land Cruiser pulled up next to him.

A very well dressed Chinese man in a three piece striped black suit walked up to Alex as he lay on the ground. The man was in his late thirties and gave off a mobster vibe, obvious intentional. Next to him were two guys in 1950's Chinese military uniforms. What the hell os going on?

"Why are Russians here?" the Chinese man asked. "We had an agreement."

"I don't know what you mean," replied Alex as he lay on the ground. "I was simply here on business, which is now concluded."

"All you Russians do is lie. You were not here on business. You're with the woman. We'll find her. When we do we'll deliver you both back across the border.....in body bags. You broke our arrangement."

"I promise you I was here on business." Alex reached in to his jacket pocket.

"Be very careful," replied the well dressed man as he pointed his gun at Alex's head.

"Here. I came for this." Alex showed the man the Sakharovsky ruby, then he placed it in his hand. "I have no idea about the other Russians you're referring to."

"Don't play stupid. It's unbecoming." He paused. "We picked up a young Russian woman, fair game around here as you well know. Maybe we can use you as bait to get her back."

"Get her back? Use me as bait? You mean she's not with you?" Alex was legitimately confused, and then he thought about what the Chinese man had said right before that. She was fair game. Fair game for what?

"She killed eight of my men and took off with a piece of my inventory. Her death will be very unpleasant."

Only one Russian could illicit that sort of response. Alex knew exactly which woman he was talking about. Svetlana. He was told she might be here, as well. If she gets to the ruby first then just come home, he was warned. It's hard to find good help and as much I want that ruby, it's more important that you stay alive.

Alex wasn't surprised in the least that she left a heap of dead bodies behind her. Russian special forces, expert sniper, ex-Olympic runner. There was nothing this woman couldn't do.

Svetlana was one of the reasons Alex took this job. He secretly had a huge crush on Svetlana even though they'd never met. He fell in love with her reputation. She was a woman who struck fear in most men once they got to know her beyond that absolutely perfect exterior. Those she didn't strike fear in would live to regret it, for a little while anyways. To have her take the ruby from him would be the greatest day of life. Even better would be if he could take it from her. Alex envisioned Svetlana handing over the ruby while saying "Well done. Until we meet again."

Alex stood up. "Look, I was just here on business. Keep the damn jewel, just let me go."

"I don't think so. You're coming back with us until I reach my guy in Moscow, and after we capture the girl."

He has a man in Moscow. Who the hell could that be? Alex wondered as his hands were tied behind his back. They put him in the back seat of the Land Cruiser and drove off.

* * * * *

"Gorgy..what the hell do you think you're doing? You know there will be serious ramifications for this. Eight of our men dead. We captured one of yours." The well dressed Chinese man was starting to yell into to the phone.
"We will have our revenge. And the deal is off. You can get your merchandise somewhere else."

"Lei, Calm down. Calm down. And speak slower. My mandarin isn't great. It's not even good....Now what happened?"

"What the hell were you running, a covert operation? Did you think you could steal from me, or take over my territory? I am Lei! I own everything here. You make money because of me!"

Gorgy still didn't understand a thing. "Back up my friend. Nobody is trying to take you out. Our arrangement works for both of us. Now tell me what happened."

"Your Mandarin really is awful," Lei remarked in disgust. He then switched to perfect Russian. "The woman, she's dead. She just doesn't know it yet. And that man with the Ruby will help us make it happen."

Gorgy started to laugh. "It's not funny!" Lei yelled.

"Sure it is. This is has absolutely nothing to do with me, or you for that matter. It's about that Ruby. Mikhail is going to be pissed, but so what, right?"

"What are you saying?" Lei asked.

"Mikhail sent the woman to China to get that ruby. You must have really pissed her off."

"She killed eight of my men and took off with some new merchandise."

"That's Svetlana. You should hope you never see her again," Gorgy said with Russian pride. "Now tell me about the man."

"He says his name is Alex and he was just here conducting business. He had the ruby. And about Svetlana, I will kill her."

"I don't know anything about anyone named Alex." Gorgy told Lei. "Let's find a way to make this work for both of us. Give me the ruby and I'll get Svetlana to come to you so you can have your revenge. Just be careful what you wish for."

"You have a deal!" Lei replied.

"Just be prepared for when she shows up."

"I will be. You don't have to worry about me."

"You say that now..."