Chapter Text
Aleksandr Mikeylevich paced back and forth in front of the warehouses near the Zatonsk train station. It was cold and getting colder, now that the sun had set. Aleksy’s vantage point allowed him to stay in the shadows but still have a clear view of the main entrance to the station. Dressed in a wool overcoat and hat, Aleksandr was warm enough. He was anxious, though. He and Goboryev failed to get the documents from the Mironov woman. They should have been prepared - of course Shtolman would have his people staked out at her home.
The train to St. Petersburg was scheduled to leave Zatonsk at ten that evening, half an hour from now. Aleksy and Goboryev had been at the station for an hour already. When they arrived, men were rushing every which way - carrying loads to and from the cars. So much activity it was hard to scan the crowd for Anna Mironova and Shtolman’s men. And there could always be more of them, ones they hadn’t seen already. They were betting that Shtolman would be on this train. Maybe Miss Mironova, too.
The mad rush of loading and unloading cargo had eased; passenger traffic was picking up, but that had slowed in the last quarter hour. Aleksandr saw Goboryev step outside and wave in his direction, indicating Aleksy should come in.
“I just saw them,” Goboryev said in a hushed voice as Aleksy joined him. “Mironova and Shtolman.”
“Are you sure? How do you know it’s them?” Aleksandr Mikeylevich asked.
Goboryev shrugged. “I remember the coat and hat she was wearing. Shtolman - I don’t know. There was a man escorting her - could be him.”
“Yeah, okay.” Aleksy agreed. “Where are they?”
Goboryev nodded his head toward the ticket counter. Aleksandr Mikeylevich looked up to locate the couple. Several men in dark coats and derbies were clustered at the back of the ticket office. A couple with three children were huddled in intense conversation close to one of the windows. At the window next to them was a man in a dark grey overcoat and similarly colored hat, leaning in to talk to the clerk. Aleksy saw the Mironov woman now. Just behind the grey coat.
As the man and woman walked out of the ticket office and down the platform, Goboryev and Aleksy followed them. The couple walked slowly, looking at the numbers on the cars as they passed. The crowds dwindled as they moved farther along. Aleksy nudged Goboryev. With some hand signs and a few words he conveyed his idea to waylay the targeted couple near car eight - a lamp was out.
Goboryev and Aleksandr Mikeylevich quickened their pace to close the gap between them and their quarry. Approaching car eight, Goboryev moved swiftly to the left, setting himself up a bit ahead of Shtolman and Mironova. Other passengers were around, but none closer than a car length. Aleksandr pulled his pistol from his holster, keeping it close to his chest and under his coat. A few steps before the darkened lamppost, Aleksy bumped hard into the man from the right. Grey coat stumbled left, the woman halted. He looked up at Aleksy, surprised and ready with his own firearm. It wasn’t Shtolman. Aleksy recognized him as one of the officers from the Zatonsk police department.
Goboryev grabbed the woman, threatening her with a pistol to her back. Grey coat and Aleksy stood unmoving, their guns pointed at each other. Aleksy ventured a look at the Mironov woman and Goboryev. Something was off. The woman tipped her head up, letting the light fall on her face. “What!” Aleksy shouted, angry and dismayed. Aleksandr Mikeylevich saw a man’s face, not Anna Viktorovna’s. Goboryev swung his captive round, responding to Aleksy’s red face and bulging eyes. He shoved the Mironova imitator towards grey coat and took off. Grey coat was knocked forward. Aleksandr withdrew his weapon and ran after Goboryev.
Anton Andreievich, lead investigator of the Zatonsk police department, retrieved his grey derby and straightened his coat. Special officer Nimav from St. Petersburg, pulled down on the unbelievably uncomfortable, and slightly too small green gown. The men congratulated themselves on a job well done and headed down the platform back to the station entrance.