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“I need your help.”
Nikolai had heard those words from Fariza many times before. Usually, it was something she could easily have accomplished herself – rounding up a horse that had gotten loose, getting something from a high shelf, carrying something heavy from the market to her home, on one occasion it had been completely ridiculous as she had three dogs who needed petting and only two hands. After the second time, one of his comrades had explained it to him. Asking for help was an excuse to spend time with him, and for her to provide proper gratitude. Of course Fariza could handle things herself, most of the time.
This time was different. There was no sparkle in her eye, no smile playing about her beautiful lips as she spoke. She was furious, and not the beautiful rage she got when a merchant tried to cheat her or one of her friends was being stupid. This was cold, and Nikolai was not at all surprised when she continued, “You may end up in serious trouble, if we get caught. There’s going to be a body, and I’ll need to hide it.”
“What do you need me for?” It was his usual response to her need for help, usually understood both as an acknowledgment of her capability and an invitation to tell him what she needed. In this case, it also gave him a moment to think about things. If Fariza was planning to kill someone, he was sure they deserved it, and if they could come up with a good enough plan, Nikolai had no objection.
“There are a few possibilities, depending on what you’re comfortable with,” Fariza said. “Come with me, we shouldn’t talk too much here.”
Fariza took him to her family’s horse paddock, waving to her father as they passed. “Mama thinks I should leave this for the soldiers to handle, since he’s one of theirs, but Papa says the soldiers probably won’t do anything, just ship him off to his next assignment.”
“What did he do?” Her father was probably right, but there were a few things that might have Fariza plotting murder that even the soldiers wouldn’t tolerate from one of their own.
“Artem told Tumar that she was his soulmate so she would have sex with him.” Tumar was one of Fariza’s best friends. “Somehow he was able to convince her, although I don’t know how, since he was lying. Now she’s pregnant, and he told her that if she tried to force him to marry her or pay child support he’d kill her and the baby both. And of course, her parents are going to kill her if she doesn’t marry the baby’s father, so making her a widow is the only way forward I can see.”
“I never liked Artem. Your papa’s right, though. At best, they’ll just ship him to Azerbaijan or something. Most likely, they’ll blame Tumar and attack her. It’s not worth it for her to try to go through channels.” Nikolai reached for his gun. “Are you wanting to handle matters yourself and just have me help cover up, or should I arrange a training accident? We’re scheduled for a live fire exercise the day after tomorrow, and well, guns malfunction all the time.”
“I knew there was a reason I picked you out of all the soldiers.” Fariza threw her arms around him. “As long as he can never do to another girl what he did to Tumar, I don’t care who does it. I’d even be okay with him living through things, as long he’s short a few relevant body parts.” Nikolai snorted. That might be worse punishment than death, for a man like Artem. “He’s started flirting with Gulya, so if you want to go with something that puts less risk on you, I was thinking have her lure him out somewhere isolated. I can do it, and then we just need to hide the body.”
“And fake the marriage paperwork, just in case,” Nikolai reminded her. “What about her soulmate? Will he be okay with marrying a widow with a child? Faking the marriage paperwork will get her taken care of as a soldier’s widow.”
“Oh, good thinking. And if we go for the live training exercise, killed in the line of duty. Are you sure you can make it look like an accident? After all, ruining a local girl isn’t worth much, but killing one of your own is the kind of thing that would get you in serious trouble with the army.”
Nikolai smirked. This would not be a problem. “I didn’t tell you, but last time we had a live training exercise, Artem accidentally shot the lieutenant in the arm. It was just a graze, but still, he’s let it be known that he would overlook a bit of revenge. I might get publicly scolded, but I don’t think there will be too much trouble over it.”
“Even with his death? You’re sure?”
“I’m sure enough to be willing to take the risk to rid the world of Artem and save Tumar.” Nikolai hugged Fariza. “There are a couple other soldiers I might be able to get in on this, without mentioning how I found out about what he did. That way no one could prove who was responsible.”
“All right, then.” Fariza hugged back. “Do you want your thanks now or after it’s done?” She pulled back and winked at him, smile back where it belonged. “Or both?”
Nikolai hesitated – but then, he was hardly taking advantage of Fariza. The only similarities here were that he was a soldier and Fariza was a local girl. He had never lied to her, never promised her anything beyond what they had, and she was almost always the one who initiated things. Still, he blurted out, “Marry me?”
“No.” She leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “My soulmate is a good man, one who will be coming home to Kazakhstan when he finishes his time in the army, so I won’t have to leave. I belong here. I am Kazakh, I have no interest in leaving my home. He knows I’m not being a good little girl and sitting at home waiting for him, so there’s no reason to expect him to be a problem for me.”
Things went even better than Nikolai had dared hope. Nikolai told his comrade Vasily what happened, and Vasily immediately went to the lieutenant. While at first Nikolai was concerned, it paid off, as the lieutenant gave Artem confusing orders that left him in the wrong place when live fire began. Nikolai would never know whether the person who fired the fatal shot was in on the scheme or not. Mikhail gave no indication he was bothered by the event. All he said was that Artem was a dumbass who should know better than to turn his back on a training exercise. The lieutenant wrote it up as an unfortunate accident for a soldier.
Fariza had gone one better than faking the marriage paperwork, and gone ahead with the plan to use Gulya to lure Artem out to the middle of nowhere. At gunpoint, he’d signed the marriage license. Tumar put up some protest at the thought of being stuck married to him, but Fariza was able to reassure her, and she didn’t even pretend to cry when Nikolai and Vasily came out to officially inform her and her family of her husband’s death and the pension she was now entitled to.
“That’s that handled, then,” Fariza said when Nikolai came by to let her know everything was taken care of. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“What happens now?” It seemed impossible that things would just go on as normal, but really, what change was there to expect? A bit stricter oversight during live fire exercises after two straight accidents, but other than that?
“Well, Tumar will have her dream next month so we’ll know what her soulmate’s like. Hopefully he’s not awful, but if he is, well… she’ll be all right, thanks to the pension.” Fariza smirked at him. “No one’s in trouble, so nothing has to change. You keep helping me, I’ll keep being grateful, and unless something happens to extend your stay here you’ll be gone before my soulmate comes home.”
“I wish you were my soulmate,” Nikolai mused. “If something happens, if your soulmate does turn out to have a problem with you not being a good little girl or he doesn’t end up coming home, will you call me?”
Fariza’s head tilted with curiosity. “What’s with your soulmate, that you would ask me that?”
“He got caught.” Nikolai grinned at the look on her face. “His uncle was in many ways like Artem, and he tried to do something about it but didn’t finish the job. That was before I had my dream. Last summer, when he made a break for the West, he was caught and killed. A shame, but I don’t really see a way we could have gotten a good ending.”
“No, you’re probably right.” Fariza kissed his cheek. “In that case, yes, if I find myself needing a backup plan, I will call you.”