3 ponyat', razobrat'sya Ex: to make out the meaning of a word ponyat' znachenie slova Ex: as far as I can make out naskol'ko ya ponimayu Ex: I can't make out what he says ya ne mogu soobrazit' (razobrat', ponyat'), chto on hochet skazat'. If you want to say “stop” in Russian to someone who is talking a lot or if you want to indicate that something is enough, you can just say “hvatit”. When you explore Russian more in-depth, you will see that there are more ways to say “stop” in Russian.
A Hedley song.
A very inspirational Hedley song.
'Hey I just got a star!'
'Holy shit your invincible!'
'Fuck yougoombas!'
Roy Halladay
Cliff Lee
Roy Oswalt
Cole Hamels
Incapable of being conquered.
'I might aswell give up, his comebacks are Invincible'
Chris: Yeah... It's unbelievable.
Quentin: Face it, Drake... I won't be flinching anytime soon!
Trending RN - June 16, 2019
- 1. sprink
- 2. sttdb
- 3. De-spunk
- 4. weewee
- 5. the hoe filter
- 6. stabbing
- 7. dip your chip
- 8. ric flair drip
- 9. Grey Goose
- 10. euphemism treadmill
- 11. twang
- 12. RUH
- 13. b hole
- 14. Ahee
- 15. putri
- 16. Give rounds
- 17. Getting Neck
- 18. truist
- 19. Scooch a mooch
- 20. Go Forth and Multiply
- 21. cuckooing
- 22. cranberry juice
- 23. Lighty
- 24. rose petal
- 25. my ninja
- 26. philussy
- 27. battree
- 28. del gato
- 29. Jaehyun
- 30. Silverback Gorilla
Hello again, happy readers! This was originally part of Chapter 11, but it got to be too huge so I split it up. Thank you to all the folks who take the time to review. Special thanks to Tango Mike Charlie and Viktorija for their help on this one.
Their flight from Vienna International Airport landed in Moscow and they made their way through customs and baggage claim without incident. The second Rick opened his mouth, Kate placed a finger to his lips. 'Not this time, superstar. You're in MY house now. We'll test out how well you've learned from me later on.'
She signaled a clean-looking taxi, then addressed the driver who was already hurrying to load their luggage in his trunk. 'Pozhaluysto, Gostinitsi Metropol.'
The driver flicked an eyebrow at her native-perfect pronunciation. 'S'oodavoylstviem, Gospozha.'
They checked into the Metropol Hotel and were shown to their room. This time their view was of the Bolshoi Theater. A framed print of an outdoor scene hung on the wall above the king sized bed. Beside the bed there was small vanity table, and by the windows there was a seating area with a round table and several chairs, upholstered in a blue that matched the drapes. There was a padded bench at the foot of the bed, and Kate crossed the Berber carpeting and settled herself, taking in the room. 'Wow, another amazing place.' She swiveled to look at him where he was unpacking his luggage. 'I don't know if I will ever be able to thank you enough for making this trip so incredible. I know I was a brat at times, but having the destinations be a surprise was sort of fun.'
His smile was gentle and shone with love. 'Of course. Anything for you, you know that.'
After several days in Moscow, they had seen the Botanical Garden, Lenin's Mausoleum, the Museum of Cosmonautics and the circus. They'd strolled along the Moskva River one evening, watching the city lights reflecting off the water. Now Kate and Rick stood side by side before St Basil's Cathedral, admiring the onion shaped domes adorned with numerous bold colors and patterns. Rick was just about to make a comment when he heard a familiar name being called. 'Katya? Katya!' He tapped her shoulder and pointed at the woman quickly approaching them. 'Someone knows you?'
Kate followed his gaze, then let out an uncharacteristic squeal. 'YARI!' she greeted when the blonde reached them.
After jubilant hugging, Kate turned back to him. 'Rick, this is Yarmilla Stepanovna. Her family hosted me during my semester in Kiev.'
'Yari, eto moi moozh, my husband, Richard Castle. We're here on honeymoon, actually.'
'Ah otlichno, excellent, Katya.' She turned to shake Rick's hand. 'Ochen preeyatno! Pleasure to meet you. Katya, skazhi menya, tell me, what did you do after you completed your studies?'
'I'm a police detective now.'
'A tvoi moozh, on tozhe politseeyskiy?'
'Nyet, on pisatel' Kate replied with a smile.
'A writer, eh? Castle…' She looked thoughtful, then gasped. 'The one you wrote me about? Katya, you married the one who means so much to you? You sent me one of his books, da? I thought he looked familiar.'
Kate blushed. 'Yari. Hvatit.' She spoke a bit more sharply than was necessary.
Yarmilla blinked. 'Enough?'
'Pozhaluysto?' Kate added, with a faint pleading tone.
Yari looked from Kate to Rick and back. 'Oh, you mean he does not know?'
'He didn't, until just now, thank you.' Kate cast a sidelong glance at Rick. The corner of his mouth curled. He would be pressing for more details about that later, she could tell.
They found a café where they could sit and get caught up. Kate noticed that Yari looked stressed. 'Something's wrong, Yari. What is it?'
'I just attended the funeral for Dyadya Ivan.' Kate shared her grief. Yari's uncle, dead? Her father had been the oldest in a long line of siblings. Ivan had been the youngest, so he actually wasn't much older than the two women.
'How did it happen?'
Yari shook her head. 'The police, they say, ehm, samo-oobeestvo.' She fluttered her hands. 'Ugh. Kak skazat. How do you say, suicide? We find him in his room but I know, he was not that sad. He was mixed up with Russian mafia, they lure men in, promise good money for small jobs. Maybe he see too much. I tell police, but they will not investigate. Bribes, eh?' Looking hopeful, she regarded Kate. 'But you are police now.' Then 'no, it is too much to ask.'
Kate looked at her friend, at the frown creasing her forehead as she fidgeted with her napkin. She glanced at Rick, now her partner in EVERY sense of the word. 'Once again, we're way out of our jurisdiction, but…'
Even as he took in the determination on his wife's face, Castle quailed. 'Last time we went up against the Russian mafia, it was on our turf, not theirs, and you just barely saved my ass. I'm not sure I'm ready to be your ONLY only backup.'
She looked at him, surprised. 'You want to walk away from a mystery? What would Themis say?' she asked, tapping his chest where she knew the charm hung.
He flinched 'Not fair. I want us both to walk away from this trip, with all the body parts still accounted for and connected.'
'It isn't like we're going on a raid, just see if we can check their work a little.' She held his gaze, waiting.
Castle smiled. 'I'm in it with you, of course I am.'
Nodding, she turned back to Yarmilla. 'Did a doctor do any examination after his death? A coroner, or a medical examiner? Was there a report?'
'I can find out.'
'Also, did they give your family his personal effects, his clothes?'
Yari nodded.
'Ok, let's go to your family's house. We can look at the report, maybe, and his belongings.'
At the Stepanovna house, Kate read the police and coroner's report. 'Hmm. Narkoticov… what? Yari, shtoperedozirovka?'
'Drug overdose.' Yari supplied. 'But I told them he did not do drugs.'
'Bruises on his arms, but no explanation of cause. I'd love Lanie to give this a second look. Let's see, 4pm here, so...' she did a quick calculation in her head, '8am back in New York. Yari, is there a fax machine anywhere that you could use?'
'Da, at biblioteka, the library at the Politeknik .'
Kate turned to Rick, who already had his phone out. 'Yes, of course I have the M.E.'s fax number.'
While he jotted it on the front of the folder, Kate resumed reading. 'There was a note?'
'I told police it was NOT his writing.'
'What did they say?' Castle asked.
'They say family is always last to know,' she replied bitterly.
Next Kate asked Yari for a white sheet. She laid it out on the table and carefully unfolded Ivan's clothing over it. 'These pants look brand new.'
'Yes, he got them the day before he died. What person that sad buys new pants? And those bruises, they say he get them days before, but I saw him, he show me his new pants, new shirt, short sleeves, no bruises.' Yari was vehement on this point.
Kate nodded in agreement, acquiring new clothing was not exactly common with depressed, suicidal people. She looked closely at the pocket flap. 'Something is caught in the Velcro…' She fished in her purse and produced a small vinyl pouch, one inch on a side. From it she extracted a tiny magnifying lens on a hinged frame.
Castle snickered. 'Thought police don't use those anymore, 'not since Sherlock', was it?'
'Yeah well, I found this on line. It's meant for verifying thread counts, but I thought it might come in handy, in case YOU ever asked for one again. Yari, do you have some clear tape and a toothpick?'
Using the toothpick she pulled a thread that was tangled in the plastic loops of the pocket closure. She stuck it to the tape and folded the other half over, making a primitive slide of it. She held it up to the light, angling this way and that, even using the lens to study it. With a triumphant 'Aha!' she grinned at her friend and Castle. To be certain she looked around the room, went through the drawers and the closet.
'Yari, how many women live in this house now?'
'Just my grandmother, why?'
'Does she own anything in iridescent turquoise silk?' Normally she left fiber ID up CSU, but she had taken a basic forensic course as a part of her criminal justice program, and she remembered the unique characteristics of silk threads.
'Babushka? No way.'
'The Mafia he was working for. Do they run strip clubs like their American dwelling cousins?'
'Yes, I think so. Once he brought home a girl, Babushka talked about it for a week, she was NOT a nice girl. Too much make-up, she say. Too much…' she gestured to her own chest, and for the sake of his own survival, Rick tried very hard NOT to follow the directions her fingers were giving his eyes, 'grood.'
Glancing at the discomfiture on Rick's face, Kate decided that one needed no translation. She saw that despite a valiant, visible effort to do otherwise, his eyes were drawn involuntarily to her friend's breasts. She bit back a smile, knowing that, as a visual learner, he had just acquired a brand new word in his vocabulary. She wouldn't hold it against him, and it might even come in handy later, when she asked him to touch her.
They went to the library and Kate and Yari went to the appropriate desk to get the report faxed to Lanie.
Rick wandered around, as libraries were a joy of his. By chance he found his way to the mystery section, if the images of chalk outlines, guns and blood pools on the covers was any indication. Scanning the shelves for a familiar combination of white print on bold colors, he let out a little cry of satisfaction when he spotted some of the novels from his own body of work.
Suspecting what he was up to, Kate came and found him easily. 'Well, the report has been sent, now we wait. Let's go get some dinner.'
Yari took them to a nearby restaurant. Kate's phone rang as they were eating dessert. Lanie's admonishing tone hit her through the speaker. 'Even on your honeymoon, you manage to catch a case? Why can't you just stay in the hotel and make like bunnies, like everyone else does?'
'Because I can stare at four bedroom walls in New York. If I'm going to another country, I'm going to SEE the country. Besides, I can't stand sloppy cops, you know that. Now do you have anything for me or not?'
'I do. The pictures and description of the bruising, those were perimortem, hours old. Something else is funny, too. The levels of drugs in his system, they define 'overkill'. He'd have slipped into unconsciousness at a much lower dose, so I'm thinking he had some 'help' administering the rest.'
'Thanks, Lanie! I owe you.'
'No, you don't, girl, your gift arrived last night. You really shouldn't have, it's gorgeous.'
After ending the call, Kate relayed the news to Rick and Yari. 'Only one or two things left to do. Do you know exactly where Ivan worked?'
'Da, but it makes no difference. You have done enough, given my family enough. We know now that we did were not blind, like police say.'
Ignoring her for the moment, Kate regarded Rick. 'Do you have any markers left at the State Department that you could call in?'
'Maybe one or two, why?'
'I just think the authorities here ought to know that not everyone bought their line of bull, and maybe that message ought to come from a little higher up the food chain. If we can provide them with specifics, so much the better.'
They returned to their hotel and dressed for a night out, then paid a visit to the club where Ivan had worked. It wasn't difficult to figure out who was in charge, and Kate managed to keep Rick's eyes off the gyrating strippers by telling him HE was in charge of surreptitiously snapping pictures of the major players.
Back in their room, Rick was charged up. They'd had their own little spy adventure, surrounded by half naked women, no less. Now the memory of Yarmilla's inadvertent revelation that Kate's feelings about him had pre-dated his for her had him gearing up for an interrogation of his own. He decided to employ his favorite questioning technique. Waiting until Kate was beneath him in post-coital bliss, he stroked her cheek and asked, 'So, what was Yari saying earlier? 'The one who means so much to you?'
Forcing her eyes to focus, she glared at him. 'Ooh. You don't fight fair either, do you?'
'The way I see it, this is one of the only times I ever have the upper hand,' he replied mildly.
'You think you do, but I'm not dishing, so I guess you don't.'
'Really? We'll see about that.' And with that, he brought his hand down her neck, over the swell of her breast and down to her ribcage, where he proceeded to tickle her without mercy. She was just weak enough that she couldn't effectively fight him off. She tried clamping her arms to her sides, but he went for her neck instead. When she lifted her hands to protect her neck, he attacked her ribs again. Finally, after struggling to catch her breath, she cracked.
'Ok, you win.' Her smile slowly faded as she summoned the memories. She told him all about how reading his books had been like a safe harbor for her in all of the emotional turmoil following her mother's murder. In his characters she found kindred spirits that fought for justice, and when they obtained it, she felt vindicated, just a little. Her eyes got misty as she related the last part, and he crushed her to him.
'God, what an ass I am. Kate I swear, if I knew it was that, I never would have pushed it. Why didn't you just shut me down?'
'You are hard to resist. And besides, it was long overdue.'
Yari insisted on driving them to the airport and seeing them off, thanking them repeatedly for what they had done for her. They wouldn't know for a while if anything would come of it, but at least her family was no longer left with the legacy that Ivan had taken his own life. She hugged Kate fiercely. 'Katya, spacibo bolshoe.' She then planted a noisy kiss on Rick's cheek before waving goodbye at the security checkpoint.
They boarded their plane and settled in the first class section. Rather than trying to go more than 10 hours nonstop, they opted for a flight with a connection in Zurich so that they could stretch their legs. They visited the duty free shop and purchased gift assortments of Swiss chocolate for Kate's father and the Captain. Montgomery's was extra large, a thanks for arranging the schedule so that Kate could have a full month off. Rick also purchased liter bottles of German ale for Ryan and Esposito.
In her seat on the Swiss Air flight to New York, Kate reflected on the amazing odyssey they had been on. She gripped Rick's hand tightly and looked at him, beyond words. He met her gaze knowingly and smiled. 'You're welcome, Mrs. Castle.'
So the honeymoon is, as they say, over. I have just made the decision to end this volume of their story here, as it feels like a nice complete unit. However, never fear because I have lots more adventures in store for them! Stay tuned for the next installment, 'So Good Together'