This story is dedicated to my long-time reviewer, good friend, ex-classmate, schoolmate, resident idiot Serana, whose fervent passion for Russia (and a certain cute czar), obsession with St. Petersburg and love for guys' names which start with 'A' greatly amuses me.

Kudos to that Russia obsessor for helping me come up with the summary and helping me pick out titles from a rubbish-y list I gave her. ) So........this is for ya, you Artem-lover!

Summary

When in Russia, do as the Russians do. Or so she, student cum CIA agent extraordinaire was told before an assignment sends her miles away to Russia, on a dangerous mission to infiltrate a terrorist organization, and while she's at it, locate him, the missing heir of the wealthiest man in America. However, things aren't as simple as they seem, and what will happen when their worlds collide?

Prologue

By Citharia

"Max!"

Maxwell Eaton's head snapped up at the sound of his name, and grinning broadly, he waved to the figure which had appeared at the front door of the huge mansion. The figure waved back, and even at this distance, he could see the confusion and shock written all over his face.

"Oh god. Are you completely out of your mind?" Isaak Korolev (or Zack, as he preferred to be called) burst out the moment Max was in earshot, "calling me at six in the morning to tell me that you're waiting at my doorstep! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Zack," Max replied dryly, "and to answer your questions, no, I am not out of my mind. I assure you that I'm completely sane-"

"That remains to be seen," Zack muttered.

"-and as to the other question, my family's in Russia because my dad has some matters to settle here. And being the sentimental guy I was, I decided to drop in to see my old buddy…" Max smiled lopsidedly, "with explosive results."

Both stood looking at each other silently, before Zack broke into a huge smile, and clapped Max on the back. He responded with a light punch on the former's shoulder.

"You idiot. I think you woke up the whole neighborhood when you screeched 'WHAT?!?!' into the phone five minutes ago…not to mention…I think you broke my eardrums." Max rubbed his ear ruefully.

Zack laughed, and stood back, scrutinizing him carefully. Max raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"What are you looking at?" Zack ignored him, and jabbed a finger into his chest dramatically.

"Hey!"

"Hey." Max gave him a bemused smile.

"You've grown taller. You're taller than me!" Zack widened his eyes and pretended to wail. Max nodded.

"Yep. I'm taller. And bigger. And hotter. And smarter. You mean you haven't realized it by now?" Max smirked, pretending to toss his hair. Zack laughed, punching him in the shoulder. Both fell into companionable silence, grinning at each other stupidly, before Zack spoke again.

"Wanna go sightseeing?"

Max gave him a skeptical look, used to his habit of changing topics randomly…he liked to call it Attention Deficit Syndrome. It seemed as if Isaak Korolev had not changed one bit over the past year.

"At six in the morning?"

"At six in the morning," Zack nodded enthusiastically.

"I bet you haven't even brushed your teeth yet."

"I did!" Zack grinned and bared his teeth at Max. The latter laughed at his uncanny resemblance to a Cheshire cat.

"Right now?"

"Right now." Zack jumped up and down in front of him, waving his arms.

Max yawned, "I'm all jet-lagged, buddy, and-"

"Forget jet lag! C'mon! It'd be fun!" Zack bounced on his heels, "you can't come to St. Petersburg and not visit the Palace Square! You know, the place where they shot all the people on Bloody Sunday for protesting for some goodness-knows-what movement, the one we learnt during history class two years back-"

"They were petitioning for relief to the King. And that's way too sadistic for such an early hour," Max added wryly.

Zack continued, as if Max hadn't spoken at all.

"-and then there's the Church on Spilled Blood, yeah, that place where the terrorist dude tossed a bomb at the Tsar, and-"

"What's with you and bloody scenes?" Max gave him a weird look, "and it's Grinevsky, not 'that terrorist dude'. You need some checking in the upper region, friend."

Zack continued to ignore him, and rambled on. "Of course, there's Isaac Square! That place is named after me, I tell you! That place is awesome, it's got a huge cathedral in it, and then there's this monument of some person which is only supported on two legs! How about it, huh, huh? Come on, you know you want to!"

"Firstly, this place is not named after you. It's been there first. Secondly, the name's Nicholas the First…we learnt it in Art Appreciation together, remember? Lastly…no. Dear old Nick might fall on me. Then that's the end of my nice vacation…that and Isaak what-the-hell-is-your-middle-name- Korolev, I think you forgot to take your medication."

"It's…uh, Karp. It means fish, I think."

"Fish." Max nodded skeptically. "Fish. Boy, your parents sure had great imagination in names, don't you think?"

"Uh huh. But seriously, anyway, don't you wanna go?" Zack waved his hands erratically around Max's face, "Довольно пожалуйста?"

"I don't even know what the heck that means."

"It means pretty please. C'mon! It'll be so fun!" Zack pleaded, "I'll be so bored, if I have to stay at home the whole day!"

Max gave him a wry look.

"Don't you have any friends besides me?"

"COME ON!" begged Zack, "We haven't seen each other for such a long time too! I promise I'll take my medication. I promise to stay away from two-legged statues. I swear on my Scout badges that you'll be in one piece when you return. I promise-"

"You were never a Scout. I don't think your last outdoor wilderness trainer has left the mental ward yet. Where are you going to get those badges then?"

"Maxie-boy…"

Max laughed. "Gosh, you are deprived. Alright, so me, being the tall, big, hot and smart guy that I am," he grinned cheekily, "shall be nice, and allow you to drag me around St. Petersburg sightseeing. And secondly…DON'T EVER CALL ME MAXIE-BOY AGAIN, OR I'LL FEED YOU TO THE KARPS!"

Zack slapped his hand on Max's shoulder triumphantly, ignoring the threat.

"All right! Love ya, Maxie-boy."

Wryly, Max slid into the waiting limo, and Zack tumbled in after him, rubbing his hands gleefully.

"James. To Palace Square."

The driver nodded, and started the engine. Max leaned back comfortably, closing his eyes.

"Jet lag," he yawned, "call me up when we're there, I need a nap."

"Alright, Maxie-boy." Zack purred. Max gave a groan.

His felt his eyes drooping, and tiredly, he leaned his head against the tinted side windows. He felt himself drifting off, and allowed the tempting darkness to…

Bam!

Max's eyes flew open as the limo's windscreen shattered. Both boys yelped as they cowered to the floor of the limo, covering their faces from the shards of glass. The driver slumped forward, unconscious, a trickle of blood running down his forehead.

What the-

But even before he finished the thought, he felt a sudden pain at the back of his neck. The world spun, and finally turned black.

The last thing that flashed through his mind, was how ironic Zack's previous statement had been.

"I swear on my Scout badges that you'll be in one piece when you return."

What tremendous irony…

Haha...okay. I'm putting Stella Polaris on hold as of now, and this has become my new pet project. It's been pretty fun writing and planning out this story, and I'm determined to complete this story this time... XD

By the way, what do you guys think of the title? )

Please R&R!