Knock knock knock…

The sound of knocking came suddenly to their ears, followed by a male Russian voice. “Sir, it’s time to go.” 

The two people on the bed stiffened, as if they had been instantly frozen by the Siberian wind. 

Knock knock knock…

“Sir, did you hear me?” came the Russian man’s voice. 

Long Bing and Xia Lei came back to their senses and hurriedly got off the bed. 

Knock knock knock…

“Stop knocking,” said Xia Lei in Russian. He was annoyed. “We hear you.” 

“Yes, Sir. I’ll wait out here,” said the Russian soldier outside the door. 

Long Bing had her clothes on already. She looked at the watch on her wrist and frowned. “Wasn’t it supposed to be 0400 hrs? It’s not even 0100 hrs yet. Is this how Russian people keep time?” 

She was in a bad mood. A rare chance had come for her to experience what it was like to be...