CCCP

"Vlad."

"Unh?"

"What you want to eat?"

"Dunno. You?"

"I'm tired of shark fin."

"Da. Me, too."

"Here, have a drink."

Vladimir took the flask from his buddy. He studied the image of Lenin on the cap as he unscrewed it. 'Good and heavy. Not like cheap imitations today.' He took a couple of hard gulps of vodka and replaced the cap. He felt not only a warmth in his throat but also in his heart while he studied the Soviet Union emblems on the front of the flask. He remembered the anger of his parents when weak leaders broke up the country. He smiled at the sickle and hammer, knowing that his country was growing stronger again, their leader a lion and a bear, able to face down the Dragon of the East and the Eagle of the West and hold his own.

"How long we wait?"

"You got me. They say we gotta haul some crates out the back of some museum or other."

"'Break my back.'"

"Yeah, somethin' like that. Look, we can't sit here all day. It'll attract attention. What say we go down to Natalya's place for lunch?"

"'Okay by me.'"

"Hey, you don't have to keep trying to quote American sayings."

"'You're the boss!'"