The "Golden Eagle", the most luxurious train the Trans-Siberian Railway could offer, was waiting in the large station of Vladivostok. The morning sun was not enough to melt the piece of ice hanging from the roof of the building.

A taxi stopped in front of the station. Two young men got off the vehicle. A young officer in his shining officer ran to them, he adjusted the small nametag on the side of his jacket with "Ivanov" written on it.

"Good morning Mr... Ivanov right? I'm Pran, and this is my assistant Wai, can we ask you to take care of our bags?" Pran asked politely. The young man nodded and called another colleague to help him.

"Do you want a cup of tea before we get on the train?" Wai proposed.

"Excellent idea Wai, I will never get used to the cold weather of Siberia..." Pran replied. They both walked to the lounge, next to the platform where the train was stationed. Pran sat down while Wai told him that he had to go to the toilet for a moment.

A waiter stopped by his table and asked if he wanted to order something or if he preferred to wait for his friend. Pran hesitated for a moment, he looked at the menu and then turned to the waiter who was still standing.

"Two cups of tea and a slice of chocolate cake with some cream on top, is it possible?" Pran replied.

"Of course sir, I will be back in a minute" the waiter replied before disappearing in the crowd of the station.

A few seconds later Wai came back from the toilet. He sat down and asked what he ordered, Pran smiled at him and responded:

"Two cups of tea and a slice of cake for me, I would have take it for you too but... I noticed that you're making a lot of physical activity lately... I did not want to waste all your efforts" Pran said chuckling.

"Oh, I'm glad that you noticed it. Anyway, I just remembered that the receptionist gave me a telegram from Moscow this morning before leaving for the station" Wai added.

"Really? Have you already read it Wai?"

"Not yet, I just know that Louis wrote it, here it is" Wai replied and handed it to him. Pran took it and read the content of the telegram.

"Interesting... Louis is in Moscow at the moment, my father told him that we are going to Saint Petersburg to attend that conference to expand his business, Louis says that he will join us when the train will arrive in Moscow so that we can do the last part of the journey together" Pran explained.

"Really good, oh, here is our order" Wai remarked as he saw a waiter coming with a tray in his hands. Pran gave him some money before the waiter left.

Wai put a lump of sugar in their cups and stirred the tea. He then looked at his boss and handed him the cup.

"Your tea Pran" he said smiling. Pran thanked him and took it. While Wai was drinking it calmly, Pran was looking around, observing the crowd of the station. There were a lot of people in the lounge, some were having pleasant conversations while some others were reading newspapers.

His eyes stopped when he noticed something weird among that mass of people... two young men sitting around one of the marble tables of the room. One of them was constantly turning, like he was searching for someone. His friend was reading a newspaper but... it was upside down. Before he could look at them more carefully Wai interrupted him.

"Perhaps we should go now, if we go later there will be too many people on the platform, don't you agree?" Wai asked. His friend nodded, he rapidly ate his slice of cake and stood up. He took his little briefcase and walked to the platform with his assistant.

"Excuse me sir, I have to control your tickets before letting you on board" an officer asked as he saw the two young men approaching. Wai gave him the two tickets, the officer nodded and handed them back.

"Perfect sir, you may enter now. Your bags are already in your cabins. If you need anything there is a button next to the lamp of the night table, a steward will arrive immediately to help you" the officer explained. Wai and Pran thanked them and walked inside.

"Pran, I will work on a few documents for your father, I will be ready in a few minutes if you want to have a drink in the smoking car. What do you think?" Wai asked.

"Sure, no problem. I will check my room and wait for you there, see you later Wai" Pran said before closing the door of his first class cabin. Wai silently walked to his second class cabin and poured some water from a jug into a crystal glass to calm his thirst.

Pran looked outside. The train was about to leave, some officer were shouting at the passengers on the platform "All aboard! All aboard!". Pran recognized the two men from the lounge, they were Pat and Korn, what were they doing there? A woman with a large hat and an elegant coat was waiting for them near the entrance of the first class.

"Enter, come on, I already gave the tickets to the officer, get on board" Pa said irritated. Korn got on board in time, Pat luckily got helped by the steward at the door. Pat turned to him and bowed lightly.

"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience" Pat said to the young man.

"Do not worry sir, it is not the first time something like this happens" the steward replied.