AliasSydney502
Cadet
oooooo awesome backstory!! Grigor saved her!! yay!!
*what's sodomized mean?*
*what's sodomized mean?*
SENTINEL
- Thread starter lenafan
- Start date
Chapter 15
Evening
Early that evening, Jack and the two girls listened to Katya, who told them the SVR still had not found any trace of Nicholai Petroffskiy. He was not in his office and his apartment, searched by both the police and her, revealed nothing significant. There was no trace of his or Irina’s whereabouts.
Sydney and Grigor returned from their nighttime quest with three names of the men Nicholai hired to help him with the kidnapping. Unfortunately, no one knew where the men stayed. They were now waiting for more information, if it was forthcoming, from the men and women who were informed they’d be well paid if they could locate the three.
It was two days plus since Sydney and Irina were kidnapped. Jack made a call to Marshall at APO. He wanted the resident genius in gadgets and computers to help them by utilizing Echelon to tap into the Russian satellites.
“If you can do it without anyone suspecting,” said Jack. He was calling from the bedroom so Katya would not hear the conversation. “I don’t want to endanger our capabilities by informing any Russian official that we can.”
“Yes sir.”
“Can you?”
“Y-yes, but I have to be careful. I can’t do it in an hour, at least not with your parameters.”
Jack grimaced. He knew Marshall was the best…at least to his mind. The man was a genius when it came to computers and data hunting was just a game to him. PlayStation 3 on a worldwide stage. This time, however, it could be more than that. He looked at his watch. It was early morning in Los Angeles, and nearly six in the evening here. “Marshall, can you give me an estimate…anything?”
“Anywhere from a day or less. I’ve got to be careful.”
“Yes, yes…I understand.” Jack grimaced. “Do the best you can. Have Rachel call me with an update.”
“Do you want me to get her involved?”
“Just have her call. Don’t tell Dixon anything. Sydney is all right. This is about my wife.” Jack was aware that some people in the CIA were not an Irina Derevko fan. She had fallen off the ten most wanted, but she was still wanted. If caught, Jack had no illusions as to her fate. The CIA had a long memory.
“Okay.” He cut transmission.
Jack walked out of the bedroom where he’d made the call. Katya was watching Sydney and Nadia, who were putting food together for dinner. She looked up at Jack as he returned.
“Find out anything?”
“No…no nibbles from anyone yet. I have to be careful. Dealing with the CIA for information about Irina is dangerous. They would sooner see her dead…”
He didn’t say why, because Katya knew very well what her sister had been trained to do for their country. She shrugged, keeping silent. She was not about to drag up the past. It was Irina’s future she was concerned with now, especially as Jack was retired…at least that’s what he said. Not looking at him, she studied the tealeaves in her cup as though they would give her answers.
“We’ll have to pray that someone will call,” said Nadia, setting the table. “Next time, I get to go with Grigor.” She had fallen in love with the giant. Sydney told her everything she knew about him.
“Depends on the information we get,” countered Sydney. “Maybe we’ll both go.”
“Don’t argue…we’ll decide when we have to.” Jack smiled.
“Tell me, Jack,” Katya looked up at him, “don’t you think you’d better let the police and SVR find Irina?”
“Not if I find out where she is first.” He was not stupid. Irina, who was still The Man in the criminal world, was wanted for questioning about certain activities. He did not doubt however, she would find a way to extract herself from their clutches if caught. He wondered about the phone call Sydney made and to whom.
***
Irina was hungry and thirsty. It was now two days since Nicholai brought her here and was without water or anything to eat. Tied down, her body was rebelling. Her feet were numb. Her left arm was numb and she had an occasional spasm in it. She could move it only slightly. The air was beginning to stink with the decomposition and Nicholai was beginning to swell. It would get worse by tomorrow, she thought. Tonight it would be cold and the body’s response would slow until the morning.
The rustling along the floor reminded her again that the rats were busy at the body. She couldn’t see anything and perhaps it was just as well. She would see it in the morning unless they found her first. She knew she was close to the river, she could smell it slightly above the other smell. Irina kept her right hand and arm over her face. She was not expecting the rats to bother her yet. Still she was ready in case any came exploring.
The gun! She had not stopped thinking about it or how close it was…just under his jacket under his waistband. She tried to figure out how she could get to it. She struggled three times to reach it, but was always prevented by the length of the links in the handcuff. Damn it!
She was going to have to do something radical if she wanted it. It meant a choice of was the gun worth the pain she would have or not. Irina decided the only way she would get the gun was to dislocate her upper arm from the shoulder joint. It would be painful. She could not hesitate once she made the decision to go for it. She must get the gun. She had to have protection and it was the only thing that would give it to her.
The night passed as she waited for the light to make its way into the room. It was dim at best, so she did not want to risk trying for the gun in pitch-blackness. She kept listening at the rats working at Nicholai. She did not want to see what they accomplished so kept her mind occupied with thoughts of the past…of Jack and Sydney and Nadia.
A tear escaped down her cheek as she thought of her youngest. Nadia was a newborn baby when the KGB took her from her. They told her that Nadia was the property of the state. The KGB would raise her and Irina Derevko was to go back to Central City to teach new spies English. That was the condition of her having her freedom. Irina cried the rest of the day and all that night.
The next day Irina had made up her mind that she would find Nadia some day, some how. In the meantime, she would be the perfect comrade. In her mind though, she registered the names of those responsible, not only for the terror in Kashmir, but also for this—the kidnapping of her baby. They would pay if it took her the rest of her life.
The third rapist lived in a small town in Belarus and near Minsk, the capitol. It was as The Man that she tracked him down. With Grigor, she went to Minsk to take care of business and to find him. On completion of her meeting, she and Grigor drove out to the little town where the rapist lived. Using Grigor, as once the sergeant in charge, they caught up with Anton Simelivich in a bar. He was surprised to see Grigor, who entered the bar alone. Irina was waiting outside.
“Hah, Anton, how are you?”
“Sgt. Grigor…what are you doing here?” He blinked. “It has been many years since Kashmir.”
“Do you want to make some rubles…a thousand, maybe more?”
Anton’s eyes lighted up. “Da! Doing what?”
“I let my boss tell you. Come with me.” Grigor put his finger to his lips, indicating Anton should not say anything to anyone. Anton nodded. “I go first. You come five minutes, okay? Come to first alley on your left.”
“Sure!”
Five minutes later, Anton Simelivich left the bar. He bid his drinking companions a good night and then went into the night. He walked down the street and turned into the alley. Up ahead he could see two figures in the gloom. Grigor, of course, he knew, but the other he did not. Surprisingly, it was a woman, who was quite beautiful.
“Good evening, Comrade Simelivich!” Her voice was deep and rich in resonance.
“No longer comrade, just Anton.” He said. “What do you want me to do for money?”
“Actually, nothing, Comrade.” Her voice was cold. “I have come a long way to find you. It has taken many years, but here you are.”
He frowned. What was she talking about? He did not know her, he thought. He tried to see her more clearly, but it was too dark.
“I don’t know you, Madame.”
She chuckled, somewhat ominously, he thought. What was going on here? He began having some doubts about the entire affair. He started to edge back toward the street.
“How soon you forget. I never forgot.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t move.”
“Hel…” He started to yell, but a large massive hand closed over his mouth.
“My name is Irina Derevko, you fuking son of a bitch.”
Terrified Anton tried to remember the name. He couldn’t. His eyes widened as he saw the ten-inch knife suddenly appear in her right hand. It caressed his cheek lovingly.
“I have taken care of your other friends, Anton. You are the one left that I have on my list. Everyone else has—died. The doctor whose personal whore I became in order to save my baby, the two friends of yours who helped you to rape me every night for two weeks, the interrogator who thought it was okay for me to be raped and who beat me almost every day I was in the prison…”
“Kashmir,” he yelled beneath Grigor’s hand. Now he remembered her and she did not look anything like the ragged prisoner sent to Kashmir. He struggled, but Grigor had him firmly held.
“I was a trained assassin, Anton, and loyal to my country. However, I was treated as a traitor: beaten and raped as though I were peshka!” Irina drew the knife down his cheek slowly, caressing it. Blood seeped out, dripping down onto his shirtfront. Before he could react, she slit his throat. Grigor flung him against the wall. Blood spurted on it, the alley, and the litter that was everywhere.
Irina and Grigor disappeared down the other end.
The police did not find him until the next day, the blood drained from his body and very dead. No one paid much attention to his death and there were no mourners at his burial. When she checked, Irina learned not even the local police were interested in finding his killer.
The fingers of her right hand twitched. She wished she possessed a ten-inch knife now. The rope binding her to the bed would part within seconds of it being in her hand. She glanced around. It was still dark. She sighed, waiting for light. It was now three and a half days since Nicholai kidnapped Sydney and her. Why wasn’t anyone searching for her? However, she knew they were. It was going to take time. Irina shook herself a little. Be patient, she thought, they couldn’t demand police intervention. The police would like to get their hands on The Man who was wanted for criminal activities. She wondered if Sydney called the number she gave her. Irina wondered what her friend could do under the circumstances.
She closed her eyes. She had to get the gun. It was going to take an immense focus. She could not stop for one moment when she lunged. Irina looked over the side of the bed. His body was now dimly visible. Would it get lighter? She had no idea what time it was—early morning or mid-morning? Should she wait? No, the longer she waited, the more time there was to talk herself out of it. Maybe she should wait until she could see the bulge she’d seen yesterday.
Finally, Irina saw the bulge underneath his jacket. She had to plan how she was going to do it. There could be no mistake in her actions. Pulling her shoulder out of the socket was going to hurt like the devil. She must be sure she could get the gun. She again reached as far as she could with fingers outstretched.
She would have to flip the jacket back, pull the gun from the dead man’s waistband, and bring it back to the bed without dropping it. She must focus on the gun only. The pain must not stop her. Irina studied the body, the bulge, and the distance she needed to accomplish her goal. She cleared her mind of everything except the gun.
Irina gathered her strength and resolve. She lunged.
TRANSLATION
Peshka – Lowest of the low
TBC
Evening
Early that evening, Jack and the two girls listened to Katya, who told them the SVR still had not found any trace of Nicholai Petroffskiy. He was not in his office and his apartment, searched by both the police and her, revealed nothing significant. There was no trace of his or Irina’s whereabouts.
Sydney and Grigor returned from their nighttime quest with three names of the men Nicholai hired to help him with the kidnapping. Unfortunately, no one knew where the men stayed. They were now waiting for more information, if it was forthcoming, from the men and women who were informed they’d be well paid if they could locate the three.
It was two days plus since Sydney and Irina were kidnapped. Jack made a call to Marshall at APO. He wanted the resident genius in gadgets and computers to help them by utilizing Echelon to tap into the Russian satellites.
“If you can do it without anyone suspecting,” said Jack. He was calling from the bedroom so Katya would not hear the conversation. “I don’t want to endanger our capabilities by informing any Russian official that we can.”
“Yes sir.”
“Can you?”
“Y-yes, but I have to be careful. I can’t do it in an hour, at least not with your parameters.”
Jack grimaced. He knew Marshall was the best…at least to his mind. The man was a genius when it came to computers and data hunting was just a game to him. PlayStation 3 on a worldwide stage. This time, however, it could be more than that. He looked at his watch. It was early morning in Los Angeles, and nearly six in the evening here. “Marshall, can you give me an estimate…anything?”
“Anywhere from a day or less. I’ve got to be careful.”
“Yes, yes…I understand.” Jack grimaced. “Do the best you can. Have Rachel call me with an update.”
“Do you want me to get her involved?”
“Just have her call. Don’t tell Dixon anything. Sydney is all right. This is about my wife.” Jack was aware that some people in the CIA were not an Irina Derevko fan. She had fallen off the ten most wanted, but she was still wanted. If caught, Jack had no illusions as to her fate. The CIA had a long memory.
“Okay.” He cut transmission.
Jack walked out of the bedroom where he’d made the call. Katya was watching Sydney and Nadia, who were putting food together for dinner. She looked up at Jack as he returned.
“Find out anything?”
“No…no nibbles from anyone yet. I have to be careful. Dealing with the CIA for information about Irina is dangerous. They would sooner see her dead…”
He didn’t say why, because Katya knew very well what her sister had been trained to do for their country. She shrugged, keeping silent. She was not about to drag up the past. It was Irina’s future she was concerned with now, especially as Jack was retired…at least that’s what he said. Not looking at him, she studied the tealeaves in her cup as though they would give her answers.
“We’ll have to pray that someone will call,” said Nadia, setting the table. “Next time, I get to go with Grigor.” She had fallen in love with the giant. Sydney told her everything she knew about him.
“Depends on the information we get,” countered Sydney. “Maybe we’ll both go.”
“Don’t argue…we’ll decide when we have to.” Jack smiled.
“Tell me, Jack,” Katya looked up at him, “don’t you think you’d better let the police and SVR find Irina?”
“Not if I find out where she is first.” He was not stupid. Irina, who was still The Man in the criminal world, was wanted for questioning about certain activities. He did not doubt however, she would find a way to extract herself from their clutches if caught. He wondered about the phone call Sydney made and to whom.
***
Irina was hungry and thirsty. It was now two days since Nicholai brought her here and was without water or anything to eat. Tied down, her body was rebelling. Her feet were numb. Her left arm was numb and she had an occasional spasm in it. She could move it only slightly. The air was beginning to stink with the decomposition and Nicholai was beginning to swell. It would get worse by tomorrow, she thought. Tonight it would be cold and the body’s response would slow until the morning.
The rustling along the floor reminded her again that the rats were busy at the body. She couldn’t see anything and perhaps it was just as well. She would see it in the morning unless they found her first. She knew she was close to the river, she could smell it slightly above the other smell. Irina kept her right hand and arm over her face. She was not expecting the rats to bother her yet. Still she was ready in case any came exploring.
The gun! She had not stopped thinking about it or how close it was…just under his jacket under his waistband. She tried to figure out how she could get to it. She struggled three times to reach it, but was always prevented by the length of the links in the handcuff. Damn it!
She was going to have to do something radical if she wanted it. It meant a choice of was the gun worth the pain she would have or not. Irina decided the only way she would get the gun was to dislocate her upper arm from the shoulder joint. It would be painful. She could not hesitate once she made the decision to go for it. She must get the gun. She had to have protection and it was the only thing that would give it to her.
The night passed as she waited for the light to make its way into the room. It was dim at best, so she did not want to risk trying for the gun in pitch-blackness. She kept listening at the rats working at Nicholai. She did not want to see what they accomplished so kept her mind occupied with thoughts of the past…of Jack and Sydney and Nadia.
A tear escaped down her cheek as she thought of her youngest. Nadia was a newborn baby when the KGB took her from her. They told her that Nadia was the property of the state. The KGB would raise her and Irina Derevko was to go back to Central City to teach new spies English. That was the condition of her having her freedom. Irina cried the rest of the day and all that night.
The next day Irina had made up her mind that she would find Nadia some day, some how. In the meantime, she would be the perfect comrade. In her mind though, she registered the names of those responsible, not only for the terror in Kashmir, but also for this—the kidnapping of her baby. They would pay if it took her the rest of her life.
The third rapist lived in a small town in Belarus and near Minsk, the capitol. It was as The Man that she tracked him down. With Grigor, she went to Minsk to take care of business and to find him. On completion of her meeting, she and Grigor drove out to the little town where the rapist lived. Using Grigor, as once the sergeant in charge, they caught up with Anton Simelivich in a bar. He was surprised to see Grigor, who entered the bar alone. Irina was waiting outside.
“Hah, Anton, how are you?”
“Sgt. Grigor…what are you doing here?” He blinked. “It has been many years since Kashmir.”
“Do you want to make some rubles…a thousand, maybe more?”
Anton’s eyes lighted up. “Da! Doing what?”
“I let my boss tell you. Come with me.” Grigor put his finger to his lips, indicating Anton should not say anything to anyone. Anton nodded. “I go first. You come five minutes, okay? Come to first alley on your left.”
“Sure!”
Five minutes later, Anton Simelivich left the bar. He bid his drinking companions a good night and then went into the night. He walked down the street and turned into the alley. Up ahead he could see two figures in the gloom. Grigor, of course, he knew, but the other he did not. Surprisingly, it was a woman, who was quite beautiful.
“Good evening, Comrade Simelivich!” Her voice was deep and rich in resonance.
“No longer comrade, just Anton.” He said. “What do you want me to do for money?”
“Actually, nothing, Comrade.” Her voice was cold. “I have come a long way to find you. It has taken many years, but here you are.”
He frowned. What was she talking about? He did not know her, he thought. He tried to see her more clearly, but it was too dark.
“I don’t know you, Madame.”
She chuckled, somewhat ominously, he thought. What was going on here? He began having some doubts about the entire affair. He started to edge back toward the street.
“How soon you forget. I never forgot.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t move.”
“Hel…” He started to yell, but a large massive hand closed over his mouth.
“My name is Irina Derevko, you fuking son of a bitch.”
Terrified Anton tried to remember the name. He couldn’t. His eyes widened as he saw the ten-inch knife suddenly appear in her right hand. It caressed his cheek lovingly.
“I have taken care of your other friends, Anton. You are the one left that I have on my list. Everyone else has—died. The doctor whose personal whore I became in order to save my baby, the two friends of yours who helped you to rape me every night for two weeks, the interrogator who thought it was okay for me to be raped and who beat me almost every day I was in the prison…”
“Kashmir,” he yelled beneath Grigor’s hand. Now he remembered her and she did not look anything like the ragged prisoner sent to Kashmir. He struggled, but Grigor had him firmly held.
“I was a trained assassin, Anton, and loyal to my country. However, I was treated as a traitor: beaten and raped as though I were peshka!” Irina drew the knife down his cheek slowly, caressing it. Blood seeped out, dripping down onto his shirtfront. Before he could react, she slit his throat. Grigor flung him against the wall. Blood spurted on it, the alley, and the litter that was everywhere.
Irina and Grigor disappeared down the other end.
The police did not find him until the next day, the blood drained from his body and very dead. No one paid much attention to his death and there were no mourners at his burial. When she checked, Irina learned not even the local police were interested in finding his killer.
The fingers of her right hand twitched. She wished she possessed a ten-inch knife now. The rope binding her to the bed would part within seconds of it being in her hand. She glanced around. It was still dark. She sighed, waiting for light. It was now three and a half days since Nicholai kidnapped Sydney and her. Why wasn’t anyone searching for her? However, she knew they were. It was going to take time. Irina shook herself a little. Be patient, she thought, they couldn’t demand police intervention. The police would like to get their hands on The Man who was wanted for criminal activities. She wondered if Sydney called the number she gave her. Irina wondered what her friend could do under the circumstances.
She closed her eyes. She had to get the gun. It was going to take an immense focus. She could not stop for one moment when she lunged. Irina looked over the side of the bed. His body was now dimly visible. Would it get lighter? She had no idea what time it was—early morning or mid-morning? Should she wait? No, the longer she waited, the more time there was to talk herself out of it. Maybe she should wait until she could see the bulge she’d seen yesterday.
Finally, Irina saw the bulge underneath his jacket. She had to plan how she was going to do it. There could be no mistake in her actions. Pulling her shoulder out of the socket was going to hurt like the devil. She must be sure she could get the gun. She again reached as far as she could with fingers outstretched.
She would have to flip the jacket back, pull the gun from the dead man’s waistband, and bring it back to the bed without dropping it. She must focus on the gun only. The pain must not stop her. Irina studied the body, the bulge, and the distance she needed to accomplish her goal. She cleared her mind of everything except the gun.
Irina gathered her strength and resolve. She lunged.
TRANSLATION
Peshka – Lowest of the low
TBC
AliasSydney502
Cadet
ooo more russian words!!! yay!
great update, hopefully irina can get free soon! haha, serves those guys right to die and have NOBODY care. hahah, classic.
great update, hopefully irina can get free soon! haha, serves those guys right to die and have NOBODY care. hahah, classic.
sydneymicheal
Cadet
I wonder who the voice on the phone was...
Glad Grigor was there for Irina.
Thanks for the pms.
Can't wait for more.
Glad Grigor was there for Irina.
Thanks for the pms.
Can't wait for more.
YoungStarsOwner
Cadet
Wow, AA is really bad with the pm's lately. I just got the pm's you sent for five chapters from the 25-now (bad AA)
God, the rats, they just make my skin crawl! Loved the flashbacks!
God, the rats, they just make my skin crawl! Loved the flashbacks!
Hello LenaFan, long time no see. I've missed your work and now that im all caught up I am as hooked as any one.
Thanks for all the Pms and keeping me updated, its been awesome catching up on your work, you are truely talented.
My Review!!
Love Katya! I love that Jack kept his word and got her out of Jail, nice continuality there.
Love Nadia, daddys newist little girl.
Love Syd, the whole "Im my mommys girl and if you dont tell me what I want I'll show you that I more then just look like my mum." hehehehe nice attitude "tell me what i want or you loose a vital body function." why does that sound just like something jack would do?? hehehe
I love how Jacks all worried about irina and Irina's tottally super spy mom isnt she, getting her girl out of Jail and worrying if shes ok, kicking some serious ass. GO IRINA!!!
And Grigor, what LenaFan story would be complete without the big guy.
Love it! Keep it up!! More soon please!!!
Love you!!!
I've missed your work and now that im all caught up I am as hooked as any one.Thanks for all the Pms and keeping me updated, its been awesome catching up on your work, you are truely talented.
My Review!!
Love Katya! I love that Jack kept his word and got her out of Jail, nice continuality there.
Love Nadia, daddys newist little girl.
Love Syd, the whole "Im my mommys girl and if you dont tell me what I want I'll show you that I more then just look like my mum." hehehehe nice attitude "tell me what i want or you loose a vital body function." why does that sound just like something jack would do?? hehehe
I love how Jacks all worried about irina and Irina's tottally super spy mom isnt she, getting her girl out of Jail and worrying if shes ok, kicking some serious ass. GO IRINA!!!
And Grigor, what LenaFan story would be complete without the big guy.
Love it! Keep it up!! More soon please!!!
Love you!!!
Are you kidding of course I loved getting them, it was a reminder to get my butt back here and read your incrediable work LOL. Not that I could ever forget how talented you are lol it shows in everything you write.
Can you tell Im a LenaFan Fan lol hehehehe you've got a following!!
Thanks for putting up this amazing piece of work.
Keep it up!!
And i would love an update *puppy dog eyes*
Can you tell Im a LenaFan Fan lol hehehehe you've got a following!!
Thanks for putting up this amazing piece of work.
Keep it up!!
And i would love an update *puppy dog eyes*
texasalias2004
Cadet
Awsome fic. Please send me a pm when you update.
texasalaias
texasalaias
Chapter 16
Dog
Irina screamed. “Holy fuk…sh*it…sh*it!”
She had the gun, but the pain was incredibly bad. Sharp pain shot up to her neck and her scapula. She felt as though a hot poker branded her shoulder. More unrelenting pain shot down her left arm, bringing life to her hand and fingers. She looked at the gun, eyes swimming in tears and saw the safety was on, so stuck it under her below her waistline making it easy to pull out if she needed it. She rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She took gulping deep breaths, trying to steady the pain. She wondered if she would be able to reset the arm into the shoulder’s socket.
Irina experienced more pain when she moved. She knew then, she would not get the arm back. It was wishful thinking on her part. Damn…damn…but at least she possessed the gun. She lay back slowly. Was someone going to find her dead body or come and rescue her? Where was Jack? He was resourceful. She closed her eyes.
Sydney and Nadia sat at the table. Jack was out talking to his contacts. Grigor drove him around to the bars where Sydney visited the night before, hunting for the men Cuvee hired to help him. They were waiting for some word from Marshall.
Both young women fidgeted. They didn’t like being stuck in the apartment. They wanted to help. Jack insisted they could not afford to miss Marshall’s call. If he were successful, they probably would be able to find Irina faster than just doing an all out search.
Sydney’s cell rang. “Hey?”
“Sydney, this is Dr. Niad at the hospital. I wanted to tell you that Mr. Vaughn has come out of his coma. We will be happy to have you visit him at the first opportunity. Can you come soon?”
“Oh God, thank you!” Sydney said a silent prayer of thanks. “I’m … well I can’t come right now. Please tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Very well.”
Sydney looked at Nadia. “Vaughn is awake.”
Nadia put her hand over Sydney’s right. “That’s great news. I so happy for you.”
“I can’t go home to see him yet…”
“Father and I can handle this.”
“I’m not leaving with Mom some place unknown.” Sydney wished Marshall would call. She was sure he’d be successful hacking into the Russian satellites, but she was also aware that he must be careful.
Irina finally dozed off. She did not move and the pain subsided enough for her to get some sleep. The painful injury wore her down. Her energy level was almost nil. She didn’t know what it was that awakened her, but she did realize there was a noise. The light was very dim. It must be nearly afternoon or later.
She opened her eyes carefully. In that absence of light, she still managed to see some kind of movement near Nicholai. Carefully, she slid her right hand under her, feeling the weapon. She grasped it and began pulling the weapon out from under her. She blinked a couple times to clear her eyes. What the devil?
It was a dog, a medium sized one at that. She realized he was watching her. She stared back, not moving or making a sound. Where had he come from? What was he after? It was so dark she could not make out his color or breed, but she doubted he was anything other than mongrel. The dog’s eyes swept over the bed and its occupant. He growled with a low warning sound. She could see him walk slowly to where what was left of Nicholai rested. She heard him sniffing. He growled again and disappeared.
A wild dog! Then Irina had a chilling thought. Dogs were not loners. They hunted in packs. She might be meeting the rest of the pack soon, especially if they were hungry. They would come for Nicholai. They might discover she was tied down.
“Oh felgercarb,” she whispered, closing her eyes. She wondered how many dogs would come to the feast.
She learned all too soon. Within ten minutes, the pack slowly entered the room. Irina saw that they were of all sizes. The dim light made it impossible to tell what they were, but it was soon evident, they were a hungry group of about five dogs. The leader was the biggest. His shape told her he might weigh over a hundred pounds. She knew that because he was the one that pulled the body slowly out of the room. The others were helping a little. What was disturbing was the big dog kept his eyes focused on her, a low growl emanating from his throat, no doubt warning her and even in the dark, his eyes seemed to glow red and menacing.
She heard the sounds diminish; then there were excited barks and yelps as the pack tore clothes, trying to get to the meat. Irina grimaced and chose not to think about what was going on out in the outer office. She might have to deal with the pack later, so she carefully removed the gun from under her and held it, safety off, by her side.
At APO, Marshall Flinkman worked overtime. He called Carrie to tell her he was on a special project. A few months ago, Sydney got permission from Jack to tell Marshall it would be all right to tell Carrie what his job really entailed. She even suggested she might like to join him. However, Carrie, relieved of her suspicions, decided she’d rather be a mother than an agent. Marshall, of course, was delighted.
Now he sat in front of his computer screen watching the cursor working it’s way from top to bottom. There was a beep followed by three more and a map of Moscow showed up on the screen. He reached for the phone.
“Sydney?” Marshall confirmed her voice. “I have the uplink to the Russian satellite now passing over the city. There…there is a wide r…range. Wh…where should I look?” He listened. “Yes, I’ll uplink to you.” Moments later, he hit ‘enter’ and the picture was transported twelve thousand miles to Sydney in Moscow. He kept the picture going on his end. They would work together to scan the city.
Using the feed from Marshall, Sydney and Nadia zoomed into the city, but moving carefully, they began scanning the river and the enjoining embarcaderos. Katya gave them several areas where there were many abandoned buildings, warehouses, and docks. It seemed like it would take forever to work their way around. They decided to move along the river, going to one side first and then the other. What was so frustrating was they had to scan the areas slowly.
They were looking for body heat in abandoned buildings, warehouses, or even boats. Katya gave them the areas, but did not know they would be able to use their computer to hunt for Irina. Sydney was careful not to let her know they had the capability. If she did, one thing would lead to the other. Neither sister wanted to think about that now.
“I don’t see anything yet,” Nadia said, watching the screen as Sydney manipulated the keys.
“Me neither. Let’s try the next section.”
The pair scanned each area carefully. Still they saw nothing that indicated the heat source that might be their mother. Most of the buildings were empty and nothing moved.
“Wait a minute,” said Nadia. “Have we checked to see if Nicholai Petroffskiy owned anything in Moscow? I mean, he wouldn’t take her to just any building. I think he’d put her some place he had a measure of control over. It would be too dangerous otherwise.”
Sydney used her cell again to call Marshall, who gave her the parameters to hack into information regarding ownership of property in Moscow. She brought up the list on the screen; then she skipped lists of apartments, businesses, government buildings. She found a listing for warehouses. It was a long one.
“Try Gerard Cuvee,” said Nadia after they found nothing under Petroffskiy.
Sydney’s fingers flew over the keys and almost instantly, a list of properties came up. Both girls looked at each other. He owned three properties listed. All were warehouses. Sydney said, “He’s owned these when he was the leader of the rebels stationed in Kashmir, probably used some of their money to make private investments.”
“Let’s take a look.” Nadia pointed to the first one.
Jack strode into the American Embassy. He had an appointment with Robert Kenniston whom he had met just five days ago. He smiled. The CIA agent aka the cultural attaché was going to be happy to get the information he was about to hit him with…although unexpected.
“Come in,” said Kenniston when Jack opened the door and glanced at him. “Glad to see you, Jack. What can I do for you?”
“Remember what I told you the last time?”
“Yeah, you were looking for information about a high-ranking official’s death here in Moscow. Why? Did you learn anything?”
“Surprisingly I did. He isn’t dead though. I was asked to look around here while I’m on vacation.”
“So…” Kenniston was interested.
“Could you get a message out to Director Chase? I mean encrypted with no chance of the Russians learning about it.”
“Sure, no problem.” Kenniston took a pad and handed it to Jack. He wanted Jack to write the message down.
Jack took the pad and clearly printed a name. “Sentinel: N. Petroffskiy” He handed the pad back to Kenniston.
“Where did you learn this?”
“I have contacts who led me to him. There wasn’t any difficulty once I spoke to him. He is a son of a bitch. Now I can concentrate on my family and our vacation.”
“Wait! Isn’t your wife missing?”
“Yes, and I have to find her before it’s too late.” Jack’s face took on a stony look and he left the office.
Kenniston picked up the phone and made a call.
Irina was dozing slowly slipping into a deeper sleep. She listened to the dogs growling and barking out in the warehouse. She was tense, but then there was silence. After a while, she thought they’d left, no longer hungry. She decided not to think about Nicholai. She did not want even to think about what happened out there.
She woke up suddenly. Noise. She gripped the gun, checking first with her thumb that the safety was off. It was dark, very dark again. Nighttime still. More than three and a half days since the fool kidnapped her. She tensed. Her ears caught more noise. It was soft, but something mixed in—clicks of some thing. She searched her mind to identify the sound, but it wasn’t immediately available to her memory.
The noise came closer. A man? There was no flashlight. She stopped breathing. Holding her breath for whatever it was to make it or himself known.
Something was at the foot of the bed.
TBC
Dog
Irina screamed. “Holy fuk…sh*it…sh*it!”
She had the gun, but the pain was incredibly bad. Sharp pain shot up to her neck and her scapula. She felt as though a hot poker branded her shoulder. More unrelenting pain shot down her left arm, bringing life to her hand and fingers. She looked at the gun, eyes swimming in tears and saw the safety was on, so stuck it under her below her waistline making it easy to pull out if she needed it. She rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She took gulping deep breaths, trying to steady the pain. She wondered if she would be able to reset the arm into the shoulder’s socket.
Irina experienced more pain when she moved. She knew then, she would not get the arm back. It was wishful thinking on her part. Damn…damn…but at least she possessed the gun. She lay back slowly. Was someone going to find her dead body or come and rescue her? Where was Jack? He was resourceful. She closed her eyes.
Sydney and Nadia sat at the table. Jack was out talking to his contacts. Grigor drove him around to the bars where Sydney visited the night before, hunting for the men Cuvee hired to help him. They were waiting for some word from Marshall.
Both young women fidgeted. They didn’t like being stuck in the apartment. They wanted to help. Jack insisted they could not afford to miss Marshall’s call. If he were successful, they probably would be able to find Irina faster than just doing an all out search.
Sydney’s cell rang. “Hey?”
“Sydney, this is Dr. Niad at the hospital. I wanted to tell you that Mr. Vaughn has come out of his coma. We will be happy to have you visit him at the first opportunity. Can you come soon?”
“Oh God, thank you!” Sydney said a silent prayer of thanks. “I’m … well I can’t come right now. Please tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Very well.”
Sydney looked at Nadia. “Vaughn is awake.”
Nadia put her hand over Sydney’s right. “That’s great news. I so happy for you.”
“I can’t go home to see him yet…”
“Father and I can handle this.”
“I’m not leaving with Mom some place unknown.” Sydney wished Marshall would call. She was sure he’d be successful hacking into the Russian satellites, but she was also aware that he must be careful.
Irina finally dozed off. She did not move and the pain subsided enough for her to get some sleep. The painful injury wore her down. Her energy level was almost nil. She didn’t know what it was that awakened her, but she did realize there was a noise. The light was very dim. It must be nearly afternoon or later.
She opened her eyes carefully. In that absence of light, she still managed to see some kind of movement near Nicholai. Carefully, she slid her right hand under her, feeling the weapon. She grasped it and began pulling the weapon out from under her. She blinked a couple times to clear her eyes. What the devil?
It was a dog, a medium sized one at that. She realized he was watching her. She stared back, not moving or making a sound. Where had he come from? What was he after? It was so dark she could not make out his color or breed, but she doubted he was anything other than mongrel. The dog’s eyes swept over the bed and its occupant. He growled with a low warning sound. She could see him walk slowly to where what was left of Nicholai rested. She heard him sniffing. He growled again and disappeared.
A wild dog! Then Irina had a chilling thought. Dogs were not loners. They hunted in packs. She might be meeting the rest of the pack soon, especially if they were hungry. They would come for Nicholai. They might discover she was tied down.
“Oh felgercarb,” she whispered, closing her eyes. She wondered how many dogs would come to the feast.
She learned all too soon. Within ten minutes, the pack slowly entered the room. Irina saw that they were of all sizes. The dim light made it impossible to tell what they were, but it was soon evident, they were a hungry group of about five dogs. The leader was the biggest. His shape told her he might weigh over a hundred pounds. She knew that because he was the one that pulled the body slowly out of the room. The others were helping a little. What was disturbing was the big dog kept his eyes focused on her, a low growl emanating from his throat, no doubt warning her and even in the dark, his eyes seemed to glow red and menacing.
She heard the sounds diminish; then there were excited barks and yelps as the pack tore clothes, trying to get to the meat. Irina grimaced and chose not to think about what was going on out in the outer office. She might have to deal with the pack later, so she carefully removed the gun from under her and held it, safety off, by her side.
At APO, Marshall Flinkman worked overtime. He called Carrie to tell her he was on a special project. A few months ago, Sydney got permission from Jack to tell Marshall it would be all right to tell Carrie what his job really entailed. She even suggested she might like to join him. However, Carrie, relieved of her suspicions, decided she’d rather be a mother than an agent. Marshall, of course, was delighted.
Now he sat in front of his computer screen watching the cursor working it’s way from top to bottom. There was a beep followed by three more and a map of Moscow showed up on the screen. He reached for the phone.
“Sydney?” Marshall confirmed her voice. “I have the uplink to the Russian satellite now passing over the city. There…there is a wide r…range. Wh…where should I look?” He listened. “Yes, I’ll uplink to you.” Moments later, he hit ‘enter’ and the picture was transported twelve thousand miles to Sydney in Moscow. He kept the picture going on his end. They would work together to scan the city.
Using the feed from Marshall, Sydney and Nadia zoomed into the city, but moving carefully, they began scanning the river and the enjoining embarcaderos. Katya gave them several areas where there were many abandoned buildings, warehouses, and docks. It seemed like it would take forever to work their way around. They decided to move along the river, going to one side first and then the other. What was so frustrating was they had to scan the areas slowly.
They were looking for body heat in abandoned buildings, warehouses, or even boats. Katya gave them the areas, but did not know they would be able to use their computer to hunt for Irina. Sydney was careful not to let her know they had the capability. If she did, one thing would lead to the other. Neither sister wanted to think about that now.
“I don’t see anything yet,” Nadia said, watching the screen as Sydney manipulated the keys.
“Me neither. Let’s try the next section.”
The pair scanned each area carefully. Still they saw nothing that indicated the heat source that might be their mother. Most of the buildings were empty and nothing moved.
“Wait a minute,” said Nadia. “Have we checked to see if Nicholai Petroffskiy owned anything in Moscow? I mean, he wouldn’t take her to just any building. I think he’d put her some place he had a measure of control over. It would be too dangerous otherwise.”
Sydney used her cell again to call Marshall, who gave her the parameters to hack into information regarding ownership of property in Moscow. She brought up the list on the screen; then she skipped lists of apartments, businesses, government buildings. She found a listing for warehouses. It was a long one.
“Try Gerard Cuvee,” said Nadia after they found nothing under Petroffskiy.
Sydney’s fingers flew over the keys and almost instantly, a list of properties came up. Both girls looked at each other. He owned three properties listed. All were warehouses. Sydney said, “He’s owned these when he was the leader of the rebels stationed in Kashmir, probably used some of their money to make private investments.”
“Let’s take a look.” Nadia pointed to the first one.
Jack strode into the American Embassy. He had an appointment with Robert Kenniston whom he had met just five days ago. He smiled. The CIA agent aka the cultural attaché was going to be happy to get the information he was about to hit him with…although unexpected.
“Come in,” said Kenniston when Jack opened the door and glanced at him. “Glad to see you, Jack. What can I do for you?”
“Remember what I told you the last time?”
“Yeah, you were looking for information about a high-ranking official’s death here in Moscow. Why? Did you learn anything?”
“Surprisingly I did. He isn’t dead though. I was asked to look around here while I’m on vacation.”
“So…” Kenniston was interested.
“Could you get a message out to Director Chase? I mean encrypted with no chance of the Russians learning about it.”
“Sure, no problem.” Kenniston took a pad and handed it to Jack. He wanted Jack to write the message down.
Jack took the pad and clearly printed a name. “Sentinel: N. Petroffskiy” He handed the pad back to Kenniston.
“Where did you learn this?”
“I have contacts who led me to him. There wasn’t any difficulty once I spoke to him. He is a son of a bitch. Now I can concentrate on my family and our vacation.”
“Wait! Isn’t your wife missing?”
“Yes, and I have to find her before it’s too late.” Jack’s face took on a stony look and he left the office.
Kenniston picked up the phone and made a call.
Irina was dozing slowly slipping into a deeper sleep. She listened to the dogs growling and barking out in the warehouse. She was tense, but then there was silence. After a while, she thought they’d left, no longer hungry. She decided not to think about Nicholai. She did not want even to think about what happened out there.
She woke up suddenly. Noise. She gripped the gun, checking first with her thumb that the safety was off. It was dark, very dark again. Nighttime still. More than three and a half days since the fool kidnapped her. She tensed. Her ears caught more noise. It was soft, but something mixed in—clicks of some thing. She searched her mind to identify the sound, but it wasn’t immediately available to her memory.
The noise came closer. A man? There was no flashlight. She stopped breathing. Holding her breath for whatever it was to make it or himself known.
Something was at the foot of the bed.
TBC
texasalias2004
Cadet
Great update. I hope that Irina is okay
texasalias
texasalias
sydneymicheal
Cadet
Hopefully that was her husband and her girls at the end of the bed...
Nice cliffy...
Update again soon.
Thanks for the pm.
Nice cliffy...
Update again soon.
Thanks for the pm.
Chapter 17
Bullets and Blood
Irina closed her eyes for a second and then looked again from between her half lowered lids. The dog! It was the big one, the leader of the pack. She swore silently. What did he want? Chyort! He put his two front paws on the bed between her legs. Then all hundred pounds of him was on the bed. He didn’t move, but even in the darkness, his eyes gleamed. She froze, her finger tightening on the trigger of the gun.
He put one paw forward. Then the other joined it. He was close to her. Irina didn’t move. He put his head down, sniffing. Irina knew she didn’t smell good. She’d been too long on the bed and no opportunity to relieve herself elsewhere. However, in this point of time, it didn’t matter. She had to protect herself.
More noise…she didn’t look, but she sensed the rest of the dogs were back. She kept her eyelids half closed, waiting. The pack leader came closer, both paws on her stomach now. She gasped. He growled. Irina didn’t wait. She fired the gun twice. The noise was deafening and the dog dropped on her, dead.
Irina screamed in pain. His body slammed down onto her rib cage and chest where Nicholai had kicked her. Tears fell down her cheeks. She groaned. She dropped the gun by her side. Reaching up with her right hand, she grabbed whatever part of the dog she could, heaved her body up as much as possible, and tried pulling him to her right to the floor. He didn’t move. He was too heavy. She felt her hand come away smeared with the blood from the dog’s head. Irina almost screamed with the pain her motions caused in her shoulder.
As soon as the dogs saw their leader down, they raced out of the room frightened by the gunshots.
Twelve thousand miles away, Marshall blinked. He was searching an area on the grid that Katya Derevko indicated was an area with old deteriorating buildings, warehouses, and docks. Sydney and Nadia were working through another area. He thought a moment and then magnified the screen in order to see it closer. Magnified he saw a lot of movement. Where had the spurts of light come from? He studied the screen, picking up his cell at the same time.
“Sydney, its Marshall. I th-think I saw something, but I’m not sure.” He gave her the grid he was searching. “Look in the upper right hand corner. Th-there seems to be activity of some sort and I th-thought I detected sh-short bursts of light…a gun firing maybe!”
“Thanks,” said Sydney, closing the connection. Her fingers manipulated the keys and she was in the same grid as Marshall. Nadia leaned in closer to look in the upper right hand portion of the grid. They saw something or someone move. It took Sydney only seconds to pinpoint everything and although she didn’t know who it was…she was sure it was their mother.
“Look, Nadia. There seems to be three separate groups and that’s a lot of activity for a supposedly deserted area.”
“Sydney,” Nadia put her finger on one group. “Someone is not moving, but they are alive. Next to her—and for the sake of the argument, it’s Mother—is a body that also is not moving. Why?”
“I think…” Sydney hesitated, “she may have shot someone. Do you suppose it’s Cuvee?”
“I would like to think so.” Nadia ran to the refrigerator. “Let’s get there now.”
“Wait! I want to call Dad and Grigor.” Sydney picked up her jacket, making sure she was armed. It was frowned upon foreigners coming into the country with a gun, but she also knew she couldn’t risk going into that part of Moscow unarmed. She found it in her mother’s desk drawer. It was fully loaded.
As they moved swiftly down the stairs, Sydney notified Jack what she and Nadia saw. He told them he would probably be delayed by late afternoon traffic. He and Grigor were on the other side of Moscow now.
“Get to her as fast as you can,” he said. “She’s been without food or water for over three and a half days.”
Nadia had grabbed some water from the fridge, shoving it into the pockets of her coat. “I’ve got some.”
They ran down the stairs and into the courtyard. Their father’s rented car was in the parking area. He’d rented it while doing his own investigation. Sydney found the hidden key and jumped in the driver’s seat. Nadia was in the passenger seat almost at the same time.
“Here,” Sydney handed her the cell, while starting the engine. “Call Aunt Katya and tell her we will let her know if we find Mom.”
“Wait! Katya’s going to want to know how we found her.”
“Good question. Don’t call her yet.” Sydney shot out of the short entrance and into the streets of Moscow. She wanted to go north along the river. She turned right and then left along Kadshevaskaya. Following the canal, she turned right across the Krymski Bridge to the other side of the Moscow River. Turning left, she went down the embarcadero, past the Kremlin. Most of the traffic was going the opposite direction. No one lived in the area she was heading.
Nadia had the laptop open. She was checking the area where Marshall and they looked earlier. “One person or thing is not moving; another is slowly losing body heat. I see several people moving in that direction.”
“Toward Mom?” Sydney asked. She sped up, dodging a truck coming out of a bank of river fog.
“Yes, but they may have heard the shots, if that’s what they were, and are probably coming to investigate.”
“Maybe they’ll find her and…” Nadia didn’t say more. They were getting closer. “Turn right two blocks, then left.” She stared at the screen. “Syd, something’s happening. Hurry!”
Irina’s eyes closed, tears running down her face. She shot two dogs, one of whom was lying across her now. The other was on the floor where Nicholai had been. She grimaced, smelling the dog whose head was on her chest. She knew blood was all over her given the manner of the shot—straight on into the brain. She wanted him off her. However, he was not lying cross ways as Nicholai had. All it took was for her to push him and he slid off. Irina was not sure she wanted to touch the dog, but, opening her eyes, she decided she must try.
Pushing his head and chest, she tried moving it with the help of the part of her upper body that was still movable. He moved a little. She gasped as the pain of her injured ribs interrupted her attempt. The son of a bitch was heavier when dead weight. That hurt! She fell back, gasping with the effort.
She sighed. Getting him off was not going to be easy. She doubted at this stage of the game if she would be able to do it. Irina Derevko was in deep s*hit! She closed her eyes again feeling both the pain in her ribs and the unrelenting pain coming from her dislocated shoulder. Then she froze! The sound of voices reached her. She listened for a familiar voice. She didn’t hear her daughters or Jack. Who was it? SVR sent to hunt for her by Katya. It wasn’t her sister either. Someone was holding a flashlight. It was coming closer.
Irina reached down and picked up the gun again. Boje, this place was a train station…rats, dogs, a dead man, and now…humans? She could at least talk to living, breathing humans. She found herself holding her breath as the voices grew louder.
“Holy felgercarb,” one voice cried. “Would’ja look at that!”
Irina had a hunch they found what was left of Nicholai. She said nothing, but gripped the gun tighter.
“What or who was that?” said another voice, gruffer than the last.
“Dunno, but the poor fuk…not much left of him to tell.” The voice was raspy.
“Come on,” said a third voice, “there’s another door.” The flashlight moved along the floor. “Looks like more blood. What the hell happened here?”
Irina sensed he was about to enter. She waited silently.
“Hey!” The flashlight was trained on the bed and the dog. “Boje, there’s someone under the dog!”
Footsteps came closer. “Moya boje, a woman! What the fuk! Vladimir, she’s tied to the bed!”
More footsteps…and another voice spoke. “Ivan, wait!”
“Huh?”
“Maybe we could…you know…use her?”
Irina’s body went cold. Oh no…these idiots! She didn’t know how many bullets were left in the gun, but she knew there must be a bullet for each of them. “You fuking idiots, get the dog off me and untie me!” Her voice was raspy. She hadn’t used it for hours.
“The b*itch talks,” snarled the previous speaker.
“The b*itch is giving us orders when she’s in trouble?” The first man laughed. The flashlight swung around to catch her face. “You don’t have any say!” He grabbed the dog by his hindquarters and dragged him off her.
Irina gasped, trying hard not to cry out. She held her right hand next to her side. Her finger touched the trigger.
“S*hit…she’s got a gun!” Ivan shouted.
Irina pulled it out from her side and fired. The man with the flashlight cried out, dropping it. It rolled somewhere out of sight. The room plunged into darkness. Irina heard someone run; another followed close on his heels. There was a moan from near the doorway. The man with the flashlight whimpered. Irina fired in the direction of the moan. She was rewarded with another cry of pain.
“Unbju!” She snapped. “Sooksin!”
“Pizda!” He answered weakly.
“Podonok!” She snarled. “You deserve it. You were going to rape me! Get the fuk out of here before I take dead aim.” She heard a noise as he scrambled to his feet, limping off.
Irina did not take her finger off the trigger. If he or any of his comrades dared to return, Still, she didn’t think that would happen soon. They were cowards, all of them.
TBC :angry:
RUSSIAN TRANSLATION
Boje - God
Chyort - Damn
Moya boje – My God.
Pizda – C*unt
Podonok – Person that’s the lowest of the low
Sooksin – Son of a b*itch
Unbju – I’ll kill you
Bullets and Blood
Irina closed her eyes for a second and then looked again from between her half lowered lids. The dog! It was the big one, the leader of the pack. She swore silently. What did he want? Chyort! He put his two front paws on the bed between her legs. Then all hundred pounds of him was on the bed. He didn’t move, but even in the darkness, his eyes gleamed. She froze, her finger tightening on the trigger of the gun.
He put one paw forward. Then the other joined it. He was close to her. Irina didn’t move. He put his head down, sniffing. Irina knew she didn’t smell good. She’d been too long on the bed and no opportunity to relieve herself elsewhere. However, in this point of time, it didn’t matter. She had to protect herself.
More noise…she didn’t look, but she sensed the rest of the dogs were back. She kept her eyelids half closed, waiting. The pack leader came closer, both paws on her stomach now. She gasped. He growled. Irina didn’t wait. She fired the gun twice. The noise was deafening and the dog dropped on her, dead.
Irina screamed in pain. His body slammed down onto her rib cage and chest where Nicholai had kicked her. Tears fell down her cheeks. She groaned. She dropped the gun by her side. Reaching up with her right hand, she grabbed whatever part of the dog she could, heaved her body up as much as possible, and tried pulling him to her right to the floor. He didn’t move. He was too heavy. She felt her hand come away smeared with the blood from the dog’s head. Irina almost screamed with the pain her motions caused in her shoulder.
As soon as the dogs saw their leader down, they raced out of the room frightened by the gunshots.
Twelve thousand miles away, Marshall blinked. He was searching an area on the grid that Katya Derevko indicated was an area with old deteriorating buildings, warehouses, and docks. Sydney and Nadia were working through another area. He thought a moment and then magnified the screen in order to see it closer. Magnified he saw a lot of movement. Where had the spurts of light come from? He studied the screen, picking up his cell at the same time.
“Sydney, its Marshall. I th-think I saw something, but I’m not sure.” He gave her the grid he was searching. “Look in the upper right hand corner. Th-there seems to be activity of some sort and I th-thought I detected sh-short bursts of light…a gun firing maybe!”
“Thanks,” said Sydney, closing the connection. Her fingers manipulated the keys and she was in the same grid as Marshall. Nadia leaned in closer to look in the upper right hand portion of the grid. They saw something or someone move. It took Sydney only seconds to pinpoint everything and although she didn’t know who it was…she was sure it was their mother.
“Look, Nadia. There seems to be three separate groups and that’s a lot of activity for a supposedly deserted area.”
“Sydney,” Nadia put her finger on one group. “Someone is not moving, but they are alive. Next to her—and for the sake of the argument, it’s Mother—is a body that also is not moving. Why?”
“I think…” Sydney hesitated, “she may have shot someone. Do you suppose it’s Cuvee?”
“I would like to think so.” Nadia ran to the refrigerator. “Let’s get there now.”
“Wait! I want to call Dad and Grigor.” Sydney picked up her jacket, making sure she was armed. It was frowned upon foreigners coming into the country with a gun, but she also knew she couldn’t risk going into that part of Moscow unarmed. She found it in her mother’s desk drawer. It was fully loaded.
As they moved swiftly down the stairs, Sydney notified Jack what she and Nadia saw. He told them he would probably be delayed by late afternoon traffic. He and Grigor were on the other side of Moscow now.
“Get to her as fast as you can,” he said. “She’s been without food or water for over three and a half days.”
Nadia had grabbed some water from the fridge, shoving it into the pockets of her coat. “I’ve got some.”
They ran down the stairs and into the courtyard. Their father’s rented car was in the parking area. He’d rented it while doing his own investigation. Sydney found the hidden key and jumped in the driver’s seat. Nadia was in the passenger seat almost at the same time.
“Here,” Sydney handed her the cell, while starting the engine. “Call Aunt Katya and tell her we will let her know if we find Mom.”
“Wait! Katya’s going to want to know how we found her.”
“Good question. Don’t call her yet.” Sydney shot out of the short entrance and into the streets of Moscow. She wanted to go north along the river. She turned right and then left along Kadshevaskaya. Following the canal, she turned right across the Krymski Bridge to the other side of the Moscow River. Turning left, she went down the embarcadero, past the Kremlin. Most of the traffic was going the opposite direction. No one lived in the area she was heading.
Nadia had the laptop open. She was checking the area where Marshall and they looked earlier. “One person or thing is not moving; another is slowly losing body heat. I see several people moving in that direction.”
“Toward Mom?” Sydney asked. She sped up, dodging a truck coming out of a bank of river fog.
“Yes, but they may have heard the shots, if that’s what they were, and are probably coming to investigate.”
“Maybe they’ll find her and…” Nadia didn’t say more. They were getting closer. “Turn right two blocks, then left.” She stared at the screen. “Syd, something’s happening. Hurry!”
Irina’s eyes closed, tears running down her face. She shot two dogs, one of whom was lying across her now. The other was on the floor where Nicholai had been. She grimaced, smelling the dog whose head was on her chest. She knew blood was all over her given the manner of the shot—straight on into the brain. She wanted him off her. However, he was not lying cross ways as Nicholai had. All it took was for her to push him and he slid off. Irina was not sure she wanted to touch the dog, but, opening her eyes, she decided she must try.
Pushing his head and chest, she tried moving it with the help of the part of her upper body that was still movable. He moved a little. She gasped as the pain of her injured ribs interrupted her attempt. The son of a bitch was heavier when dead weight. That hurt! She fell back, gasping with the effort.
She sighed. Getting him off was not going to be easy. She doubted at this stage of the game if she would be able to do it. Irina Derevko was in deep s*hit! She closed her eyes again feeling both the pain in her ribs and the unrelenting pain coming from her dislocated shoulder. Then she froze! The sound of voices reached her. She listened for a familiar voice. She didn’t hear her daughters or Jack. Who was it? SVR sent to hunt for her by Katya. It wasn’t her sister either. Someone was holding a flashlight. It was coming closer.
Irina reached down and picked up the gun again. Boje, this place was a train station…rats, dogs, a dead man, and now…humans? She could at least talk to living, breathing humans. She found herself holding her breath as the voices grew louder.
“Holy felgercarb,” one voice cried. “Would’ja look at that!”
Irina had a hunch they found what was left of Nicholai. She said nothing, but gripped the gun tighter.
“What or who was that?” said another voice, gruffer than the last.
“Dunno, but the poor fuk…not much left of him to tell.” The voice was raspy.
“Come on,” said a third voice, “there’s another door.” The flashlight moved along the floor. “Looks like more blood. What the hell happened here?”
Irina sensed he was about to enter. She waited silently.
“Hey!” The flashlight was trained on the bed and the dog. “Boje, there’s someone under the dog!”
Footsteps came closer. “Moya boje, a woman! What the fuk! Vladimir, she’s tied to the bed!”
More footsteps…and another voice spoke. “Ivan, wait!”
“Huh?”
“Maybe we could…you know…use her?”
Irina’s body went cold. Oh no…these idiots! She didn’t know how many bullets were left in the gun, but she knew there must be a bullet for each of them. “You fuking idiots, get the dog off me and untie me!” Her voice was raspy. She hadn’t used it for hours.
“The b*itch talks,” snarled the previous speaker.
“The b*itch is giving us orders when she’s in trouble?” The first man laughed. The flashlight swung around to catch her face. “You don’t have any say!” He grabbed the dog by his hindquarters and dragged him off her.
Irina gasped, trying hard not to cry out. She held her right hand next to her side. Her finger touched the trigger.
“S*hit…she’s got a gun!” Ivan shouted.
Irina pulled it out from her side and fired. The man with the flashlight cried out, dropping it. It rolled somewhere out of sight. The room plunged into darkness. Irina heard someone run; another followed close on his heels. There was a moan from near the doorway. The man with the flashlight whimpered. Irina fired in the direction of the moan. She was rewarded with another cry of pain.
“Unbju!” She snapped. “Sooksin!”
“Pizda!” He answered weakly.
“Podonok!” She snarled. “You deserve it. You were going to rape me! Get the fuk out of here before I take dead aim.” She heard a noise as he scrambled to his feet, limping off.
Irina did not take her finger off the trigger. If he or any of his comrades dared to return, Still, she didn’t think that would happen soon. They were cowards, all of them.
TBC :angry:
RUSSIAN TRANSLATION
Boje - God
Chyort - Damn
Moya boje – My God.
Pizda – C*unt
Podonok – Person that’s the lowest of the low
Sooksin – Son of a b*itch
Unbju – I’ll kill you
texasalias2004
Cadet
I wish that they would have untied her. Even though she was weak, she could still kick ass. haha
texasalias
texasalias