“And you’re in control,” Kulagin said into a cell phone to Nalkovitch.
“Yes, Comrade.”
“Good, be vigilant and if there’s a rescue attempt then you know what to do.”
“I do, Comrade.” Kulagin ended the call and put the cell in his pocket.
“They have Berelenov?” A confederate asked.
“Yes.”
“What next?”
“We have to get to the floor where the Presidents are hiding,” Kulagin replied.
“Where are you?” Manatov asked another man by radio.
“The fortieth floor and nothing so far.”
“Keep going but be prepared. They might go on the offensive.”
“We’re prepared, Comrade.”
“Proceed?” A man asked.
“Yes, let’s go to the top.”
“They’re a couple of floors down, I can hear talking,” Trent said as he and Andy were on the forty-third floor waiting.
“What do we do?”
“Let’s go, follow me.” The two eased their way down the back stairs as quietly as possible, listening all the way. In a minute they were one floor above their enemy.
“Through this door,” they heard a man say in Russian. Trent was not fluent in Russian but he understood it well enough.
“Get down,” Trent said as he went to the other side of the door and waited. The door swung open fast and two men jumped through. Trent stabbed one in the neck and he fell to the floor. Andy froze and was shot in the left arm. Trent didn’t wait long as he grabbed the guy from behind and snapped his neck. When you train as a Green Beret, you never lose those skills.
“I’m hit in the arm.”
“How bad?” Trent asked as he looked through the door.
“Not bad, it’s near the surface.”
“Don’t wait the next time. We’re not here to talk. Kill any of them you see. The less there are the better chance the President has to survive.”
“Right.”
“Let’s go down this hall.” They moved slowly and quietly.
“What do you see or hear?” Vladimir Zhadanov asked his partner Gregori Retzlaf.
“Talking and movement one floor below us.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” and before he got out the words the door to the stairway flung open and three men charged in all holding pistols. Vladimir shot one in the head then tackled another. Gregori lunged to stab the third but was shot in the chest first. He fell to the floor motionless. Vladimir stabbed the second man then turned to face the third. Though it was close range the shot fired at Vladimir somehow missed and he had the guy down on the floor instantly. There was a struggle but Russian security agents are well-trained and a quick jab to the throat rendered the guy dead. Retzlaf was moaning and Vladimir turned him over to see a large wound to the center of his chest. It was a fatal wound and before Vladimir could say anything Retzlaf was dead. The two men had worked together for five years and though agents are encouraged to forego friendship, there is a connection. Vladimir hung his head for a moment then got up and slid Gregori’s body in the corner by the stairs and continued the search for more enemies. It was a cold business but agents on both sides know that when they sign up and the life of the agent means nothing… only the life of the President matters. Right now, both President Lexington and President Deniken were alive and unhurt but there were many well-armed and dangerous men who could change that.
“What do we do?” Julieta asked as she followed closely behind Tatiana while they slid along the hallway on the forty-fourth floor.
“Kill the bad guys,” Tatiana responded nonchalantly.
“Yeah, I forgot.”
“Shh,” Tatiana said as she turned and put her finger to her lips and pointed to the corner they were approaching. They stopped and Tatiana listened to men talking then she put two fingers up and whispered something to Julieta who recoiled but a look from Tatiana indicated that Julieta must do what she was told. The two men came around the corner to find two women standing there with hands together at their waist and simpering looks on their faces. The two men looked at each other and Tatiana said something in Russian and the men smiled and chuckled. Both women put their arms out in a help me posture and the men put their guns away and approached the damsels in distress. Tatiana had said they were running from the Russian agents and needed someone to help them to safety. It achieved what Tatiana wanted and when the men were ten feet from them, she pulled out the .38 from her back and shot them both in the head. Julieta jumped back.
“How do you do that?”
“Instinct, we kill them or they kill us. Always be the first to strike if you can. Do it before they have a chance to react. You know the environment where I grew up and you know my past. Killing is nothing to me. You’ve never experienced that but you are now so, I’ll say it again… don’t think… just kill.” Julieta nodded then looked down at the two dead men and sighed. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”
“How are you doing, Ma’am?” Dave asked Clarice who’d been shot in the arm.
“Not bad, the pain has subsided.”
“I wish I had something for the pain besides these headache pills.”
“I’ll survive,” Clarice said and laid her head on a pillow and rested. Dave went to see Johnny Rodriguez.
“How’s the pain?” Dave asked.
“Still there.” The bullet nicked the lung and breathing was painful.
“I wish I could do more,” Dave said.
“Me too.” Dave patted Johnny’s knee and went to Little Wolf.
“Feel like dancing?” Dave asked and Little Wolf grinned.
“Maybe tomorrow.” Dave examined the wound.
“The bullet is still in there.”
“I know.”
“How?” Dave asked.
“I can feel it moving.”
“That’s it then, it has to come out.”
“It could move to the artery I take it.”
“Yes, so we don’t have a choice.”
“Can you get me into surgery?”
“Yes, you’re the only one waiting.”
“What about the others?”
“The woman has a flesh wound and the bullet may have passed through. In any event, at worst it’s near the surface and the agent has a bullet in his chest and maybe in the lung. I can’t do anything here. He needs a real surgeon in a hospital.”
“I see, well what do you have to work on me?”
“I have an Exacto knife, tweezers and a bottle of whiskey.”
“Needle and thread?”
“Yes.”
“Anesthesia?”
“Of course, and we’ll have you prepped for surgery right away and the anesthesiologist will be here in a moment to discuss things with you.” Little Wolf chuckled then got serious.
“You need to tell Mom.” Dave nodded.
“Jozette,” Dave said and she came right away.
“Yes.”
“I need to get the bullet out.”
“What can I do?”
“Have you ever assisted in surgery?”
“I sell real estate, Dave.”
“Good, you’ll do.”
“We could lay him on that table.” After laying Little Wolf down Dave sterilized the “instruments” as best he could with whiskey.
“You should take a few swigs of this before I start,” Dave said.
“No, thanks, Mr. Dave, I don’t drink.”
“This is hardly a party, Little Wolf.”
“I understand but I’ll bear the pain.”
“Okay but you’ll need to bite down on this,” Dave said and handed Little Wolf a washcloth. Little Wolf took the cloth rolled it up and looked at Dave.