“Because you’d be stealing from all of us.” Arnoff gestured to the other men in the room, all of whom nodded, corroborating the fact that they had been grievously wronged.
“Zelvas was the one who was disloyal,” Nathaniel said, sobbing. “As soon as I found out, I had him killed. You must believe me.”
Arnoff turned to the sixth man, the stranger in the room. “Do you believe this svoloch, Gutov?”
Gutov looked at Prince in disgust and spit out a single word. “Nyet.”
Arnoff stood up. He was tall and muscular, with a perpetual tan and thick white hair that was combed perfectly in place.
“Anton Antonovich Gutov is your replacement. He doesn’t believe you. I don’t believe you. No one believes you.”
Nathaniel stood there, his pants around his ankles, his legs and genitals burning hot, his dignity and his dreams gone.
“You were the golden boy, Nathaniel,” Arnoff said, a hint of regret in his voice. “Another five years, and you would have been seated among us. But now, the gold is tarnished. The price of your mistake is ten million dollars. If you pay it, you can return to Russia and live out your days without threat from us. Your prior service has earned you that.”
Nathaniel dropped to his knees, more overcome by the blessed reprieve than the intense pain. “Thank you,” he said, weeping. “Thank you.”
Chapter 78
I WAS DESPERATE to find Katherine before Chukov did.
I phoned, e-mailed, and texted. No whining, no pining, no please come back, I need you messages — even though that’s how I felt. I made it clear that the people who were after me could come after her and that I had to get her out of harm’s way immediately.
By midmorning I still had no idea where she was.
But the Fortress was battle-ready. Ty had set up a surveillance post on the roof that gave him clear visuals of all points of access to the building. Zach was on the first floor, waiting in his apartment to flank our enemies and trap them inside when they charged up the stairs. Adam and I were in my apartment, tactical harnesses strapped on, magazines checked, going over our points of cover one more time.
“Déjà vu,” he said. “Takes me back to Phantom Fury.”
“Not a place I want to go back to,” I said.
And yet I go back there in my head all the time.
Operation Phantom Fury had been part of the second battle of Fallujah. A year after Saddam fell, the insurgents had turned the city into a rat’s nest of booby traps, IEDs, and snipers. Adam, Zach, Ty, and I were attached to Third Battalion, 1st Marines — the Thundering Third.
Our mission was to take Fallujah back one block at a time.
I was leading a squad of nine men when we took on enemy fire from the top floor of the Qukayh Hotel. We ducked into an abandoned apartment building and raced up the stairs to get a better shot at the hotel hajjis. As soon as we made it to the roof, two of our guys were hit. The rest of us scrambled for cover, but it was only a matter of time before they’d either pick us off or hit the roof with mortar fire.
I was about to give the order to head back down the stairs, when the insurgents stormed through the front door and started heading up.
Pinned down by fire from above and with the enemy blocking our retreat below, we radioed for an evac team. Tank support was still six blocks away, trying to navigate through a maze of IEDs.
We were carrying two wounded, running low on ammo, and didn’t have enough cover to wait for air support.
There was only one way out. Down the stairs through a shitstorm of enemy bullets. I figured half of us would make it out alive. I was ready to go first.
I’d be dead if it hadn’t been for Middleson. Jody Middleson was nineteen, a kid from rural Kentucky who spent most of his free time thumbing through a dog-eared Bible, playing the harmonica, and writing home to his mother, father, and his four sisters. I’d never seen him drunk, never heard him curse, and rumor had it he was still a virgin.
“No, sir,” Jody said. “The squad needs you. I’ll go first.”
“Thanks, but it’s not your call, Private Middleson,” I said.
The kid had never disobeyed an order until that day.
He didn’t argue. He just pulled the pins on two grenades and ran for the rooftop entrance to the hotel.
I screamed at him to stop but he kept running, miraculously making it to the doorway without being hit.
But as soon as he opened the door, five insurgents riddled him with bullets. He dived forward, letting the armed grenades fall from his lifeless hands.
In all my years in combat, it was the finest act of courage I had ever seen.
The explosions rocked the building, and the insurgents were either killed or stunned enough for the rest of the squad to finish the job. An hour later, the tanks got through and cleaned up the snipers’ nest.
Jody Middleson was awarded the Medal of Valor.
I learned a hard lesson that day, one that neither the Ghost nor I ever forget. Consider every possible angle. Think the unthinkable.
Adam was right. It was déjà vu. But this time, I was on my home turf, and I had no excuse for being trapped in a desperate situation.
I made a promise that afternoon in Fallujah never to lose another man to poor planning.
The Russians were coming. And we’d be ready for them. We knew we had one big advantage. No matter what Chukov threw at us, we still had the element of surprise.
“I’m not going to second-guess you,” Adam said, “but do you think this is the best idea?”
“What do you mean?”
“You let Chukov know where you are. We’ll win this battle, but these guys are like cockroaches. You squash one, and the next day ten more crawl out of the woodwork. These maniacs will keep after you until they get their money or kill you — or, most likely, both.”
“I have no choice,” I said. “I need to get their focus off Katherine.”
Adam shook his head. “All these years you’ve managed to keep the Ghost off everybody’s radar. But the way this is shaping up, the Russian Mafia will be chasing Matthew Bannon. You’ll be running for the rest of your life.”
“I’m not running anywhere. Not until I can convince the woman I love to run with me.”
“And if she says yes?”
I smiled at the thought. “They’ll never catch me. I’ve got plenty of money and the three best bodyguards on the planet.”
Adam put both hands to his heart and fluttered his eyes at me. “And the woman you love.”
I punched him in the shoulder. It was like hitting granite. I’m sure I felt it more than he did. “Are you making fun of the guy who signs your paycheck?” I said.
“No, sir. Just let me and the guys know if you decide to change your handle from the Ghost to the Hopeless Romantic.”
My cell phone rang. I checked the caller ID. It was Katherine.
I grabbed it. “Hello.”
I heard her say my name, but it was a terrible cell connection and she was sobbing uncontrollably.
“Katherine, what happened?”
“Leonard…Leonard Karns. They shot him. He’s dead.”
This was no coincidence. Karns was about one degree of separation from me — the same as Katherine. I had to get to her. “Where are you now?” I said.
“Subway station. I just got off the—”
And then the phone went dead.
“Damn it!” I turned to Adam. “They killed one of the guys in my art class. An asshole, but still. We’ve got to find Katherine. We’ve got to find her right now.”