In the dark he let the sweet relief of sleep take him for but a moment before he was brutally torn from it. From outside his door he heard a loud shriek—“Breach!”
“What?” he shouted out loud, but in the havoc of the siren and men on duty shouting orders, he was left unanswered. Bern jumped up and pulled on his pants and boots without bothering with socks.
He expected gunshots, explosions even, but there was only the sound of confusion and corrective measures. From his apartment he came flying, gun in hand, ready to fight. He swiftly moved from the south building to the lower eastern area where the stores were located. Did this sudden breach have anything to do with the three visitors? Nothing had ever penetrated the brigade systems or gates until Nina and her friends showed up in this part of the country. Could she have incited this and used her capture as a decoy? A thousand questions shot through his mind as he made his way to Alexandr’s room to find out.
“Ferriman! What is going on?” he asked one of the members who passed him.
“Someone violated the security system and entered the premises, captain! They are still in the compound.”
“Lockdown! Initiate lockdown!” Bern bellowed like an angry god.
The technicians on guard punched in their successive codes and within seconds the entire fortress had been closed up.
“Now, units 3 and 8 can go hunting these rabbits,” he ordered, wide awake from the rush of confrontation that always left him so exhilarated. Bern burst into Alexandr’s bedroom and found the Russian looking out his window. He grabbed Alexandr and slammed him against the wall so hard that a trickle of blood seeped from his nose, his pale blue eyes wide and bewildered.
“Is this your doing, Arichenkov?” Bern seethed.
“Nyet! Nyet! I have no idea what is going on, captain! I swear it!” Alexandr shrieked. “And I can promise you this has nothing to do with my friends either! Why would I do anything like this while I am here, at your mercy? Think about it.”
“Stranger things have been done by smarter people, Alexandr. I trust nothing for what it is!” Bern insisted, still pinning the Russian to the wall. His eye caught movement outside. Releasing Alexandr, he rushed to see. Alexandr joined him at the window.
They both saw two figures ride from the shelter of the nearest clump of trees on horseback.
“Christ!” Bern shouted, frustrated and fuming. “Alexandr, come with me.”
They made their way to the dispatch room where the technicians checked the circuits one last time, switching to every CCTV camera for a feed. The commander and his Russian companion thundered into the room, pushing the two technicians aside to get to the intercom.
“Achtung! Daniels and Mackey, get to the horses! The intruders are moving south east on horseback! Repeat, Daniels and Mackey, pursue on horseback! All snipers report to the southern wall, NOW!” he barked orders over the system that was rigged throughout the entire fortress.
“Alexandr, do you ride?” he asked.
“I do! I’m a tracker and a scout, captain. Where are the stables?” Alexandr boasted with zeal. This type of action was what he was made for. His knowledge of survival and tracking would serve them all well tonight and, oddly enough, he did not care this time that there was no payment for his services.
Down in the basement level that reminded Alexandr of a big garage they rounded the corner to the stables. Ten horses were permanently kept, in case of un-navigable terrain during floods and snow, where vehicles could not pass over the roads. With the serenity of the mountain valleys the animals were taken out daily to the pastures just south of the rock face where the lair of the brigade was. The rain was ice cold, its spray blowing into the open side of the area. Even Alexandr elected to steer clear of it and silently wished he was still in his warm bunk bed, but then, the heat of the chase would fuel him to keep warm.
Bern gestured for the two men they met there. They were the two he had summoned over the intercom to ride and their horses were already saddled.
“Captain!” they both greeted.
“This is Alexandr. He will be accompanying us to find the trail of the intruders,” Bern informed them as he and Alexandr prepared their horses.
“In this weather? You must be good!” Mackey winked at the Russian.
“We’ll know soon enough,” Bern said, buckling his stirrups.
Into the furious and frigid storm the four men rode out. Bern was ahead of the other three, leading them along the trail where he had seen the intruders fleeing. From the surrounding grassland the mountain started slanting southeast and in the pitch dark it was very dangerous for their animals to traverse the rocky territory. The slow speed of their pursuit was necessary to maintain the footing for the horses. Convinced that the fleeing horsemen had an equally careful trip, Bern still had to make up for the time lapse their headstart had granted them.
They crossed the small brook at the foot of the valley, navigating across on foot so as to lead the horses over the substantial boulders, but by now the cold rivulet did not faze them at all. Soaked from the water the heavens poured, the four men finally got back on their horses and continued south to get through the gorge that allowed them access to the other side of the mountain base. Here Bern slowed.
This was the only traversable trail the other horsemen could have taken out of the area and Bern motioned for his men to bring their horses to a walk. Alexandr dismounted and crept alongside his horse, passing Bern slightly to check the depth of the hoof prints. His hand signals suggested that there was movement just on the other side of the jagged rocks where they stalked their quarry. They all dismounted, leaving Mackey to lead the horses away from the site, doubling back so that they would not betray the party’s presence there.
Alexandr, Bern, and Daniels stole toward the edge and peeked over. Grateful for the noise of the rain and the occasional bellow of thunder, they would be able to move comfortably without being too quiet, should need be.
Toward the road to Kobdo the two figures had stopped for a breather, while just to the other side of the massive rock formation where they collected their saddle bags, the hunting party of the brigade noticed a gathering of people on their way back from the Mengu-Timur monastery. The two figures slipped into the shadows and crossed the rocks.
“Come!” Bern told his companions. “They are joining the weekly convoy. If we lose sight of them they will be lost to us and blend in with the others.”
Bern knew the convoys. They were sent with provisions and medical supplies to the monastery on a weekly, sometimes fortnightly, basis.
“Genius,” he smirked, refusing to admit defeat, but having to concede that he was rendered powerless by their clever deception. There would be no way to tell them from the group, unless Bern could somehow hold them all up and force them to empty their pockets to see if there were anything familiar taken from the brigade. On that note, he wondered what they wanted with their rapid entry and exit of his compound.
“Shall we get hostile, captain?” Daniels asked.