Clouds slid from the moon, lighting the entire area. Something about this place seemed familiar to Jake. “I know this sounds stupid, but this looks familiar.”
“It should,” Turner said. “I picked you up just a half a mile up the road last week.”
“Shit.”
Turner pointed across the road at a narrow lane that cut through an opening in the pines. “They went up that skunk trail. I drove along the entrance, crossing their tracks in the snow. Doesn’t look like they’ve come out. According to Bailey, the road curves around and stops at a dacha overlooking a lake. About a half a mile walk.”
“One way in and one way out,” Fisher said.
“My thought also,” Jake said. “Let’s pull in and block their exit. There’s no way in hell they could get around us.”
Without saying a word, Turner cranked over the taxi and, without lights, pulled the car into the long driveway, lodging it behind a couple of trees.
“There,” Turner said. “Now they can’t even push it with their car. Heard they gave you guys weapons. So, let’s rock and roll.”
Before getting out, they discussed their plan. Without any knowledge of the dacha, though, their plan would have to remain flexible.
The three of them got out and silently closed their doors. Even though they were quite a distance from the dacha, sound traveled a long ways in the evening.
Then they slowly walked down the narrow road toward the cabin, the only noise coming from their feet squeaking on the packed snow.
48
There was a light on in the small cabin on the lake, they could all see that much. To cut down on crossfire, should it come to that, they spread out to the west of the dacha. Fisher moved around to the far side toward the lake. Turner was in the middle and would approach the small wooden structure at the side. Jake would move lateral behind the cover of small pines toward the front door. They had done it that way because Jake and Fisher could be under audio contact at all times, and Turner, with the night vision goggles, would be able to see each of them.
Jake crept forward through the deep snow and was the first to spot the problem. Two men came out the front door, weapons over their shoulders, and lit cigarettes. What was even more disturbing, was their Russian military uniforms. He relayed that information to Fisher over the mic and used hand signals to Turner, who was now almost to the side of the dacha. But Jake was stuck. He had at least thirty feet of open space between his position and the front door. He’d have to wait for them to finish and go back inside. No, that wouldn’t work. What were the soldiers doing there? Whatever the reason, they were in his way.
The moon was visible now, but Jake looked up and could see that the clouds would soon cover it again.
“Fisher,” Jake whispered. “Once the clouds cover the moon, I need a distraction around the northeast side of the building.”
“Gotcha.”
Now, they waited. He didn’t want the soldiers to go back inside. Better to take them out and deal with the others without the extra guns.
They didn’t have to wait long. A band of clouds swirled in front of the moon, bringing darkness.
Jake slid his CZ-75 out from its holster and quietly slid a round into the chamber.
Then it happened. It sounded like a stick smacking a pine trunk. The guards immediately threw their cigarettes into the snow and turned to the right side of the structure.
“They’re moving toward you, Fisher.”
The two soldiers hurried around the side of the building and Jake rushed the front door, his gun leading the way. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Turner pull up alongside the west end of the dacha.
Jake slid up to the rough cut structure and peered through the edge of a small window by the door.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The moon came out again. Shortly, bursts of gunfire broke out from two AK-47s. More shots. But these were familiar 9mm rounds.
“Fisher. You all right?” Jake asked softly.
Nothing.
There was movement inside the dacha. Jake was stuck. They could fly out the door right into him.
He looked behind him and saw Turner at the corner of the building. Jake motioned for him to go around the side to see what had happened.
As Jake turned back around, one of the soldiers appeared at the far corner. Surprised. He started to raise his gun.
Crouching down, Jake shot once without thinking, catching the man in the throat. The soldier collapsed immediately into the snow.
There was more gunfire out back. First the AK-47 and then a 9mm.
Now came a haunting silence. Jake was shaking, unsure how to proceed. He had heard nothing from Fisher, and now Turner was gone as well.
Suddenly, the door burst open, followed by a shot. Having only a second to react, Jake took the bullet on the top of his left shoulder, twirling him around and back into the snow bank. He rolled to his side and tried to move his gun up into a firing position, when his eyes focused on the door once again.
Standing there, gun in hand, was Colonel Yuri Pushkina, his old friend and associate from the Russian Missile Forces.
“Yuri,” Jake whispered. He let his gun drop to the snow.
“Jake,” the Russian said. “What?” He stopped and motioned for the two Chinese women to get Jake.
When Jake saw Chang Su, her eyes were red from crying. She had a horrified look in those distressed eyes. The two women helped him up, Li grabbed his gun, and then they pulled him into the dacha, closing and locking the door behind them.
“Put him there,” Yuri said, pointing to a wooden chair near the fireplace. He paced back and forth along the wooden floor.
Su and Li stood back and watched.
“What are you doing here, Jake?” the colonel asked.
“You said I should come fishing sometime.”
The Russian laughed. “You see. That’s why I like you. Always a sense of humor. How many friends did you bring with you?” The colonel stepped toward Jake and then ripped the hat and headset from Jake’s head.
Jake put his right hand over the bullet wound, trying to stop the bleeding and hoping to dull some of the throbbing. There wasn’t much blood, and perhaps that was a good sign. More likely, though, the bullet had ripped through his shoulder socket and would need surgery to repair. That was the least of his problems now, though.
“Good thing your aim was off,” Jake said.
The colonel laughed under his breath. “Yeah, I was aiming for your head. You moved.”
“Thanks.”
“I had no idea it was you, Jake.”
“Why?” Jake tried to sit up straight, but the pain was making him dizzy.
“Why what? Why not kill you in Beijing? Why not kill you in Harbin? Why not kill you in Seoul?”
Jake ran each city through his mind, his thoughts a flurry of uncertainty.
“You’re like a cat, Jake. Nine lives.”
“I think I’m down a few lives after this last week,” Jake said.
“Maybe you’ve run out. It happens eventually.”
Jake looked across the room at Chang Su. “You mean you could have had Su kill me at any time. That’s true.”
Yuri looked at both women. “They are extraordinary women. But—”
“But you wanted us to get the photos of the Chinese laser site,” Jake said. “You could use that as leverage in case your other plan failed.” His mind reeled now, unsure of his own thoughts.
“You’re a bit too smart, Jake.”
“You couldn’t handle the Chinese having that weapon while Russia languished in corruption and military poverty. All of your power, your vast missile systems, would become obsolete. So you went out to some free agents.” Jake hesitated long enough to get his breath and point over to the two Chinese women. “You had to have this laser system for mother Russia.”