Shadow Assassin

by Elle James

“A way to keep from being crippled by vicious ransomware.”

  Alex raised her eyebrows. “The pipeline has been hit?”

  “Yes. Two hours ago.”

  “I thought you had software to protect the pipeline from cyber-attacks,” Alex said.

  “I do, but my source is withholding delivery.”

  “Why?”

  “For a bigger payoff.”

  “How many cubic feet are you losing every minute?” Alex asked.

  “Too many. I must get the software that runs the distribution back online, immediately.”

  Alex shook her head. “Or you’ll be found out for the fraud you are?”

  “He will have more to lose than his dignity,” a female voice sounded from across the room.

  Natalya Zotin emerged from the shadows, wearing the royal purple dress she’d worn to the summit meeting earlier.

  Baranovsky’s face blanched. “How…?”

  “How did I get here before you?” She laughed. “You forget, I have my own jet. I can go anywhere in the world whenever I want. Faster than anything you can charter with government money. I knew where you’d go as soon as the grid went down. All you had to do was give me a percentage of what you’re siphoning off and none of this would have happened. The delegates would have eventually signed off on the Nord Stream two project and you’d have made even more money while keeping the gas flowing, both to the EU, and to me, because I hold the key to the ransomware.”

  Alex glanced from Natalya to Baranovsky, sick that she hadn’t seen through Natalya’s façade. “So, Sergei is stealing gas, and you want in on it?”

  Natalya snorted. “He’s not stealing anything right now. No one is getting natural gas out of this substation until the ransom is paid. And the ransom is fifty percent of what Sergei skims off the top and half of what he’s put back in his Swiss bank accounts.”

  Sergei’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t need you or your key to the ransomware.” He held up his hand. “I have the key.”

  Natalya’s eyes flared so briefly Alex almost didn’t catch the movement. Then she laughed. “You have nothing. My people have changed the parameters since the Federovs pirated a copy of my software. You have nothing.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Natalya’s glance went to Alex, and her lip curled up in a sneer. “You have the old software. Why did you bother to bring the Federovs’ daughter here?”

  “I might still have use of her. I understand the Federovs were keen on using biometrics. If they have any security in place, I might need the girl.”

  “I should have supervised the burning of the house myself. Everyone and everything was supposed to burn to the ground.”

  Alex’s face heated with the anger burning deep inside as the final key to her mother and father’s murders became clear. “You were the one who ordered my home to be destroyed with my mother and father inside,” she stated.

  “They trespassed on my system and stole something that belonged to me. I made them pay for their transgression.” The woman stood taller, her chin lifted high. “You were supposed to die with them, along with the pirated copy of software I paid for.”

  Alex drew in a deep breath, let it out and then lunged for Natalya, her claws out. This was the person who’d pulled the trigger on her parents. And she seemed proud of the murders she’d orchestrated.

  Alex almost reached Natalya when two men stepped out from behind the woman and grabbed Alex’s arms.

  She fought them, kicking them in the shins and groin, but they didn’t let go, stubbornly maintaining their grip on her arms.

  “You killed my parents,” Alex said through gritted teeth. “I will avenge them.”

  Natalya raised her arm. In her hand, she held a .40 caliber pistol, and she aimed it at Alex’s face. “Not if you’re dead.”

  Chapter 11

  When the plane landed at the airport near Greifswald, Germany, Striker could barely wait for the steps to be lowered before he leaped to the ground.

  Charley had said she’d send a car to pick him up and take him to where Alex’s tracking device had stopped. The only vehicle waiting for him on the tarmac was a sleek black Ferrari sports car. As he ran toward it, Charley filled him in via the communications headset.

  “It appears she’s at the substation where the Nord Stream pipeline connects with the pipe that runs under the Baltic Sea,” Charley said. “There will be guards on the gate. I sent another former Navy SEAL to assist you in breaching the facility. As you’re in Germany and they are considered allies, we couldn’t risk sending in a large team to recover Alex. I urge you not to take any more lives than are necessary. I’d prefer no lives were lost in this effort.”

  “Understood,” Striker said as he reached the vehicle. He didn’t like going into a hot situation with someone he hadn’t worked with before but, since the man was a former SEAL, he could make it work. He might even know the guy. The Navy SEAL community was a small, tight-knit community of highly skilled operatives.

  He opened the passenger door of the sports car and folded himself into the seat. He turned to the man behind the steering wheel and held out his hand. “Nice ride. Dane Ryan. My teammates called me Striker.”

  The man looked familiar in the light from the dash. He shook Striker’s hand. “Adam Nichols. I think we’ve been on a mission together…Afghanistan, maybe?”

  Striker nodded. “Been a few days, but I believe you’re right.” He dropped the man’s hand and turned to the road ahead.

  Adam handed him a tracking device.

  Striker studied it eagerly, feeling just a little bit closer to rescuing Alex just by seeing on the map where she was located. The device was new and appeared expensive. “How long have you worked for Charley?”

  “Not long, and I don’t work for her anymore. I only agreed to this mission to help out a fellow frogman.”

  “Have you actually met her?”

  Adam shifted gears and hit the accelerator hard. “No. It’s all smoke and mirrors. I didn’t like all the secrecy. I’d refused to work with her again until she called and said a Navy SEAL was in trouble. Otherwise, I’d have told her to go fuck herself.”

  “Bad experience?”

  “Not really. I just don’t trust her. I like to look into the eyes of the person I’m working with. She doesn’t give you that opportunity. And it’s creepy as hell the way she knows everything about you and your movements.”

  Striker nodded. “I get that. But I’m glad she sent someone to assist me on this mission. What do we have to work with?”

  “You’re already set with comm. I’ve been listening in on Charley’s sitrep. In the trunk, we have everything we might need, including weapons, camouflage, C4, duct tape and zip ties. Like Charley said, we can’t go in shooting everything that moves. We’re to get in, extract our target and get out with as little commotion as we can manage. From what we understand, the facility is rigged with an extensive video surveillance system. Charley’s working to shut that down before we arrive. Apparently, their transfer system has been compromised, and the flow of natural gas has come to a complete halt.”

  “Then they’ll be all hands on deck. That should make it more difficult to get in.”

  Adam nodded. “We just have to get past the gate guards. Once inside, we can use the C4 to handle any door locks.” He reached behind the seat, pulled out a handgun and passed it to Striker. “In case you have no other choice.”

  Striker inspected the weapon in the light from the dash. The 9 mm Glock was a pistol he was familiar with. The magazine was loaded and ready to go.

  “How far is this place?” Striker asked.

  “About twenty minutes. It’s located on the coast. We can park a mile away and go in on foot or take our chances and drive right up to the gate. The car will get their attention.”

  “Let’s do a combination of the two alternatives. I don’t want to waste time going in on foot. You can let me out a few yards ahead of the gate. While you distract the gua
rd with the Ferrari, I’ll take him out.” He held up his hands. “Let me rephrase. I’ll subdue him. You can be ready with the duct tape and zip ties.”

  Adam grinned. “Deal. It pays to demand a cool car.”

  Thankfully, darkness had descended on northern Germany, giving them the concealment they’d need to infiltrate the facility.

  A couple miles from their destination, Adam pulled the sports car off the road, popped the trunk and got out. They pulled on black coveralls with multiple pockets located on the sleeves and pant legs. They had a choice of camouflage sticks to blacken their faces or ski masks. Both men chose the camo sticks and quickly painted their faces and hands so that they wouldn’t stand out in the darkness. They added black body armor vests and stuffed what they needed into the pockets on the vest and in the coveralls.

  “How did Charley get her hands on C4 and detonators?” Striker asked.

  “How does Charley do anything?” Adam responded. “Her canned response is that she has contacts. Legal or otherwise, she gets the job done.”

  Striker shoved a small brick of the clay-like explosives into his vest along with a detonator and trigger device. He clipped a smoke grenade to a loop and added a couple of magazines for the handgun. After staring longingly at a submachine gun and an AR 15 rifle equipped with sights, he passed over those for duct tape, zip ties and a Ka-Bar knife.

  Once they were set, they climbed back into the Ferrari and drove to within a couple hundred yards of the facility.

  The cellphone interface in the Ferrari rang. Adam pressed the button to receive the call. “Video surveillance system has been disengaged,” Charley reported.

  “Good,” Adam said. “We’re going in.”

  Adam slowed enough for Striker to jump out, and then continued to the gate, moving slowly enough Striker could catch up quickly.

  Striker jogged along, checking his equipment for noise and securing anything that might alert the guard to his approach. He swung wide of the road, crossed through a field and eased up to the guard shack at the gate as Adam slowed the Ferrari to a stop.

  The guard stepped out.

  Adam whispered into Striker’s earbud. “Only one guard.”

  As the guard addressed Adam, Striker eased up behind him and grabbed him in a headlock, applying enough pressure to cut off the man’s air long enough for him to pass out, but not to kill the man. He checked for a pulse. The guy would live. Before the guard could fully recover, Striker secured the man’s wrists and ankles with zip ties and slapped a length of duct tape over his mouth. Then he dragged him behind the guard shack and left him lying on the ground. The entire effort took less than three minutes.

  While he’d secured the guard, Adam had opened the gate and driven the Ferrari through.

  Striker climbed into the Ferrari, and Adam drove toward the blip on the handheld tracking device. The closer they came to the blinking dot, the faster Striker’s heart beat.

  No one stepped out to stop them as they neared a building at the center of the massive facility.

  Adam parked the Ferrari to the side of the building, out of sight of the main entrance.

  Both men climbed out and found a side door that was likely used as an emergency exit and was otherwise barred as an entry point.

  It would work perfectly for their entrance into the building. Based on the tracking device, Alex was somewhere inside.

  Adam pulled off a section of the C4 and weighed it in his hand. As a Navy SEAL, they’d worked with explosives enough to know how much to use to breach a lock versus how much was needed to blow the building apart. He pressed the C4 against the locking mechanism on the door.

  Striker mashed the detonator into the clay-like explosives and nodded. “Ready?”

  Adam nodded, and the men stepped around the corner.

  Striker rested his finger on the button, ready to set the plan in motion. Depending on where the majority of people were congregating, a small explosion might not alert all inside to an attack. That’s what he hoped for. If every damned person inside decided to take up arms and fight, so be it. Striker wouldn’t leave without Alex.

  * * *

  Alex lifted her chin and turned to Baranovsky. “If she shoots me in the face, you won’t have access to the software on that flash drive. It’s encrypted with biometric software. I’m the only one who has access.”

  Baranovsky lunged for Natalya’s arm, knocking the barrel to the side just as Natalya pulled the trigger.

  The bullet hit the man on Alex’s left. He jerked backward, releasing his hold on her arm.

  Apparently shocked by the fact Natalya had fired the weapon inside the control room, the other man holding her arm also loosened his grip.

  Alex jerked free and ran for the nearest door. As she reached it, she looked back to find Baranovsky struggling to free the gun from Natalya’s hands.

  The weapon went off. Baranovsky fell to his knees and toppled forward, the flash drive flying from his hand.

  Natalya crossed to where it landed and stepped on it with her high-heeled shoe, crushing it beneath her.

  Alex’s chest tightened. Her parents had given their lives for what was contained on that flash drive.

  Natalya turned toward Alex and aimed the gun.

  A muffled boom sounded somewhere above. At first, Alex thought it was Natalya firing at her. A loud bang behind her sent her diving through the door as pieces of the wall above her fell into her hair. She passed the elevator, knowing it would take too long for that door to open and close again. Natalya would be within firing range too soon.

  Alex ran toward a sign that indicated stairs. She heard footsteps behind her. As she pushed through the door to a stairwell, she shot a glance over her shoulder. The man who hadn’t been shot was running toward her. Natalya emerged into the hallway behind him, aimed her weapon and fired over the man’s shoulder at Alex.

  The bullet hit the wall above her head. Alex let the door swing closed behind her as she raced up the stairs. Since she’d been brought in with a bag over her head, she had no idea how to get out of the building or where exactly she was. Her primary focus was to get away from Natalya and the men working for her. She couldn’t avenge her parents if the other woman put a bullet through her first.

  The stairs led to another level of the facility, opening up into an area with a metal catwalk that crossed over huge pipes and machines below. Across the maze of catwalks, Alex spotted the elevator shaft and the car rising up from the floor below. Footsteps pounded on the wire mesh of the catwalk behind her.

  Alex ran to a set of stairs and climbed up to another level of metal steps. The man behind her followed. Natalya exited the elevator on the level below and stood waiting for a clear shot.

  Alex refused to give it to her. She hid behind a massive column that stretched from the bottom of the facility through the roof. She couldn’t keep running or Natalya would eventually get the drop on her. Alex waited on the other side of the column. She had to deal with the man following her before she could find her way out of the building. If it meant going through Natalya, so be it. After all, the woman was the one she’d been searching for. She’d freely admitted she’d had Alex’s parents killed.

  Anger burned deep in Alex’s chest, but she wouldn’t let it control her. She channeled the adrenaline into action.

  When the man following her ran around the column, Alex was ready. She bent low and rammed into him, driving him backward. He slammed into the catwalk railing and tipped backward.

  Alex gave him the extra push needed to send him flying over the rail. He crashed to the concrete floor below and lay still.

  Which left her with one woman carrying a gun between her and getting the hell out of whatever building they’d brought her to.

  At least, she thought that was all there was between her and the exit. She didn’t know what other security was in place.

  “You might as well come out,” Natalya called, her voice echoing against the pipes and walls. “There is only one w
ay out of this building, and my people are waiting outside.

  Alex didn’t respond. Her best bet was to move quietly and sneak up behind the woman. It was hard to do on the metal mesh of the catwalk, but she couldn’t remain hidden behind the column indefinitely. Looking around, she found a metal ladder that led to the level below, and it was behind the column which would provide the concealment she’d need to make the descent without Natalya shooting her before she reached the bottom. Alex swung her leg over the rail, held onto the sides of the ladder and eased her way down as quietly as she could.

  When she reached the bottom, she stepped off onto a solid floor. Before she could turn, the barrel of a gun pressed against her throat. The scent of perfume wafted around her.

  Natalya.

  “You can’t be allowed to leave this facility alive,” she said. “You were supposed to die two years ago.”

  Alex cursed beneath her breath. If she so much as flinched, the woman would pull the trigger and that would be the end of her search for vengeance.

  “You have been the one loose thread that needed to be tied. I wasn’t sure you were a threat until Baranovsky stole you away from the conference. I figured he knew you had what your parents stole from me, and he was going to use it to cheat me out of what he owes me.”

  Alex wanted to take this woman out, but Natalya had the upper hand with a gun pointed at her and her finger on the trigger. “You’re both thieves and deserve each other,” Alex said through gritted teeth.

  Natalya snorted. “Your parents were no better. They stole from me. For that, they had to die.”

  “You destroyed the flash drive. I have nothing to hold against you.”

  “Maybe so, but now you know who I am.”

  “And who is that?” Alex said. “The person holding companies and nations hostage with ransomware? You prey on others.”

  “I prey on stupid people.”

  “You put people at risk of dying. Without natural gas, many will freeze to death.”

  “All they have to do is pay, and it’s theirs,” she said.

  Alex glared at her. “It’s blackmail, extortion.”