by Peter Kozmar
As the three vehicles drove past the ground vibrated and their tyres spat out gravel which landed on their concealed position. From out of the darkness, the sound of crashing metal and glass reached them followed, moments later, by an explosion as the fuel tank exploded, the sound echoing off the cliff face.
Andy pushed the branch away and slowly crawled to the top of the ditch. He found himself looking down on the vehicles parked about a hundred meters away. He could make out the shapes of people moving to where the car would have left the road and could hear the sound of jubilant voices. Bastards!
Andy knew it was too risky to stay by the side of the road as there wasn’t much cover and they could be easily discovered. He looked at the slope above them. It didn’t appear too steep and there was a wall of trees which would provide good cover and wouldn’t be overseen from the road. Andy crawled back to Luba and whispered in her ear, “Luba. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m going to pick you up and we’re going to move up the bank into the trees and then take a break. Don’t make a noise and don’t struggle. Luba, I need you to help me out, okay?”
Luba didn’t make a sound. She remained unconscious. Andy hoped she’d heard him. He stood up and checked no one was looking, or walking, towards their position. The fire down the cliff silhouetted the onlookers making it easier to see them. They appeared engrossed in the spectacle.
Andy stooped over Luba, picked her from the ground and put her over his shoulder in a Fireman’s lift. He turned and started up the dirt bank leaning hard into the slope. His left arm held Luba’s legs in position and stopped her slipping, he used his free right arm to push off from the ground as well as an extra point of contact for the climb. His legs worked hard to carry them both upwards. He reached the top of the bank where he stood up straight and, after a few more strides, was amongst the tall pine trees.
As he stepped into the trees they were enveloped in complete darkness. He faced a dilemma, stay near the road and risk being found or moving through the trees to get further away. He decided to try to move further into the forest, but the darkness and dense tree canopy made it impossible to progress further. We’re away from the road. Out of direct line of sight and concealed in a blanket of darkness. It’s safer to stay here and stay put! He was sweating which wasn’t good and last thing he needed was to go into hypothermia when the sweat chilled, then he’d be no use to either of them!
Andy gently placed Luba on the soft ground. His hands touched a thick layer of pine needles. In the pitch darkness he felt around Luba to check that he’d placed her into the recovery position. Since he couldn’t see her, he positioned his head near her face and listened to her gentle breathing. Andy turned to face the road and could just about see the edge of the trees. He felt the urge to go and look at the scene on the road, but realized it was a dumb idea as he could be discovered or worse, not manage to find his way back to Luba.
With his second dilemma resolved, he lay down next to Luba, before he got too close he whispered into her ear, “Luba. I’m close to you so we can both keep warm. We’re safe. It’s just going to be a cold night.” Andy thought Luba moved slightly to acknowledge him, or she could have been shivering because of the cold. Andy felt Luba’s warmth and, within moments, he fell asleep.
CHAPTER 41
The sound of movement woke him. Andy didn’t think he’d slept well as the ground, even with its thick blanket of pine needles, felt hard, cold and damp. He opened his eyes to see Luba staring down at him. Andy placed his index finger on his lips. “Shhh,” he whispered quietly, “they’re not far away.”
Andy stood. His head throbbed from the painful hangover the alcohol had given him. He felt thirsty and needed to drink water, a lot of water. Looking around their surroundings he knew this wouldn’t be anytime soon. He shivered as a cold breeze gently washed over him and made the tree branches creak mournfully as the wind worked its way through the trees.
He faced Luba and whispered, “They kidnapped me from the spa area at the hotel and took me to one of the bakeries where I woke up sharing a cell with … Vladim.”
“He’s alive?” she whispered.
“For now. They had all manner of tools for torture and a lunatic doctor who is a specialist in terror and making death a preferred alternative to life in his hands! He appeared upset he couldn’t inflict the pain he wanted on me as ‘they’ wanted my death to look like an ‘accident’. They strapped me to a chair, put a tube down my throat and emptied a bottle-and-a-half into a funnel straight into my stomach. The tube had the taste of gas so I guess I was ‘lucky’ it was an overdose of alcohol and not something more toxic!”
Luba nodded to show she was listening as Andy continued, “I woke up in a car with someone shouting that I needed to move and that ‘they’ were coming after me. I was drunk and confused, but knew I needed to get away. They set us up on a narrow and windy road counting on me, in my drunken state, to try and escape and the likely outcome would be a crash. I realized I had a passenger but didn’t look to find out who as I was focussed on keeping the car on the road and survival. Once out of sight, I stopped, and discovered it was you. I got us out and sent the car on its way to crash at the bottom of the cliff.”
“They didn’t see us escape into the darkness as I had managed to find cover at the bottom of a ditch. They didn’t search the area because they assumed I was too drunk to make rational decisions. So they watched the car on its final journey over the cliff and cheered as the fireball illuminated the darkness. They think we’re dead. I moved us up here for more cover, as it was so dark, and stayed close to you to keep warm.” He held his hands up as if in surrender, “You probably saved my life.”
He pointed in the general direction of where he thought the crash occurred, “The crash site is just beyond the trees, it’s very close. I think they might hang around to make sure that we’re dead.” Her expression softened, then he asked, “How did you end up in the car?”
“After I realized you were missing, I went through the hotel’s CCTV and was able to view the footage of your kidnapping. I asked for a copy and was told they needed time to get it ready for me. It was late and I was hungry so I ordered a meal from room service and went back to my room. As I called Moscow, I smelt an unusual, sweet, chemical smell, next thing I know I’m waking up strapped to a chair.”
“So, they used knock-out gas on you?”
“Yes. It’s used by our security forces to supress resistance and by criminal gangs to commit robberies.”
“What happened to you after that?”
“Like you, they made me drink. Bottle after bottle until I fell in and out of consciousness. Then they untied my hands and handed me the empty bottles to get my prints on them. The last thing I remember is someone putting their hands on my shoulders and a pressure on my neck, after that, nothing until I woke up here in your arms.”
“We need to get back to the city and get help.”
“Agreed and, since we know the police can’t be trusted, we’ll go to the FSB office. They’ll help.”
“Before we figure a way out of here and head off, let’s see what’s happening on the road with the crash site.” Luba nodded in agreement. He noticed she was shivering as they finished their conversation. We need to get into out of the cold and into some warm clothing. They worked their way back to the edge of the treeline, then crawled forward in the tall dew laden grass to where the bank dropped steeply to the road. They peered over the bank making sure they lay hidden.
Below them there were now two police cars and a fire truck. “Looks like the fire’s out and the firemen are packing up.” Andy focussed on the fire truck and watched the firemen reeling in the hoses and putting away their heavy gear. He saw a policeman wave to a tow truck, beckoning it to join them. With the scene safe they can recover the burnt out wreck, we need to be away from here when they find the car was empty.
He hoped that they would see the seatbelts undone and assume that they were thrown out and their bodies h
ad been washed away by the rivers current. Judging by the amount of alcohol pumped into him it would be easy to believe that both of them had perished because there was no way Andy would have been fit to drive along the narrow track. That was where his high tolerance to alcohol had been an advantage. As long as we can get back to the city before we freeze to death, whoever did this to us will wish we had been in that car.
A heavy-lift tow truck drove past and slowed as it approached the emergency vehicles. Luba spoke next. “They’ll soon find out we weren’t in the car when it blew up.”
“What do you think they’d do after that?” Andy asked.
“The police will report back and the gang will find out. To check where we were thrown from the vehicle, they’ll comb the cliff face and the river below. When they fail to find us, the gang will comb the ground along the road looking for clues.”
“We’d best get out of here.” Andy whispered as he slowly edged back and wiped his arms through the grass to catch water onto his clothes from the dew. Once they were back in the treeline, Andy removed his top and stretched his sleeves above his head then started to tightly wring them, causing the water he’d collected to drop into his mouth. He’d gained only a mouthful and in these circumstances it tasted good. Luba looked at him disapprovingly.
With his back to the road Andy pointed to the left, “If we stay in the trees and skirt around we can re-join the road.”
Luba shook her head and replied, “The mountain is too steep that way. The tree cover thins out and we could easily slip and fall, finding ourselves back on the road with no cover .”
“What do you suggest?” Andy asked.
“Here the ground isn’t very steep. We can climb straight up to the saddle between the mountains,” Luba pointed through the trees to a dip between two peaks. “We’ll have good cover all the way, so we won’t be seen. From the top when we descend we’ll hit a road. We either hitch a ride or find a house and ask for help. We’ll figure something out.”
“Sounds good, let’s get moving, you lead.” Luba walked past Andy and made her way up the slope and deeper into the mountain forest. It didn’t take long for Andy to break into a sweat as the gradual climb got steeper. The forest floor was firm underfoot and free from fallen logs and branches making the climb marginally easier. Andy watched Luba striding out in front. He lost sight of her two or three times and felt a slight moment of panic before she re-appeared. The exertion, dehydration and lack of fitness took its toll on him. His calves and thighs burned, his head throbbed, his throat dry and sore. He saw Luba stop and bend down in a slight gully. As he approached he could hear the faint sound of running water and, when Luba looked up, he could see water dripping off her chin.
“Come on, we both need this, it’s fresh off the mountain and delicious.” Andy didn’t need any encouragement. It could have been a stagnant pond complete with a decomposed animal carcass and he would have been just as happy. Even before he could see it, he could feel the damp and smell the water. Then he saw the crystal clear water cascading down rocks and through thick lichens into small pools and falls. Making his way down the small gully to the water, Andy slipped on the damp moss and quickly grabbed the nearest tree trunk to steady himself. “You okay?” Luba asked.
“I need some water and a few minutes’ rest, then I’ll be good,” he replied. He reached into the stream with one hand and felt the chill of the icy mountain water. He cupped both hands and scooped the clear water into his parched mouth until his thirst was sated.
“Good. No?”
“Very good,” Andy said as he sat just inside the gully, his head peering out over the top. He looked down the slope, towards the direction they had travelled from, to make sure they were still alone; they were. He sat in silence for a few moments as he scanned for signs of movement. “Looks clear.” When he didn’t get a response he turned to see Luba at the water’s edge again, drinking more water. Andy decided he needed more fluids too. In between scoops he said, “No one is following.”
“They will start looking for us soon enough, so we can’t stick around here too long, we need to put more distance between us and them.” Luba stood and climbed out of the gully, “Can you make the final push to the saddle?”
Andy climbed out and looked up the mountainside to the saddle. His heart sank, even though they had been walking for a while, the saddle looked a long way off in the distance. The ground ahead looked steep too and he was already finding it difficult to keep up. Come on! You need to keep going and you need to do it now! He didn’t want to sound as if he was struggling, they both had to make the effort, and he didn't want to let Luba down. “Okay, Let’s do it!” he said, as enthusiastically as he could muster.
As the two of them pushed onwards, towards the saddle, the gradient steepened. This time Luba stayed closer. Every few minutes Andy had to stop to catch his breath. He used each short break to allow his legs to recover from the fatigue they now felt. Luba was patient and gave Andy the time he needed. She had her orders and couldn’t leave him behind.
After another two hours of hard walking, they reached the saddle. Exhausted and thirsty, Andy turned and looked at the road in the distance below them. He could just make out the tow truck, the two police cars and, now, a flatbed truck. The burnt out car had been pulled up to the road. A small crowd of morbid sightseers had gathered, forced to wait, while the car was recovered and the road was closed.
“They will know we were not in the car by now,” Andy said, “they’ll be spreading out from the crash site searching for us. They’ll probably have people watching the hospitals and our hotel. So we’ll have to be careful, I don’t want another night like last night, and it would be good if we could rescue Vladim.”
Andy watched as Luba turned her attention to the route in front searching for landmarks to help navigate their way out. He could see their immediate descent was far steeper than the route they’d come up. At least the trees will help with hand and foot holds, he thought, trying to galvanise himself for the task ahead.
He could see a fifty metre clearing, caused by a large landslip, which would leave them in the open and exposed. After the clearing, they’d have a sharp climb over a small ridge, then, further down, they’d meet a mountain stream and could follow it down to a bridge over the stream on the main road. He could see a few vehicles using the road.
“We need to go, now!” Luba called out, “let’s go!” She took the lead and headed down the steep mountainside, Andy watched as she steadied herself against the trees each time she slipped. Andy wasn’t as agile and fell twice, each time frantically grabbing at branches to arrest his fall. Luba waited by a sheer rock face for Andy to catch up.
“We can’t go around. We have to make our way down.” Luba said, as if it was just a normal day at the office. She led the way using rocks and tree roots as handholds to help her descent. Andy continued slower and more cautious this time checking for suitable points for his hands and feet, and making sure he kept three points of contact on the rock face. He resisted the urge to look down. He was scared enough as it was, he needed to keep focussed on each move, then he could reduce his risk of falling.
After the rock face, the gradient got easier and they made quick progress to the site of the recent slip. Rocks and boulders had crashed down the mountain carving a trail through the trees leaving behind an avenue of snapped and scattered branches and broken trees. Luba sat inside the treeline on the edge of the slip as she waited for Andy.
“We will be in the open and exposed. Go slowly and don’t look around. If an aircraft passes overhead, take cover as soon as you hear it and don’t look up.”
“Understood,” Andy said as he looked across the clearing. That’s a big slip! It was a mixture of boulders, scree and tree debris. Downhill to the right, a large pile of twisted tree trunks which had been ripped off the mountain and carried by the slip to their final resting place. “I wouldn’t have wanted to have been here when this happened,” he said, trying to sound a
bit braver than he felt.
“I think this ground is unstable, it could happen again, but if we take it easy, I think we’ll be okay.” Luba replied as positively as she could, “I’ll go first.” Luba stood and slowly walked across the exposed boulder field. At one point the boulders were so large she had to hop across between the tops of them. Safely across she took cover inside the treeline.
Andy had one last look around and made his way carefully towards Luba. Although he felt vulnerable making the crossing in the open ground, he enjoyed the sudden warmth from the sun as its rays washed over him. By the time he reached Luba, the warmth from the sun had gone. They paused for a moment while, looking for signs of pursuers and listening for sounds of anyone approaching.
Satisfied they were not in any immediate danger, they pressed on and were soon over the small ridge and tracking along the river for the road. Andy felt in good shape when they reached the road. They knew vehicles heading to the right were going towards the city. Luba stood by the road as Andy sat to one side. He watched as Luba moved into the middle of the road and animatedly waved her arms over her head at an approaching truck.
“Hey! Stop! Stop!” she shouted.
Andy heard vehicle brakes and the sound of the truck slowing to a stop. Luba ran to the driver’s window, climbed up to the cab and had a brief conversation.
She called out: “We have our lift.”
CHAPTER 42
Andy got to his feet and jogged slowly to the livestock transporter. The bleating from the animals in the back, along with the smell of excrement, allowed Andy to figure out it carried a cargo of live sheep. He made his way to the passenger door, but Luba had already taken the passenger seat. “Get in the back,” she directed with a smile.