Rasputin's Prodigy

by Michael Weinberger

  I picked up the gun from the floor when the high-pitched “ping” of the elevator sounded from outside the office. An interruption by security forces right now was going to be a serious problem for us, but no sense wishing it were otherwise as they were on the way.

  Alexei moved first and slapped my shoulder and then pointed to the large window overlooking the city. I understood in an instant and picked up a larger piece of the chair that had broken near my feet, I think it was part of the seat and arms, as I threw it at the glass, which completely shattered in thousands of tiny pieces. Alexei didn't wait for me and ran for the opening as if to dive through, despite the fact that we were nearly five stories in the air. I looked back to see Dimitri rising to one knee, as he recovered from blow I had given him with the chair and then the office began to fill with several black clad figures as they bolted from the elevator car, all of whom were carrying automatic rifles equipped with silencers. There was no fighting those odds, so despite my lack of understanding and under the threat of imminent doom, I ran for the window and leapt through just as Alexei had, only to find myself plummeting down toward the empty concrete street five stories below.

  Chapter 29

  I had only dropped about ten feet and was about to scream in terror when something grabbed me by the waist. I felt my body bend uncomfortably as my fall became a swing back toward the face of the building and I crashed through a window on the fourth floor. I could feel my clothes and skin being torn by the glass and I barely had time to shield my eyes before my body hit the floor just inside the room.

  I was afraid to move for fear the glass that I was covered in would cut my skin even worse than it already was, but I still managed to look up in time to see Alexei’s swinging legs come into view, as he kicked himself back for momentum and then artfully levered himself in through the smashed opening.

  Alexei looked down at me, “Get up quickly, they will be coming down after us.”

  Forgetting the danger the glass shards represented I rapidly stood up as Alexei had requested and leaned over to look outside. There were no apparent hand or footholds that could have possibly supported our combined weight and the impossibility of what Alexei had just done bamboozled me to such a degree that I almost missed seeing the head of one of Dimitri's guards peering out of the shattered window above. The guard immediate pointed his weapon down at me, but I managed to pull my head back in before he could fire a shot.

  The fourth floor was set up like any normal office space, complete with hallways and several individual adjoining spaces. Alexei was checking the window view of each office space for something and I ran to join him just as the elevator again made its pinging sound.

  “Here!” Alexei called out beckoning me to follow and I made it to the office door just as the elevator door opened and again the men inside fired off a cacophony of shots in our direction.

  I closed the door behind me, for all the good it would do, turned to Alexei and said, “What's the plan?”

  We could hear Dimitri screaming at his men in Russian as Alexei opened the window and looked down.

  “There!” He pointed to an enormous dumpster, the kind that was normally used on construction sites during demolition. It appeared to be the same size as the cargo space on a trailer truck with the lid open and displaying that the inside was filled with what looked like garbage bags, as opposed to demolished wood, concrete and drywall.

  I pulled my head back in, my eyes wide with shock, “That only works in the movies!”

  Alexei smiled before involuntarily ducking his head, as the door to the office began to pop and splinter as the bullets burst through it.

  “No choice! Try to land as flat a possible!” Alexei had said as he grabbed my arm, twisted his body and flipped me out the window. I don't remember screaming as much as gasping for air while I fell and felt the wind rush by me. There was a loud snap, crackle and pop that filled my ears as I hit the detritus in the dumpster, exhaling sharply as the wind was knocked from my lungs. Despite the violence of the impact and my inability to breathe, I didn't feel that much pain, which made me wonder momentarily if I was paralysed before the sound of something else crashing into the dumpster next to me brought me back to my senses. This time the crash was accompanied by a resounding “clang” of something solid striking metal and I had recovered enough from my landing to realize that it was Alexei's limp form lying next to me. I reached out and shook him but got no response and guessed that the metal clanging sound had been Alexei hitting part of the metal container as he landed. A chill went through me as I realized that if he had hit his head on the side as he dropped inside he was as good as dead, so I quickly felt his neck and immediately found a strong pulse. I guessed that he had instead struck his head against the thin inner walls of the dumpster at some point during his landing, but now I had to drag his ass out as well as my own.

  I kicked my legs over and hung suspended at the waist on one side of the dumpster as I pulled Alexei up and out by the shoulders. I had just managed to leverage his torso over the side when the sound of bullets hitting the trash strewn around us gave me a reason to hurry. Without another option I just heaved Alexei out and we both flopped to the ground at a point behind the container, where I hoped we would both be out of the line of sight from the gunmen in the window.

  There were a multitude of “pangs” from the silenced rounds hitting, and often penetrating through the dumpster, but none of the bullets seemed to be able to find their way through both sides. I couldn't make a run for it without the risk of being shot in the back, not to mention the fact that I'd be leaving Alexei behind, so I needed to come up with a plan and fast.

  I looked at the base of the dumpster and saw that it was on wheels, but it still likely weighed over a thousand pounds and there was little chance that I could get the thing moving.

  Damn, I was sure that most of Dimitri's people were on their way down while a single guard or maybe two kept us covered to prevent our escape, but what could I do? Alexei started moaning as he regained consciousness and I put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from trying to get up and exposing himself as a target to the gunmen above us.

  Desperately I looked around and was trying to come up with something that could save us, but with the chaos happening all around me I was coming up blank. Then, from above, there was a cry of pain and surprise followed by silence until something hit the side of the dumpster hard enough to jolt the entire container. I kept my back pressed against the wall of the dumpster but rolled my eyes skyward to see an arm hanging limply over my head, and still tethered to the automatic rifle that it had been holding. The bullets stopped hitting the dumpster and I took the opportunity to improve my position and saw one of Dimitri's guards was folded neatly in half over one side of the dumpster. The guard had a hole in his forehead that had blown out the back of his skull. How the hell had that happened, I thought, but didn’t waste time wondering as I immediately grabbed onto the rifle that was still slung around the guard’s body. Unfortunately for me, the fall had entangled the shoulder strap around his head and I'd have to pull him out of the dumpster to get it off of him, which would likely expose me to any remaining gunmen. The bullets hadn't started raining down again, but that didn't mean I was in the clear. I decided to go for it and stood to lift the guard off the side of the dumpster when about six more guards ran around the far corner of the building and spotted me. I immediately ducked down and was about to pull Alexei around to the far side of the dumpster for cover when a sound of something cutting through the air came from over my head and the guard in the front of the pack suddenly contorted, flying back and falling to the ground.

  The guards all pulled up short and began retreating, as I turned my head in time to see a muzzle flash come from the building I had been hiding in earlier in the day. I heard another guard cry out in pain, as I took the opportunity to grab the rifle, scoop up Alexei in a fireman's carry, and then run as fast as I could across the street to the building where the shots we
re coming from.

  Bullets zinged off the pavement to my right so I darted left before I saw several flashes come from the sniper that had been covering me, and the hail of bullets following me ceased. I jumped over the curb and bounced Alexei roughly on my shoulders, which apparently jolted him to full consciousness, as he began kicking wildly to get off of my shoulders. I obliged with relief, and pulling Alexei in the direction I thought we should run when, from around the corner, the limousine belonging to Igor's friend fishtailed, righted itself and then, with its engine growling as the driver gunned it into action, the large car shot in our direction.

  I was already moving for the car when Alexei grabbed at my shoulder and pulled me down. I looked at him as he directed my attention across the street. There was a combination of Dimitri's black clad guards running out of the alley we had come from, and a multitude of security personnel bursting through the front door of the building. No shots rang out from above us, which meant our beneficiary sniper was gone, or perhaps just changing positions.

  “They're going to turn the car into confetti as soon as it stops,” I snarled.

  Alexei gave my shoulder a squeeze, “Just be ready to go when it get’s here.”

  I frowned at him, “What? Where are you going to be?” I didn't get answer before Alexei stood and ran.

  The guards instantly began firing at him, making the concrete of the building explode in a cloud of dust that trailed Alexei as he bolted. I have no clue how he wasn't riddled with bullets, but the guards kept firing their rifles as the bullet strikes trailed his path. Then all four of the black clad guards bolted after him. The guard in their rear flashed hand signals to the arriving security personnel and pointed toward the spot where I had taken cover, apparently telling them to stay on me. There were several of them, and they seemed to register the orders they had been given as they started toward me. They had barely taken a step when they realized that the limousine roaring down the road was going to pass between us. Their eyes darted from the car to me and back again, but it wasn't until the car screeched to a halt that they looked for cover or dropped to their knees and prepared to fire their weapons at us.

  At that moment Chris popped half his body out of the limousine’s sunroof with an automatic shotgun in his hands.

  “Spartans!” Chris hollered in his best imitation of actor Gerard Butler's King Leonidas, “What is your profession?!” The guards' eyes went wide with shock as their minds registered the weapon in Chris’ hands just before Chris opened fire with the shotgun. The recoil of the weapon resulted in double ought buckshot spraying wildly in their direction without any real regard for accuracy. Still, the guards scattered, diving to the ground before attempting to crawl to safety, and I took the opportunity to run for the car.

  I had barely cleared the door as I jumped in before Alpha slammed his foot down onto the accelerator and the car lurched forward. Chris was whiplashed with such force that he dropped one of his shotguns before he could get down from the sunroof and settle back into his seat.

  “What the hell are you guys doing here?” I asked in both fury and relief.

  “It was decided that your decision to attempt diplomacy was stupid,” Alpha said with about as condescending a tone as I had ever heard come from him.

  “We voted,” Chris volunteered, “and it was unanimous. You're officially an idiot.”

  I stared at Chris blankly, before the relief of being out of the fray finally sank in, “I suppose you guys were right.”

  “Gosh! You think?” Chris stated with mock incredulity. “In fact, I wanted to have a vote in favor of changing your name to “Stevie Stupid-pants” but I couldn't get anyone to second my motion.”

  Alpha groaned before asking, “Where is Alexei?”

  My wide grin faltered, “He took off leading three or four of the guards away.”

  “Did he say where we should meet him?” Alpha asked.

  I shook my head, “No, I had actually hoped you guys had talked about it before hand and it was a part of a plan.”

  “Uh oh,” Chris whispered, “so what do we do?”

  On instinct I said, “Last I saw of him, he had run to the next street and turned right with the guards in pursuit. Let's see if we can find him.”

  The vehicle shot forward until we reached the corner when Alpha spun the wheel and hit the brakes, fishtailing the heavy vehicle into a turn that maintained a good portion of its speed. The street was empty, but we scanned the buildings and any spaces between them for a sign of Alexei.

  When we approached another intersection Alpha called out, “Which way?”

  I tried to think and give a most likely or logical answer. Alexei was leading the guards away and turning right would be the beginning of a square or grid pattern that could lead the men back in our direction, so he wouldn't choose a right turn. A left turn would have interrupted his pursuers line of sight, albeit momentarily, where running straight ahead would give him no advantages.

  “Go left!” I answered and Alpha repeated the sliding turn to the left that he had done earlier. We had only traveled about fifty yards when Alpha suddenly hit the brakes and the car skidded to a halt, flinging both Chris and myself forward against the front seats and dashboard, respectively.

  Alpha's eyes were locked onto something to the left of the vehicle, and I turned in that direction to see what had caught his attention. The building Alpha was staring at was only a shell of its former self, and appeared to be mostly rubble strewn around a warped and rusted, but still standing, frame. Blackened marks indicated artillery fire had blotched the face of the concrete rubble and twisted the building’s metal structural support, which was partially melted down into the natural shadows of the ruin, giving the entire crumbling structure an organic feel, as opposed to something that once had been engineered.

  I was about to ask Alpha what he had seen when he quickly got out of the vehicle and jogged over to a towering concrete block with rebar sticking out of it in several places. Chris popped his body out of the sunroof and brought his sniper rifle up to cover Alpha as he quickly but cautiously peered around the block before disappearing behind it.

  I heard Chris hiss, “No! Don't...” followed by a huge sigh, “...go out of my line of sight.”

  I wanted to call out to Alpha, but he called out to us first, “How many were following him?”

  I thought for a second before answering, counting off the guards in my head, “Four!” I called back,

  Alpha came walking back around the far side of the concrete block dragging one of the black clad guards behind him by the ankle, as if the man weighed no more than a child. He nonchalantly lifted the man's limp form with one outstretched arm to make sure Chris and I could see what he had found. In true Alpha form, he had no regard for the incredible feat of strength he was displaying. He then dropped the man, discarding him like the inanimate object he apparently was and walked back to the vehicle.

  Once he climbed back inside he said, “All four of the guards are over there. Two look to have what appear to be knife wounds while the other two look as though they simply dropped where they stood with no signs of injury.”

  “Like the guy you just held up?”

  “Yes, the very dead guy I just held up.”

  I looked away from Alpha and back toward the ruins, “Any sign of Alexei?”

  Alpha shook his head, “No. No blood, or anything else that might help us track him, he's just gone.”

  Chris dropped back into the car, “So what now?”

  “Nothing we can do at this point,” I said with a sigh, “let's go collect William and discuss our next move.

  I had a sick feeling as Alpha put the transmission into drive and took us out of the area. I didn't like leaving anyone behind, especially not someone who had just saved me from my own shortsightedness. I had truly expected Dimitri to want to get us out of the way badly enough for the ancient, evil, Russian bastard to make a deal with us. I had also been arrogant enough to think that if things
went sideways I could take the old man out on my own. I cursed myself for a fool.

  With the exception of Alpha, and William of course, I had always been the fastest, strongest and most capable of my kind. I was Alpha's lead Hunter, but I needed to remember that this didn't mean I was Alpha, or even in his league. The Ancients, like Alpha and Dimitri, were playing on a level that only time and experience can muster, and Dimitri was older than Alpha. I had gone toe to toe with Alpha in the past and got my ass handed to me, but had not been overly surprised by the beating I took, because Alpha looked the part. Alpha was tall, muscular and moved with a grace of motion that practically shouted what a danger he was. On the other hand, Dimitri used his frail appearance to make his enemies, like me, underestimate him by thinking him to be the old man he appeared to be. And he had a sword. Even if he hadn't taken my gun from me, he had still accessed a blade in an instant. Maybe I could have survived a hand to hand skirmish or at least found a way to run away, but once Dimitri had armed himself it would have been over. In fact, after having tangled with both Alpha and Dimitri, I wasn't sure Alpha could have handled him either. Alpha was definitely the stronger of the two, but if Dimitri was armed, then he would likely have chopped Alpha to pieces.

  The image of Alexei having fought Dimitri to a standstill, with that machete he called a hunting knife, suddenly became far more impressive to me, and even though he had apparently escaped from his pursuers, I could only hope that he had survived the encounter intact.