by Sara Schoen
Since we wanted to be at the river before Nikolai and the other men showed up in order to save Katya and her mother, Demon had ordered me out of bed at five this morning. Even with the minimal hours of sunlight this area received in November, I knew it was too early to get up because it was still dark outside. Even when the sun was up, the sky was mostly overcast and always made it seem as if there was an impending blanket of snow about to crash onto us. It provided a poetic ambiance for the murders about to be committed—dark and dreary. Hopefully we would be able to stop them with the information Nikolai had given us. We found the river’s bend about four miles from town, and waited to see if Nikolai had given us the right information.
“Stay down, Night Stripe,” Demon commanded as he pulled me to the ground, straight into the snow.
I tensed as my body hit the cold ground. It had snowed last night and covered the town and surrounding area in almost two feet of the white stuff, which was well over their average snowfall for this time of year. I hadn’t been expecting snow thanks to Radar, an expert in most areas in Europe. I guess Russia’s weather wasn’t in his field of expertise, and so we were ill-prepared for the fresh snowfall. I had a coat, but it wouldn’t do much good if we were waiting out here for a few hours before they came by. I’d be frozen with hypothermia if I was lucky.
“I need to stretch my legs,” I said as I slowly inched away from the snow beneath me, but my clothes were already wet and would do me no good if we were out here for an extended period of time.
I knew Demon rolled his eyes; he always did. He thought I would be more experienced by now, but I still made simple mistakes, such as moving and possibly giving away our position while we were trying to keep hidden. I couldn’t help it. I would become sidetracked or distracted and lose focus. It had gotten me into tough situations more than I care to admit, including a few Demon didn’t know about, but I had also managed to get out of those situations without his help. I could take care of myself, if given the chance, but he and Whip Lash still stepped forward as my protectors instead of my partners. I knew they wanted to watch out for me, but how could they trust me to take care of myself if they were always protecting me?
“I wish I could have brought your boyfriend instead,” Demon said as I got back into position behind the evergreen trees. They concealed us from view thanks to the thick foliage, but I’d much rather be sitting in the tree than on the ground. Demon had refused when he noticed the ease of their movements. If we moved too much we could give away our position, so instead we were kneeling in snow.
“Well, you can’t, because he’s a wanted man around here after they figured out he wasn’t Marco.” I pointed in the direction of the town’s main square, which held multiple wanted posters for the imposter of Marco Rykov. We weren’t sure how they had been tipped off to his identity, but I had a feeling it had to do with Camden Cardoza. He walked away from the old factory after he or one of his men shot me and lived to tell the tale. If you ask me, he got word to the Russian mafia, and they in turn were now hunting Renegade down, but no one ever asks my opinion.
We waited in the snow for over an hour in silence. Demon was trying to figure out how to run the mission, and I was attempting to not freeze to death from the low temperatures and the wet clothes sticking to my body. I shivered with each movement, the tingling sensation remaining for a while after it danced through my body. There was no escaping the cold because I wouldn’t leave Katya behind without trying to save her. I’d have to suffer in silence until we could get out of here.
“What are we going to do if we manage to save Katya?” Demon asked curiously, taking his time looking over the desolate landscape for anyone coming.
“We take her back to CIRA,” I replied without missing a beat, though it didn’t seem to please Demon’s curiosity.
“And from there?”
I hesitated. Demon always hated this answer, but it was all I had at the moment because I wasn’t sure if we’d succeed, much less escape. “I’ll figure it out when I get that far first.”
Demon rolled his eyes and shook his head. I knew he liked having a plan, which is why he wished that Renegade, or just about anyone else, had been sent with him. They would make a plan with him, they didn’t like to go with the flow and take risks. I had learned the best laid plan could still go awry. I preferred to know how to handle a stressful situation before shit hit the fan.
“Maybe Renegade could have kept you in line,” Demon stated, clearly not willing to drop the topic yet. I knew it was because everyone at the agency was wondering what was happening between Renegade and I, and we refused to answer. “I would have preferred that, even if it meant being forced to watch you two together. The dazed looks and sparkle in both your eyes when you’re around each other—it grosses me out.”
I clenched my jaw to prevent myself from discussing the topic. I didn’t want to talk about it, him. None of it made sense lately, and Renegade wasn’t helping the matter. Now that everyone was asking about it I never got a moment of peace. First, I had to figure out why he suddenly became uninterested in me. If I had to venture a guess it would be because we were no longer on a mission and the excitement had worn off for him. “Shut up,” was all I said before turning to cast Demon a glare.
He nodded his head in understanding before a black car rolled toward the river bank. Demon quickly pushed me back down to the ground to conceal me, once again forcing me into the snow. I cringed, but this time didn’t bother to push away from the ground. Depending on how focused they were on their surroundings, and the weapons they carried, it was best to stay low and out of sight.
I peered over the snow wall Demon had built for us to lay behind as two people were dragged out. I squinted in an attempt to see better, and saw that both women had their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolds over their eyes. I glanced between them until I saw a familiar pale skin tone, long brown hair, and figure I had seen in the file in Ash’s office. It was Katya, and Nikolai hadn’t lied that she was supposed to die today.
I tried to move, ready to jump in and stop them from killing her and her mother, but Demon pushed me down again and held me there as we waited a few moments for the tree to stop shaking. He had risked giving away our position to stop me, but also caused my courage to drain away. I glanced at him—he held a serious gaze in his eyes. He wasn’t going to let me leave this spot until he was sure I’d be safe.
“Remember what Renegade said, Night Stripe. We can’t interfere. No matter how much we want to. For now we wait until they leave.”
“They’ll be dead,” I whispered back in disbelief. Demon couldn’t honestly expect me to sit here and let them die in front of me. He knew why I risked coming here in the first place. I hadn’t gotten rid of her file in Ash’s office only for her father to kill her later.
“I’d rather them than you,” he said, holding his hand up as an order to stay. “Now stay put and wait.”
I let out a low growl as I sank back into the snow and watched in a heated silence. I knew Demon would find a way to keep me here, and I couldn’t risk his life for theirs. There was a point where I had to choose my battles, and this one I’d call a forfeit, but there would be more to come if this played out correctly. First I’d have to sit through it though, and I didn’t see that happening very easily.
We were forced to watch as the women were dragged apart, the mother calling for Katya and Katya calling for her mother. I assumed they were pulled away to watch the other die as well, but the further they took them apart I felt it played into the idea of being overpowered. There wasn’t a love stronger than that between mother and child, and now both of their lives were at risk, they each would fight to save the other. It only became apparent to Nikolai, who I could see from the distance by the short muscular stature with his signature beard and fur coat, and the other guards as they followed the death order.
The women had their heads shoved into the freezing water, held there, and then yanked back up to take what could be
their last breath. The mother fought valiantly, even managed to escape once when she elbowed the man behind her in the groin, but another quickly took his place and shoved her under the water again; this time for longer. Katya, while she was fighting, wasn’t strong enough to break free and was slowly losing the will to fight.
Demon held me to the ground in fear I would react and race to help them. It was a smart move on his part because if his hand wasn’t between my shoulder blades as a constant reminder that I had others to look out for, I would have been up and running toward them right now. It was getting too hard to watch, especially when I saw Katya’s mother go limp after one man clubbed her over the head and she crashed into the water. Katya followed soon after, although she hadn’t been hit. The water must have gotten to her and her lungs would be burning from the lack of oxygen; it was too much for someone to handle.
Once the men were satisfied they turned and left in the car they had come in. They seemed to be taking commands from a man who had stayed back and done nothing, most likely Volodya Petrov but I couldn’t be sure from our distance. We waited for the men to file into the car, casting glances in Katya’s direction as they drove away, and when we were sure they were gone, we rushed to see if either had survived. Demon raced to Katya’s mother and I went to Katya. I kneeled down next to her, pulling her from the water’s edge and flipping her over to investigate. As I had learned in my previous life, before I was recruited, I put my ear close to her mouth to see if she was breathing while I looked down at her chest. I felt no breath on my ear and never saw her chest rise to take a breath.
I performed CPR and let the adrenaline race through my veins to keep me going. I allowed myself a glance at Demon to see he was doing the same. It was a long few minutes as we tried to revive them, but it wasn’t long before Demon joined me and pulled me from my rescue attempt.
“She’s dead, Night Stripe,” Demon said, placing a hand on my shoulder for comfort. “They are both dead. We did all we could without putting ourselves in unnecessary danger. I’m sorry you had to be here to witness it, but we tried, and that’s more than most would have done.”
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I managed to push them back as I stood up. Demon was right, I tried, and that was all I could ask of myself. I couldn’t will fate to bring Katya or her mother back, and I couldn’t blame Demon for holding me back because I would have been killed on sight. It was sad to see them go, both too soon, but he was right—we did all we could.
“You’ve saved more people from Ash’s hit list than I could have imagined,” Demon stated. “You couldn’t keep them all alive forever.”
I nodded, unable to find the words. I took a deep breath to calm down, but their deaths weighed heavily on me. I was here; there had to have been a way to save them. They didn’t have to die. “Let’s go home. I can’t be here much longer,” I said solemnly. I took my first step away from the body only to have something suddenly latch onto my other ankle. I let out a shocked gasp before I turned to see Katya beginning to move. She coughed loudly as she tried to expel the water from her body, but she held tightly onto me as if I were a lifeline.
“Quick, get her up,” Demon ordered as he took off his coat and helped me with her.
She spat out the water as she tried to get to her feet, but swayed and remained dead weight as if she was still unconscious. I squatted down and lifted her easily into my arms as Demon hung the coat over her cold body. The water from her clothes was seeping into mine, freezing me to the bone as the water soaked into my skin.
“Take Katya back to the hideout,” he commanded as he pulled a phone from his pocket. “We may still have time to save her if we get her warmed up. I’ll bury the mother in the snow and try to make it seem as if she was killed prior to the snowstorm in case someone comes out here. On my way back I’ll call Sharp Shooter and update him. Now go, and don’t get caught.”
I nodded before racing toward our hideout as fast as I could. Katya’s breathing told me she was alive, but I knew the dangers of being caught out here in the cold, how the shock would affect someone, and how fast hypothermia could set in. She needed to get somewhere safe and fast. I couldn’t risk losing her, and I couldn’t chance being seen by someone in town and alerting Volodya to our presence.
Hopefully Nikolai didn’t remember much of me, or they may have already known we were here and that could only mean one punishment―death.
Chapter 4
“We can’t stay here much longer,” I said, walking into the small living room and shutting the bedroom door behind me. “What if someone sees her with us or goes looking for her body?”
Katya was sleeping in my bed, her wet clothes discarded on the floor until I had the time to hang them up to dry. My only priority was getting her warm again, not worry about her clothes. I had been waiting for Demon to come back after I got Katya wrapped in the few blankets we brought and hugged her in a futile attempt to warm her up again. Once Demon returned, still on the phone with someone back home, I went to figure out what the plan was.
Demon sighed, finally hanging up the phone. “I know that. I called Sharp Shooter and he’s sending Maverick over with the plane now. We have a few hours left, and then we have to go back home. For now this is done.”
“What about the mission?” I asked, placing Katya’s clothes near the fire to dry. “We still have nothing to end Volodya’s reign. How will we get rid of him and manage not to start a war? We’re taking his daughter, for heaven’s sake. He’s bound to find out.”
“And when he does we will deal with it,” Demon stated, effectively ending further argument. “Besides, her father wanted her dead, this may buy us some much needed time. We didn’t get much information from Nikolai, and we will have to try again if what he gave us doesn’t pan out, but if we do it too soon it may raise suspicion. You still need to improve in a lot of aspects to make this mission possible.”
I scowled. “Next time you can bring Renegade. I’m sure he’ll be a real hit with the men around here. Of course, then you’ll be on a rescue mission and wasting more of CIRA’s time.”
Demon didn’t reply right away, and when he did he made sure to change the topic. “Maverick will be here in a few hours. I’ll take charge of watching over Katya until then so you can rest.” He paused, and I was about to say I wasn’t tired, but he beat me to the punch. “You’re a bitch when you’re tired. I know I woke you up early, and I know it’s taking a toll on you. Just rest until Maverick shows up with the plane. I need you alert in case something goes wrong, and if you’re tired, your performance lacks.”
I clenched my jaw knowing he was right, I needed a break. While I had been getting up early to train with Rum every day since I was fully recruited, or found dead on the Appalachian trail as the cover up goes, it had taken a lot out of me to think that I had lost Katya and her mother. While her mother wasn’t a target of Ash Crest when I killed him, I should have protected her. I had sworn I would protect individuals like her when I became an agent, and I had failed. No matter what I told myself, whether it was that I had saved Katya or I had given it my best try, I’d always know I had failed Katya’s mother.
“Night Stripe,” Demon said, as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “There was nothing more we could do. We have to focus and get out of here now, not overthink the past. If someone sees us with Katya, I don’t care how well you can smooth talk men, we are as dead as she is. If they somehow find out that we know Renegade, then we’re used as bait and more agents die.” Demon tried to get me to focus on the mission at hand. He knew I wouldn’t forget watching someone drown and not helping them. Just like he knew it would also cloud my mind and make it harder for me to focus. For now, I just had to push the thought back and get out of here alive.
“You’re right,” I said, a rarity for anyone who knew me.
“I’m right?” Demon questioned with a shocked smile. “Can I get that on a recording or etched in stone?” Demon let out a laugh. I promptly landed a punch on h
is left shoulder before telling him to shut up. “Come on, it’s not every day I hear that. It needs to be memorialized.”
I was tempted to tell him to shut up again and go stand by Katya’s bedside, but I bit my tongue. It was clear Demon had fallen for her, it was in his eyes. There was a subtle glow when he thought about her or looked in her direction. I had seen it with Renegade before, but lately that glow was gone. Something was missing.
I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I wasn’t ready to figure out where we were, or even what we were. It was best not to think about it and distract myself further. “I’m going to rest. If you can check on Katya and let me know when she wakes up that would be great; I have a few questions for her.”
“Can do,” Demon replied quickly. “I’ll be ready to go as soon as Katya wakes up, and hopefully by that time Maverick will be here waiting for us.”
I nodded as Demon left to take my spot next to Katya. The door shut behind him and for a few moments I mindlessly wandered around the room, checking on Katya’s clothes, double-checking the locks on windows and doors, until I finally settled onto the couch. We had two windows in the small hideout, one that remained perpetually shut because it was facing town and we didn’t want anyone to spot us, and the other that looked toward the river we had saved Katya from earlier.
I took a small peek through the closed window to look out at the town. It was always a risk because our hideout was supposedly an abandoned building or some lame cover story like that. Seriously, whoever came up with these cover stories needed a little more imagination.