by Sara Schoen
Needless to say, when he found out he let me have it. Though his fury quickly dwindled, at the time I couldn’t understand why. He had been training me to steal his at the time, practically begging me to take them from him. He allowed me to take his keys, in hopes to improve my pickpocketing skills and ease my mind about cars, after he purposefully made me angry with him so I’d be pushed into something reckless. He probably wished that it hadn’t backfired on him to pay to repair his car. After that I was banned from driving.
“Katya,” Demon said, pulling her and I from our thoughts. “We’ll make it out alive. You just have to trust us that we’ll take care of you and save Natasha. We’re trained, we’re prepared. Trust me, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Demon lightly placed his hand over hers, which were folded neatly in her lap.
I scoffed and let out a breathy laugh as the words rang loudly in my ears. I shook my head, not from annoyance that Katya had bartered her way on the mission with us, but from the memories of when I’d heard Demon say similar phrases to me. Of course, it meant something different because he was talking to Katya than it did with me, but I wished that I could still have the support. Demon still encouraged me, pushed me to try harder and succeed, but not nearly as much as when I first joined. I missed the support. Now I spent most of my time second-guessing myself, mostly because Renegade had made me question my ability to do my job, but at the same time I wished he could be here.
Spit Fire offered a little support, but if I could prove Renegade wrong, show I could do my job, then maybe Demon pulling away from me wouldn’t sting so much. He and Whip Lash spent years training me, and all it took was a pretty girl to distract Demon and a war in the Pacific to take Whip Lash away. I shouldn’t be surprised, but my nerves on this mission were eating me alive.
I had already shown my face to the head guard. Camden had unveiled Renegade’s cover, and there was no telling what else until Spit Fire got hold of him. If Camden had warned them about me, we could all be walking into a trap.
“Why do you hate me?” Katya questioned me.
I glanced up to see anger flicker in her eyes. I hadn’t moved from my perch, leaning against the edge of one of the plane’s chairs since leaving Maverick alone in the cockpit. I’m sure it looked as if I had been eavesdropping, and disagreed with what Demon had said. Katya didn’t understand, and I wasn’t in the mood to explain it to her.
“I don’t hate you,” I started. “I hate that you weaseled your way onto this plane and now you’re having second thoughts. I hate that you think it’s a great idea to come with us to save your sister and I really dislike that you refuse to take no for an answer and have now risked the lives of other people, but I don’t hate you.”
“I’m more worried about my sister’s life than my own,” Katya retorted, as if I had insulted her.
I nodded, taking a seat across the aisle from her, next to Spit Fire, who remained fast asleep despite the debate forming near her. “I can see that. You’re also more worried about your sister’s life than our lives. You have put four other people at risk because of this, and it could have been avoided, but I’ve already told you that and clearly it doesn’t matter to you.”
Katya narrowed her eyes, as if she could glare daggers into my skin, but didn’t reply. Demon took that pleasure for himself.
“Night Stripe, now isn’t the time. She’s already here, and we are about to land and start the mission. You’ll have to put it aside until this is over. It’s not like we haven’t risked our lives before.”
“I’m not saying we haven’t,” I said, my eyes never leaving Katya. “I would have gone back to save Natasha the first time if she had swallowed her pride and spoken in English. I don’t care if I preferred another language. If I wanted my family to be saved, I would speak in whatever language I had to. She chose to wait, and that bothers me. I already took a risk to save her once, and how does she thank me? She comes back and threatens to run off if she doesn’t get her way.”
“I never said that,” Katya snapped, her words edged with anger.
I didn’t flinch. I stared her down, as if daring her to continue. Maybe she’d attack me and then I could tie her to the plane seat and force her to go back to CIRA with Maverick. She could come back when he made the return trip in a few days to see her sister if we had all managed to survive. “You might as well have with how reckless and careless you’ve been. We’re risking our lives, and yes, while you’re risking yours as well, our job is to protect you at all costs. So if I have to choose between you or your sister, I can only save one. That’s if I’m lucky enough to get to one of you first.”
The anger in Katya’s eyes vanished, as if someone had extinguished her fire by pouring cold water over her. The look in her eyes became haunted, filled with sorrow. I knew she was remembering the day her mother died, and she had almost been murdered. My thoughts were confirmed when she spoke up, her voice cracking with emotion, “Do you wish that you had never saved me?”
The question caught me off guard, but as it had done to Katya, my fire died down and allowed me to take a step back. I huffed out a sigh, looking to Demon for support, but getting nothing except a warning glare. I knew he was upset because I caused nothing but fights since getting back from Mexico. He knew I hurt, but that didn’t excuse my actions, especially to Katya. She was in mourning, trying to save what little family she could, and here I was being a bitch to her for it. Not that she didn’t deserve it, but I should have dialed it back. She didn’t deserve everything I threw at her, and judging from Demon’s steady gaze he was trying to tell me this was my chance to fix it.
“No, I don’t regret saving you. I would never regret saving anyone innocent, and I’d do it again if I had to. Don’t think that I’d leave you to save myself or anyone else. No matter what, I’m coming for you, and I’m getting as many people out alive as I can.” As the words left my mouth, I noticed Katya heave a sigh of relief almost instantly. The tension that had been hovering over us since she came to CIRA dissipated around me and let me take my first relaxed breath in days.
She deserved an explanation, and needed to know that I was sincere when I told her I’d come back for her no matter what.
“You may think that I’m saying that to be nice, but I can guarantee you that I will be there to save you again. I saved you once before and I would do it again, as you’ve already seen,” I said, letting the memories flood over me. I recovered her file from a hit man’s office, escaped by the skin of my teeth, and made a promise, even if she couldn’t hear it, that I would keep her safe. I burned the file and hoped it was over, but it was by chance I got to meet her again.
Katya looked me over, waiting patiently to see if I would explain. I could see she wouldn’t push me, but I hadn’t told anyone the full truth. Demon knew because he saved me, found me, and took me back home. I told the other agents I killed Ash, but they didn’t know I hoarded the files. Camo had seen me burn a few, Demon helped me find a shredder and get the matches, but I swore the other survivors would never know. I’d have to tell Renegade eventually. He’d eventually find out the name I gave him was fake. So why not start out with someone who wouldn’t be furious with me?
“There was a hit man after you. Your father paid him to kill you. As far as I know, your mother wasn’t a part of it at that time. I killed the man, you lived without knowing, and I swore to protect you from then on. I just never thought I’d actually meet you. I’m angry, not at you, but because I’m worried, there’s too much of a coincidence and I don’t like it. I never should have met you, or any other survivors. I feel like something bad is coming.”
“And you don’t like that Renegade hasn’t discussed the future with you,” Katya interjected, a wicked smile perched on her lips.
I fell silent, unwilling to respond. I didn’t have an answer, and I didn’t want to think about it. I was sure that he didn’t want a future at all with me.
“He loves you. You know that, right?”
“I’
ll worry about that when we get back,” I said, expertly avoiding the conversation. “This business isn’t the place for a normal relationship.”
Katya nodded in understanding, but the smile remained on her features as Maverick called over the intercom.
“We have arrived at our final location. The pilot asks that you buckle your seat belts in preparation for landing. Thank you for flying with me today.” Maverick chuckled over the intercom. He must have thought he was being funny; I found it boring. “Enjoy the cold weather. I’ll see you guys again in four days. If you aren’t there when I come, you’re getting left behind. Remember that, folks. I’m not staying long in hostile territory. Get in and get back.”
Chapter 15
I threw my bag onto the dusty floor of the hideaway. Demon and I each carried one bag, now propped against the legs of the table in the main room, so we could check the other rooms before getting comfortable. Demon made sure the windows were sealed, while I made sure no one else was in the house. Hopefully no one had been using our safe house for cover during the harsh winter. I didn’t feel like shooting anyone yet.
Similar to our house in Katya’s hometown of Gorod, it was supposed to be abandoned, so very few people looked twice at it. We could spend four days here and hopefully go unnoticed—though we couldn’t stay in Gorod again. I had made the executive decision to move one town over, close enough to get to Gorod, but not a town most people from Gorod would venture to. I wanted to avoid running into anyone who would recognize me from our last trip. It had only been a few days since spending almost a month in Gorod. My face would be fresh in the townspeople’s memories there, especially Nikolai’s. He and the other guards around Volodya had to be on edge. They knew Katya wouldn’t leave Natasha, so they must have spent this time preparing for her return. I just needed a little time to think away from anyone who would want to kill me.
Thankfully for us, the snow had vanished, allowing us an easy move in. We had been able to get Katya inside the safe house, along with our meager belongings, without being seen. For now we didn’t have to worry about covering footprints, only keeping the appearance that no one lived here. Meaning, don’t open the blinds, only leave when necessary, and make minimal noise in case someone could hear outside. Most importantly, we now had to stay out of sight in case someone here recognized Katya or me in case they had gone around neighboring towns asking about us.
I considered moving further from Gorod, but shot down the idea. If we went too far away, then it would be nearly impossible to get Natasha back before Volodya sent his men after me. While this town wasn’t the safest, it held the most promise in completing the mission effectively.
It didn’t take long to look through the apartment, there were only three rooms; a main room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. As I turned the final corner in the small apartment bedroom I took a breath of relief that I had found nothing out of the ordinary. It didn’t look like anyone had been here for years. Perfect. Just as it’s supposed to be. I holstered the gun Demon had given me for the search, I mostly used it as a scare tactic, since it would make too much noise if I shot someone, but if I had found someone it would have worked.
“You ready, Night Stripe?” Demon called, after securing the windows. “We need to figure out the next part of this plan before night falls.”
“I’m coming,” I replied as I rounded the corner back into the main room. I glanced around to see Katya had taken her perch on the small rocking chair, nose deep in a book. If I had to guess, it was in Russian; we didn’t have much time to read on the job here. Whatever books were here had been left behind from another assignment. She glanced up to meet my gaze, and I smiled before she looked back to her book. I tried not to be insulted by her ignoring me as I took notice that Demon had set up our bags closer to the bedroom so we could have room around the table to plan.
He had already set up a map, notebooks, pencils, and every other thing he determined necessary to make an effective plan. While I was in charge for this mission, Demon had experience. After working in this business for over a year, I appreciated any and all experience in a subject. It saved lives, and made missions run smoothly. So if I wanted this to go well, I needed his experience to guide me. Amateur mistakes wouldn’t impress Sharp Shooter, and it would most likely get someone killed.
I took another fleeting glance at Katya before I approached Demon to notice the downward turn of her features. As I looked closer, she didn’t seem to be reading the book in her hands. Her eyes were distant, just gazing at the page, but not reading the words on it. She took a deep breath, coming out more as a sigh before she looked at me again. Her eyelashes were wet, she had been crying. She let our eye contact linger a little bit before she gestured toward the window.
“I’m sorry, you can’t open the window, Katya.”
She nodded. “I understand. It was worth asking though.” Her voice became so quiet it was hard to hear her. I noticed that tears trickled down her cheeks, silently begging me to let her see her old life. I felt awful, especially as her frown deepened at my words. She was homesick, worried about her sister, and now we trapped her inside. I tried to brush it off by knowing she asked to come, but that didn’t make me feel any better about it.
Turning away from her, I approached Demon, who had a map of Volodya’s compound open in front of him, along with another map of Volodya’s house off to the side. I took a seat next to him, causing the wooden chair to let out an aching cry from my weight, and looked over the map with him. The compound was extensive, two floors, over fifty rooms per floor, and no telling how many guards or security cameras there were. The home was a little smaller, three floors, only about ten rooms per floor, but that didn’t mean there would be an easier extraction. The second floor had all the rooms connected by one hallway. I’d have to be careful or I’d be seen and captured.
“What are you thinking?” I asked, hoping Demon would be able to give some advice before forcing me to take over and show what I could do in a leadership role.
“I think these maps don’t tell us a lot,” he grumbled as he slid the map of Katya’s home closer to us. “You may have to go in and do some reconnaissance.”
“We have Katya right here, why do I need to do reconnaissance?” I asked in a low whisper, hoping Katya wouldn’t hear and think I was ill prepared to rescue her sister. I didn’t understand what I could learn from reconnaissance that Katya couldn’t tell me herself.
“You need to know how to get to Katya’s sister, and not by means of this map, but in person. You need to figure out the rooms or if you get stuck, you’re screwed. We need to know where the guards are, how many, how often they change shift, if they do at all. That could have all changed since we’ve had Katya. He may be expecting us and added other measures. There’s a lot we just don’t know, Night Stripe. We need to play this one carefully. We have four days here. We need to use them wisely.”
“I can help with that,” Katya chimed, getting up from her chair, judging from the loud knock that echoed around us as the chair hit the wall behind it. So much for being quiet. “Sorry,” she added when she saw Demon and I turn to glare at her. She came to the table and pulled the map of her house toward her. “This is the best place to find my sister. She rarely goes to the compound and when she does, she’s watched like a hawk. They leave her be while she’s at home since she rarely leaves her room, but at any time there are at least four guards patrolling near her.” Katya looked at the document thoroughly before she pointed to an unlabeled room on the third floor. “This is Natasha’s room,” she stated, pointing to the third level of the home in the second room from the staircase. “To get there, you’ll have to move past the other guards. There are twenty-four guards roaming the grounds and the rest of the house, but their patterns are predictable.”
The edge in Katya’s words rang of mischief, and I didn’t like it. I heard it before when she gave Sharp Shooter the ultimatum to come here, but I wouldn’t roll over as easily as he had. She wouldn’t be c
oming with me. If I could help it, she’d never leave this building until after the mission ended. “I don’t like where you’re going with this, Katya.”
“If you want to know how the guards work then you have to take me with you.” She didn’t hesitate while she made her command. I didn’t answer right away, but she must have seen the answer in my eyes because she quickly tried to explain why she should be allowed to come. “You’ll need me to convince my sister to come anyway. She’s not going to believe you on your own. She has to know that I’m actually a part of this or it’s all for nothing.”
“No,” Demon and I replied in unison. This had been the first thing we agreed on since saving Katya. Maybe he wasn’t as distracted by her pretty face as I thought.
“Why not?” she questioned.
“I can think of a lot of reasons,” Demon said. “Let’s start with someone noticing you in town and calling your father. What’s keeping your sister alive then?”
I saw where Demon was heading with this, and joined in. “Natasha is being kept alive right now as bait. Face it, your father knows you helped your mother escape, and knows you’ll come back for Natasha. Once he has you, then you both die, and you went through all of this for nothing.” My words were cold, harsh, and probably cut her deep, but I didn’t care in this moment. She needed to realize she couldn’t come, not this time. I wouldn’t let her, even if I had to tie her down to the bed to keep her in one spot. She wouldn’t be leaving this apartment.
“But…”
“But nothing, Katya,” I interrupted. “We don’t have time to waste. We have four days, that’s it. If in four days I don’t have your sister, then that’s it. I’m taking you and saving your life. Do you want to slow me down so I can’t save Natasha?”
Katya shook her head, letting the sadness take over her eyes again. Once again I was struck by a pang of guilt and decided to handle this the only way I could—compromise.