“You son of a bitch,” Ruby groaned, thrashing forward and swinging. She missed miserably.
“Going to be like that.” Roderick tsk’d, tying the knot tighter around her leg.
“You kidnapped all of them. They had a dangerous profession, but this isn’t something they got themselves into, so don’t act like it.” Ruby winced at even Roderick’s delicate touch. He covered her in her jackets. “Are they all dead?”
“I don’t know. I came straight to you.” Roderick placed his hand under her back and lifted her. “Are you going to let me set your shoulder?”
Ruby inspected him for a moment. “Why are you helping me if you think so little of my friends?”
“Because I do not think little of you.” Roderick placed one arm on her back and the other on her arm. “If you yell, you could attract Nikola, okay? On three—One…two…” Roderick shoved her arm back into place and she let out a quiet but pain-filled yelp.
“What happened to three?” she hissed.
“It’s always better when you don’t see it coming.” He smoothed her hair back before standing again. “I’ve stopped your bleeding for now. Stay out of trouble. I’ll be back for you if I make it.”
“You’re leaving?” Although the idea of her safety hinging on her friends’ death was upsetting, Roderick could clearly see she did not want to be alone. “Don’t go, please.”
It was then that there was a large crackle of static from the walkie-talkie at Roderick’s hip. It was her voice.
“Boys, you see anything? Over.” Nikola’s voice buzzed.
Roderick picked up his radio cautiously, making eye contact with Ruby as he spoke. “All clear, over.”
“Kal? Over,” Nikola asked.
Roderick held his breath. Sergei would never betray him, but every time they had to lie for one another, he found himself getting a little light-headed.
“All clear,” Sergei said. “Over.”
Hearing Sergei’s voice over the radio sent a wave of calmness over Roderick. “I won’t be gone long.” He grabbed onto an exposed rock and hoisted himself back up the bluff, then climbed until he met Sergei at the top.
Sergei helped him back over the ledge. “Are we done?”
“We’re done.” Roderick slid his Kevlar back on, feeling confident in his decision to help. “Once this is all over, I’ll come back for her. You get Nikola to the van and I’ll meet you both there.”
Sergei nodded. For them, this was routine procedure. “Back it.” They moved carefully, neither of them wanting to end up at the bottom of the ravine.
“You think Nikola found anything?” Roderick asked as they came back to Da Vinci’s footprints.
“No, she would have at least let on about it on the radio.”
“Unless she’s hostage,” Roderick gasped.
Sergei paused and looked Roderick dead in the face. They stared at one another for only a few seconds before laughing, loudly, seemingly proud.
“I didn’t think so, either, but could you imagine?” Roderick then heard a rustle that sent chills up his spine. Someone was close.
“Shhhhhh.” Sergei pulled Roderick back. The two of them quickly dipped farther into the brush. They listened. Whoever they heard was running down the mountain and quick. Sergei and Roderick both drew their guns, careful and quiet. “If you’ve got a shot at her,” Sergei whispered, “take it.”
Roderick nodded. They kept their attention wherever the sounds led them. Eventually, they came. It was Da Vinci and Diana tearing down the mountainside like banshees.
“I’ve got the shot.” Roderick cocked his gun, readied his aim, and then smacked into the ground. Sergei had shoved him. He was just about ready to shout when the sound of gunfire cracked through the valley.
Two bullets ripped through Sergei’s face.
“No!” Roderick’s heart bottomed out as Sergei smacked the ground with a loud, crashing thud. He scrambled over to Sergei, who lay there, limp already, blood pouring out of his neck like a poolside tear. “Sergei. Sergei.” Roderick strained his voice as he let out a broken cry. He clasped his hand around the side of Sergei’s neck, pressurizing the wound.
It didn’t matter, though. The poison was already pulsing through his veins. Sergei was clearly gone before he’d even hit the ground. It must’ve been the third teammate. Da Vinci and Diana had just been distractions. Odds are, Roderick was next if he stayed there by Sergei’s body. At this point, he didn’t care what happened next. He only lived because Nikola lunged down at him from a tree overhead.
“We’ve gotta move,” she shouted.
Roderick latched on to Sergei and was moved only when Nikola yanked him off at full strength, the two of them just barely escaping another shot. They ran deeper into the woods. Roderick was frantic, but Nikola moved with laser precision, ducking and swaying until they were at the opposite edge of the bluff, far enough away that Roderick could scream. He collapsed into Nikola, hugging her bony body.
“I’m sorry, Roderick.” Nikola’s heart pounded hard enough that he could feel it.
“It’s-it’s—” Roderick’s voice cleared up for a moment, his sobbing coming to a stop. “You-How—How do you know my name?”
“Sergei told me.”
“He what?” Of course, she’d known. Roderick flushed with embarrassment, only to instantly let up into more sobbing. “He’s gone. Oh, my god, Nikola. He’s gone.”
“He is.” Nikola swallowed hard and hugged Roderick tighter.
“We were so much more than partners, Nikola.”
“I know, I know.” She pulled away, brushing a tear from his face.
ACROSS THE WOODS, the group reconvened. Tim joined Diana and Da Vinci in the clearing.
“She’s fast.” Diana crept toward the corpse cautiously, stepping through dead rhododendrons. She prodded Sergei’s body with her foot a few times before swooping down and searching gear. He was unbreakable underneath all that skin. He’d been invincible like her. But the poison worked. “They got his weapon before they took off.” She brushed off her skirt before stepping back over the brush and meeting up with Da Vinci and Tim again. “We’re on the upside of this.” Diana placed a hand on Da Vinci’s back, slowly rubbing between his shoulder blades. “We outnumber them in strength alone now, all right?”
“All right,” Da Vinci turned to her, and she gave him a smile. For a moment, she’d created serenity. It was then that she hit him over the head.
“What?” Tim shouted. “Don’t worry. We outnumber them? And then you knock out our third member?” Tim balled his hands into fists, as though he was about to pummel Diana.
“Quiet down,” she hissed. “You really want him running around when this goes down? When has he ever been anything less than trouble in combat?” She knew she made a good point. “We’ve got this, Tim. We have got this. And when it is all over, we will come back for him and find Ruby.”
There was a moment where it seemed it would all explode, but Tim quickly simmered down. “You’re right. It’ll be easier without him.”
Diana bent down and scooped Da Vinci up in her arms. “Now, let’s hurry and hide him.”
Backward
DECEMBER 12, 1963
Nikola’s suitcase rolled methodically along the tile floor of the hall. She knew it was only a matter of time before she heard the familiar click of high heels, and right on time, they came.
“Nikola.” Diana’s voice cut across the hallway, but Nikola kept walking.
“You can’t change my mind,” Nikola called behind her.
“The hell I can’t. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Diana started toward Nikola. “You’re just going to throw this away? All of this?” Diana demanded attention, her voice laced with such strong authority that for one tiny second Nikola hesitated in making her next step. Diana hurried behind her and grabbed her by the arm. Nikola spun around.
“What?” Nikola growled. “What could you possibly need from me? I am on my way out. Now let me go in peace.”
“You’re acting crazy, Wesley. Pull yourself together,” Diana scolded. “Come with me. It’ll take some string pulling, but I can sort this out with Adams.”
There was that old name, Wesley. It made Nikola’s skin feel like it was on fire. Wesley was dead. “There’s nothing to talk about with Adams. I already talked to him. I’ve got my discharge papers. I’m going into a placement program, and I’m getting the hell out of here.” Nikola yanked her arm away. “This isn’t my line of work. It’s yours.” She tried reading Diana’s soft, delicate face. She was looking for acceptance but couldn’t find an ounce of it in her.
“Stop,” Diana pleaded. “You don’t want to do this. Not to yourself, not to the CIA, and not to me. You love this work.”
“You love this work,” Nikola snapped back, angrier than she’d expected. “You love lying and manipulating and killing. I may be good at this work, I may be goddamn excellent at it, but I do not love it.” She turned away from Diana, only to find her arm grabbed again. “What?”
“I’m sorry.” Diana frowned, reaching out to touch Nikola’s face.
Nikola cringed away, contemplating whether or not beating the CIA’s best agent into a pulp would be worth a lifetime on the run. “You’re sorry? Yeah. All right. Sure. No, you’re not.”
“I love you, Wesley,” Diana cooed. Her gaze cast to the ground and her doll-like face flushed red. “Please, think about me before you leave.”
Any expression of cockiness vanished from Nikola’s face. A stoic stone-like scowl replaced it. “I love the way you make me feel, Diana, but I don’t love you. You’re just another reason to leave.” Nikola took Diana’s hand from her arm and held it, using this intimate gesture only as an excuse to free herself from Diana’s grip. “I’ve told you this a hundred times, but I will repeat myself again in hopes that it gets through to you. We are over, Diana. We have been over for months. You need to get off my back and leave me alone.” Nikola pulled away from Diana and then pushed her suitcase out.
“Please, don’t go, Wesley, for me. Just give me a few more days. I know I can convince you to stay.”
“You can have anyone in the world, Diana. You don’t need me.” Nikola turned, her suitcase smoothly rolling again.
Diana still called out after her, “Listen, please.”
Diana’s voice was at a near whisper, causing Nikola to slow just a tad in order to hear the last of what she had to say.
“When I’m with you, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much,” Diana pleaded. “When I’m with you, I’m excited about something. That’s the only time I’m ever excited about anything. Everything else is so one-note. Everything is just gray, except when I’m with you, Wesley. Please, just turn around.”
Nikola stopped. The click of Diana’s heels still echoed in the hall. She turned slowly, her heart still hardened.
“You are the last humanity I have left. If you go, there’ll be nothing. I’ll be nothing.” More than love, more than passion, desperation etched Diana’s every word.
Nikola laughed and took a pause before she spoke. “Honey, there wasn’t anything left when I got here. There sure as hell won’t be anything left once I’m gone. Get over yourself.” She resumed walking.
She was nearly scot-free when the first few shots rang out. Diana must have already had the pistol loaded. First, she shot out the cameras at the ends of the hall.
“What the hell are you—” In the time it took Nikola to swing around, Diana had already shot herself. “Hey!” Nikola dropped her bag and rushed over to her, catching her as she fell. “Jesus fucking Christ, you crazyass—” Nikola looked for where the blood was coming from. It was then that she saw it was just a simple shot through the skin on her non-dominate arm. “Of course, you wouldn’t really hurt yourself.”
“It got you over here, though, right? Don’t be so cold, sweetheart.”
Footsteps approached from the distance. A slew of grunts ran toward the source of the gunfire. There’d been four shots already. Why wouldn’t they come?
“You can tourniquet yourself.” Nikola let go of Diana and stood. As she rose, two security agents entered the end of the hall. “Hera’s throwing another goddamn tantru—” Nikola’s voice dropped off as two more shots were fired. Both bullets buried themselves deep into the skulls of the security agents. Nikola whipped around. “What the hell are you doing?”
Diana stood straight up. Her arm bled onto the ground, drops of red blotting the tile. She turned away from Nikola, a firearm locked in her hands. More security agents entered the hall and she fired again.
“Diana!” Nikola’s voice was a guttural scream. She rushed over and then grabbed Diana from behind, spinning her around. The gun was now pointed at her. Nikola smiled and laughed. “You wanna shoot me? Go right on ahead.”
Diana held the gun in line with Nikola’s head, only to move it inches to the left and take out another group of security agents who were entering the hall. Her eyes looked vacant. She went to spin again like a machine, but Nikola stopped Diana. They struggled over the gun. Nikola dove for it and knocked Diana down. Diana shoved at her, firing at another couple agents entering the scene as she crashed against the floor. Nikola smacked against the ground, a wave of pain seizing her body, her ears rang from the gunfire and impact and the metallic smell of blood tinged the air. By the time Nikola managed to sit up, Diana was back on her feet, firing at another four agents, shooting them down like target practice. Twenty security agents to a floor and Diana had managed to kill them all.
“What’s your game?” Nikola snarled, crawling back to her feet.
“Who do you think they’ll blame?” Diana asked, her eyes glazing over as she pulled her luscious lips into a smile. “When they find us, who will they blame?”
“You.” Nikola didn’t miss a beat. “You’ve got a self-inflicted wound and a hell of a temper. Besides, they all know I don’t have that kind of shot.” Nikola’s gaze was fixed on the pile of bodies at the right end of the hall.
“Will they, though? Pin it on me? Let’s think.” The tile under them was slick, saturated with blood. “Floor five. Administrative. Adams’s floor. So, I ask again. Will they blame it on me?”
“He may love you, but he’s not stupid.” Nikola snorted. “How did you think this could work?”
“I don’t think it will. I know it will. No video footage. No witnesses but us. The CIA’s top female agent. Some semi-pro agent who was mysteriously leaving with little to no reason. I’ve got influence, Wesley, and I’m committed to the cause. You’re the easier scapegoat. Admit it. What’s harder to tell a widow, KIA or friendly fire?”
Nikola’s heart sunk into her stomach. As much as she wanted to tell Diana she was wrong, she was right. Nikola could feel the floor giving way underneath her. Diana was right. All the evidence in the world didn’t matter now.
“You bitch.” Nikola covered her mouth with her hand. She could even feel her eyes tearing up just a hint. “I was supposed to get out,” Nikola screeched, her voice echoing down the hall. “What the hell did you do?” Nikola took short, sharp inhales. “What the hell did you do?” Nikola swung at her and knocked her to the ground. She was quick to straddle her. Diana didn’t put up a fight as her face broke with new cuts and bruises. Five minutes later, Adams found them, with Nikola still trying to kill Diana.
*
The snow began to fall right as the sun went down. Diana and Tim pushed through the woods, both listening closely, checking and rechecking the tree line, waiting for the time when their hearts would collectively jump and they were face to face with the enemy. The gun’s cool metal was welcome in Diana’s hands. Tim had taken out the last target, now it was her turn. They had four bullets left in the clip. There was no room to let them go to waste. And although with most other missions, there would be nothing wrong with the simple act of waiting, the last few months had made Tim and Diana more personal than clinical in their objectives. So, when Tim talked, Diana was not too surprised.
/> “Do you think we’ll find Ruby when all is said and done?” Tim moved with his back to Diana.
“We will find her. I only hope she’s still alive.”
“I don’t think he’ll make it if we find her de—” Tim dropped silent for a moment at a rustling in the distance. He grabbed onto Diana, not saying a word but alerting her to the situation. She turned mechanically and rested her extended arms on his shoulder, the gun just beyond them. They stood there as one unit, their breath held, their hearts stopped, the wind just blowing enough to tousle their hair. They waited for a lost Roderick or a limping Ruby, but instead, a black bear crossed their path—there one second and gone the next.
“Nothing,” Diana whispered, withdrawing her arms and returning to her position in front. They were walking only for a few seconds before Tim began to speak again.
“You seem tense.”
Diana scoffed, rolling her eyes but not responding.
“Do you feel confident that you can kill her?”
“If I can’t, you sure as hell can’t.” Diana drew her hair back and out of her face.
“I was not commenting on skill.” Tim shrugged.
Diana paused, then turned toward him with her head at a slight angle. “What are you talking about?”
“You two have a history. The whole CIA knows it. Then, when we were on the mountain, right after you peeled her off Ruby—” Tim relaxed his stance, he seemed comfortable, as though he was asking her about something as simple as laundry. “—you both took a spill down a ravine and were down there more than long enough to fight, but you chose not to. There was not so much as the sound of a scuffle. You came back unharmed. She did, too. So, what happened?”
“You’re out of line. You have no authority asking me about my tactics and decision-making. Resume your post,” Diana chided.
“Wow,” Tim huffed. “Diana, we have been out of the ranks a long time now. I am asking a simple question. There’s no harm if you want me to kill her for you.”
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