by Jacob Chance
“It was you in the safe house that night.” Clarity abruptly hits me, and anger burns like flames in my chest. He tried to kill Zoe and I.
“By then it was too late - he owned me. But then he left the country and I figured I was free. Even after everything I’d done I was getting another chance, a fresh start...” He stops talking again.
“Until Popov resurfaced.” I finish for him.
“Last week.” His answer is barely audible. “I came home, and he was sitting at my kitchen table, smoking a cigarette. That was when I knew.”
“Knew what?” I prompt him to continue.
“That it’s over for me. I’ll never be free, unless I see this through to the end.” His bleak expression is encouraging, and I think I hear some remorse in his voice.
“Martin listen to me, it’s not too late. Untie me and we’ll take Popov together, the two of us. Listen to me. We take him down and you’re free.”
“You and me.” Martin’s eyes widen. He’s wavering, I can see it.
The gunshot comes from behind me and hits Martin dead center of his forehead, dropping him where he stands. I tighten my body against the restraints, helpless to defend myself as I stare down at his lifeless body.
Marius Popov walks slowly through the gun smoke still hanging in the air all around me and stands over Martin. “I never liked this man.” He keeps his back to me and takes a drag on his cigarette. “But then I think, look at who he has brought to me.” He turns toward me with an evil smile cutting into his worn and haggard face. “Now I think, I do like this man.”
Popov stalks over, reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a straight razor. “And now for the man I hate above all others.” He straddles my legs and leans in close, passing the blade in front of my eyes, taunting me. “You didn’t think I came all this way for just the girl, did you?”
Popov places the edge of the blade against the top of my right cheek and quickly swipes down the length of my face. The fire hot pain is excruciating.
Someone behind me reaches over my shoulder and hands him a liquor bottle filled with what I’m going to assume is Russian vodka. Popov confirms it when he takes a long pull for himself and then pours a healthy amount of the alcohol directly into the fresh wound. I cry out from the pain as he laughs and repeats the process on the left side of my face.
“Now I have your attention, no? I’ve been dreaming of this moment for six years now. I knew you’d want to protect the girl again - pathetic.” Popov spits on me. “I want you to know after I’m done with you I’ll be paying our little Zoe a visit. I want you to know nothing will stop me from having her… and then killing her. You have failed, and she will suffer for your failure.” He spends the next few minutes punching me in the face, until the knuckles on both of his hands are bloody and swollen.
I’m barely conscious and struggling to stay that way when he pulls out the straight razor again. “Oh no my friend, you stay with me now. No rest for you.” Popov runs the razor diagonally down my chest, taking his time and making sure I feel every bit of flesh being sliced open through my shirt. “You took everything from me.” He shouts as he slides the blade across my stomach. He reaches up and forces my head back, pressing the razor’s blade against my Adam’s apple. This is it, there is no escape, no way out. This is the moment of my death. I close my eyes and think of Zoe.
I hear a gunshot in the distance, and then another and another. Popov hears them as well.
“One of you find out what the fuck is happening out there, now.”
Within seconds the air is filled with the sounds of multiple weapons firing.
“Go.” Popov orders the two men who are left to join the others. Before they can comply and react one of them is gunned down as I catch sight of someone jumping through a window opening on the far side of the building. It’s hard to make out who it is as he shoulder rolls behind some debris and quickly pops up on the other side, firing another shot and ghosting the second guard. By the time I focus back on Popov he’s gone, again.
“Hi, I’m with the Girl Scouts would you like to buy some cookies?” Zoe quips, appearing by my side and loosening my restraints.
“Zoe? Wait. That was you?” I’m stunned.
A bullet ricochets off the metal beam next to us, right beside her head, as another of Popov’s men comes back inside. Zoe quickly drops down and fires off three rounds, striking him with all three in the face, head and chest. “He’s got a goddamn army out there.” She states as she gets back to freeing me.
“Are you... alone?” I’m still confused. My head is foggy from the punches.
“Don’t be crazy, of course I’m not alone.” She smirks. “Karyn and Georgia are outside.”
As if on cue, Karyn and Georgia both leap through the same window opening as Zoe, scrambling for cover amidst a hail of bullets.
“Nash.” Karyn slides up next to me. “Good to see you’re still in one piece.”
“They’re setting up a perimeter and surrounding us.” Georgia stays by the window and fires off a couple rounds in their direction. “Hey Nash, looking good bud.”
“Where are we? How did you find me? Is it just the three of you?” I still can’t believe what I’m seeing. Are these three actually taking on an army of Popov’s men without backup?
“We’re on the South Coast, about an hour out of the city. Martin’s cousin left this place to him several years back. We were checking for locations through Ruslan, but Zoe was adamant we were going about it the wrong way. She insisted Martin was the key,” Karyn explains. “And yes, there are only three of us. We tried to call in support, but Popov must have some kind of signal jamming in place.”
“Good to go,” Zoe calls out after finishing with my restraints.
“You make four.” Karyn hands me a gun.
I can barely stand from the pain and I’m pretty sure I’ll be passing out from the blood loss soon, but I take the gun, chamber a round and let out a few quick short breaths. “Good to go.”
“There is no escape from here, not for any of you,” Popov shouts to us. “I do promise if you send out Garrison and the girl I will kill you others quickly. Otherwise, my men will take turns on all three of you and believe me, then you’ll be wishing you’d accepted my offer. I’ll give you ten seconds to answer.”
“Jesus, where the fuck did they all come from?” Karyn checks outside through another window looking for a way out. “This is bad.”
“Ten, ” Popov calls out.
“What’s the extraction plan?” I ask.
“Nine.”
“I’m all ears,” Karyn answers.
“Eight.”
“I may have an opening here,” Georgia calls over from the back of the building.
“Seven.”
“Never mind,” she calls out again. “They’ve got it covered. They’re everywhere.”
“Six.”
Popov stops counting and his men begin shouting. The unmistakable sound of automatic gunfire suddenly fills the air.
“Popov’s men are dropping like flies out there,” Georgia shouts. “We’ve got backup.” She leaps back through the window and disappears into the exchange.
“Who is it?” Karyn hollers after Georgia, but she’s gone.
“C’mon, we’ve got to be ready.” Zoe wraps one of my arms across her shoulders and helps me to the window. I can see men coming out from the woods around us. They’re all carrying short barrel, HK416s and shooting everything in sight.
In my periphery I see Georgia as she crosses the property, unsure of who they are but eager to join the fight. She’s almost in the clear when a bullet hits her in the back, spinning her around and dropping her to the ground, right in the middle of the gunfight. One of Popov’s men steps over and stands above her. Zoe and I fire in vain as he points his gun directly down at her head, looking to finish her off.
In the blink of an eye he’s down from a bullet to the temple and out of nowhere Belfast is standing over Georgia, shielding her f
rom the battle. He calls out to his men and gives orders as they lay waste to all that remains of Popov’s men.
“Who is this guy?” Zoe sounds stunned.
“He’s a criminal,” Karyn answers on her way out the door to help Georgia.
“And a friend,” I add as Zoe and I do the same.
Belfast is kneeling over Georgia when we reach them. “Are ya’ ok love?” She’s been shot in the back but thankfully she’s wearing body armor. She’s in pain and will have some ugly bruising, but she’ll be fine.
“I’m... yeah, I think so.” Georgia looks confused and from what I can tell, a bit taken with Belfast. “You saved my life. Thank you,” she stammers.
“I couldn’t have my future wife dying before the wedding day.” Belfast smiles, bends down and gently helps her up.
“What are you doing here?” I’m still stunned at his arrival.
“My friends overheard your squirrelly friend talking on his cell phone the other day outside the back of my shop. He was whining about having to snatch someone up and how difficult it was going to be. He seemed like an easy mark, so I decided to keep an eye on him, thought maybe we could step in and make some easy cash. In fact, we were watching you while you were watching her.” He points to Zoe. “And then you took off when my girl went for coffee so we followed you here.”
“You’ve been here the whole time?” Karyn sounds angry.
“Aye, the whole time. Didn’t think much of it until the Russian showed up.” Belfast sounds completely indifferent. “Then you lovelies arrived, and all hell broke loose. By the way, very impressive I must say. You three ladies are quite the force to be reckoned with.” He winks at Georgia. “Especially you love.”
“If you’ve been here all along why did you wait to help us?” Zoe asks.
“Didn’t seem like any of my business, lass.” He looks back and smiles at Georgia. “Until my girl here put herself in harm’s way.” Georgia smiles back.
One of Belfast’s men reemerges from the tree line with Popov walking in front of him, his arms raised high above his head.
“I believe this one is yours, my friend.” Belfast grabs Popov by the back of the neck, kicks one of his legs out and forces him to his knees at my feet. “Piss off,” he shouts, ordering his men away. They quietly return into the woods and out of sight, without hesitation.
Everything goes silent and nobody speaks. We all try to shake our heads clear and process what we’ve been through, unsure of what comes next and waiting for another to speak.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Zoe
“We’re going to need to call this in.” Karyn breaks the silence. “No survivors.” My chest fills with a weak sensation at her words. The moment has finally come.
Popov’s eyes open wide and the same evil smile reappears. “You don’t have the…” He stops mid-sentence as I step up and place the barrel of my pistol directly against his forehead. Mom and Dad this is for you.
Popov’s grin fades just before I pull the trigger, firing a single nine millimeter bullet through his brain, ending his miserable life. His body drops straight down, collapsing awkwardly on the mud beneath our feet. Blood splatter covers my shirt, like a Jackson Pollock painting. Retribution is mine.
“Well then I do believe my work here is done.” Belfast smiles and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s just witnessed federal agents murdering an unarmed man, or if he’s just plain having fun.
“Thank you,” Karyn speaks the words as if they burn her tongue.
“I was never here.” Belfast winks at Georgia, before joining his men and leaving the cleanup to us. I drop the gun and walk off toward the shoreline. A sob escapes my lips and the tears start to roll down my cheeks. It’s over. Six years of waiting and the bastard is dead. My legs feel weak and shaky as I make my way to the edge of the water. Staring out at the blue sea reminds me of our family vacations and calms me.
A hand touches my arm, startling me. “Zoe, it’s okay. It’s just me.”
My head turns, and I lock eyes with Nash. His are filled with concern. “You did what you needed to,” he offers, consolingly.
“You think I’m having regrets or feeling bad about killing Popov?”
“I don’t know,” he answers. “I’m not sure where your head’s at right now, but no matter what I’m here for you.” He pulls me against his bloodied, cut up chest, holding me close. I breathe a sigh of relief that we were on the winning end today. Things could’ve gone much differently. They almost did.
I glance up at Nash. “I’m not feeling remorse for killing Popov. I’m feeling sad it took me so long and cost me so much. I miss my parents, Nash, and it never gets easier.”
“I know you do. Do you know how proud of you they are right now? You stepped up and did what you had to do. No hesitation whatsoever. You’re not only an FBI Agent, but you’re the kind that everyone dreams of being.”
“I love you, Nash. I should have told you sooner.”
“I’ve been in love with you for six years now, Zoe. And I already knew, even if you hadn’t said the words. Come on, let’s get out of here. I need some patching up and we both need showers.”
Today was Martin’s funeral. Nash’s somber mood matched the cloudy, dark sky. This is an emotionally taxing time for him whether he admits it or not. He considered Martin a good friend and in many ways he was, even though Nash will deny the point now.
I know Karyn and Georgia are also struggling with the loss. Martin was more than a coworker to them, also. The four of us agreed to skip the funeral and get together for a bite out at a local restaurant.
“That’s some shit. I still can’t wrap my brain around what Martin did.” Georgia shakes her head and grabs another chip from the large bowl in the center of the table. “How did we miss the signs? There had to be some.”
“If there were any to be seen we all missed them, not just you.” Karyn shrugs.
“We were blinded by our friendship. That has to be the reason,” Nash replies, before taking a deep pull of his beer.
“I don’t know. I think Martin was smarter than all of us. He kept up the loyal friend facade pretty fucking good.” Georgia’s angry and rightly so but she needs to let it go. I know better than anyone that time takes care of everything one way or another. She’ll discover that herself eventually. I just wish I could make her path a little less troublesome for her. When tragedy like this happens, it raises a lot of questions and increases your self-doubt. She’s wondering if there was something she could’ve done to change the outcome, but there isn’t. Life happens how it will and all we can do is our best and try to make sense of it all.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been giving the side eye to a lot of people at work lately,” Karyn mentions and we all laugh. “Hashtag trust issues,” she continues.
“I feel you. I’ve been doing the same thing, but I’ve been dealing with trust issues for six years, so I might be an expert.”
“You definitely have reasons to be that way. Hell, I don’t know if I could’ve made it through what you have, so kudos to you,” Georgia raises her margarita glass my way before taking a sip.
“Is anyone going to mention the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the room?” Nash questions.
The three of us ladies glance at each other not sure what he means. “What gorilla?” I inquire.
“The one with an Irish brogue who brought his flock of gunmen to our rescue.”
“Georgia, you want to touch this one?” I question.
“Oh, she wants to do more than touch it,” Karyn replies, dryly. We all break into laughter.
“He did save our lives. What can I say? There’s something extremely attractive about a hot guy with a gun, standing guard over me. But don’t worry, nothing will come of it. I haven’t heard from him since and if he does reach out, I have no plans to engage. Belfast is one of the bad guys and I won’t forget that.”
“Well that was fun. I’m glad we got together with them.”<
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“Yeah. I’m glad we didn’t go to the funeral. Martin doesn’t deserve anything from us except anger. He almost killed us both in the safehouse and he was instrumental in getting Popov information. Information that probably helped him to capture your parents.”
I place my hand on Nash’s thigh. “It’s okay to be conflicted about his death. You guys were friends for a long time, regardless of what you just found out about him.”
“I’m not conflicted about his death at all. I’m conflicted about our friendship and my lack of judgement. I don’t know how I didn’t see it. I let my guard down and never even considered he could be behind any of it.”
“I don’t think there were any signs. He was FBI, Nash. He was trained by the best and he knew how not to get caught.”
“Let’s talk about something else. We’ve wasted enough time on Martin. And talking about him anymore will only piss me off.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“How about a game of twenty questions?”
“This again, huh? Are you better at it than you used to be?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” He smirks, challengingly. “You go first.”
“Would you rather live in a cabin in the woods or in a beach house?”
“Beach house. Movies or Television?”
“Television. There are a lot of good shows on Netflix.” Tapping my lip, I think of another question. “Would you rather date someone with a perfect body or amazing bedroom skills? Watch it,” I jest.
“With you I get both and don’t have to settle.” He flashes me a quick grin.
“Aww, that was the correct answer. I’m going to pretend you meant it.”
“Of course I meant it. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Would you rather have sex with someone who never takes a shower or someone who never brushes their teeth?”
“Gross, neither.”
“Come on, you have to pick one.”