“Thanks,” she said, on her feet. She took the pistol and tucked it behind her belt. “Shouldn’t we be getting out of here? Koretski and his people could be back any time.”
“You know where he went?”
“No. I just overheard him say he needed to push on with the deal.”
Her eyes strayed to the blood-sodden body of Vigo Stone. Bolan noticed the involuntary shudder that coursed through her body. A delayed reaction to what she had done.
“Rachel, you okay?” he asked, his tone gentle.
“I’ve never killed anyone before,” she said. “I mean how do…I…”
“Live with it?” Bolan sensed her uncertainty. “You did what was needed to survive. So that Tommy still has his mother. Do you think for one second Stone would have left you alive once he got what he wanted?”
She shook her head slowly. “I still…”
“You ended his life. You did it because you had a choice. It came down to him or you. Rachel, I’m not making light of this, but you did the world a favor. Stone won’t be making anyone else suffer the way he did Marty Keegan. The way he would have made you suffer. Remember that and it might ease the pain.”
“I know you’re right, Matt, but it’s a responsibility I’m stuck with now.”
Bolan accepted that as an end to the debate and turned Rachel to the door. Conscious of the possible return of Koretski and company, he hurried her back through the house the way he’d entered. They paused at the door and Bolan released the bolts, easing the door open and peering into the shadows. He heard nothing but the sounds of the night. Saw no movement.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Stay close.”
They made for the perimeter wall Bolan had used to breach the estate. He’d had no time to search for the electronic controls inside the house, so they took the easiest route out. He boosted Rachel up onto the wall and watched her drop out of sight on the far side. He hauled himself up, rolling across the top and dropped to the ground.
Bolan led Rachel along the side of the road, then into the thick bushes where he had left his SUV. He slid the keys from the pocket in his blacksuit and unlocked the vehicle. Rachel climbed in. Bolan opened the driver’s door, unslinging his MP-5 and dropping it on the floor beside him as he settled in his seat. He hit the start button and eased the big Chevy out of cover and onto the blacktop. He left the lights off until they had driven a good quarter mile from the Russian house.
“Koretski is going to go crazy when he finds out what you’ve done,” Rachel said. “He has a hell of a temper.”
“Good,” Bolan said. “If he lets his emotions get the better of him maybe he’ll lose some judgment. That’s when people make their mistakes. I like to be around when that kind of thing happens.”
“You read people pretty well, Matt Cooper. And you play on their weaknesses. Isn’t that what they call strategy?”
Bolan shrugged. “Works for me, whatever it’s called. I don’t have the privilege of superior numbers, so I need to even the odds as much as I can.”
“I still can’t figure out exactly who, or what you are, Matt. I’m just grateful you came into our lives at this moment in time.”
Bolan refrained from answering and Rachel didn’t push the matter. He concentrated on driving, pushing the big SUV along the dark road at a solid speed. He only spoke once then, to inform her there was a first-aid box under her seat if she wanted to clean up the injuries to her face. Rachel drew it out and placed it on her lap, opening the lid and checking the contents. There was a square mirror fixed to the inside of the lid and when she caught a glimpse of her bruised and bloodied face it was a shock. She did what she could to clean herself up and applied ointment to her lips and cheek. She was still hurting from the blows to her ribs, and the knife cut in her shoulder stung wildly. The more she became aware of her sustained injuries, the more she resolved not to grieve for too long over her action against Vigo Stone. But she had a feeling that might turn out to be a short-lived resistance. Somewhere along the line she would realize her involvement in the death of another human being—despite Stone being a corrupt and soulless excuse for a man.
Some while later when Bolan glanced across he saw she had drifted into a restless sleep, her body’s natural remedy for helping to heal. In Rachel’s case that would be twofold—physical and mental recovery. Her body would recover far more quickly than her mind. The inner scars would be with her for some time. Bolan figured she would pull through. Rachel Logan had a strong personality, as well as a tenacious fighting spirit.
His only worry at the moment was the fact that she might need to rely on all those qualities before they were out of trouble.
Chapter 21
“This time he has gone too far,” Koretski ranted. He raised his arms and gestured at the bodies laid out in the hall. “This man, Cooper, has to die. He comes here. Kills my good men and runs away with the Logan woman.” He turned and lashed out at the bloody corpse of Vigo Stone. “And Kendal sends in his paid killer to interrogate her without even asking my permission. He lectured me about interfering and then does this.”
“At least you have the last laugh,” one of his men said. “His supposed top man is dead. So much for these American hard men.”
Koretski spun around on the man. “You think it’s funny, Karel?”
Karel took a startled step back, face darkening with embarrassment. “I only meant…”
After a moment Koretski’s features lightened and a smile curled his lips. “Actually,” he said, “it does have a touch of irony. This man, Stone, was supposed to scare everyone. A heartless psychopath. The bogeyman to terrify us all. Look at him now. He wasn’t so tough after all, huh? Not when he faced this Cooper. Now there is a man we should be wary of. He is good. So good he doesn’t need to go around shouting about it. A man like that is worthy of respect.” He laughed briefly. “Of course, I want him dead, too.”
Yevgeny Epremov, second in command to Koretski, appeared. He hurried to his boss. The expression on his face told the Russian he had good news.
“We have him. The tracking device we planted in the woman’s clothing is working. It came online a few minutes ago. They are heading south. Our calculations tell us they have at least an hour’s start.”
“All right, you heard that,” Koretski told his crew. “Get moving. I want Cooper and the Logan woman retaken. Just remember the woman has to stay alive. Cut that bastard Cooper into little pieces if you want, but bring her back here still breathing.”
Koretski followed Epremov to the room that served as a communication center. Epremov prided himself on his electronics setup. As they stood behind the man operating the system, Epremov showed Koretski the monitor that displayed the readout from the tracking program. It showed a moving signal superimposed on a scrolling map.
“This Cooper is no fool,” Epremov said. “He stays inside the speed limits so as not to attract attention from any law enforcement. It means we have a better chance of catching up to him.”
“Advise our people to be careful, too,” Koretski said. “It would be unfortunate if they were pulled over and the local police found they are carrying weapons.”
Epremov spoke to the tech and he relayed the instructions to the vehicles already leaving the grounds and taking up pursuit.
“I worry about Kendal,” Epremov said. “I’m not sure I trust his judgment.”
“And I didn’t have to prompt you one little bit,” Koretski said. “You worked it out yourself. I don’t trust him, either. The man is arrogant. Everyone around him believes the sun shines from his ass. They hang on his words as if they are pronouncements from heaven. But the man has no grace. He snaps his fingers and expects it all to drop in his lap. Yev, he truly imagines he is doing me a big favor through this deal. Doing me a favor. Then again, he is about to make us a lo
t of money. So we will have to put up with him for a while longer.” He tapped the tech on the shoulder. “Get me Kendal on the phone. I will take it in my office.” As he turned to leave he said, “Yev, have the dead moved and dealt with. Get the place cleaned up. And keep me updated about Cooper and the woman.”
Koretski returned to his office, a comparatively smaller room than most of the others. The Russian had never exhibited any signs of affectation. All he needed to command his organization was a desk and chair, a computer terminal and telephone. He was thinking about Senator Kendal and his ostentatious surroundings. The man really did display his wealth and power with a vulgar pleasure. As he sat behind his desk Koretski’s phone rang. He picked it up and at that moment he remembered the news he had for Kendal. It almost made up for the invasion of his house by the man named Cooper.
“Make this brief, Maxim. I’m a busy man.”
“As you wish. You sent your mad dog to interrogate the Logan woman while I was away. Not very polite, Tyrone. That said, don’t forget it was my people who caught her.”
“Fine, Maxim. We both bend the rules to suit our purpose. I thought Stone could make her talk far quicker than your people. Look how he got the information from Keegan.”
“Keegan is dead. We need the woman alive.”
“Stone can do that. Let me talk to him.”
Koretski was unable to resist holding back the smile on his lips. “I can’t do that, Tyrone.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Vigo Stone is dead. The American, Cooper, hit my place while I was still on my way back. He took down my in-house crew. Killed Stone in the process, and drove away with the Logan woman. It seems we are all still being plagued by this fucking loose cannon.”
The silence that followed Koretski’s statement stretched. He could hear Kendal’s heavy breathing on the other end of the line. For once the erudite senator appeared lost for words.
“Where are they now?” Kendal asked, his tone almost polite.
“On the road. With my people in pursuit. I had an electronic bug planted in the woman’s clothing before she was sent for interrogation. Simple foresight that has paid off. Seeing as how she has proven to be an elusive character recently, I decided it would cost nothing to implement some precaution. Cooper has taken her from us but we know exactly where they are and I’m hoping to have her back within a short time. Now, Tyrone, are you going to be angry with me again? Or have we both learned a lesson in trust?”
“All right, Maxim, point taken. I think we are both being driven by this Logan problem. We can’t forget the importance of getting our hands on that information, regardless of anything else.” The senator took a breath then said, “Just to let you in on the latest development in Seattle, Captain Fitch, my police contact, and the two officers working with him, were found handcuffed together in a deserted building. It seems they were tricked into believing I had sent for them and Cooper overpowered the cops. The son of a bitch even rang to leave me a message about them. Made it clear he had been talking to them.”
“He’s a force to be reckoned with,” Koretski said. “The sooner we remove him the better. But I say that with respect for the man. He has proven himself on more than one occasion. To our cost.”
“He compromised my dealings with Fitch and his team,” Kendal said. “I was forced to make certain none of them could be arrested if Cooper passed their names to some federal agency.”
“Do I take that to mean Fitch and company will be unable to give away any incriminating evidence?”
“Exactly,” Kendal said. “If any of them were placed in the position of saving themselves at our expense I’m sure they would have done so willingly. So they were silenced.”
“Cleaning house is a necessary requirement.”
“Which brings us back to Logan. The prime mover in this whole affair. His death would make me a happy man, so we do need to get our hands on the information he has secreted—or his wife. I’m still convinced she is the key to this. Find her and we should be able to locate that data.”
“Then we should do this as a two-pronged exercise,” Koretski said. “You concentrate on finding Logan and I will keep my people on his wife and this damned man Cooper.”
Chapter 22
They made a short stop at the side of the road so Bolan could change from his blacksuit back into civilian clothing as light began to invade the darkness. Then at first light they made a second stop at an isolated gas station that looked to be the only place of habitation along the high-country road. There was a house in back of the station and a tow truck parked alongside a dusty 4x4.
When Bolan had finished topping up the Suburban’s tank he went inside to pay, saw that there was a merchandising section and stocked up on bottled water and a handful of cereal bars. Bolan spotted a coffee machine in one corner and purchased paper cups of steaming black brew. He paid for the gas and the other items and made his way back to the car.
Behind the gas station and across the road, heavily forested terrain stretched as far as the eye could see. In the far distance he could make out high peaks, some with a show of snow clinging to the tops. The thin breeze slicing down from the higher country had a fresh chill to it.
Bolan tapped on Rachel’s door and she roused sleepily. She opened the door and he handed her the paper sack of goods and one of the cups of coffee.
“Is that really coffee I smell?”
“That’s what it said on the machine. I can’t guarantee the quality, so don’t get too excited.”
Bolan walked around to his door, climbed in and started the engine. They sat for a few minutes, sipping the hot coffee. It wasn’t the best Bolan had ever tasted, but it was also far from the worst. He wedged his cup in the holder and eased the Chevy back onto the road, picking up speed.
“Thanks for letting me sleep,” Rachel said. “I really needed it. Hey, why not let me take over so you can rest?”
“I’m fine,” Bolan said. He glanced at her. “I am, Rachel. I don’t want you disturbing that shoulder wound in case it starts to bleed again.”
“Okay.” She peered at the satnav screen. “Where are we, by the way?”
“That’s us,” Bolan said. “The yellow triangle moving along that strip of highway. Apart from that I’m not too sure at the moment.”
She gave a soft laugh. “My hero. Are we lost, Mr. Cooper?”
“Not exactly,” Bolan said. “I’m just trying to put some distance between us and our hostile Russian buddies.”
“Do you think they’ll be coming after us?”
Bolan nodded. He knew Rachel Logan enough to tell her the truth. He was not going to insult her intelligence by pretending everything was fine.
“Koretski isn’t the kind to let things go. Not after what I did back there. And he’ll still want to get his hands on you again.”
“I understand that. We’ll just have to deny him that pleasure, won’t we?”
Less than twenty minutes later, as Bolan followed a wide curve in the winding road, he spotted two vehicles less than a quarter mile back. He maintained his speed, watching in the side mirror, and from the way the two were edging close he guessed unwanted company was on the way. His fears were realized when he saw a figure lean out of the passenger window on the lead car, the outline of an SMG cradled in his hands.
“Rachel, check your seat belt,” he said calmly.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her do exactly that, then reach down and ease her Colt from her belt. Practiced hands checked the weapon, then laid it across her thighs. She moved her head so she was able to see the rearview mirror.
“I see two cars. Any chance they might just be travelling the same road?”
“Look to the passenger side of the lead vehicle. Guy leaning out. I don’t think that’s a Koda
k Brownie in his hands.”
“Hell, no, it’s a…”
She didn’t complete the sentence.
The exposed man opened fire. Flame winked from the muzzle of the SMG, sending a stream of slugs that crackled along the blacktop on her side of the SUV.
“You think he wants us to stop?” Rachel asked, the sarcasm clear in her tone.
“They want you alive,” Bolan reminded her, “so that was just to let us know.”
Rachel powered down her window, twisted herself round in her seat. She leaned out and aimed the Colt Commander, loosing off a trio of well-spaced shots at the pursuit car as it closed the gap. She scored a single hit out of the three. Her final round tore a ragged gouge in the car’s hood. The car braked violently, tires squealing. The car swerved until the driver brought it back under control. The second car had to maneuver quickly to avoid rear-ending the lead vehicle.
“Now I really understand what Ray meant when he said not to get you mad when you have a gun in your hand.”
“You think? That was lousy shooting. One hit out of three. I need to catch up on my range practice.”
Bolan was studying the pair of vehicles. They were hanging back a little, obviously taking a warning from Rachel’s aggressive shooting. But that wouldn’t last for long. They would be under orders from Koretski to stop Bolan and retrieve Rachel. And the Russian would not be expecting them to return empty-handed. So one way or another, Bolan could expect a further response from them.
“Rachel, they want you alive. That might give us an edge. I have no intention of letting them take you, so when it happens I’ll be shooting to kill. I want you to understand that.”
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