by Mike Ryan
Cole then threw his hands up in excitement. “I got it!”
“You got what?”
“The two agents were killed just after they sent up a report on everything they did and everybody they talked to, right?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re assuming that one of the people they talked to, got back to Yevenko about them, correct?”
“Right again,” Parker confirmed.
“So why don’t we just retrace their steps, talk to the same people, lure Yevenko out of the woodwork?”
“Sounds like it could work.”
“Umm, can I just chime in with something here,” Turner said.
“If you have to,” Cole told him.
“The last agents who did this, wound up dead. You aren’t planning on retracing that part, are you?”
“The other agents weren’t ready for it. We will be.”
“Just sounds like we could maybe find an easier, and perhaps safer way.”
“What’s the matter? Just get your nails done? Don’t wanna mess up your pedicure?” Cole sarcastically asked.
“I would just rather not be targets for this crazy, and violent, guy.”
“Don’t worry, if he does, you can hide under the bed till the shooting stops.”
Parker interjected, hoping to calm her boyfriend. “Ryan, it’s a sound and viable strategy. The other agents obviously got close…too close. It only makes sense to retrace their steps. If we don’t, we could spend weeks digging out leads of our own.”
Though they still planned on following the steps the other agents already laid down, both Parker and Cole reached out to any contacts they had in the area. They figured it wouldn’t hurt if they tried to get some information on their own, just in case their other plan didn’t pan out. As they waited for their contacts to get back to them, they started calling or visiting the same people the previous agents did. Anywhere, or anyone, who had any type of relationship, or connection, to Darius Yevenko. While Parker and Cole went out to speak to some people personally, Turner stayed back in their hotel room to keep on digging via the computer, trying in his own way to find a lead on their target. After spending most of the day talking to people, Parker and Cole returned to the hotel the same way they left it, with no new information.
“Hope you made out better than we did,” Parker told her boyfriend.
“Ehh…nothing really,” Turner responded.
“What makes you think you’re gonna find something on there?” Cole asked. “You know, analysts have been looking at all this stuff for months.”
“I know that. I’m not saying I’m gonna find something. I’m just taking a look.”
“Sounds like a big waste of time to me.”
“Well, most of the information is about Yevenko in Moscow,” Turner said.
“Well that’s where he was based.”
“Exactly. I’m seeing if there might be a pattern that we can transfer from his movements in Moscow, and recreate those movements in St. Petersburg.”
“Analysts…too smart for their own good sometimes,” Cole scoffed.
The following morning the agents kept talking to more people, hoping one of them would be the one to lead them to Yevenko. Keeping up with the reports from the previous agents, they were led to the Polyustrovsky Market. The market offered fresh meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables, as well as a garden center. They sold hunting and fishing equipment, and on the weekends, was home to a large pet market. Dogs, kittens, birds, chickens, animals of all kinds, were up for sale. The man the U.S. agents were looking for was someone named Valery Ivanov. He ran one of the pet selling stands. Parker and Cole asked a few people where they could find him, with someone eventually pointing him out. They brought Turner along after his constant bugging about not wanting to be cooped up in the hotel all day, especially by himself.
“Spread out,” Cole told him.
“Why?” Turner asked.
“Parker and I will question this guy. In the odd chance that he’s working with or for Yevenko, I don’t want him to see there’s three of us. Just browse around until we’re done.”
“Cole’s right,” Parker agreed. “It’ll give us an edge if they think there’s only two of us.”
“OK. Look at this place,” Turner said, looking around, shaking his head.”
“What?” Cole asked.
“Animal welfare groups would have a field day in here. Look at all these cramped cages and things. It’s horrible.”
“Yeah, well, go look at the fruits and stuff,” Cole pointed. He gave Turner a little shove in the back of his shoulder to spur him along and watched him go over to some vendors. “James Bond he’s not.”
“He’s got a good heart,” Parker rebutted.
“Yeah,” Cole reluctantly replied, almost seeming to hate to admit it. “C’mon, let’s get to Ivanov.”
They found Ivanov’s little stand, selling puppies and kittens, right next to each other. Since Parker was more fluent in Russian, Cole let her do the talking. After a few minutes of dialogue that he didn’t understand most of, the conversation switched to English. Ivanov was a fair English speaker, talking in a thick, heavy accent.
“What do you know of Darius Yevenko?” Parker asked.
“You work for U.S. government?” Ivanov asked.
“What makes you think that?” Cole responded.
“You’re Americans in Russia, asking about a known criminal, who else would you be?”
“Maybe we’re just criminals looking for work.”
Ivanov laughed at the thought. “You might be able to pull that off. You have that shifty look about you. Not her though.”
Parker pulled her head back like she was offended at the comment.
“She looks like an American agent,” Ivanov continued.
“Since you didn’t deny it, I’m assuming that you do know him,” Cole said.
“Yeah, I know him. So does most of the people in here. Most of us pay protection money to him.”
“Where can we find him?”
“I don’t know. He comes around sometimes.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. Not any special times,” Ivanov answered.
Parker noticed the man looked jittery. His eyes seemed to dance around the market as he talked to them. “Why you seem so nervous?” she wondered.
“Because you never know when Darius or one of his men are watching.”
“Sounds like you know more than you’re saying,” Cole noted.
“Maybe.”
“So why don’t you start talking?”
Ivanov looked around the market again, like he was looking for someone. “Not here.”
“Then where?” Cole asked.
“I’m not really safe anywhere. Are you staying nearby? Perhaps I could meet you there.”
Parker and Cole looked at each other, thinking that maybe they found their mole. “Yeah. Here,” Cole said, writing down their hotel and room number on a piece of paper and handing it to him.
“Maybe I meet you there, say seven o’clock?” Ivanov asked.
“We’ll be waiting for you.”
Parker and Cole immediately left the market and headed back to their car. Once they were inside, they called Turner to have him meet them there.
“Enjoy your fruits?” Cole asked.
“Not particularly, no,” Turner answered. “I keep thinking of those poor animals trapped in those cages.”
“Well get your mind off that. We got work to do.”
“What’s up? Find anything out from Ivanov?”
“Plenty. Says he’s gonna meet us at the hotel later to dish on Yevenko,” Cole informed.
“You think this is the setup?”
“Gotta be. He sold it too easily.”
The trio went back to their hotel, eager to inform Burnett of their findings. They also wanted to see if she had anything on Ivanov. They checked on their own, but couldn’t find anything on him.
“Like you, we’ve come up empty on him,
” Burnett stated. “He doesn’t appear to be in our system in any capacity.”
“Could just be a local guy that Yevenko slips a few rubles to if he forwards any information to him,” Cole replied.
“Quite possible.”
“The other team didn’t mention him to you at all?” Parker asked.
“They did not,” Burnett answered. “Most likely, they didn’t deem him to be a threat, and weren’t planning on telling me about it until after they’d met with him.”
“Big mistake there,” Cole said.
“One that cost them their lives. Make sure you don’t repeat their mistake and take it for granted. If he is our guy, he’s not coming alone, if he comes at all.”
“We’ll be ready,” Cole promised.
The team spent the rest of the afternoon preparing themselves for the arrival of their guest. And his friends. Cole gave Ivanov his room number, but didn’t mention Parker’s. Cole’s room was at the very end of the hallway, so if Parker looked out her door, she’d probably see anyone going past it on the way to his room.
“Think Yevenko will be one of them?” Cole wondered.
“I kind of doubt it. This seems like something he would send his cronies to do,” Parker replied.
“Can someone please explain to me what the plan is?” Turner asked.
“Simple. Someone will knock on the door and I’ll have them come in.”
“You think they’re just gonna politely knock and wait for an invitation?”
“Why do you get your panties in a bunch so often?” Cole asked.
“I’m just saying.”
“It’ll be fine. I’m gonna keep the door unlocked. Parker will let me know if anyone passes on the way here. They’ll knock. I’ll be hiding somewhere and yell for them to come in. While they’re looking for me, Parker will come in from behind and start blasting. Then when they turn their attention to her, I’ll get the others,” he revealed.
“Sort of trap them between the two of you, eh?” Turner smiled.
“That’s right.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
“Nothing. Just stay out of the way.”
“Why do you always shove me in a corner somewhere?”
Cole shrugged. “I dunno. Cause you can’t really do anything.”
“That’s not true!”
“I’ll revise that. You can’t really do anything gun related. How’s that?”
“Better I guess,” Turner answered. “C’mon, I can do something besides hide behind a fake flower pot in the corner.”
“Such as?”
“I know,” Parker said. “How bout a few minutes to seven, you walk around the elevator and staircase entry and let us know if they pass you. It’ll give us a heads up.”
“How will I know it’s them?”
“They’ll be the mean looking guys with guns probably,” Cole teased.
“Just make it look like you’re casually walking around. If you hear the elevator, go to it like you’re about to get on,” Parker told him. “If you think it’s them, pass by them and get on. Then just let me know so I can be on the lookout.”
“Same thing with the stairs,” Cole said. “You hear that door swing open and a bunch of guys walk in, head toward the elevator and let us know.”
“So I’m the scout, basically,” Turner said, unenthusiastically.
“Scout’s usually got the toughest job,” Cole said, trying to talk him up. “Something gets by the scout, rest of the squad usually goes down in flames. It all hinges on you.”
“OK, now I’m feeling too much pressure.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Just do it.”
“Fine.”
Once it got past six-thirty, they sent Turner to start roaming around the halls, just in case their suspected visitors showed up early. Cole was inside his room with the door unlocked, crouched behind the kitchen counter, not in the line of sight from the door. Parker was stationed by the door in her room, the door opened just a crack, enough for her to peek out with one eye and see anyone pass by. Turner paced around the hallways for twenty minutes, feeling nervous and silly at the same time. A few hotel guests passed him, making him feel kind of strange for walking around, pretending he was doing something. Every few minutes, he reported back that there was nothing to report. That was, until it was ten of seven. He was walking toward the stairs when the door suddenly and forcefully swung open. Four men walked onto the floor, Turner quickly sizing them up as he passed them, going onto the stairs himself.
“Red alert! Red alert! Four guys just got off the stairs!” Turner yelled.
“Calm down,” Cole replied. “We got this.”
Parker continued peering out the crack in the door, waiting for their visitors to get within sight. She didn’t have to wait long. About a minute later, she saw the four men pass by her room. With her pistol by her side, and ready to go, she opened the door a little further, ready to pounce. She got a pretty good look at their faces, Ivanov wasn’t one of the men in the group, not that she was surprised. One of the men knocked on Cole’s door, waiting for him to open it.
“I’m in the bedroom!” Cole shouted. “Just come in and I’ll be right with you!”
Thinking it was going to be even easier than they anticipated, the four gunman entered Cole’s room. Parker leaned out from her doorway, seeing the last of the four men go into his room. Just as the last of the four men was about to close the door, Parker kicked it wide open, surprising the unsuspecting henchmen. She immediately opened fire, hitting the one in the rear in the middle of the back with her first shot. She then got another one as he turned around, finding the center of his chest with a bullet. As the other two removed their guns and were about to fire, Cole bounced up from his position as Parker took cover beyond the door, taking out another one of the men from behind. The remaining gunman returned fire upon Cole, giving Parker enough of a chance to spring into the doorway again. With the last survivor worried about Cole, Parker had an easy enough time taking him out, firing two rounds into his back.
With all four men down, Parker closed the door behind her and started checking on their condition, seeing if any were still alive. All four were gone though, not giving them the chance to interrogate them to see if they’d give up Yevenko’s location. Parker made a face, indicating her unhappiness that all four had perished.
“No guarantee they would’ve anyway,” Cole said, noticing the disappointing look on Parker’s face.
“What?”
“You’re disappointed there’s not one of them alive to question. I can tell.”
“Would’ve been nice to try it anyway. Never know,” she told him.
“We just need to get to one man,” Cole replied. “He knows.”
“Ivanov.”
Cole nodded. “He’s not just a pet seller at the market. He’s got inside knowledge and connections.”
A few minutes later, Turner came in, instantly noticing the bodies on the floor. “I see things went well.”
“Not for them,” Cole said.
“So that guy did set us up.”
“Seems that way.”
“Do we go pay him a visit now?”
“No. Market’s closed now. I’m sure he’s gone by this point. We’ll wait until morning.”
“Won’t they know the ambush failed though? Surely he’ll be gone by then,” Turner guessed.
“Maybe. Maybe he just sets it up and goes about his business, not knowing what happens after that,” Cole said.
“What’re we gonna do with these guys?” Parker wondered. “We can’t just carry them out of here. And we’re not really ready to leave.”
“We gotta check out and move to a new hotel. Besides, now that they know we’re here, it isn’t safe to stay here anymore. Plus once the police arrive, they’ll wanna question you since you’re next door to see if you saw or heard anything. Best if we just cut bait and move on.”
“So how about we do this? Ryan, you go pack our things while I
tell Burnett what happened and what we’re doing. Cole, you quickly pack and find us a new hotel and make the reservations,” Parker told them.
“Sounds like a plan. We should be able to get out of here in about ten minutes,” Cole responded.
Chapter 14
The next morning, the three agents went to the Polyustrovsky Market as soon as it opened at nine o’clock. They didn’t know if Ivanov would be there or not, but they obviously hoped he would be. As soon as they entered the market, they located his stand, and there he was. He was talking to people, trying to peddle his animals, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As soon as Ivanov saw the agents approaching, his eyes widened, looking extremely surprised to see them again. He seemed petrified at the sight of them coming closer.
“Funny thing happened last night, Valery,” Cole opened. “Waited for you for a while but you never showed.”
“Other things came up.”
“I see. Well, that’s OK. We got a visit from four other men.”
“Oh? Who were they?” Ivanov asked, pretending like he didn’t know.
“Well, they seemed to be members of Yevenko’s clan. Now where do you think they would’ve learned our location from?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think you do. In fact, I think you told them about us and sent them there,” Cole said.
“Please, you must understand, Yevenko is always watching. You do not have to live her, I do.”
“You’re gonna take us to him and you’re gonna do it right now, or else you’re not gonna ever have to worry about Yevenko again,” Cole threatened. “Because I’ll put you in a hole so far down that even gophers and groundhogs won’t be able to find you.”
Ivanov gulped, knowing the agent meant every word he said. It didn’t take him long to figure out he should agree to his terms. “I will take you to him,” he finally relented.
The agents let Ivanov talk to somebody about watching after his stand while he was gone. Then they took him to their car to let him lead the way to Yevenko. Cole drove, with Ivanov in the passenger seat, Parker and Turner in the back.
“So where we going?” Cole wondered.
“There’s a fish warehouse near the outskirts of St. Petersburg. He’s one of the owners and conducts some of his business there sometimes,” Ivanov answered.