Alexei dragged her down the tunnel she had planned on going down. Cold water appeared on the floor as it leaked through some cracks in the concrete. As they made their way deeper into the tunnel the water got higher until it was at ankle depth, seeping into her socks and chilling her feet. Alexei pushed her to the ground once again, Elena landing in the freezing water, soaking her jeans as he opened another blast door to reveal the frigid air outside. He got her to her feet and she could see a white well-used thirty-four foot Sport Cabin resting on the water of the river Neva.
Alexei pulled her towards the Sport Cabin and knew that that was his destination and that there was nobody around. They were alone. She assumed any locals were all watching the drama unfold behind her at the Palace and she realized that she and Alexei had completely passed under the palace and the embankment dividing the Palace and the river.
Elena began to panic. She was handcuffed, all alone with a murderer who had no reservations about killing her. She struggled, fighting Alexei with everything she possessed as he continued towards the boat, undaunted by her attempts. With one last ditch effort to free herself, Elena let her feet drag, making him pull her full weight.
Realizing she was no longer cooperating with him, Alexei turned around and picked her up, draping her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. She tried to kick at him, but he dodged each attempt.
He hopped into the boat and dumped her unceremoniously onto the deck floor, stepping over her to turn on the engine and prepare to take the boat out.
Elena gritted her teeth at the shooting pain that was attacking her body as she hit the hard deck. Tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her cool cheeks only to freeze halfway down. The night’s temperature had dropped well under the record low and Elena knew all Alexei had to do was drop her overboard into the river and she would either freeze to death or drown as her winter clothes would get waterlogged and pull her down beneath the surface.
Do something you idiot, Elena chastised herself. If you die it’s no one’s fault but your own she internally warned herself. So get up and do something now before it’s too late.
Chapter 29
Lucas pushed opened the blast door and smelt the river. He looked out into the black and white coastline to see Alexei Dimitrovich standing at the helm of a Sport Cabin and he heard the Yamaha engine catch, he was almost too late. He started running across the snow covered ramp reaching out to the small dock boats could moor on. He almost lost his footing a few times but managed to remain on his feet.
He had to get to Elena and stop Alexei from escaping. The man had some serious answering to do. If Alexei managed to escape him now, it would prove more than difficult to catch up to him. The Sport Cabin being the only powerboat he could see that was docked on this side of the river. He had no idea how one would go about arranging a boat block further up the river. Did they even have a Coastguard here? He pulled out Vladimir’s pistol from his waistband and took the safety off. He had no doubt whatsoever that he would need it. His assumption was proven correct when he saw two men come out from the cabin. Neither appeared happy to be there and both had the hired mercenary look. He didn’t like the fact that Elena was alone on the boat with them. Lucas knew what those types could and would do if the price was right. He pushed himself to run faster, the cold air biting into his skin.
Only a little bit further.
Chapter 30
The two men stopped in their tracks and took stock of the woman lying helplessly on the deck before looking to their employer for instructions.
“Untie the boat,” Alexei barked, he was tired of being surrounded by incompetents.
He had researched Michael Ducane, knew the type of man he was. Had even gone to extraordinary lengths to get him to Russia, past immigration and into a meeting with one of his own – Alvin Pochenchov. He was angry at having to order Pochenchov’s death. He had been an excellent weapons dealer. Obtaining weapons most couldn’t but the man had a big mouth. He couldn’t risk Alvin cutting a deal.
But Ducane had also proven useless. The idiot had not taken into account the reinforced concrete that the builders had added when they had created the tunnel. Now his entire plans had been fucked up. The blast should have completely disintegrated the entire hall but had only managed to desecrate the east side. If Ducane hadn’t of been murdered, he would have taken immense pleasure in killing the bastard.
The burly first man walked over the bow of the boat and reached out, untying the boat’s painter from around the wood stump.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Alexei started to steer the boat away from the embankment, just as Lucas took a running jump from the dock onto the deck. He had almost missed. Another centimeter or two and he would have ended up in the river. The river Neva, he knew went upstream and flowed into the Gulf of Finland, the temperature well below freezing, any more than five minutes underwater and hypothermia set in.
“Lucas!”
Elena had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life. Alexei swung around from the small cabin to see Lucas land hard on the deck. Swearing, he brought up his gun.
Lucas had his pistol pointed at Alexei just as Alexei grabbed Elena and pointed his at her. Talk about a Mexican Standoff, she thought.
Alexei shook his head, chastising Lucas. “I wouldn’t do that, one dead SVR agent is fine but two? I don’t think they’ll like that.”
Lucas took stock of his options. He didn’t have many so it didn’t take long. He kept his eyes on Alexei while also keeping track of the other two men.
“It’s over. The President’s are safe. There’s nowhere to go.”
“There’s always a place to go,” Alexei corrected.
Lucas’s face was as hard as stone. His eyes dark with rage, murderous. Elena had never seen that look before. She was glad it was not directed at her.
“No place we can’t find you. No place I can’t find you,” he promised.
The tone of his voice chilled her from the inside out, more so than the cold air or frigid water. Elena tried to struggle to free herself, making it hard for Alexei to keep his concentration. All the while praying he didn’t accidentally shoot her or by purpose. She stomped down hard on Alexei’s instep before ramming her elbow as far back into his crackled ribs as possible, applying pressure to the already sensitive bones.
Alexei screamed out in pain and pushed Elena into Lucas who caught her as she was thrown into him but the force knocked them both off their feet. Lucas’s gun flew out of his grip as his hand hit the deck, jarring him and slid across the deck of the boat to the port side.
Lucas was on his feet in seconds, launching himself at Alexei. His body hit Alexei’s hard, hoping to knock him over, to gain some advantage. He sent a fist into Alexei’s stomach momentarily winding him. The boat made a sharp turn suddenly as one of Alexei’s men took the helm. Lucas and Alexei swayed on their feet as they both tried to remain standing. The boat moved erratically from side to side on the choppy water. The motion was making Lucas seasick.
Elena, who was in the process of awkwardly getting to her feet was once more thrown onto the deck. Her head hit the railing on the side of the boat as she went down, bringing out the darkness as she was rendered unconscious for the second time that night.
Lucas grabbed his opponent’s right hand, twisting at the wrist dislodging the gun free from Alexei’s hand. The gun went up into the air and bounced off the same railing Elena’s head did just moments before and into the dark water surrounding them.
They were well away from the dock now, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Seriously outnumbered and disadvantaged. Elena was no help with her hands bound behind her back and he couldn’t see his weapon. He was going to shoot the man behind the wheel just on principal. He glanced around the deck for a weapon, unable to locate one, brought up his fist and clocked Alexei.
Dimitrovich blocked Lucas’s next punch and pushed him back away from him. Alexei then hooked his leg behind Lucas’s trip
ping him up. Lucas reached out and grabbed Alexei’s coat as he went down bringing the other man with him as he went. They rolled around the deck a mass of arms and legs as they fought each other. Fists went flying, colliding with faces, arms and torsos.
Elena sat up, the cold air reviving her. She took stock of their situation. Not good. Her entire body ached, her head continued to pound. At least the ringing in her ears had dissipated to a soft whistle. Lucas and Alexei were on the deck in the midst of a fight, rolling around like a couple of boys. What looked oddly amusing was anything but, she could hear the grunts and hisses of pain and from physical exertion of the two men fighting to the death. She climbed to her feet as she watched the second man, who had until now been idly standing by enjoying the show while the first man continued to drive the boat, had obviously had enough of being a spectator, started toward Lucas.
That’s not going to happen comrade, she thought. Elena kicked the man hard, shoving him to the side using her shoulder, causing him to lose balance and fall overboard. She fell to her knees in an effort to remain inside the boat. She looked back at the man in the water as he was swallowed by the darkness as the boat left him behind in the freezing night.
The boat suddenly went straight, no longer veering side to side in an attempt to displace Lucas. The man that had been steering the boat came out of his little protective cabin, letting the small boat navigate itself up the river. Elena tried to move away as he came towards her but she was not fast enough getting to her feet and away from the man as he grabbed a hold of her roughly. She fought him, struggling, attempting to throw him off balance with her weight. Unfortunately she didn’t have a lot to work with and her plan was unsuccessful. He grinned at her cruelly as he looked her up and down before pushing her hard towards the cabin.
She shivered at the look on his face, his thoughts well revealed. You can’t be serious, haven’t I been through enough? she thought as she bucked wildly, using everything she had inside her against him. He slapped her hard, once, twice and a third time. She felt her cheek sting and the tears blur her vision. The man grabbed at the backs on her thighs and yanked her off her feet. She landed on her back, her hands crushed beneath her as he climbed on top of her, mounting her. She struggled to get out from beneath him.
Lucas grabbed hold of Alexei in a choke-hold. He was tired and wanted to sleep for a week. But he still had work to do. He and Elena weren’t out of the woods yet. Alexei struggled, his oxygen cut off. The boat was swaying precariously on the water, for a second he thought it might capsize. The waves brought the frosty water over the side of the boat and onto the deck. Lucas glanced over at Elena, at one of Alexei’s men on top of her. His vision went red. He pushed Alexei toward the railing just as the side of the boat swayed downwards towards the water.
Alexei almost went overboard but at the last minute grabbed a hold of the railing and held on. Lucas moved quick and grabbed hold of the second man, pulling him away from Elena and threw him hard against the wall of the cabin. Elena sat up scrunching her body into a tiny ball. Her knees against her chest as she worked her handcuffed hands under her buttocks and beneath her thighs placing her right foot and leg in the small leeway of space between her wrists and her body as she rolled onto her back. The metal of the handcuffs cut into her skin as she pulled her hands as far away as possible making room for her to move. Blood made her wrists slippery as her skin tore with the effort to bring the handcuffs to the front of her body. After several moves that twisted and warped her body that any contortionist would be proud of she managed the no small feat.
Lucas turned around too late to stop the fist hitting him hard in the jaw, his teeth clattered together. Alexei sensing a weak moment reached over to Lucas’s shoulder and dug his thumb into the already throbbing wound. Lucas screamed out in agony and had to shake off the encasing darkness threatening to pull him under.
Elena got to her feet spinning around at the sound of Lucas’s scream – a sound Elena knew she would never be able to forget no matter how long she lived for. Her eyes found Lucas as she watched helplessly. His skin was pale, almost translucent, his lips in a tight line on his face.
“No,” she yelled at Alexei. Her attention completely on Lucas forgetting about the man who watched like a hawk for his opening. He stepped forward and grabbed her coat pulling her towards him. Her head went back and connected with her would be rapist’s face, she had the pleasure of hearing his nose break. Blood spurted from his nose and his hands came up to cover it. His hands now occupied leaving the rest of him unprotected as she used the techniques Nikolai had taught her.
Her husband had made sure she could protect herself somewhat against attackers. She thanked Nikolai silently as her knee rammed the man’s balls so far up inside of him she expected them to pop out his mouth. Alexei’s man screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Elena promptly stepped around him hooking the chain of her hand cuffs around his neck and brought his body towards her stomach. She placed her right foot on his back pushing him away from her, effectively strangling the man. He fought her as he struggled for breath but she only pulled the chain tighter around his neck. Within just a few minutes he slumped over and she removed the chain from around his neck. The man fell to the deck, eyes open staring sightlessly into the night.
Elena turned around to see Lucas fall to his knees. She knew he couldn’t hold up much longer. Fresh blood coated his jacket sleeve and she had no idea how much blood he had already lost. He was cold and exhausted from the fight, almost gone. Alexei Dimitrovich stood looking down at him. She knew he was about to kill Lucas. She couldn’t let that happen.
Elena do something, she told herself. Her mind went blank at what she could do to help. She looked about for a weapon, anything that she could use against Alexei. The deck of the Sport Cabin was clear of clutter, it was the cleanest boat she had ever seen.
The gun! Her mind suddenly flashed on Lucas’s gun. She remembered that it had flown out of his hand and across the deck. She rapidly looked about for the pistol but in the dark it was hard to see one step in front of her eyes. She heard the sound of metal scraping against wood and saw the gun slide back and forth from one side of the deck to the other. She ran towards it, past the two men and placed a foot on top of the pistol effectively stopping it from sliding. She looked over to Lucas and yelled out to him, before kicking the gun towards him.
Lucas reached out and picked up the weapon, shooting Alexei before he had a chance to react. Alexei’s eyes widened in surprise at the gunshot wound now in his chest, he could feel the sharp pain and felt his warm blood soak through his shirt and coat. The cold was more intense now and he knew he was dying. He swayed on his feet and grabbed a hold of Lucas as the boat rocked heavily from side to side, port to starboard. He lost his footing, plunging him overboard into the icy river, taking Lucas with him.
“Die bastard,” he said as they hit the water and smiled. At least he took the American with him, he thought right before the darkness claimed him.
“Lucas!” Elena yelled out. She ran into the protective cabin and over to the control panel where she slowed the knots down on the boat to an idle. She had no idea how to reverse in the small boat and didn’t want to waste time trying. She radioed for help, her voice quivering from the cold. She was scared. She knew Lucas was in trouble. He would require immediate medical attention if he was still alive. No. Not if. He was alive she knew it deep in her bones and was not above praying.
Dear God please don’t let it end this way, not after all they’ve been through.
She ran over to the side of the boat, searching the blackness for Lucas, desperately calling out his name.
Chapter 31
Lucas had never been so cold in his life, he hated being cold and wondered if he was dying. He opened his eyes and found himself immersed in water, his body growing sluggish, his mind getting sleepy. He struggled to surface, his heavy winter clothes dragging him further under. Using his last remaining strength, the urge to see that Elena was a
lright foremost in his mind, he removed his heavy waterlogged coat and fought his way to the surface, taking in deep breaths. The cold was stabbing at him like a thousand knives. He gritted his teeth against the pain and placing one arm in front of the other as he simultaneously kicked out Lucas made his way towards the boat idling nearby. He could hear Elena’s frantic screams calling for him. So she was alright and God did she have a set of lungs on her.
Only a little more to go, he told himself. Then you can rest, get to safety and everything will be alright. He grabbed hold of the side of the boat and tried to pull himself up. He felt someone pull at him and together they heaved him up and over. He flopped down on the deck panting from the exertion.
“Are you okay?” he asked Elena when he felt her jump on him, pulling at his clothes.
Have to get him warm.
“I’ve had better days,” she admitted as she tossed his discarded clothes on the deck beside them. He shivered uncontrollably and vaguely noticed that her handcuffed wrists were now in front of her as she yanked at his pants zipper. She stripped him bare except for his boxers. Leave the man some dignity, she thought before lying down on top of him and rolling together with him into the space blanket she found in the cabin. She rubbed her hands up and down his arms in an effort to warm him. It would have been more effective for her to strip down too and combine their body heat but since her hands were still handcuffed together it was out of the question.
“Haven’t we all?”
He felt his eyes getting heavy and then Elena began shaking him. He opened his eyes and glared up at her.
“God woman, let a man have his rest,” he growled. “It’s been a tough couple of days.”
She smiled despite her worries. The man had a knack of making jokes at the most inappropriate of times. At least she knew he was going to be alright if he was still able to wisecrack.
Russian Law (Law Series ) (Volume 1) Page 17