Master

by Catherine Taylor

  Lena shrugged “Two tigers and some symbols.”

  Makarov sat up, his face creased in deep thought, nodding as began to understand. “Thailand.”

  Sitting up, Lena frowned at him. “What about Thailand?”

  “I was there.”

  Her breathing grew heavier. “It was you? You killed his family?”

  He turned back, his face distorted with anger. “Is that what he told you? Now I’m beginning to understand. The two boys, one a lot older but both the same. The black hair, those strange, fucking eyes.”

  “You killed them, his parents, his sister…”

  “I didn’t fucking kill anyone. I didn’t get the chance. We hadn’t even found them yet, and then the boy found us. What the fuck was their name?” He frowned deeply. “Kravec. Pavlo Kravec was the father, a scientist, a physicist involved in weaponry. He defected with his family. The wife, a girl and the two boys… Damyen and Taras… “

  Lena stared at him in disgust. “If you didn’t kill them, then who did?”

  “That fucking psycho, Taras. He was a frightening creature to look at. He found us at the hotel, and took us back to show us his offering, his ‘duty to Stalin and Lenin’ as he called it. He was out of control, mad as a cut snake, an extreme loyalist to the Soviet.

  “We got him out of there, a little relieved that he had saved us some time, but we had to sedate him. We were getting ready to clean up when the other boy came back, and the first thing he did was to kill one of my men, a twelve year old, and already a killer. No wonder he fights so well.”

  Lena’s mouth hung open. “What happened to them?”

  “We brought them back. The KGB saw the potential in Taras, but Damyen was too young and volatile. He wanted blood. We decided to put him in one of the boy’s homes, renowned for sorting out problem boys. The last I heard, he had escaped, but this is him. I remember. He looks like his brother. This sheds a whole new light on the matter. I take it he didn’t share that part of his interest in me?”

  Lena shook her head sadly. “Just that a KGB assassin had killed his family.”

  “Who he obviously thought was me.” Makarov slumped back in his seat. “I was there to get Kravec back. We didn’t want him dead. Do you understand now, Lena? You fell for the wrong man. Men like him, don’t know anything other than hatred. Any kindness you saw in him was an elaboration, a means to an end.”

  “Like everyone else in my life?” she asked coldly.

  Makarov ignored her and looked at Oleg. “Ring ahead to the hotel and tell them I want the security increased. I want men out ready for when we pull up. I want ears and eyes everywhere.”

  Oleg nodded and reached for the phone, glancing away from the road intermittently to push buttons. After a pause, he spoke into the receiver. “We are arriving at the hotel in five minutes. Mr Makarov is requiring full security, men at the car, ready to meet us. Vera and Lena Petrenko are with him. You should make sure all is secured and ready.”

  Lena felt as if her life was deflating inside her. All hope for the future was as dark as the night outside the car. Her child and Andrei were dead. The two men she had trusted most, had possessed no real affection for her. She had simply served their purpose. She was alone in the world and no one gave a damn about her.

  As much as she didn’t want to believe him, her grandfather’s explanation for Jahn was too plausible. Someone had to have set the gunman up, to help him escape. Jahn had told her nothing about Makarov’s time in Thailand. Was all this about him wanting to kill her grandfather? It was all too much. As far as she was concerned they could all kill each other. The only one who hadn’t deserved to die was Greta.

  There would be no more mornings of sending out her love. There was no one to give it to. Lena was alone in a violent world.

  Her hand slipped inside the coat and she stroked the hard metal of the gun, feeling its weight, drawing strength from the one power that she had left. Her finger found the trigger, and this time there was no fear, just a simple way to make it all end.

  Makarov turned back to her. “You’re going to tell me where he kept you. I want this bastard before the night is out.”

  She replied calmly. “I don’t know the address.”

  “But you have an idea where it is.” He reached into the glove box and took out a directory. Turning around, he slapped it down on her lap. “The café, where Andrei met you that day, you work back from that, the route you took, and if you start having trouble, I’ll get Oleg to help you.”

  “Why did you kill Andrei?” she asked quietly.

  “Me?” Makarov smirked. “I didn’t kill Andrei. He thought his men were loyal to him. Men are loyal to the biggest pay cheques. Andrei had plans to take you away and made the mistake of telling one of his men. He put a stop to Andrei’s plans.”

  Lena nodded, a tear slipping down her face. “He was always good to me.”

  Taking out the gun, she held it against the back of Oleg’s head. “Pull the car over or I will shoot you.”

  Oleg turned his head enough to look at Makarov who was staring in disbelief. His face became enraged.

  “Where the fuck did you get a gun?”

  Lena knew she had to sound confident, though her heart was hammering in her chest. “He did send me to kill you, and now seems a good time as ever. Pull the car over, Oleg, I will shoot.”

  “Stop it, Lena,” Vera yelled. “You shoot him, you will kill us all.”

  “She’s not going to shoot,” Makarov snarled. “Give that to me now, Lena.”

  “Listen to me, Oleg,” Lena pushed the gun harder against his head. “If I pull the trigger, we’re all going to be dead, and I don’t give a fuck. Everything I had is gone, and I have nothing to live for. You, on the other hand, might want to live.”

  The car began to slow down.

  “Don’t listen to her,” Makarov yelled. “She doesn’t know how to use it. I doubt she’s taken the safety off.”

  “You think he didn’t teach me how to use it? I’ll count to three. One…”

  The car swung over to the side and stopped.

  “You fucking bitch,” Makarov gritted his teeth. “And what are you going to do about the car behind us, filled with my men?”

  As if on cue, another car screeched to a halt behind them. Lena didn’t look back, her mind racing to work out her next move. In one swift shift, she had hold of Vera by her hair and the gun under her chin. Vera’s mouth was wide in terror.

  “Get out, Oleg, and open my door,” Lena demanded.

  He was out quickly, and Makarov chuckled. “You stupid bitch. He’s not about to open your door. You’re going to fucking suffer for this.”

  Lena heard the slamming of doors, and looking out saw the men beginning to surround the car, guns drawn.

  “Now what are you going to do?” Makarov sneered.

  Lena’s lip trembled. “I don’t know.”

  “Just give the gun to me.” He lowered his voice. “We’ll forget about this stupidity. I need you to help me find that arsehole.”

  “Get out,” she told him. “I just want to sit here for a moment. Vera can stay with me.”

  The remark only brought a low howl from Vera.

  “Think about this, Lena,” Makarov insisted.

  “Get out,” she yelled.

  He was out, slamming the door. Lena released Vera’s hair and let the gun slide down as she relaxed.

  “No, don’t,” Vera cried.

  “What?” Lena looked at her, and realised that the gun was pointed at the large belly. She quickly shifted it up. “I wouldn’t do that. I would never hurt a child.”

  “Let me get out,” Vera sobbed.

  “Not yet. Just stay with me for a moment.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to talk to someone. It feels all strange inside me. It’s like I’m already dead, and all I have to do is stop breathing.” She smiled at Vera. “Can I feel your baby?”

  Vera stared at her fearfully, but nodded rapidly
. She braced as Lena gently put her hand on her belly.

  “You have to be kind and gentle to your child, Vera.” She told her. “If you love him, with everything you have, he will grow up and be a good man. I’ve worked that out. Don’t surround him with hate and violence. It destroys something in us. Promise me that you will be a good mother to him.”

  “I will, I swear. Please let me get out.”

  Lena nodded and lay the gun in her lap. “Go on.”

  Vera tentatively shifted across, and quietly opened her door. When Lena didn’t move, she was out quickly, slamming the door behind her.

  Sighing deeply, Lena gazed at the gun in her lap and brought the barrel up to her mouth.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Draining the remnants of a bottle of vodka into his glass, Dmitri Petrenko scowled and hurled the bottle across the room, smashing it against the wall. Drinking the few drops down, he stubbed out his cigarette into an overflowing pile of ash and butts on a plate. He got up unsteadily, wobbling on his feet and stumbled towards the door, leading out to the stairs.

  At the top, he looked down, smirking to himself. It wasn’t going to be easy navigating stairs that looked so unfocussed and rickety, but it was the course he had to take, to get to the vodka in the restaurant.

  About to take his first step, he felt the steel grip of hands on his arms, and his body went flying back to slam into the wall. Winded, he stood facing the wall, unmoving, fear beginning to penetrate his inebriation.

  The voice came like the deep, low growl of some predatory animal. “Where’s Lena?”

  Turning slowly, his eyes widened as he looked at Jahn’s furious face. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since you took her.”

  “Where is Makarov staying?”

  “His hotel, the Sophia, on Rostov.” He winced as he felt the fingers grip his arm. He was turned savagely and slammed back against the wall. Jahn held him by the neck.

  “What happened to Andrei?”

  The chubby face began to quiver, as Dmitri got teary. “He killed him, my best friend in all the world. That bastard killed him.”

  Jahn glared furiously, but his grip lightened. “What is Makarov planning to do with Lena?”

  “He’s taking her,” Dmitri sobbed. “Like he’s taking everything. My daughter, my wife, and my baby, not my baby though, his. I was a complete fucking fool.”

  Jahn smirked. “Does it make you think of what your daughter went through?”

  “Did you hurt her?”

  “No,” Jahn stated angrily. “Unlike you, I actually give a fuck about her.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “What, that you killed her mother, took away her child and treated her like shit?”

  “I didn’t kill her mother.” Dmitri started bawling. “That was Makarov. I loved my wife. I fucked up. I should have listened to her.”

  Jahn frowned. “You’re telling me Makarov killed his own daughter?”

  “His man ran her down on the street.” Dmitri slumped down, and Jahn released him, watching him slide down the wall, and catch himself on the floor.

  Crouching down, Jahn pushed his head back to look at him. “Why?”

  “Because she was going to report him, his activities in the restaurant. He never said anything, but he took Lena away and that’s when it happened, just outside the restaurant. I saw the car that hit her.”

  “And you did nothing.”

  Dmitri sniffed, and nodded mournfully. “I’m a coward. I was scared that I would be next. I’ve lived my whole fucking life in fear. I couldn’t even help Lena. She was just a little girl, crying every night for her mother, and it was just a constant reminder to me. I started to resent her. When Vera came along, I thought I found a bit of happiness, but she treated Lena badly and I still did nothing. Lena was a troubled kid. She made herself available to boys, and of course ended up pregnant. I knew if Victor found out, there would be trouble. I didn’t know she would get so attached to the baby.”

  “It was her child,” Jahn snarled. “And she loved her.”

  “I know,” Dmitri wept. “But it couldn’t be. Vera told me the child was black, and Victor is a racist pig. When he found out about her…”

  Jahn slammed his head back. “He knew?”

  “Yes. Vera told him. That bitch was having a fucking affair with him the whole time, telling him everything.”

  “Fuck,” Jahn cursed, his thoughts coming thick and fast. “There was a gunman at the fight. He shot Rabinov. What the fuck was that all about?”

  Dmitri looked confused and shook his head. “I don’t know, I swear. It must have been for you. Makarov was going to kill you.”

  Jahn shook his head. “No. If that gunman had wanted me, I’d be dead.”

  He stood up and Dmitri looked up at him, terrified. “Are you going to kill me?”

  Glaring down at him, Jahn’s mouth was set grimly. He spoke quietly, his fury still palpable in every word. “Everything else has been taken away from Lena. I’m not about to be the one to kill her father.”

  “Help her,” Dmitri whispered. “Whether you believe it or not, I love her.”

  “Love is not a fucking word,” Jahn replied. “It’s what makes you want to do right by someone else, to put them before your own fucking needs and wants. You don’t fucking deserve to have her.”

  “I know,” Dmitri nodded. “I’m finished anyway. Please, when you find her, tell her something good from me. Make it up if you have to.”

  “If I find her.”

  He turned and strode to the stairs and was gone. Dmitri leant back against the wall and his body heaved and wobbled with his bawling.

  * * * *

  Oleysa sat in the car, looking out every window into the dark street, for any sign of movement, her hand resting on the car horn. She nearly pushed it, until she recognised Jahn running towards her. Shifting across to the other seat, she watched him get in and start up the car.

  “What happened?”

  “I have the hotel where Makarov is staying.”

  Oleysa nodded thoughtfully. “A heavily guarded hotel, no doubt.”

  “I don’t care.” His foot crushed the accelerator.

  The car sped through the street and squealed out onto the main road. Oleysa leant back in her seat and did up her seatbelt, glancing over to the grim face.

  “Do you have a plan?”

  “Yeah, get Lena out and kill Makarov.”

  “Any idea how you’re going to do that?”

  His mouth closed firmly and he shook his head.

  “It seems to me,” she said, casually. “That you are a man who would usually know what you’re doing. Is it wise to charge on in like a bull at a gate?”

  “No, it’s not fucking wise,” Jahn yelled. “But I don’t fucking know what to do. All I know is she is with him, and I have to do something about that.”

  “Then stop the car and let’s talk, before you get us both killed.”

  He frowned deeply, and suddenly pulled the car over, braking hard. “I’ll take you home first, Oleysa.”

  “I didn’t say that. I just want to know how we can do this successfully. Is that too much to ask?”

  He glanced at her and grinned. “Why would men believe for a moment that they are smarter than a woman?”

  “We let them think that,” she smiled. “They need to feel that we need them.”

  “You don’t need to be involved in this.”

  “I know, but you didn’t have to come back to help me.” Her grin broadened. “And maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll get to fuck you later, that is, of course, if you haven’t got any commitments.”

  Jahn laughed. “How do you women do that, slip the old ball and chain on, without us noticing, while we’re blissfully going about our single lives?”

  “You’re asking the wrong woman, but if she has made you feel like that, then she is a smart girl.”

  He nodded. “She’s different. Naïve, a little immature, but I don’t think I
’ve met someone I respect more.”

  “I think that’s something we value more than anything.”

  “I do respect you too, Oleysa. You’ve done what you’ve needed to do, to survive.” He grinned at her. “Depending on the outcome of all this, it would be an honour to fuck you.”

  Oleysa laughed. “That would be a first. Now that you’ve calmed down, what resources do you have available, that might make this easier?”

  His grin broadened. “Resources, I have plenty of them.”

  * * * *

  Pulling Lena from the car, Oleg snatched the gun away from her and tossed it to one of the other men. Makarov approached her and backhanded her to the ground.

  “You stupid bitch. The next time you want to blow your head off, take the safety off first.”

  Lena held her face and stared down at the ground silently. It was Vera who suddenly screamed, clutching herself under the large belly, doubled over and her face contorted in agony.

  “What the fuck?” Makarov went pale and nervously went to her. “Vera, what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know,” she screamed. “It hurts. Victor, it hurts, help me.”

  “She’s bleeding.” Lena got up and pointed to a long line of blood running down the inside of her leg. “You need to get her to hospital.”

  Makarov yelled. “Shit, shit, this can’t be fucking happening.”

  “Help me, Victor,” Vera was bawling.

  Oleg and the rest of the men were staring at her fearfully. Gregor was amongst them, and he broke away and hurried to Makarov.

  “I can take Lena to the hotel, and you can take Mrs Petrenko to the hospital.”

  Makarov stared at him, his confusion evident. He shook his head. “No, I can’t go to a fucking hospital.” He looked at the other two men with Gregor. “You two, you can take her.”

  They looked at him in horror. “Sir, we don’t know anything about what to do.”

  “Just fucking get her there.”

  Vera sank down to the ground and Lena hurried to her. She glared up at Makarov. “Do something, or you’re going to lose Vera and the baby.”