Partners

by D B Steward

  Taking advantage of the situation, Sonny delivered a strong right punch to his throat. Ivan’s eyes bulged and he made coughing sounds as he struggled to get air into his lungs. Sonny stomped her foot on the brake and brought the vehicle to a screeching halt. The sudden lurching caused Kelly to lose her grip on Ivan’s wrist. He began to move his arm forward again but much more lethargically than before as he struggled to breathe. Sonny now grabbed his gun hand and punched him hard on his nose, breaking it and causing blood to spray from his nostrils. While Sonny continued to keep his wrist immobile, Ivan attempted to claw at Sonny’s motorcycle helmet with his free hand that was no longer needed on the steering wheel of the stopped car. Kelly grabbed the driver-side seat belt and pulled. She took the slack and wrapped it around Ivan’s neck. With a strength born of adrenaline and fear, Ivan was able to get a finger hold on Sonny’s helmet and yanked on it, pulling her forward and closer to him.

  Off balance now, Sonny was rapidly losing the struggle with Ivan’s gun hand. With a frustrated growl, she stopped punching Ivan’s face and gripped his wrist with both her hands. Kelly recognized that Ivan was about to get the upper hand on Sonny and put her knees on the back of his seat. She leaned back to use her body weight and all of her strength to strangle him with the seat belt. Ivan’s eyes began to roll up as his tongue poked out of his mouth. He dropped the gun and released his hold on Sonny’s helmet. He desperately tugged at the belt while his vision darkened with steadily weakening fingers. Kelly grunted with effort as she pulled with all her might on the belt. There was no thought about the fact that she was killing another human being, there was only one thought in her mind: Protect Sonny.

  Watching Ivan die slowly and in agony, Sonny removed her helmet. No longer needing to fight him now that his brain was being deprived of oxygen, Sonny leaned toward his gradually purpling face and whispered in his ear.

  “This is for all those girls you ruined, Ivan. Enjoy Hell.” She thought she saw a flash of comprehension on his face, but dismissed it as wishful thinking. He probably had not heard her, but she would take comfort from having said it anyway. With grim satisfaction, Sonny watched as Ivan Popov left the world of the living.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kelly was still tugging on the seat belt. Sonny placed her gloved hand gently on one of Kelly’s tense fists. “Hey.” Sonny spoke softly as she gently grazed her fingers over Kelly’s, attempting to break Kelly out of the intense state she was in. “Kelly.” She tried harder to reach her, squeezing her hand. “Kelly. He’s dead.”

  From far away, Kelly heard a soothing voice. She felt a soft touch on her hand that felt so different from whatever it was that was cutting into her fingers. The world started to come back into focus for her, the sounds of her labored breathing, the smell of gunpowder and sweat, the seat belt in her hands. Then she saw Ivan, his bulging eyes and protruding tongue, his purpling skin and the horrible look frozen on his face. It was the look of inevitable death and the refusal to let go of the gift of life, the gift she had taken from him. She had killed him, she had taken his life, something she had never done before, and even though she knew Ivan was a despicable human being, he was still a person. He was here a moment ago and now he was gone. But it had to be done. He was going to kill her, and that was something she could not, would not, let happen.

  Sonny.

  “Kelly.”

  Sonny. She was here. She was there. Now. Kelly looked into the dark eyes of the woman and took in the concern that was shining from them as bright as the sun. The power of the woman’s comfort was enough to make her want to cry, but she knew that she could not afford to break down right now. She commanded her hands to release the seat belt and allowed herself to feel Sonny’s touch and relish in her presence.

  “Sonny.” Her voice conveyed the emotions she was struggling to keep in check. In return, Sonny simply nodded her understanding.

  “I know, Kelly, I know. But we have to go. Now.” She squeezed the ex-agent’s hand again, trying to channel the urgency of the situation through her voice. Kelly nodded her head and took a deep breath.

  “What are we gonna do?” Kelly looked at the carnage inside the car. “Your bike.” Sonny smirked.

  “I can afford a new one. Come on, we need to get these bodies in the back and get the hell out of here. The police will be here soon.”

  “Then what?”

  Sonny’s smile was full of malicious intent. “We take Ivan home to Papa.”

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  “Okay, ma’am, we have units on the way.” Trace held the earpiece with one finger as she continued to click away on her laptop. “I think our girl has emerged from her hidey hole. Just got a 911 call about a bike and a car chase with shots fired. The rider on the bike was a woman. I think Sonny found Kelly.”

  Nancy nodded, taking it all in. “Their next move will be to Popov’s place. We need to get there and set up a perimeter. This is going to be our best chance to acquire the asset.” Trace rolled her eyes and scoffed at the other woman.

  “Asset.” She blew out a hiss in amusement. “Sure.” She frowned at her screen and then looked up to meet the eyes of Agent Timmerman. “What are you going to do about the Popovs though? You going to let Sonny finish the job?” Trace watched as the other woman gazed with a stone face out the window as the landscape sped by. After a moment, Trace realized she would not get a reply so she went back to work on her laptop, remembering how much easier it was to communicate with computers than humans.

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Sonny was not concerned about obeying the traffic laws right then. If a police officer decided to pull them over, he would find two corpses, a lot of guns, and a bullet-riddled car. She did not believe that they could talk themselves out of that particular situation so she was just going to floor it and pray that they would avoid any patrol cars.

  They were getting close; she had memorized the best route to Petrov’s place and it was only a few minutes away. Kelly was quiet and Sonny was not used to that, so she glanced over and saw that the woman was staring blankly out of the front window. “Kelly? You okay?” Sonny returned her concentration to the road in front of her. Kelly just nodded and hummed her affirmative. “You did what you had to do. You have nothing to feel bad about.”

  “That’s the thing, Sonny…” Kelly seemed to come back from whatever world she had been in. “I don’t feel bad. Not at all. I’ve never killed anyone before. I should feel terrible. But instead, I feel like if I had to, that I would do it again.” Sonny nodded and remained silent while she navigated the streets, knowing that Kelly needed to get this off her chest. Sonny needed her focused for what was coming and having a distracted partner was a liability in an already extremely precarious situation. “I couldn’t let him kill you, Sonny.”

  “I appreciate that, Miss King.”

  Kelly snorted. “Was that a joke from Sonny Moretti?”

  “Well, I figured you could use one right now.”

  “You’re probably right, so if you think of one, let me know.”

  “Nice.” Sonny smirked.

  Kelly sighed loudly. “Sonny, I’m sorry about what I said before. You’re not an ice queen.” Sonny pursed her lips when she heard the name again. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t understand what you were saying about working for Homeland. Your life is your own. I admire you for that.”

  “I’m sorry too. I said some things that I would like to take back too, Kelly. I-I’m just not used to being around other people.”

  Kelly smiled and gave Sonny a playful punch on the shoulder. “Admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery, Moretti.” Sonny shook her head but could not help the grin from pulling at her lips. “So…besties?”

  “You are something else, Miss King.”

  “And you’re
not half bad yourself, Moretti.”

  Sonny composed herself and grew serious. “We’re about to get bloody real soon. I need you to be there for me.” She chanced another look at Kelly and saw the ex-agent appeared to be concentrating. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “We ride together, we die together.”

  Sonny grinned. “Bad boys for life.”

  The Popov estate was in sight and Sonny coaxed even more speed out of the vehicle, zooming past the pair of bewildered sentries standing guard. It was a more modern design than the Don’s home was. There was a lot of exposed wood, strong lines, and large glass floor-to-ceiling windows. One window in particular was getting larger by the second.

  “Umm, Sonny?” Kelly’s fingers started to dig into the armrests as their speed increased. “Got a problem with the front door?” Her voice was starting to get louder as her anxiety grew.

  “Yeah.” Sonny gritted her teeth. “It’s too small for this truck to go through. Hang on!”

  Kelly closed her eyes involuntarily as the vehicle smashed through the glass and barreled into the atrium. When she opened them, the vehicle had stopped and she saw that Sonny had her game face fully in place. “Let’s go.” Sonny was all business as she exited the truck and fired off two rounds, hitting a pair of men right in the center of their chests, dropping them in place. Kelly hopped out, holding a pistol at the ready and scanning the area for more men. She did not see any, but she knew more would be coming after everyone got past the shock of an SUV crashing into a residence.

  “Clear over here!” Kelly signaled over her shoulder.

  “His office is up the stairs on your left!” In that moment, Kelly wondered how Sonny knew that; the girl must go to sleep reading blueprints. There was a wooden Swedish-style staircase against the left wall with no railing, and Sonny took the lead in charging up the stairs. Kelly could hear raised voices behind them getting closer.

  “Sounds like some folks are on the way to swap insurance information, Sonny!”

  “Just move!”

  “Now who’s being bossy!” Once they reached the landing that overlooked the atrium, three more men arrived and opened fire. “Get down!” Both women flattened onto the floor and the rounds hit the wall and windows above them, showering them with glass and splinters. They returned fire and shot down on the men who had not gotten behind the SUV. Had they made it to that cover, two of the gunmen would not have been shot dead by Sonny and the other would not have taken a bullet in his left leg from Kelly.

  “Let’s go.” Sonny jumped up and was already few steps down the hallway by the time Kelly got to her feet. She caught up quickly to Sonny and followed close behind her, keeping an eye out behind them to watch their six.

  Sonny saw the office door ahead crack open and she fired a round into the doorframe, causing whoever was behind it to slam it shut. They both got to the office door and Sonny was about to charge through when Kelly pulled her back from in front of it. Not a second later, a shotgun blast tore a hundred holes through the closed door. Sonny chanced a look at Kelly and gave her a quick nod in thanks for saving her life.

  “Come on, you bitch!” heavily accented English screamed at them through the door. “I kill you!” Kelly kept sweeping the hall with her eyes but she had yet to see anyone else coming for them. She felt Sonny nudge her shoulder and quickly glanced at her. Sonny had retrieved a concussion grenade from her pack and held it in her hand. She held up three fingers and Kelly nodded. Counting down with her fingers from three, Sonny readied the grenade and saw Kelly covering her ears and squeezing her eyelids closed. On the count of one, she kicked hard at the door near the knob. Tossing the grenade inside, she got clear just as another shotgun blast hit the wall opposite them.

  “Shit!” The male voice that Sonny assumed was Petrov’s shouted right before the loud bang sounded and even through her closed eyes, Sonny could see the flash of light from the grenade. Both women jumped into the room and quickly assessed the situation. Petrov was holding a pump-action shotgun in one hand but his other was furiously rubbing at his eyes, trying to clear his vision. There was also an older woman that Sonny recognized from both the airport and the brothel, who was unarmed and covering her ears with her hands. Sonny shot Petrov in his shoulder and he dropped the shotgun, cursing in pain. Kelly moved to the woman and grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around and pinning her to the wall.

  Petrov’s vision was clearing quickly and even though he could not hear anything, he tried to reach for the dropped weapon when he felt a burning punch to his knee. He knew that he had been shot again and tried to stay upright, swearing a blue streak and unable to comprehend how a woman had gotten the best of him.

  Sonny clubbed him hard on his temple with the butt of her gun, breaking skin and

  making Petrov feel like his skull was vibrating. He thought of himself as a strong man but with the amount of punishment his body had just taken, he crumpled to the ground and landed on his back. “You better kill me now, bitch! If you don’t—”

  Sonny interrupted him. “Save the threat. Don’t worry, Petrov, you die in minutes.” She saw Kelly had the woman subdued. “That’s the one who takes the girls.” Kelly nodded back her comprehension.

  “Is that what this is about?” Petrov laughed and grimaced in pain. “The whores? Who gives a shit about them?” Sonny slammed her boot down on his wounded knee and Petrov howled in pain.

  “I do.”

  Petrov leveled a look of absolute hatred at Sonny. “This is Ivan’s fuck up. Everything I built, he destroyed! I should have killed his mother when she told me she was having him.”

  “Well, he’s dead in the car downstairs, so you can tell him that in a moment when you see him in Hell.” Sonny did not wait for him to respond to her, putting a bullet right between his eyes and hoping he would spend the rest of eternity burning.

  Kelly jumped from the shot and turned away from the execution. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of the older woman trying to slip out of the office. “Oh no you don’t!” Kelly grabbed the smaller woman by the arm again and although she struggled, there was no way she was strong enough to free herself from someone as fit as Kelly.

  “That’s her. The woman who brings the girls here. I saw her at the airport.” Sonny gripped her Glock so hard that her hand began to ache. This woman had practically signed the death warrant for the girls Sonny had seen and she could not even guess how many had come before them. Sonny’s face remained impassive although her eyes blazed with white-hot fury, but Amina met the glare with a look of defiance.

  “My name is Amina Golovkin. I was being held against my will by Petrov Popov.”

  “Bullshit.” Sonny raised the gun until the barrel was square with Amina’s face but the older woman looked calm, as if Sonny was pointing a camera at her and not a gun.

  “Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Amina smirked in disgust as her voice dripped with disdain. “Do you believe this is the first time I have stared down the barrel of a gun? You are not the first person to threaten my life. I have been beaten. I have been raped. I have had everything taken from me and I have survived.” Amina laughed. “And I will survive you as well, little girl.”

  “Do you know who you’re talking to, lady?” Kelly interjected as she released Amina who was no longer trying to flee. She gestured with her head toward Sonny. “That’s Sonny Moretti. She’s killed more people than smallpox. So unless you’re immortal, you should probably keep your mouth shut.” There was a flurry of movement in her peripheral vision that made Kelly glance out the window and she quickly realized why they had not seen any of Popov’s men bursting in with guns blazing. “Uh, Sonny, you might want to take a look at this.” Sonny wasted another second to stare at Amina’s frozen face before she moved to Kelly’s side. Looking outside, she saw half a dozen vehicles and a few dozen armed men and women making a perimeter while they restrained the rest of Popov’s men.

  “Homeland Security! Guns down!” Agents burst in with their wea
pons trained on the women inside the office. Kelly stage-whispered to Sonny.

  “I think we should put our guns down.”

  Epilogue

  The ride was not terribly unpleasant in Kelly’s opinion. They had not been handcuffed but they had been disarmed. They were not Mirandized but it was abundantly clear that there was no way they were going to be allowed to leave on their own as they were herded into a vehicle. The trip was silent and although the Homeland Security agents did not have their guns on them, it was obvious from their grim countenance that it would be a bad idea to make any sudden moves.

  She knew she was in trouble. Kelly was a felon; she was not even supposed to touch a weapon. She had killed someone and committed a dozen other crimes that she could think of off the top of her head and probably a few that she was not aware of. Kelly assumed that she was going away for a long time. Homeland Security wanted Sonny, so they did not need her. She was so fucked.

  The cars pulled into an underground garage and they were escorted to an elevator heading down. After the elevator stopped, they were led in silence down a gray concrete corridor where there was only a single door at the end. Once inside, they were seated together on one side of a steel table and left alone.

  Kelly moved her palm along the top of the table. “Oooo! Shiny!” Sonny’s face remained impassive as she stared forward at the blank concrete wall. “Do you think they have a cleaning service that comes in for this or do they make one of their guys do it?” Kelly looked for a smirk but there was no movement at all on Sonny’s lips. Kelly sighed heavily. “Sonny, I’m sorry. If it wasn’t for me, you would be free and clear and not stuck like this.”

  Sonny looked at Kelly then and slowly a warm smile spread on her face. “Kelly?” Kelly perked up at the change in mood from the assassin. Sonny’s eyes showed more humor than Kelly could recall ever seeing in those gorgeous dark orbs. “Shut up.”