Once back at the house and after Alina got out, Goran slid behind the wheel and motioned to Maric. “You drive the truck about two kilometers down the road from the hotel. I’ll follow you there.”
“You want me to drive over there now?”
Goran nodded. “That way, we’ll have everything set up. I want to check the escape routes and see how much time it takes. Everything depends on us getting to you without being seen.”
Maric shrugged and got into the truck cab. The diesel rumbled to life, black smoke rolling out of the dual stacks. He pulled out of the spacious yard, heading toward downtown. Goran followed.
Inside, Doc Gruev asked Alina. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”
She nodded. “I’ve been waiting ten years for this moment. I swore revenge against him and everyone in his unit for what they did to me.”
“I understand what you are saying, but to go there so early in the evening? Why don’t you wait until everyone’s asleep? That way you have a better chance of getting away, and no one will see you.”
“Don’t worry, Doc.” She hugged him. She had grown fond of the old man. “It will be all right. We want him to be awake. That way when he answers the door, all I have to do is shoot him, close the door, and then we can be on our way. If all works out right, no one will see me.”
“I don’t know. Still say you should wait. Plus, it will give you time to think things through.”
“I’m tired of waiting. I’m tired of thinking. I’d rather get it done and move on.”
“You mean move on to the next one. I heard what you said, but you’re not the type to give up. You still want the rest of them dead.”
Alina paused. “You’re right. I do. Killing those men won’t bring my family back, but it will bring me satisfaction.”
“You’ll never be satisfied.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“I mean revenge will never bring satisfaction. If anything, it will add to your misery by heaping on a sense of guilt. You’ve lived with hatred for so long you haven’t thought about the consequences of actually killing someone. I know. I’ve been there.”
“You have? When?”
“I was a little older than you. A man broke into our house and killed my wife. I wasn’t home at the time.”
“So you hunted him down and killed him?”
He nodded. “The police found him, but they didn’t have enough evidence to convict, so I did what any good Bulgarian would do. I avenged my wife. Snuck into his apartment when he was sleeping and shot him in the head.”
“I take it you got away?”
He nodded. “Covered the sound of the shot with a pillow. But for all that, when I got home, I did not feel any better. In fact, I sat in that chair over there and cried till morning. Took me years to get over killing that man, long after I got remarried. Still, to this day I have nightmares of him.”
Alina fell silent. What if the doctor was right? She already experienced some of that remorse, but she had shoved it away as a sign of weakness. She shook her head. She kept telling herself she was not a murderer, that she was doing the right thing. She was a woman out for revenge, pure and simple. That made it right.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Doc broke her reverie. “You’re justifying your actions right now, aren’t you?”
Alina bowed her head.
“You can’t justify murder, Alina. Killing is killing. It’s just wrong. Have you ever thought about the consequences of what you’re about to do?”
“Like what?”
“Jail for one thing. Hell for another.”
“I’ve been through Hell,” Alina said.
“Yes, you have. But what you’ve been through these past ten years is nothing compared to what awaits you. I don’t know what you’re looking for inside. What is it, peace? A sense of fulfillment? I didn’t feel any of those things till a priest taught me how to forgive. I had to forgive that man—and then I had to forgive myself. And I’ll tell you, forgiving me was a lot harder than forgiving him.”
“You lecture me on killing people, yet you did the same thing.”
The old man nodded. He took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses. “Yes, I did. And like I said, I paid for it dearly.”
“My circumstances are different.”
“They always are, but the outcome is always the same.”
“You don’t understand. They raped me, all of them. They killed my family. They all deserve to die.”
“Are you telling me you’re not pleased when you kill? Is that not the thinking of a sociopath?”
“I am not insane!”
“Yet you do insane things. Think about it, Alina. If you stay on this path, you will eventually wind up dead yourself.”
“I’m prepared for that. I don’t expect to live through this.”
“So you are willing to die in order to murder. You would rather kill than live.”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“Is there another way to put it? I know what happened to you was a travesty, but let the proper authorities take care of it.”
“The proper authorities? That’s a laugh. Look at what they did to these men. Nothing! They let them go. Actually made Oric a general. How is that justice? You asked me what I want. That’s what I want, justice.”
“So when this is all over and you’re dead and gone, whose sense of justice will you be judged by?”
Alina said nothing. She had no answer.
They stood in silence for some time. Eventually, Doc turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
~~~
Castle walked the parking lot below Oric’s room, but he was not looking at the hotel. He was looking for a high enough vantage point, a building or structure, which would give him a clear shot.
He settled on an apartment building across the street. It was a longer shot, but it had ten floors, more than enough. He only needed one shot from the sixth.
He walked into the building and took the stairs two by two. Walking down the hallway, he counted off the rooms until he came to the one directly opposite Oric’s room.
Castle knocked on the door.
“Just a minute,” a woman’s voice filtered through the door. She opened it to the length of the security chain.
Castle did not waste time with excuses. He pushed through the flimsy lock, knocking the woman back into the room.
He closed the door behind him.
The woman made a desperate dash for the telephone. She got half way before Castle caught her from behind and wrapped a hand around her mouth. He held her tight during her frantic attempts to break free. With one hand, he picked up the telephone cord. He yanked hard, ripping it out of the wall socket. The phone clanged on the floor.
Without any expression, he wrapped the wire around the woman’s neck and pulled hard. He took his hand off her mouth now. The cord cut off her air, preventing any further sounds save for a slight gurgling noise emanating from her throat.
The cord bit cruelly into her flesh. She reached both hands to pull it off, but Castle was too strong. He pulled even harder, lifting the woman’s feet off the floor.
It was over in about a minute. He let the cord go and dropped the body at his feet. Then he casually walked to the window and opened it. He knelt beside his briefcase, unsnapped the latches and began assembling his weapon.
~~~
Goran and Maric arrived back at Doc’s house at about 5:30 that afternoon.
“Where have you two been?” Alina said. “I was getting worried.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Goran replied. “I was just checking our escape route in the event we are followed. Maric parked the truck down the road. We’ll drop our car there and jump into his cab. Then it’s off to Turkey.”
“And the passports? You got the passports?”
He pulled them out of his shirt pocket, giving Alina hers. “In my line of work, I’ve seen some pretty good o
nes, but this is the best I’ve ever seen. Yes, they were expensive,” he turned and looked at Maric, “but they were worth it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay, you were right,” Maric nodded. “We needed them. So we had to spend a little money. So what?” He looked at his watch. “We better get going.”
Doc said, “Any last minute thoughts, Alina? Are you absolutely certain about this?”
She turned to him, paused, and then hugged him warmly again. “I’m sorry, but things have gone too far to turn back now, but thank you. Thank you for everything. I heard you, I mean I listened, but I have to do this. I’ll deal with the consequences later.”
“I hope you can,” the old man said. “I hope you can.”
Chapter 18
Goran dropped Maric off at his truck, which was parked a few miles from the hotel in a parking lot.
“Remember, keep the engine running. We may be coming in hot,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah. I got it. Don’t worry. I’ll be here.”
When Goran drove away Alina asked, “Do you really think he’ll be here? He has all the money. Why should he stick around for us?”
“Can’t tell you for sure. I can see it both ways. Anyway, we don’t have much of a choice. We have to trust him. And if he’s not there, then we still have this car and passports.”
“But we need him to find Itsakovic. I wouldn’t know where to start without him.”
“I thought you said Oric was the last, that we were finished after this.”
“I’m not sure anymore. Dr. Gruev has my mind all messed up.”
Goran shrugged. “Well, we’ll take Maric as a sign. If he’s gone when we get back, then we quit. If he’s still here, then we go after Itsakovic. Deal?”
Alina nodded to what amounted to the toss of a coin. “I really wanted Itsakovic, though.”
“There you go, flip-flopping. Listen, we can’t worry about that now. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”
They pulled into the hotel parking lot. She opened the door and said, “I’ll be back down in ten minutes max. You keep the engine running.”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh. I’m coming with you. You need someone to cover your back.”
Alina thought about arguing, but the look in his eyes said it would be pointless. It made her feel good to have a man like that.
She smiled and headed for the foyer. Goran brought up the rear.
~~~
Castle dragged the kitchen table in front of the window. He then went back for the chair. Setting the barrel of the rifle on a small tripod, he sighted through the scope.
The drapes were open to Oric’s hotel room. The spacious presidential suite had an assortment of furniture. A few stuffed chairs, a sofa, even a piano. Painted a mixture of white and black, the modern walls contrasted with the ancient Ottoman design of the hotel. Half the furniture was black with the sofa sitting in the middle of the room. A wraparound bar filled the right corner.
He saw Oric on the phone, pacing while he talked. To the right was the ever-present Captain Dzadzic. His crew cut as perfect as ever.
Castle smiled—if a thin twist of the lips can be called a smile. He sighted through the scope just when Oric walked out of sight into the bedroom.
Castle released the pressure on the trigger and settled back in the chair to wait.
He did not have to wait long. In minutes, Oric came into the room with a drink in hand. He now wore dark dress slacks and a white shirt. He looked into a wall mirror and smoothed his gray hair into place. He pointed to Dzadzic who went to the bar.
Castle sighted through the scope, making slight adjustments.
~~~
As Alina and Goran walked down the hall, they pulled the slide on their guns, injecting a round into the chamber. Making sure their safety was off, they held them behind their backs.
Alina knocked.
No answer.
She knocked again.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.”
Just as Oric opened one of the double doors, he dropped his glass. Alina and Goran heard the sound of tinkling glass followed by three slugs shredding the other door above Oric’s head. Oric dropped to the floor.
“Captain! Captain. They’re shooting at me. Do something. Do something.”
Alina and Goran dodged right as three more bullets smashed a line down the door. Splintered wood burst across the hall.
~~~
Castle cursed bitterly, primarily at whoever built the hotel. When Oric hit the floor, he had disappeared from view behind the half-height wall. Castle fired randomly for effect. Holes in the glass marked his progression across the room. Drinking glasses shattered. Stuffing flew from the sofas. The piano played an odd rhythm as bullets tore through it.
He was so focused at looking through the scope that he did not see Captain Dzadzic escape from the room before it was too late. He cursed again. He didn’t have much time.
He fell silent for a while, baiting his prey to show his head. Nothing. Either Oric was dead or he was playing it safe and not going anywhere.
He guessed if Oric were still alive, he would be hiding beneath the windowsill. He fired at the concrete wall, but the bullets just bounced off.
Savagely, he beat the table. He took his eye off the scope long enough to see Dzadzic running across the parking lot toward him. Castle quickly adjusted to the lower position and fired, but he shot too fast. He had not compensated for the height. As a result, bullets chipped the pavement at the captain’s feet.
Then Dzadzic ran from view and inside the apartment building.
Castle hurried to disassemble his weapon. He was just putting the last piece in place when he glanced across the distance to see Oric running for the bedroom. He fastened the case and looked one more time at the target that got away. Itsakovic was not going to like this.
Oric reappeared carrying a pistol and then ran toward the door. Castle could not wait any longer. He had to get moving. It would not take Dzadzic long to find him.
~~~
After abandoning their plan at the door, Alina and Goran turned the corner at the far end of the hallway to regroup. She noticed blood on his right arm.
“You’re hit.”
“Yeah,” Goran said nonchalantly as he looked at the wound. “Caught one back there.”
“Here, let me have a look.”
He hissed in air as Alina tore open the sleeve.
“Stings, don’t it?” She smiled.
“A little. It’s okay, Alina. Looks a lot worse than it is. The bullet missed the bone. Went right through the meat. Tie it off with the sleeve of my shirt.”
She ripped off his sleeve and smiled. “Look at it this way, you got your merit badge.”
“My what?”
“Everyone else has been shot but you. Now you can join our club.”
“I’ll have you know—”
The crack of a pistol. Blood sprayed Alina’s face as a bullet tore through Goran’s head. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, so abstract. The deafening boom from Oric’s gun was just an obscure sound somewhere in the distance. He was yelling something she could not make out. A red mist still hung in the air as Alina looked back at Goran.
He crumbled at her feet, the left side of his skull a bloody mess. Then she looked back at Oric, who was firing again.
Alina ducked back just in time. The shot chipped the corner of the hall where her head had been. She was back on point now. From her crouched position, she peered around the corner and returned fire, running off five quick rounds.
Oric retreated into his room, awkwardly trying to dodge the lethal stream of lead. Bullet holes appeared in the wall behind him, and then he was gone.
Alina looked down at Goran’s lifeless body, but no tears formed. Instead, a sense of cold fury overcame her.
She came around the corner at a dead run, hurrying to make it to the door before it closed, but she was too late. The door slammed shut in her face. She shot the handle and burst into the room hard and fast,
rolling behind a sofa chair. Instantly, she was on one knee, her gun up and ready. Oric was nowhere to be found. She trained her sights on the bedroom door.
“Come out, Oric. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? You wanted me dead. Well, now I’m here. Do something about it!”
No answer.
Slowly, she crept from behind the chair and heel-toed it across the room. She glanced at the bar in the right corner as she made her way to the bedroom door on her left. She held the gun in both hands and pressed against the wall. After a moment’s hesitation, she peeled around the corner, her gun sweeping the bedroom.
Alina saw Oric’s reflection in the window just in time. He popped up from behind the bar. She violently flung herself to the ground as a shot rang out. She tucked and rolled as she fell, somersaulting through the bedroom doorway, and then she was up on one knee, firing back.
Oric ducked behind the counter again as bullets ricocheted off the steel housing and through the row of plate glass windows behind him. His gun appeared above the counter as he sprayed shots blindly in her direction. Bullets skipped off the floor and punctured the lightweight wall as Alina ducked inside the bedroom.
Then all fell silent.
“What’s the matter, Alina? Don’t you want to play anymore?” Oric called out.
Alina sat against the wall and hit the floor with a tight fist. She surveyed the room. This door was the only way out.
Stupid! She told herself. Always leave yourself an out. Now, she was trapped.
~~~
Captain Dzadzic bounded up the steps to the sixth floor. He knew the shots had to come from here because of the bullet’s trajectory. He could also trace them back to the source, given a one room error on either side. He ran down the hall and was about to kick in the first door when he heard a door slam shut.
On a hunch, he headed for the stairs.
He burst through the door, gun angling to the right, then down. No one in sight. Then he heard hurried footsteps. He followed them down.
He angled the gun downward, pausing at each floor landing to search below. It made for slow progress, but he had learned early on it was better to be cautious than dead. The man was armed and dangerous. Dzadzic was not taking any chances.
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