by Mark Spaid
“Alright, now we can walk and hail a cab.” A few people looked at them but many took no notice and after ten minutes they seemed to blend in with their surroundings.
“I think it’s working,” Valerie whispered. They were about ten blocks from the hotel, which is what they planned. To grab a cab in front of the hotel could tip off someone. Where they were now was part commercial and residential and there were very few people. Henry put up his hand and a red cab stopped. He showed the driver an airport brochure and pointed. The driver nodded and they were on their way, it was a ten-minute ride. They got out and Henry gave the man a large bill. The driver nodded and smiled before pulling away.
“Here we go.” They went inside and spotted the ticket window. This was an airport in name only. There were very few customers and a solitary janitor sweeping up cigarette butts. Apparently, the no smoking wave had not reached The Crimea. At the ticket window Henry did his best with his very limited Russian to buy two tickets to Kiev. He recognized the Russian spelling of Kiev on the schedule board and pointed. The ticket taker handed him two tickets and Henry paid in large bills. They sat on a bench a few feet from the gate. All the while they were there a man in a suit was sitting on a chair watching them. Valerie noticed him and hoped he’d look away but he didn’t.
“What’s wrong?” Henry asked as he noticed Valerie seemed nervous.
“That little man to our right keeps looking at us.”
“Probably wants our autograph.”
“Very funny but I’m getting scared.”
“Relax and don’t look at him.” There were about fifty people waiting to board the plane. At 6:45 a man spoke in Russian and people got up to board. The man in the suit began approaching Henry and Valerie. Henry could see he had a gun on a shoulder holster.
“What do we do?” Valerie asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You cheating bastard!” A woman screamed as she yelled at a man and stuck her finger in his chest.
“You have room to talk, what about that gardener, I bet he tilled your soil.”
“Don’t change the subject!” The two were blocking the path of the little man in the suit and as he tried to get past them, they shifted to stay in his way. Then the couple began moving and pushing the little man with them. He was the quintessential 98-pound weakling. The more he tried to get past them the more they pushed him to a hallway still yelling at each other. Valerie and Henry boarded the plane. In the hall the little man reached for his gun but the man grabbed his arm and bent it behind him as he took the weapon and handed it to the woman. It was agents Wilkins and Chester playing a role to help get Valerie and Henry on the plane. The little man started to yell for help but John dragged him under a stairway and knocked him on the head. He fell on the floor out cold. Looking around they saw no one and took the man into a supply closet and tied him up.
“That should take care of him until they get to Kiev.”
“Must be a Stalinist agent,” Janet said. They left the closet and broke off the inside knob as they went. The plane was moving down the runway and took off.
“Well, they made it out of Kerch.”
“Yeah, now if they can get to Washington,” Janet said. An hour passed then two.
“They’ll be there by now,” John said. They left the airport and walked the streets. They’d make their way back to the hotel to do what they could to keep Andrew safe.
* * *
“We made it,” Henry said.
“So far.”
“Way to be optimistic, Valerie.”
“Sorry but I’m not in a good mood.”
“Welcome to the foreign service.”
“More like the foreign legion.” Henry chuckled. Henry worked his magic at the ticket booth and they had two coach seats to Washington D.C. This airport was much bigger and busier. It was another hour then they were on the plane and it took off.
“I’m going to sleep,” Henry said.
“I’m going to imbibe when the drink cart gets here.”
“Be my guest.” Henry leaned back and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Val check the halls all over the floor,” Trent said as they made it to the sixtieth floor.
“On it,” Val said and took off.
“Johnny, how are you doing?” Trent asked.
“Not so good, I think I’ll just be a burden to you.”
“No way, now rest here on this bench till we find a good place to stay.” Kent sat with Johnny and wiped his brow as he was sweating profusely.
“Here’s a suite,” Bonnie said. “It’ll be comfortable for the President.”
“Bonnie, we’re being chased by homicidal lunatics, three of our people have been shot…comfort is hardly a consideration,” Trent pointed out.
“Mr. Wilson, check this out,” Warren said and Trent went to a door marked maintenance.
“I like it, no windows into the hall and a thick steel door.”
“Yes, and we can move a bed in here for the agent who is wounded,” Dave said.
“Alright everyone, we’re going in here,” Trent said as he waved them inside a rather large room with electrical panels on the wall. It was full of janitorial supplies, chairs, tables, etc. They brought in a bed from the suite for Johnny and Dave attended to him. A couch was added and Little Wolf sat with his leg up. Clarice found a chair and sat down. Dave was an EMT and the only person with any medical background at all so it fell upon him to act as doctor. Warren was examining the panels and stood back to think for a moment.
“What’s wrong, Warren?” Ariel asked.
“I’m thinking.”
“That’s dangerous,” Ariel quipped.
“Funny. They’re going to get up here eventually, you know that.”
“Of course, it’s just a question of when.”
“There are plenty of electrical supplies in here, with a little luck we can have a surprise for them when they do arrive.”
* * *
“I checked the floor, there’s a back entrance. There’s a lock on the door. I went down four flights and locked all of them. They’re not as solid as the front entrance door but they’re substantial’” Val said as he returned.
“But they’ll get here in time,” Trent said.
“Yes.” Trent walked away and motioned for Vladimir to join him. They talked softly for a few minutes. After some more whispers and nods from both of them they turned around and walked up to everyone.
“What should we do?” Dave asked.
“We get proactive,” Trent said. Vladimir was repeating everything in Russian to his agent and the assistants to President Deniken.
“What do you mean?” Jozette asked.
“Some will remain here to guard the presidents and to take care of each other. Some of us will leave and go on the offensive.” They all looked at one another.
“Who will go where?” Warren asked.
“All of the Presidential aides will remain here. Mr. Swanzy, Mr. Weaver, Ms. Fanelli, Mr. and Mrs. Peabody and Ms. Kline will remain here. I need Mr. Andy Kline, Ms. Bogornov and Julieta Kline to come with me,” Trent said.
“Why Julieta?” Little Wolf asked.
“I would’ve taken you too, Mr. Kline but your injury precludes that.”
“But why, Julieta?”
“As I’m sure you know the Secret Service did a thorough job of vetting everyone from your group. We know of Julieta’s abilities as she demonstrated in the jungle. Ms. Bogornov’s reputation precedes her as all of her friends must know. Mr. Kline showed his mettle landing that plane and surviving the “Great Canyon.” As for those remaining behind, you have the task of guarding the presidents. So, don’t take your exclusion from the group that is going on the attack as a mark against your abilities. We need good people here as well.” That seemed to explain everything and there were no more questions. Vladimir said the same thing to his people and it was agreed.
“What do we do?” Andy asked.
“We need weapons and those will be in short supply. We have two pistols and two automatic weapons that we have from the bus but that’s it,” Trent replied.
“The suite must have something there for the kitchen,” Julieta said.
“Mr. Wilson, will we be in pairs?” Tatiana asked.
“Yes.”
“Then may I suggest that Julieta come with me and you and Andy go together.” Trent thought for a moment. His natural instinct would be to pair men and women together but knowing Tatiana’s abilities he nodded agreement.
“Yes, I’ll team up with Mr. Kline and Mr. Zhadonov will pair with agent Retzlaf. We’ll scour the floor for any kind of weapons then meet back here. Lock this door and don’t open it unless you know it’s one of us,” Trent said.
“There’s a supply closet on the other side,” Andy said and he and Trent headed there.
“I have a utility knife,” Andy said as he rummaged through drawers and shelves.
“Is it sharp?”
“Very.”
“Then you’re armed.” Andy shook his head grinning. They found a can of mace, which seemed out of place for a custodian but they took it anyway. Trent, had a pocket knife and straight razor, again why in a supply closet but any reasoning it out was superfluous. They had weapons, of a sort.
“Check the kitchen,” Tatiana said and they began opening drawers.
“Here are some knives,” Julieta said and Tatiana pulled out a handful.
“Yes, these will do.” Tatiana held up one with a long thin blade. Yes, this is like a rapier.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a medieval weapon, very effective. Here’s another one.” Tatiana held them side by side then held them up to look closely.
“A twin pair,” Julieta said.
“Yes, I’ll use these.”
“A butcher knife and its sharp,” Julieta said.
“Good, find another two or three.”
“Why so many, aren’t we using them to fend off an attack?”
“Maybe,” Tatiana said then stabbed a knife hard into the counter top a few inches from Julieta’s hand.
“What!” Julieta said and dropped her knife in terror. “I don’t understand,” Julieta said and stood trembling.
“I’m sorry, Baby,” Tatiana said and held Julieta for a moment.
“Oh, you were testing me.”
“Yes, you have to be strong, girl. These men will come after you with everything and they won’t hesitate to kill you. They may rape you first but they’ll kill you for sure. I don’t mean to scare you but you need to be prepared and maybe a little scared too. Most of all you have to be ready.”
“I didn’t know, I thought we were stalling for help.”
“Humph, hardly.” Tatiana grabbed Julieta by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Listen to me, Julieta, I’ve dealt with this kind of men before. They have no conscience and there’s nothing about them that is good or compassionate. All they know is killing and you have to be ready to kill them. Don’t hesitate for a second. If you see one, stab deep in the eye, the heart, the neck, anywhere to disable them then kill. You can’t delay or think about it, baby. Be ready to kill instantly, you can wrestle with your conscience later. But you can’t make any self-moral judgements if you’re dead. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do, you just caught me off guard.”
“That’ll be the only time until we get out of here.” Julieta nodded. Tatiana found a .38 pistol in a drawer in the bedroom. She tucked that in her belt behind her and they left the suite with strict instructions to Julieta that no one should know that Tatiana had a gun.
“What do you have, Retzlaf?” Zhadonov asked. They’d found another suite that yielded a few knives and a ceremonial sword. But ornamental or not it was steel and very sharp.
“Nothing else except this flying insect spray.” Vladimir examined it.
“You now have mace, congratulations.” They returned to the maintenance room and faced the others.
“Keep this pistol, it’ll come in handy,” Trent said as he handed the gun to Justin.
“I’m not sure I know how to use this.”
“Then find out in a hurry.”
“Here,” Tatiana said and gave a handful of knives to Jozette. “It’s the best I could do.”
“Thanks,” Jozette said as they all looked at one another not knowing what the next few hours or even minutes would bring.
“Folks, we don’t know what is going to happen. How bloodthirsty these guys are we don’t know yet but they’re not choir boys. Their leader is a fanatic of the worst kind. He wants the two leaders as hostages, as for the rest of us, well a prayer might not be out of order. I’ve talked to agent Zhadonov and he is in agreement with me on the temperament of this group. They’ll be coming up the stairs before much longer. The six of us are going to try and stop as many of them as possible. If we stall long enough maybe some help will arrive,” Trent explained. There was silence.
“Is help on the way?” Bonnie asked. Trent looked at everyone then sighed.
“We hope so but there could be Stalinists who’ve infiltrated the local authorities as well. We just don’t know.”
“Good luck, Mr. Wilson,” Dave said.
“Thanks, and take care of Johnny.”
“I will.”
“Be careful, Love,” Dave said to Tatiana. He hugged her and she patted his cheek and smiled.
“I will but you look out for yourself. They nay get past us.” He knew what she meant but said nothing.
“Lock the door behind us,” Trent said and the six “warriors” left.
“What’s first?” Tatiana asked.
“We start making our way down the stairwell,” Vladimir said. Trent and Andy went down the back stairway. Tatiana and Julieta went down the main one and Vladimir and Gregori checked the top floor carefully.
“Is this a suicide mission?” Andy asked.
“The odds are heavily against us.”
“That answers my question,” Andy said as he proceeded grim faced but determined to help.
“Miss Tatiana, I’m scared. Is that bad?”
“I’m scared too.”
“You are?”
“Of course, only a fool embarks on something dangerous without some reservations.”
“Do you think we’ll see any of these bad guys?”
“Yes.”
“You do?”
“That’s why we’re here, Julieta.”
“What do we do if we run into any of them?”
“We kill them.”
* * *
“I have a cutting torch,” one of Kulagin’s men said as he went to the door and began trying to cut through the thick steel while Kulagin paced.
“Comrade, they’re here with the communications equipment,” A man said and Kulagin met them at the door.
“There’s a room in the back, set it up then call me when it’s ready,” Kulagin said.
“Is the back way any better?” Victor Manatov asked another man.
“The same,” the man said.
“Comrade, we’re ready,” a man said and Andrei moved quickly to the room and grabbed a phone.
“Radinksy are you there” Andrei asked. Radinsky sat up and answered the phone. He had a special cell that was a direct line to Kulagin and impossible to detect or stop
“Yes, Comrade.”
“Are you in charge?”
“I am. All missiles are armed and ready. I have the room locked down and if they break in the missiles will launch automatically.”
“Do they know that?”
“Yes, and they’ve backed off.”
“That’s good. We are in a building and we have the two Presidents trapped on the upper floors. They’ve barricaded us out but it’s only a matter of time before we get to them. We have to be careful not to kill either President.”
“I’ll be ready, Comrade, just give me my orders.”
“Well done, Comrade, stay shar
p.”
“Yes, Comrade,” Radinsky said and Andrei hung up the phone.
“How long?” Kulagin asked as he got back to the front.
“About an hour,” the man said holding the blowtorch.” Andrei nodded
“How many men do we have?”
“Twenty counting you, Comrade.”
“Good, that should be enough to kill them all.”
* * *
“We made it,” Henry York said as they landed at Reagan National Airport in Washington.
“Now, let’s get to the White House. I hope they know more than we do,” Valerie said. They took a cab like anyone else would. Valerie was well known but she was sufficiently disguised to go unnoticed and there was no reaction as she walked through the airport. With traffic it took twenty minutes to get to the White House. They went in the back way. Valerie and Henry had credentials that let them in the White House any time they wanted. Secret Service personnel recognized both and led them to the situation room. The team was still at the table and had broken into small side conversations.
“I have no credible information,” Rita Fitzgerald said. I have one operative in Volgograd and she has nothing for me. No one knows exactly where they are or what agencies will be pursuing them.”
“I guess they’re not as diligent as we are,” FBI Director Marcus Washington said.
“What about Kapustin Yar?” Perry asked Defense Secretary Susan Rojas.
“All we know is that it’s compromised. We’re getting some scuttlebutt on the radio and emails that the missiles are armed and ready.”
“I take it General Zumwalt knows this,” Perry said.
“Yes, and he’s raised the DEFCON to four.”
“And their subs are active,” Perry said.
“Yes, and so are ours, Rita added. “We also have our surface fleet in the Mediterranean. I ordered the navy to send in the Reagan and the Lincoln and position them to have a straight shot at Sevastopol. Both Carriers are on maneuvers in the Aegean Sea around Greece. Our B2’s are ready and waiting and of course, Alaskan Air Command has planes scrambled and all military personnel on alert.”