“We’re clear here.” Anya looked down to Danil who lay still against the desk, then up to Boris’ lifeless body. “Oh damn,” she said under her breath as she quickly knelt down to Danil. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I got him,” Danil said weakly. “I got him.”
“And who got you?” Anya pulled apart the hole in his trouser to see the damage. It wasn’t pretty. “Someone give me a belt.” Anya worked feverishly on Danil to lessen the flow of blood, pulling the belt around his thigh. She could only hope the bullet hadn’t hit a major vessel.
“What the hell happened here?” Sasha turned the other body on the floor over and was shocked. “Donald?”
“It’s a rather long story,” Anya replied. “Danil? How do you feel?”
“I’m okay. At least my head isn’t spinning any longer.”
“Can you get to your feet?”
“With a little help, I think.”
Ivan bent down and hauled Danil to his feet practically by himself. Danil leaned against the desk and ran his blood-soaked hands across his face and through his hair.
“Oh, that’s a much better look,” Polina remarked.
“Anya. What the hell is going on?”
“We don’t have time to stand here and recount the whole story Sasha. We need to get to the car. I’ll tell you then.”
“Time to make our exit, folks. Ivan, get Danil down the steps. Polina, you’re our driver now.” Sasha waved his hand toward the door. “Anya, take the point. Let’s make sure there isn’t anyone hiding down there.”
Anya nodded and raised the PP-2000 to shoulder level. It was time to clear the road. She moved out the door to the stair and listened for … anything. Quiet. Ivan wrapped Danil’s arm around his neck, holding him up as Anya took her initial steps down the stairs. She froze at the first creak of the floor tread. Another step down as her team made the top of the stairs. She landed with a hop and trained her rifle around the club. It was empty. She waved them down emphatically.
“Hurry!”
Anya was at the door seconds later with Polina at her side. The doors were solid wood, nothing to see through. They looked at each other and Anya nodded, then leaned her shoulder into the door. The sliver of light from Moscow’s night slipped in. The street seemed quiet, the dirty snow a blanket to the world. She could see the car sitting in the shadows and it felt a thousand miles away. She waved them forward, Danil hopping on his good leg between Ivan and Sasha. Anya held the door as Polina slipped out into the street.
“Should we bring the car up?”
“Let’s just get to it. We can’t afford to stay here any longer. I don’t know if anyone heard the shooting, but I’m sure whoever got away is bringing someone back.”
“Someone got away?” Anya was wide-eyed in disbelief. “What the hell?”
“We followed them into the warehouse, but we couldn’t get close enough. At least one got away,” Sasha replied. “We’ve got to move, now.”
Danil and Ivan stumbled through the door and the team was out into the street, the cold from winter’s night raking across their sweaty, exposed skin. Polina sprinted toward the car. Every second counted as Ivan and Sasha dragged Danil forward. Anya reached the car second and had the doors open on the running vehicle. She stood there silently trying to drag them forward.
“Come on, come on,” Polina demanded. She could see the three silhouettes stumbling forward. At last, they made the car and Ivan nearly threw Danil into the back seat. Anya slammed the door after him and jumped into the front seat, her rifle tucked down between her legs.
Polina stomped on the accelerator, the tires squealing as rubber struggled to grab the cold asphalt. Ahead, two cars turned the corner, their tires sliding in the gray slop, stopping with their headlights pointed at the club. The doors burst open as bullets flew into the club. It was like watching a movie, one that Polina didn’t want to see the ending to. She turned abruptly left, letting the rear wheels slide around, pointing the car in the opposite direction as rounds found the rear of their vehicle.
“Go girl, go!” Anya shouted.
Sasha looked over his shoulder as Danil half-lay against him. One set of headlights from behind turned and headed toward them.
“We’ve got company.”
“I see them.” Polina put her foot down firmly on the pedal and the car hurtled down the dark street. She veered left just as another salvo bounced around them. She drove wildly, turning in and out of any street that may throw them off her trail. For the first time in her life, she wished for traffic. It would have been good cover, assuming their friends had any reservations about shooting and filling a public street with lead.
“Do you know where you’re going?”
“Not a clue, Sasha,” she yelled back.”
“What the hell happened back there?” Sasha grabbed the front seat and leaned forward. “What happened to Donald?”
Anya laid her head back on the seat recounting the story. She had left Danil not knowing he had been shot. She needed to make sure no one was in the other room. She shot the final target before sitting down on a broken chair. She needed a minute to collect herself. She put her face in her hands, letting the tears run across her fingers. She gathered herself and turned back down the hall. That’s when she heard a familiar voice, one she hadn’t expected to find on the second floor. As she relayed Donald’s words, the others were stunned.
“Fucking bastard is right,” Polina said.
Traffic began to get heavy as Polina exited onto a busier thoroughfare. The lights in the mirror had vanished but she didn’t let off.
“How’s Danil?”
“I’m okay, Anya.” Danil nearly chocked at his words. “I want to thank you for what you did back there.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“We follow the plan, Ivan.”
“How do we do that? If you hadn’t noticed, Danil isn’t in shape to get onto public transportation.”
“I’m aware of that, Lieutenant.” Sasha’s tone was curt. “You however are fine. That part of the plan is still in place. We’ll drop you and Polina at a train station. All your IDs and papers are in the trunk. That part hasn’t changed.”
“We can’t just leave you with Danil in the shape he is.”
“That’s an order, Lieutenant.”
The sound of bullets bouncing off the car caught their attention again. Ivan and Anya each leaned out their window and returned fire.
“Where did they come from? I thought we lost them!”
“They must have fallen back to track us. We need to lose them, Polina. I wouldn’t be surprised if they called for help.”
“Hang on.”
She punched the accelerator and the car’s engine surged. Another burst from Ivan and Anya and the trailing car fell back. Polina swerved from lane to lane as she began to dodge the heavier traffic. Though still dark, the city would begin to wake up in the next few hours, and this was likely just the start of it. The train station. They needed to find the nearest train station.
“You sure this is how you want us to do it?”
“I’m sure Ivan. Even when things go wrong, the best policy is to follow the plan.” Sasha extended his arm through the open window and shook the hand of his team member. “We’ll get Danil out. You two get each other out.”
Ivan resisted the urge to snap off a perfect salute to his commanding officer. It wasn’t the right place; it wasn’t the right time. Sasha watched as the young couple walked into the train station, the doors closing behind them.
“Good luck,” he said under his breath. “Anya, let’s get going.”
Ivan stood inside the terminal as he watched the sedan pull away, its tail lights lost in the gathering traffic. He hiked his pack higher on his shoulder, just another traveler in the eyes of strangers. He smiled at Polina as he turned toward the terminal and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. They were traveling as a couple. That was also part of the plan. They needed to play the part, and she didn’t seem to shy away.