Kagan barked an order in Russian; when nothing happened, he ground the muzzle of his gun against Slavin’s head. His sweating prisoner reluctantly nodded, and the soldiers slowly backed away. ‘Dr Wilde, Dr Skilfinger — stay behind me.’
Pushing Slavin ahead of him, he advanced through the door. Nina and Tova followed, Eddie joining the slow-moving line behind them. Kagan spoke to the Russians again, only to be interrupted by Slavin — whose frantic gabble broke off with a cry of pain as the other man crushed his hand. ‘Govno!’ Kagan growled, before telling the others: ‘He told them to shoot us — if they can do it without hitting him.’
Eddie looked ahead. ‘They’ll cut us down from the side corridors. We’ll never make it fucking plodding along like this.’
Slavin managed a pained chuckle. ‘You think you can force me to run, Grigory Alekseyevich? Even with a gun to my head?’
‘Then we’ll have to do something else,’ said Eddie. He spotted a fire extinguisher clipped to a bracket a few paces ahead. ‘Kagan, are you a good shot?’
The Russian nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘A really good shot?’
‘Yes, yes!’
They reached the extinguisher. ‘Okay — then shoot this!’
Eddie yanked it from its clips and flung it down the corridor. It bounced off the hard floor with a loud clang, skittering into the intersection—
Kagan whipped the gun away from Slavin’s head and fired. The bullet hit the pressurised metal cylinder — which exploded. The blast knocked the soldiers down, a freezing cloud of carbon dioxide leaving them blinded and choking.
‘Run!’ Eddie yelled, racing past the others towards the junction. ‘Come on!’
Kagan shoved Slavin forward, but the traitor deliberately stumbled, dropping flat to the floor. Kagan hesitated, then ran after Eddie. Both women followed him, Tova skirting the fallen man while Nina trampled on his hand, making him scream again.
Eddie held his breath and ran into the cloud. It was already dispersing, shadowy shapes resolving into the Russian soldiers. He kicked the closest of the staggering figures in the head, then snatched up his AK-103 assault rifle. Another savage kick downed a second trooper, then he was through the swirling mist.
The corridor ahead was empty. ‘It’s clear, go!’ he shouted. Behind him, Kagan emerged from the cloud, Tova and Nina in his wake.
Eddie increased his pace. One of the security doors was ahead. ‘Kagan! Can you open it?’
‘Yes, my card will override it,’ came the reply.
‘Then bloody do it, quick!’ He turned to cover the rear as Kagan reached the door. The carbon dioxide had now mostly cleared — revealing one of the soldiers back on his feet, bringing up his AK—
Eddie fired first, sending the man crashing to the floor. Bright red blood stained the white tiles. Tova screamed, clutching her hands to her ears as the Kalashnikov’s clamour echoed off the walls. The other soldiers hurriedly retreated down the side passages, Slavin scrambling after them.
Kagan found his keycard and jammed it into the slot. A warning buzzer sounded, but he stabbed a four-digit code into a keypad and the door heaved itself aside. He pulled out the card, gun raised as he scanned the corridor beyond. ‘Okay, it is clear!’
‘Go!’ Eddie said, backing towards the door. Kagan went first, the women right behind. The Russian waited for Eddie to come through, then hit a button on the door’s control panel. It slammed shut. ‘Can Slavin open that?’
‘Yes,’ Kagan told him. ‘We must hurry.’ He ran down the central corridor to the next junction, peering around the corner to check the adjoining passages. ‘Clear.’
The group hurried through the intersection and headed for the next security barrier. Nina glanced through the window into one of the laboratories as they passed. Confused scientists, locked in their workspaces when the alarm sounded, stared back, reacting with horrified shock when they saw what she was carrying. Unlike the Tsar Protocol, Thor’s Hammer was clearly no secret to Unit 201’s staff.
Kagan entered the code into the next door, which opened. Again he checked that nobody was lying in wait on the other side before going through. ‘Two more doors, then we reach the elevator,’ he said.
Nina followed him. ‘Shit! Here they come!’ she cried, looking back to see the first barrier opening again. Someone poked their head around it, jerking back as Eddie fired.
‘Hope the fucking lift’s still at the bottom,’ he said, coming through and hitting the button. The door rolled shut — as a bullet hit the other side with a piercing clang. ‘Okay, we need to pick up the pace!’
They ran past more labs, some occupied, others dimly lit and empty, and reached another security door. Kagan entered the code again. The door opened — followed a few seconds later by the one behind them.
Eddie fired two more shots to deter their pursuers, then darted through the narrowing gap as Kagan closed the barrier. More bullets twanged off the other side. ‘Only one more,’ said the Russian.
They quickly reached the last door, Kagan using his card to open it. The barrier behind them opened almost in sync. This time, Slavin’s men were already in position and ready to shoot. Nina shrieked as a bullet shattered a tile just behind her. Eddie switched his AK-103 to full auto and unleashed a deafening burst of fire down the corridor, one of the crouched figures taking a bloody hit to the shoulder and falling with a wail. His comrades retreated into cover.
‘Chase!’ shouted Kagan. ‘The elevator, we are almost there!’
Eddie backed through, the door closing behind him. He looked down the passage. The elevator was twenty metres away, at the far end of the lobby area. There was one more intersection to cross, but beyond that it was a straight run past the final labs. He quickly moved to the junction and glanced down each of the side passages.
No one there. ‘Clear here,’ he said, looking back at the elevator as Kagan ran past him. Still nobody in the lobby.
Wait…
Overhead lights in the reception area were casting shadows on the floor at the end of the corridor.
Moving shadows—
‘Back, get back!’ he yelled, pulling Nina into one of the side passages. ‘They’re waiting for us! Tova, down here!’
Tova fearfully rushed after them. Kagan skidded on the tiled floor, then reversed direction — as several soldiers leapt out from hiding and brought up their AK-103s.
The Russian dived after his companions as gunfire exploded tiles into shrapnel behind him. He hit the floor hard — and hurt, a red slash marking where debris had caught his calf. Nina and Tova pulled him into cover as Eddie sent a couple of shots at their attackers to force them back.
Nina checked the wound. ‘It doesn’t look too deep. Kagan, can you walk on it?’
‘Help me up,’ he said through clenched teeth. ‘I will try!’
‘Try fast,’ said Eddie. He looked up the new corridor. ‘Where does this go?’
‘Only to offices,’ said Kagan, grimacing as he put weight on his injured leg. ‘It is a dead end— No, wait!’ He pointed with sudden excitement at a doorway a few metres from them. ‘We can go through this laboratory — there is a door on the other side just across from the elevator!’
‘Is anyone in there?’ Nina asked, remembering the scientists she had seen in the other labs.
‘No, it is empty. Quick, quick!’ He hobbled to the door and inserted his keycard, then readied his gun as the barrier slid open.
‘Is it clear?’ Eddie demanded from the junction.