Drake found a grin stretching across his face. One more win, and without casualties. One more victory to the good guys; the ones that made the world a safer place.
“I think it’s time for a vacation,” he breathed, even the rubble beneath his back now feeling like a feather mattress as all the worries fell away.
“I think it’s time for a drink,” Luther said amiably. “And then a trip back to DC. We’ve been a long time absent, boys and girls, and we’re far from home.”
It was only then that Drake sat up in shock, catching the eyes of the SPEAR team. “Damn and bollocks, he’s right! We’re free. We’re exonerated. Coburn will unearth all the evidence and clear us.”
Alicia patted his cheek. “Yes, dear. Thanks for finally catching up.”
It felt good. It felt intensely real. It felt like there really wasn’t a terrible, powerful, deadly, unknown shadow rearing high above them.
Something that would change everything once and for all.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Karin Blake stepped into darkness, surrounded by darkness, having just walked through an entire room full of darkness. The only way forward was to follow the small man carrying the pinprick of light.
She was alone. She didn’t fear for her safety; the man that had threatened her over the phone clearly wanted something from her. Dino and Wu were back at the bar, worrying. Let them worry. She was already wondering if she really needed them.
But now the darkness ended to be replaced by a starry night. They were high up, standing on a balcony that overlooked the center of Moscow. Below, myriad sparkling lights lit up the great city. Pedestrians roamed the sidewalks and vehicles clogged the streets.
A man sat in a chair, overlooking the city, staring through the gaps in the balcony. “It is good that you are here.” Thick Russian accent, but a young voice. What she could see of the figure told her he was strong too, and lithe.
“I came a long way.”
“And I thank you for that. But you are also curious. You want to know who I am and what I have planned. You want to know how I discovered your greatest secret. And, in truth, you want to know if you can stop me.”
Karin used her soldier’s training to seek out lurkers, guards maybe. She sensed none. “I guess you could call me curious.”
“I brought you here for a one-time offer. Don’t worry about your safety now. You do figure in my plans a little way down the line but…” He paused. “No single battle plan ever stays the same.”
Karin paced to the balcony and put her hands on the railing, staring at all the many aspects of life bustling below. The noise, the smells, the sights existed because so many people were content not to notice the hellish visions that passed them by in the shadows.
“Who are you?”
“I will tell you,” the Russian said. “After you respond to my offer.”
“Spit it out.”
“Eh?”
“Please ask away. What is your offer?”
“I have a legacy. Until a year ago I could not accept it or, rather, I could not pursue it. I was forced to reclaim, rebuild and own an empire. I did that, not without sacrifice, you understand? Do you know me now?”
Karin glanced over to the shadows. “No.” But there was something nagging at her. Something from the past.
“I fought tooth and nail to reclaim all that was my legacy. Loved ones died. Faithful friends were killed. I washed my hands in the blood of my enemies, fought my way back up the ladder, back to the top. Took that highest rung with my raw bones and red-hot blood.”
It was a realization too terrible for Karin. The past was dead. Her brother, her mother and father were dead. The mental anguish of it all struck her once more like an axe sawing across every last nerve.
“Do you see me now?”
“I don’t believe what thought just occurred to me. It can’t be true. It’s all wrong. You are not him.”
“No, but I repossessed my legacy,” the man said. “And now I will claim my revenge.”
“You’re trying to trick me.”
“I think you know who I am. So, we’ll leave it there. I have a plan to wipe out the SPEAR team. I have a plan to take and publicly destroy the President. Do you want to be part of it?”
So there it was. Karin could barely believe her agenda, her new ideals, had led to this position where a terrible madman was offering her a place in his plan to wipe out her old friends, not to mention President Coburn.
It was do or die time. Dino and Wu had been correct — her resolve had wavered as soon as she set eyes on Drake and the others back in Egypt. She recalled what they stood for, what they fought for. The world wouldn’t be as safe as it was if it weren’t for them.
“You have weakened?” The man was incredibly perceptive.
“I don’t know what I want,” she said truthfully. “But what would happen if I tried to throw you off this balcony?”
“You are welcome to try, Miss Blake. If you think we’re alone.”
The mention of her surname jolted her, brought everything into solid reality. She gripped the rail so hard it hurt. “I lost my brother and my parents to this,” she said. “I will fight for them, as they fought for me, and as Drake and SPEAR would always fight for them.”
“Then that is your answer. As I said you are free to leave. We will see each other a little further down the line.”
Karin backed away, still not entirely sure who this man was, still scared of the shadows that surrounded him. “I still don’t see you,” she said.
He turned, and then, finally, there was no doubt. Karin stifled a scream as the face of her nightmares confronted her.
“I am Luka,” he said.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Somehow, the team could not rejoice, nor even relax. They were back in Washington DC, reunited, alive, nursing their wounds, but a kind of sinuous tension wove among them, a thread of threat and uncertainty. It was all down to reports and half-sentences, dark mutterings and exaggerated truths. Karin still hadn’t called in, but reports told of her traveling to Russia.
From where the new darkness emanated.
They should be celebrating in their usual manner, but this time it was different. They were all sitting or standing inside a darkly illuminated warehouse, a safe area designated and guarded by the President’s Secret Service staff until final announcements were made regarding their innocence.
Even Secretary Crowe was among them, determined to support the team and thank them for saving her life.
“How is Lauren?” Drake asked Smyth.
The soldier smiled. “I was with her earlier today at the hospital. Another week maybe, and she’ll be okay to leave.”
“Fantastic. Maybe you two can sort yourselves out then, eh?”
“I think we already have.” Smyth looked younger when he smiled, Drake decided. Long may it last.
Mai stood beside Luther, both leaning across a barrel, drinks in hand and surveying the room. “It won’t be long now,” Mai said. “And then we’ll be free.”
“What’s the first thing you’re gonna do?” Luther asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Call Grace, probably. Grace is my foster daughter. Sort of.” She sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Always is,” Luther said. “And after that?”
“A shower. A sleep. A good meal.”
“Cool, do you want some company?”
Mai narrowed her eyes and returned the warrior’s gaze with a cool glare of her own. “I’ll allow you to pay for my meal, yeah.”
“Well, that’s a start. I assume you’re allowing me to share it with you?”
“Steady on, Luther. That’s a big presumption.”