Next Exit, Three Miles

by CW Browning

  When it stepped into her line of fire a few seconds later, Viper focused in on the face and swore softly. The face was the wide, round face of a very large black man who had about forty pounds and half a foot on Johann. He was wearing a security uniform and carrying a lunch bag in one hand. He looked like just another guard coming on duty, walking from his car towards his job. Alina's lips curved slightly.

  “Oh well done, Johann,” she breathed softly, focusing in on the uniform.

  It was the missing guard, alive and well, and Johann made sure that he was the first one out in the open, testing the waters before he committed to blowing the explosive.

  Viper slid her finger off the trigger. She would wait. She was there for Johann.

  She moved the scope back to Stephanie. She was still there, against the building, hidden in the shadows. Alina knew she could see the guard now as he moved out from behind the van and into the open. He was walking toward the building that Stephanie was pressed against, headed for the door at the other end of the building, away from Stephanie. He didn't appear to have seen her and Viper waited, almost apprehensively. While she was there to put an end to Johann, Stephanie was there to stop an explosion and Alina had little doubt that Stephanie had come to the same conclusion she had about the van.

  Stephanie waited until the guard reached the sidewalk before moving out of the shadows. Viper watched as she walked toward the guard, her arms at her side, her posture relaxed. Alina couldn't hear anything, but she knew when Stephanie called out to him. He turned toward her, stopping in his tracks. Stephanie was still moving toward him, her lips moving and one arm gesturing, as if she was asking the guard for directions or for assistance. The guard didn't move, but seemed as if he was waiting for her to get closer.

  Viper slid her finger over the trigger of her rifle again, exhaling slowly.

  It was all over within a few short minutes. As Stephanie approached the guard, Viper watched through the scope as he pulled out a gun and aimed at her old friend. Stephanie didn't hesitate, pulling her own gun and, in the process, revealing the badge on her hip. Viper imagined she must have identified herself because the guard fired.

  The sound of the shot echoed around the compound, reaching Viper on her rooftop, and she watched as Stephanie's firing arm came up. Where the guard had shot wide, Stephanie's shot was true and the guard was thrown back a step when her bullet ripped through his shoulder. The gun flew out of his firing hand, skipping across the sidewalk in one direction, while the lunch bag flew out of his other hand and hit the pavement in the parking lot, sliding across the tarmac before coming to rest against the wheel of a motorcycle parked nearby. Stephanie was advancing on the injured guard, both hands holding her gun steady, when he suddenly regained his balance and lunged at her.

  Stephanie was caught off guard but Viper raised an eyebrow, momentarily diverted by the awkward clumsiness of the tackle. It reminded her of a drunk man trying to throw a punch, off balance and lacking precision. However, the guard had momentum backed by sheer weight behind him, and Stephanie was thrown to the ground. Her weapon skidded out of reach and Alina winced as the guard raised his good arm and delivered a staggering blow to the side of Stephanie's face. Almost immediately, Stephanie's foot connected solidly with his chest and he was knocked away from her long enough for Stephanie to scrabble away on the ground. She reached into the back of her jeans, pulling out Alina's modified Glock just as the guard reached her gun on the pavement.

  He turned and fired.

  The two shots rang out simultaneously, exploding in the night and sounding to Alina, up on her rooftop, like fireworks. They were immediately followed by two more rapid shots from Stephanie. The guard was thrown backward and fell to the ground, three rounds straight through his chest ending his fight.

  Viper watched Stephanie get up off the ground unsteadily and walk toward the fallen man cautiously, her gun still aimed at him and ready to fire. Blood poured down her arm, evidence that the guards final shot had caught her arm. Viper was watching as she advanced on the guard, kicking the gun on the ground away from him, when, suddenly, there was movement behind Stephanie.

  The scuffle with the guard had moved them into the parking lot and away from the building. Stephanie had her back to the building and Viper caught her breath briefly as a tall shadow separated from the building, moving forward silently. She didn't need to focus on the face to know that it was Johann. The stealth with which the figure moved was more distinctive than the face could be. He had moved with that same careful grace that long ago day in Cairo, when he walked out of the meeting room into the hotel lobby. Stephanie didn't hear him and was bending down to check futilely for a pulse on the guard, leaving herself completely exposed.

  Johann stopped just outside the shadows and raised his arm, the silhouette of a gun steady in his hand, aimed straight at Stephanie's head.

  Alina's breath stopped and her finger moved gently, almost lovingly, over the trigger as she centered the cross-hairs. Time seemed to stand still as Viper held her breath for a few beats, listening to her own heartbeat.

  She exhaled slowly as her finger squeezed the trigger.

  Johann never got to fire his shot. Stephanie swung around quickly as he hit the ground, a single bullet wound in the center of his forehead.

  She straightened up with a gasp. He had fallen straight backwards with the force of the shot and was laying on his back a few feet behind her. Stephanie saw the gun resting where it had fallen out of his hand and, all at once, her heart started to pound and she felt light-headed. She hadn't heard a sound as he came up behind her and she stared as blood started to pool under his head, almost fascinated by the speed with which it started to collect on the pavement. That quickly, instead of her being dead next to the traitorous security guard, one of the most wanted terrorists in Western civilization was lying dead, killed with a single round perfectly placed through his forehead.

  Stephanie turned to look at the rooftops in the distance on the other side of the island. They were dark and silent, but Stephanie knew that from one of them, her best friend from days long past had just saved her life.

  Alina lifted her head from her rifle as Johann hit the ground. It was over. Two years later, she had finished it.

  She took a deep breath and let it out again before mechanically and silently lifting her rifle off its mount. Viper disassembled it rapidly, her hands moving confidently and setting each piece carefully back into the rifle bag. Her heartbeat was starting to slow to a normal pace again and that old, familiar feeling of cold was settling into her gut. She had succeeded in her mission, but at a great cost. Another little part of her had died along with Johann.

  Viper never tried to put into words or thoughts this yawning feeling of emptiness and cold that filled her in the minutes immediately following the death of a target. Regardless of how evil or contemptible the target, she found it impossible to feel satisfaction in the death of another human being. Later, after this feeling had passed, she would be satisfied with a job completed successfully, but never with the actual death. Each one left her cold. But Alina had learned to accept the feeling, embrace the regret, and then leave it behind with the target.

  Within a minute, Viper had packed up and was disappearing back into the silent night, leaving behind the cold emptiness. The only physical trace that she had ever been there was the dead body of one of the most prolific terrorists that the West had ever known.

  And the federal agent whose life she had just saved.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A chorus of nightlife sang around her as Alina moved silently through the woods. Her night vision goggles allowed her to move quickly and confidently through the unfamiliar terrain in the darkness. She had just barely managed to get off the island before security locked it down, leaving the way she had come – underwater.

  Alina discarded her breathing tank and propulsion device when she came ashore a mile down from the island. They sank quickly, pulled under by the swift curren
ts of the Susquehanna. The wet suit had gone the same route, weighted down with rocks, and Alina ascended into the dark woods without a backward glance. She ignored the sound of helicopters that started to churn above, headed for the island. Stephanie would take care of Johann, the security guard, and the authorities.

  Viper had more business to finish.

  She moved swiftly, constantly scanning the woods for any sign of Dimitrius. He was out there. It was just a matter of time before she saw him...or he saw her.

  Alina knew that Damon had come ahead of her to try to secure the area. The quick recon that he had done, while she was meeting with Stephanie and John earlier, unearthed a flat rock overlooking the house and barn. He was going to set up there to watch her back. At least, that was what he had planned. Viper had no idea if he succeeded or not. They had opted not to use com units for the same reason that she refused to use one with Stephanie: it was too risky. The more electronic devices used, the easier it was for an opponent to locate you. Viper wasn't about to make it easy for the bastard. Like Stephanie, Damon had disagreed, but she had won in the end.

  Viper glanced at her watch and stopped, leaning against the large trunk of a tree while she caught her breath. Pulling a GPS unit from one of her jacket pockets, she checked her location. The house was just ahead, about another quarter mile down, and Alina tucked the unit back in her pocket.

  As much as she hated to admit it, this was the first time Viper was going into any kind of confrontation without a clear plan of attack. She wasn't happy about the lack of planning. She would have liked more time to come up with something that was fail-safe, something that she was confident would work, but she had run out of time. Even an extra day would have given her more time to come up with something flawless, but this was how it had played out. This would be her only shot at Dimitrius. Once Johann's death was public, The Engineer would vanish and she would likely never get another chance. She had to make this work.

  Viper started moving again, navigating the woods silently and coming up to the property from the direction of the river. She slowed down as she saw the break in the trees ahead and the house beyond it.

  Viper scanned the woods once more before stopping a few feet from the clearing. She took a deep breath and listened. The woods were dark and silent around her, and the moon was covered by clouds. A slight breeze ruffled the branches high above her before it fell silent again.

  Too silent.

  Viper reached down and unsnapped the holster on her thigh before moving forward silently. Her heart pounding, she took a deep breath as she stopped at the tree line, pausing in the shadows to scan the dark buildings. The house was dark and silent in the center with no sign of life, and the old barn loomed out of the night behind the house. Everything was silent and still. The night goggles didn't detect any human body heat in the vicinity and Alina frowned, scanning the area again. Nothing.

  She moved forward silently.

  A bolt of awareness shot down her spine seconds before the rifle bullet tore a chunk out of the tree she had just passed. Viper dropped low to the ground and spun back into the trees, moving on pure instinct. She came to rest behind an opposite tree, her .45 in her hands and her breath coming fast.

  “Damn.”

  The word was exhaled on a single breath, her heart pounding. She peered around the tree trunk, her eyes going straight to the roof of the barn. It was the only structure capable of concealing a shooter so effectively. It was dark and silent, and the goggles still didn't detect any temperature comparable to a human there.

  Viper ripped off the goggles impatiently and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. The night was silent again, making the memory of that lone bullet seem deafening. Alina willed her heart to stop thumping and concentrated on getting her thoughts under control. Something had fired a round straight at her from the roof of the barn.

  Viper opened her eyes slowly. She gave herself a moment to adjust to vision without the goggles before standing, her back still to the tree. She held her gun with both hands, pointing down, and took a deep breath. Stepping out from behind the tree, Alina moved into the open again. She had only taken two or three steps before that shock of awareness shot through her again.

  Viper turned swiftly, bringing the gun up and pointing it directly behind her.

  A tall shadow had dropped noiselessly out of a tree in the woods and was advancing silently. He held a gun in one hand and a remote control in the other. Alina noted the height and the fatigues.

  She was facing The Engineer.

  Dimitrius stopped just short of the clearing. He held his gun trained on her and they stared at each other in silence for a moment, each examining the other with wary curiosity.

  Alina was somewhat surprised at his size. The Engineer was close to six foot three, but he was slim. She was vaguely reminded of a May pole, and this tweaked her interest. Given the legend, she expected someone smaller and more nondescript, someone who could disappear into a crowd.

  “Ah, Viper.” His voice was low pitched and his accent unmistakable to one who had spent time in the middle east. “You arrived sooner than I anticipated.”

  The silky texture of his tone filled Alina all at once with distaste and revulsion. Her momentary curiosity gave way to cold fury.

  “I apologize.” Viper's voice was calm, emotionless, and gave no indication of the tempest of emotion coursing through her. “I'm more than willing to go back and we can go again.”

  The tall shadow chuckled with true amusement.

  “You're funny!” He sounded surprised. “Unfortunately, I'm on a tight schedule this evening. Therefore, I must decline.”

  “What a shame.” Viper still held her gun trained on his chest. “I would have really enjoyed the replay.”

  “I'm sure you would,” Dimitrius said agreeably. “Do lower that, will you? It's distracting me.”

  “After you,” Alina replied cordially. She got the impression that he was grinning in the darkness.

  “Which one?” he asked politely. “The one in my hand? Or the one on the roof?”

  Alina's eyes dropped to the remote in his other hand and she felt the crushing wave of instant defeat. Of course! The rifle on top of the barn was being controlled by remote! And right now, she had no doubt that it was aimed directly at her.

  Icy fingers of hopelessness slid down her back and Viper knew it was over. Anger mixed with chagrin as she paused a moment before letting her left hand drop away from her right. She turned her firing hand palm-down and engaged the safety before letting the gun drop from her hand in surrender.

  “Thank you,” Dimitrius said politely. “Now, you kick that away into the underbrush and I will throw away the remote.”

  Viper never took her eyes from him as she kicked her weapon away from them both. It landed a few feet away in the trees. As soon as it had, Dimitrius tossed the remote into the woods behind him.

  “There. Now we can have a civilized conversation.”

  “At gunpoint,” Alina retorted, nodding to the gun still pointed at her. There was a slight shrug.

  “Well, we can't have everything, can we?” Dimitrius motioned with the gun. “You know the drill. Toss away that rifle, please.” Alina removed the rifle bag from her back and threw it in the direction that she had kicked her pistol. “Good. Now, hands behind your head. Fabulous. I think we'll go to the barn, if you don't mind. It's so much more comfortable than the great outdoors.”

  He motioned for her to turn around and Viper clamped her back teeth before turning her back to him. Her heart was pounding again and her exposed position made her breath come short and quick. She forced herself to take a deep breath and sensed, rather than heard, him move up behind her. A second later, she felt the cold steel of his gun pressed against the back of her neck. He was so close to her that his breath brushed the top of her head. If Hawk had managed to get up onto that rock without being detected, he wouldn't have a clean shot without going straight through her.

  “Now, march s
oldier. Straight for the barn.” Dimitrius pushed her gently.

  Alina somehow managed to make her legs move and she began walking. With each step, her heart dragged a little more and her legs got a little heavier. Once they were in the barn, Hawk would have no shot at all. By the time he got to the barn from the rock, it would be over. She would have been executed and the Engineer would have done what he did best: disappear.

  Alina felt more fear than she remembered ever having felt before. The professional in her knew that this death march was designed to instill just such a fear, lowering her reaction time and increasing the odds of undermining her will to fight. However, knowing the psychology behind the act wasn't any comfort to her as the cold steel of the assassin’s gun propelled her forward to the end of her road.

  Viper had failed.

  Even as the thought entered her mind, Alina acknowledged that this whole thing had been a long shot. She had been confident that she could find and eliminate the Engineer, but she knew all along that it would be a do or die attempt. Hawk had known it as well, and that was why he had been adamant about her not even attempting it alone.

  As Alina put one foot in front of the other, she admitted to herself that if Dimitrius had not targeted Stephanie, she would not be here. The actions of a fellow international assassin were no concern of hers, unless she was ordered to put an end to them, and she had no such order. Alina admitted that she was here now, walking in the darkness toward her own death, as the result of her own emotions. She had allowed her emotions to take over and this was the inevitable result.

  She had, indeed, failed.

  And yet, Alina couldn't feel regret. She had acted on pure emotion, yes. But somewhere, deep inside her, she realized with a shock that she was glad she had done so. She was happy that she still had some emotion left inside her to act upon. The image of Angela's stunned face as the bullet ripped into her body floated into Alina's mind and she knew, without any doubt, that this had been the only course of action she could have taken.