Something to Die For

by Will Jordan

  Dietrich was out next, regarding Drake with his typical brisk demeanour. ‘Before you ask, it wasn’t my idea.’

  Drake couldn’t help but smile, looking past his gruff companion to the final member of the group. His sister, Jessica. The woman who had been by his side since this whole thing began, following him from London to Washington, and now to their final destination.

  ‘You sure you want to do this?’

  He would do everything in his power to keep her safe, but he wanted her to be clear about what they were facing. Their small, lightly armed group was about to take on an enemy more dangerous and resourceful than any they’d encountered before. There was no guarantee that any of them would make it back.

  Jessica nodded, understanding the danger, even fearing it a little. But refusing to be cowed by it. She would never back down from danger again.

  ‘When this all started, I told you I was with you to the end,’ she said firmly. ‘I meant it, Ryan. Let’s find Anya and finish this.’

  Smiling despite the gravity of the situation, Drake turned to face the others. They were standing by, waiting for him to give the word.

  ‘You heard the lady. Get onboard.’

  CIA Headquarters, Langley

  ‘I don’t care about resourcing issues, just have those choppers ready. I want them fully fuelled and armed in time for the assault team’s arrival,’ Franklin barked into his phone. ‘And we need drones flying continuous cover over the target area.’

  With the news coming through that Anya’s location had been pinpointed from a cell phone intercept, Starke was already dispatching a full assault force to take her out. Franklin, meanwhile, had been tasked with ensuring the necessary logistics and military hardware were in place when they arrived.

  ‘Sir, I have to warn you, launching an unsanctioned operation in Lithuanian airspace is—’

  ‘I know the risks, Kaminsky,’ he replied. Lithuania, like the other Baltic states, was now a firm member of NATO, but that didn’t mean the US had free rein to do whatever they wanted there. ‘Just get it done.’

  Hanging up, he let out an exasperated breath and leaned back in his chair. He could practically feel Kennedy’s eyes boring into him.

  ‘Goddamn it, Chris,’ he said wearily. ‘Say what you’ve got to say.’

  ‘This is all wrong,’ Kennedy said, wasting no time. ‘Starke sends his own private assault team instead of Agency personnel. No oversight, no questions. Why do you think that is?’

  ‘Surprise me.’

  ‘They’re going to kill her. They’re not trying to take her down or capture her. They want her dead, just like they want Ryan dead.’

  ‘Ryan’s not there,’ Franklin reminded him. ‘Anya is.’

  ‘You read the transcript. We both know he’s going after her. He’s walking into a trap.’

  ‘Ryan’s made his choices. No one forced him to do anything.’

  ‘This is bullshit, and you know it!’ Kennedy snapped.

  ‘What the hell do you expect me to do about it?’ Franklin shouted, days of pent up frustration and anger suddenly exploding. ‘Scrub the mission? Refuse orders? Arrest the director of the NSA?’

  Kennedy sighed, forcing himself to calm down. ‘Let me take my team in.’

  ‘Christ, listen to yourself! This isn’t some schoolyard fight here. You get caught in the middle of this thing, you and your team could end up disappearing for good.’

  ‘We’re willing to take that risk.’

  ‘That’s an easy thing to say when you don’t have to answer for it,’ Franklin reminded him pointedly.

  ‘Look, I know you’ve got doubts about this thing, even if you won’t admit it,’ Kennedy said, staring earnestly at the acting CIA director. ‘But you can’t sit on the fence any longer. If you don’t trust Starke, if you think he’s dirty, this could be our last chance to do something about it.’

  Sighing, Franklin rose slowly from his chair. ‘Get out,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘I said get out, Chris,’ Franklin said, giving him a hard, cold look. ‘You’re relieved of duty. You, and your team.’

  Stunned, Kennedy stood up and backed away.

  ‘Take a few days off, get your head together,’ Franklin advised him as he headed for the door. ‘Oh, and Chris?’

  The Shepherd team leader stopped, glancing back over his shoulder.

  ‘I hear Lithuania’s nice this time of year.’

  He couldn’t quite see the smile on the younger man’s face, but he didn’t need to. Kennedy left without saying another word.

  Chapter 68

  Lithuania

  It was done. After a day of hard physical toil, Anya was tired, hot and thirsty. But at last, she was ready to make her stand. She had done what she could; now all that remained was to await the inevitable.

  She knew they would come after nightfall, allowing them to make best use of their superior technology, firepower and the weight of their numbers. They would be well trained, well equipped and confident of their success, as they had every right to be. She would use that against them.

  For now, though, she had a little time to rest and gather her strength.

  The sun was going down as Anya wearily ascended the slope overlooking her former home, the towering spruce trees casting long shadows across the ground. As a child she’d bounded easily up this hill, leaping over fallen logs and stands of brush, as nimble as a wild deer, but today her steps were slower, heavier.

  She was tired in a way she’d rarely experienced in her lifetime, and still hurting from various injuries. She knew that when the time came, she’d rally her strength to do what was needed, just as she always had, but for now she allowed herself to simply experience the weight of her exhaustion.

  Reaching the rounded hilltop at last, she lowered herself down onto the grass, grateful to take the weight off her feet. Breathing slower now, she looked out across the vista that stretched before her; the glistening lake waters, the heavy forests shrouded in shadow, the hills and valleys touched by the setting sun. And above it all, the deep azure sky dappled with high, trailing clouds, tinged red by the fading day.

  She was grateful beyond words to have seen it one last time.

  With her hands resting on the ground at her sides, Anya closed her eyes and breathed deep, feeling the breeze sighing across her skin, lifting her long blonde hair. To anyone watching, she would have appeared utterly at peace with the world.

  And for one short moment, she was.

  ‘Who are you?’

  Startled, Anya opened her eyes and looked up, confused and dismayed to find a young girl watching her. She must have drifted into a daze, she realised, her usually sharp senses failing her.

  Anya looked the girl up and down, trying to discern her origin. She was ten, maybe twelve years old, tall and skinny, with blonde hair tied back in a simple braid. Her facial features, caught between curiosity and wariness, called up such a sense of deep-seated familiarity in Anya that she was certain the girl was native to the area. Probably some local kid out playing, chancing upon Anya by accident.

  ‘I used to live here,’ Anya explained. ‘This is my home.’

  ‘Nobody lives here,’ the girl replied, confused.

  ‘It was long before you were born, child.’

  To her dismay, the girl dropped to the ground beside her, sitting cross-legged and watching her with large, intelligent blue eyes. ‘Why are you here now?’

  ‘I came to finish something.’ Anya gestured off to the distance where, according to her memory, the nearest village lay several miles away. ‘You live around here?’

  The girl nodded.

  ‘You should stay away from this place for the next few days,’ Anya advised. ‘Tell your friends to do the same.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Bad people are coming. It will be dangerous here.’

  The girl thought about that for a moment. ‘Then you should leave, too.’

  Anya shook her head s
adly. ‘I can’t. They’re coming for me.’

  ‘Are you a bad person too?’ she asked with the open, frank curiosity that only children possess.

  Anya’s first instinct was to deny it. To give the girl a simple, comforting lie that would allay her fears and reassure her that everything in her world was as it should be. Instead she found herself dwelling on the question, unable to find the answer but unwilling to lie. Perhaps now, at the end, she could finally be honest with herself.

  ‘I have done bad things,’ she admitted. ‘Things I wish I could change now. But I never really stopped to question what I was doing, or the people I served. Instead I did what I was told, became what they needed me to be. And what did it get me?’ She looked down the slope towards the abandoned home, standing alone and forlorn. ‘An empty house?’

  Anya shook her head, pushing that thought away as she gazed at the sunset. She imagined for a fleeting moment that she held the entirety of her life in the palm of her hand. All her words and deeds, her plans and intentions, her thoughts and emotions. Everything she was, everything she had been, and everything she might become.

  ‘I did what I had to do to survive, for better or worse,’ she finally said, facing up to the truth in the only way she knew how. ‘It’s not for me to decide the value of my life, or how long it should last.’

  She blinked, feeling a tear trickling down her cheek, the sun on her skin, the wind in her hair. Her entire lifetime balanced perfectly in a single moment.

  ‘But with the time I was given, the life I was given… I did my best.’

  Anya felt lighter somehow when she finished speaking. She had acknowledged the truth about herself at last, made peace with who she really was, and let go of who she might have been. She had cast aside her fears and worries and regrets.

  ‘It’s getting late, child,’ she said, wiping her eye. ‘You should go home now, before your family worries about you.’

  There was no answer.

  Frowning, Anya turned around, only to find that the girl was gone. No tracks, no sign that she had ever been there. Anya let out a breath, allowing the moment to pass as the sun dipped below the horizon and the last light of the day faded.

  Chapter 69

  The mood aboard the Gulfstream jet was fraught and tense as the minutes ticked down. They had crossed into Lithuanian airspace about twenty minutes ago, after a high-speed run across the North Atlantic that had taxed the private jet’s service range to the limit.

  Drake didn’t care how many aviation laws they broke to get here. All that mattered was reaching Anya before Starke and his men arrived.

  Through a combination of computer hacking and logical elimination, Frost and Alex had discovered a black flight that had departed US airspace, following a similar course. The two aircraft had been locked in a desperate race all the way.

  Based on Drake’s educated guesswork, they would be heading for Šiauliai Air Base in the northern part of the country. It was the only NATO facility in Lithuania that could accommodate US transport planes, and it was barely a dozen miles from Anya’s location. An ideal staging point from which to launch their attack.

  Anya would have to know that too. He was counting on it.

  He looked up from the maps and satellite images littering the table as his sister approached, bearing a steaming cup of coffee.

  ‘Thanks,’ he said, taking it.

  ‘Don’t thank me yet,’ she warned. ‘The galley’s not up to much.’

  Drake smiled faintly as he took a sip. ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Well, let’s see.’ She thought on it for a few seconds. ‘Sick to my stomach, scared, angry and… impatient, I suppose. I can face what’s coming. It’s the waiting that’s hardest.’

  ‘I know. It’s always that way.’

  ‘Even for you?’ she asked.

  ‘Especially for me.’ He leaned forward, regarding his sister honestly. ‘Every mission, every time we go into the firing line, it’s always the same.’

  His sister looked around, taking in the others. They were tired, depleted, nerves frayed, but they were willing to follow him one last time.

  ‘Be honest with me, Ryan,’ she said. ‘Will this work? Do we have a chance?’

  So much of Drake’s plan depended on assumption and intuition. But he could be wrong, he acknowledged. He could be leading them all to their deaths.

  But if he was right then perhaps, just perhaps, they could still win this.

  ‘No matter how bad it got, no matter what we were up against, we never gave up. We made it this far together,’ he reminded her. ‘That has to count for something.’

  Jessica nodded, understanding his meaning. It was enough for her.

  Further aft, Alex was working on his laptop, using the Lithuanian air traffic control network to monitor their rival flight, when Frost approached and sat down opposite.

  ‘Got a minute?’ she said when he didn’t acknowledge her.

  Alex didn’t look up. ‘If you’re here to give me shit, Frost, I’m not in the mood.’

  Considering they might all be dead this time tomorrow, reigniting petty grudges and arguments seemed irrelevant now.

  ‘Relax, I’m not here to fight. I came to apologise.’

  Raising an eyebrow, Alex glanced up at her.

  ‘For being a dick back in Havana. I know you did your best to warn us. If you hadn’t, Jessica and I might be dead.’

  Alex sighed, finally laying aside his computer. ‘Mitchell was my friend,’ he said quietly. ‘She saved my life. I wish I could have done the same.’

  ‘You tried, Alex. That’s all anyone can ask.’ She was about to leave, but thought better of it. ‘I didn’t mean it, you know.’

  ‘Mean what?’

  ‘That you’re not one of us. Truth is, you’ve helped us more times than I can count. You might not be like us, but that doesn’t mean you’re not one of us.’

  He half expected her to follow it up with some petty insult or sly dig at him, but surprisingly, she remained silent. She’d meant what she said.

  Moved by her heartfelt apology, Alex sat forward and held out a hand to her.

  ‘Doesn’t mean we’re going on vacation together now,’ the young woman said, flashing a playful grin as she gripped it. ‘You’re still an asshole.’

  Alex smiled in return. ‘Likewise.’

  Up front, Rojas emerged from the cockpit bearing news. ‘Almost there. Ten minutes.’

  Frost cocked an eyebrow. ‘Time for the main event.’

  Touching down at Istra Aerodrome, a small regional airport in the northern part of the country, the Gulfstream taxied to a stop in a vacant hangar and shut down its engines. The aircraft would be refuelled and, with luck, ready to evacuate the team once their task was complete.

  ‘We’ll stay as long as we can,’ Rojas advised as Drake descended the steps. The others were checking gear and weapons nearby. ‘Don’t be late.’

  Drake took his meaning. If the shit hit the fan, Rojas would pull out.

  ‘Not coming with us?’ he asked flippantly. ‘We could use a man like you.’

  Rojas had utilised his skills as a former assassin several times during their last mission. This time, however, he flashed a smile. ‘I’m a businessman, not a hero. I’ll leave that stuff to you.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  He was about to turn away when Rojas spoke up. ‘Listen, Drake. If you see her again, tell her…’ He trailed off, his usual cocky demeanour fading. ‘Tell her she still owes me a bottle of tequila.’

  Beneath the humour and the bravado, Drake could see his true sentiments.

  ‘Just hold onto that plane for us.’

  Leaving him, Drake strode over to join his companions. The small, disparate group of people who had survived everything they’d been through were waiting for him, hushed and expectant.

  ‘You don’t need me to tell you what we’re up against,’ he began. ‘We’re in for the fight of our lives. Everything we’ve done, everything we
’ve faced together, it all comes down to tonight. No more running, no second chances. This is where it ends. This is where we make our stand.’

  As he spoke, his teammates looked at each other, taking their measure, thinking about everything they’d been through together. Knowing they had each other’s backs all the way to the end.

  ‘Each of you knows what you have to do. I can’t say how this is going to play out, but I do know this – it’s been an honour to know each and every one of you. No matter what happens, I’ll always be grateful for what you did tonight. Thank you. Good luck.’

  As the group gathered up their gear, Jessica approached him, well aware this might be the last time they spoke. She knew it, and accepted it.

  ‘Ryan, I…’ She swallowed, regaining her faltering composure. ‘I know what has to happen now. I know I can’t be there with you, but… I want you to know how proud I am of you. You’re my brother, and I love you.’

  Reaching out, Drake pulled her close and hugged his sister, perhaps for the last time.

  ‘Thanks,’ he whispered. ‘For all of it.’

  Letting go, he took a deep breath, rallying himself for what lay ahead.

  ‘Let’s finish this.’

  Chapter 70

  The hulking C-17 Globemaster transport plane touched down at Šiauliai Air Base, its massive airframe dwarfing the small collection of fighter and utility aircraft stationed there.

  The base itself was a modest facility in something of a rural backwater, consisting of a single runway, a scattering of large hangars and hardened shelters dating back to the days of the Cold War, and a couple of support and administrative buildings. Nothing like the sprawling, town-sized bases the US military maintained across the world.

  Today, however, it had become a hive of activity, with a pair of Black Hawk transport choppers standing by on the main aircraft ramp. Not far away lurked the massive, brooding shape of an Mi-24 ground attack gunship.

  The administrative block had been requisitioned by the assault force and hastily converted into a command and control centre. It was from here that the attack would be coordinated.