by John Bowers
Kozel rested a hand on his shoulder.
“I understand your reluctance, Nikki, but no, there is no mistake. It breaks my heart too, but I have hard evidence that these men are working with the Patushkins. There is no question that they were involved in the bombing plot. We have to do this, or we lose the company.”
Potemkin nodded, still unhappy.
“I understand. It will be done as you request.”
“Thank you.” Kozel pulled the smaller man into a hug, then kissed him on each cheek. “We will get through this, Nikita. All of us. Tomorrow will be a brand new day.”
***
The two hovercars from Periscope Harbor arrived in the parking lot just ten minutes later. The same two soldiers who had intercepted Connie Ventura were joined by Nikita Potemkin, who met them before they could step out of their vehicles. Speaking urgently, he told both pilots that plans had changed and they were needed at the Rodina. Something was going on and it was a matter of life and death.
Without questions, the pilots nodded and lifted off again, circled the parking lot, and goosed their lifters as they headed back for the city. The eleven men riding in the vehicles suspected nothing, and never quite understood what happened next—just before they reached the breakwater, their turbines inexplicably shut down and could not be restarted. Without motive power, the lifters failed and both cars began to nose downward, just fifty feet above the water. Hovercars, unlike airplanes, don’t glide, and both cars plummeted into the water at over eighty knots; one exploded on impact, the other merely disintegrated. In neither case was there a single survivor.
On the casino’s rooftop parking lot, two of Potemkin’s men waited until they saw the results through binoculars, then calmly went to work shutting down the electronic device and packing it away…until it might be needed again.
***
Kozel waited in the casino bar until the deed was done. He hated this with every fiber of his being, but there was no question in his mind that Diana’s plan was necessary. By now, pending word to the contrary, his brother Lebed was probably dead, along with his two cousins, Orel and Stepan. If that was true, a new age had dawned for Bratva, one that promised both longevity and prosperity for him and his sister—and anyone else loyal to them. It was a filthy way to accomplish that goal, but sometimes, you had to butcher a fine horse to make sausage.
No bartender was on duty, but it didn’t matter. The bar was stocked with fine liquors from all over the galaxy, and Kozel poured his own drinks. He would get shit-faced today, and maybe stay that way for a week. Once the hostile elements had been eliminated, he and Diana could rest easy.
He finished his glass and rubbed a hand over his face, then poured another. He was about to down the shot when he saw movement and looked up. Nikita Potemkin approached with a grim look on his face. He stopped at the table and nodded.
“It is done.”
Kozel stared back at him, waiting for the emotion to hit. He didn’t know what he expected to feel—sorrow, anguish, shame, guilt—but he felt none of them. He did feel regret, but that did not change the fact that it had been necessary. He waved Nikita to a chair.
“Sit with me, Nikki. Have a drink.”
Potemkin obeyed, and Kozel poured him a shot.
“To the future.”
Both men clinked glasses.
The New Day had begun.
***
Connie peeked out of the restroom to make sure the corridor was clear. It had been ten minutes, maybe more, and someone would be coming to look for her; finding the corridor empty, with no one in sight, she slipped off her heels and carried them to avoid making noise, then stepped into the corridor and trotted deeper into the building. The fire hadn’t reached this far and the carpet was intact, which helped insulate the noise and protected her feet. She passed through a utility door marked NO ENTRANCE and found herself in a darkened room. She pulled a tiny electric torch from her purse and scanned the room briefly, locating another door at the other end.
She went through that as well, and discovered it was an employee locker room with four rows of lockers. No one was there, but if anyone came looking for her, she could be found easily.
Then she spotted a laundry cart parked in a corner, piled high with towels and linen. It was big enough to hide behind, so she tugged it away from the wall and slipped in behind it. She could probably hang out here for another thirty minutes, maybe an hour—surely Nick would arrive by then.
She crouched behind the cart and pulled it toward her so it wouldn’t be sitting too far from the wall. She took a deep breath and was about to congratulate herself when…
She heard gunfire.
***
After three drinks, Nikita Potemkin got up to leave.
“Sorry, boss, but I still got to manage my men. Thanks for the drink.”
Kozel Petreykin offered him a slightly drunken smile. He was halfway into the bottle and feeling mellow—as well as melancholy. He nodded.
“No problem, Nikki. Again, thank you. I’m sorry I had to ask this of you.”
“It’s okay, boss. We all have days we’d rather not remember.”
He turned to leave.
He had barely cleared the bar when they both heard excited shouts, followed by the staccato chatter of automatic weapons. Kozel got halfway to his feet and reached for his pistol, but it was too late. Six men boiled into the casino and spread out, spraying bullets in every direction. He could see the two soldiers who had intercepted the sexy brunette lying on the ground just outside the smashed entrance, and as he watched, Nikita Potemkin collapsed in a hail of bullets.
Kozel stared at the men advancing in his direction with a cold fist around his heart.
This can’t be happening! This is utter and absolute betrayal!
But it was no mistake. The men advanced into the bar, weapons trained, and Kozel carefully put his pistol on the table. The man leading the intruders was a face he knew well; he was smiling.
“Hello, Kozel. You didn’t expect to see me again so soon, did you?”
Chapter 27
Diana piloted the hovercar as they crossed the harbor twenty feet above the water. Nick gazed down at the water and saw a couple of periscope seals frolicking offshore; it must be nice, he reflected, to have nothing more to worry about than eating and swimming all day. Oh, for the life of an innocent animal.
A mile short of the island, his brow knitted and he leaned forward. A smudge of black smoke rose from the surface ahead of them, and he saw orange flame.
“What happened here? Looks like some kind of accident.”
“I doubt it was an accident,” Diana told him. “More likely, Kozel used the radar device to kill the loyalists.”
“Radar device?”
“That’s what we call it. I don’t know what it’s really called, but we call it that because it looks like a radar dish.”
Nick felt his scalp prickle. “Is that what you used on the airliner?”
“Da. Only I didn’t do it, Kozel’s men did.”
As if that lets you off the hook.
Nick sat back. “So we don’t have to worry about dissidents anymore.”
“I suspect not. We can confirm that when we get there.”
Barely a minute later, they reached the island. Diana goosed her lifters to reach the casino roof and circled once, then settled onto the parking lot. Unlike a normal workday, only three vehicles were parked there, and not a soul was in sight.
Nick and Diana unstrapped and exited the vehicle. The wind hit them and with it, the smell. Few smells are more offensive than a fire-damaged building, but Nick detected one that was—the stench of burned flesh. It crawled into his nostrils and made him sneeze.
Diana shoved a keycard into the slot by the lift and the door flashed open. They stepped inside and started down. When the door opened on the ground floor, the stench was overpowering, but they stepped out anyway. They turned right toward the casino floor, but as they did, Nick felt the back of his
neck prickle. Something didn’t feel right. He drew his .45 and held up a hand to stop Diana.
“What’s wrong?”
“Not sure. Maybe nothing.”
Nick advanced slowly, one step at a time, until he could see toward the bar. Diana drew her own weapon and stayed close to him. It was then he understood what was wrong—there were no voices, no movement, no people; except for a gusting breeze that swirled through the room, the casino was silent as a tomb.
Then he saw the bodies. Two men lay dead just outside the shattered entrance, blood pooled around them. Another lay crumpled at the other end of the floor near the bar and three others were scattered across the room. Kozel was nowhere in sight, nor was anyone else.
Diana saw them at the same time, and gasped.
“Nick! I know those men! They’re good men, not on the list.”
He nodded and took a few more steps, swinging his gun first one way, then the other. He still saw no one.
“What the hell happened here?” he muttered. “And when?”
Diana’s pale blue eyes were wide with tension.
“Maybe we should check the office upstairs.”
“Good idea. Come on.”
They returned to the elevator bank and entered the lift that would take them to the upper floors. Again Diana worked her magic with the card and twenty seconds later the door opened on the top floor. Nick peered out of the car in each direction, then led the way to the control room. From here one could see the entire casino floor, and still no one was in evidence. He shook his head in frustration.
“Where the hell is Kozel?” Diana whispered.
“That’s the big question. I know one other place to look.” He glanced at her. “Does your key work on all the doors?”
“Da.”
Nick clenched his jaw and again led the way. He had been to the torture room twice, and neither time had been a pleasant experience. He hoped this time would be different. Diana opened the first door; they passed through and found the corridor empty. He motioned to the second door.
“Open it and stand aside. If anyone is in there, we could have a problem.”
She scanned the keycard with a shaking hand, then pressed her back to the wall as Nick shoved the door open…
And stopped.
The sight that met his eyes defied description. Valentin had warned him, after a fashion, but he hadn’t fully appreciated the horror of it, and certainly had never hoped to see it. Kozel Petreykin hung from the ceiling by a cable around his ankles. He was completely nude, and he wasn’t moving. Blood dripped down his torso from the waist, streaming over his head and face, and bled in a steady trickle onto the concrete floor, where it swirled around the drain and disappeared. Nick swung his gun around the room, but no one else was there.
Diana stepped inside, caught her breath, and screamed. The sound of it scoured Nick’s soul, a raw, ragged howl that was amplified by the tight quarters. Nick put his gun away and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her face into his shoulder. Even as she clung to him and continued to wail, he couldn’t tear his eyes off the sight of Kozel’s body.
At least it looked like Kozel, but he couldn’t be sure. The man had been skinned from the waist to the neck, leaving a red, white, and blue patchwork of veins, arteries, muscle, and fat. Nick stared for a terrible twenty seconds, then pulled free of Diana and approached the body. It was then he realized the most horrible thing of all—
Kozel was still alive.
*
The first hint he had was a low, almost sub-aural moan from the slowly swinging victim. Nick moved in as close as he dared and reached gingerly for Kozel’s neck; a pulse was barely detectible. Kozel’s eyes were closed, his face bathed in blood, and his entire body was quivering, but again, so slightly that it was hard to see. He had vomited, as evidenced by a splash of puke and the sure-fire odor of stale vodka; his skin hung in strips, some of it torn completely free and coiled up on the floor.
And he was breathing.
For just a second, Nick wasn’t sure what to do. Kozel looked beyond help, but medical science was capable of many miracles, and there still might be a chance. He turned to Diana.
“He’s alive! Go call for paramedics.”
“No.”
Nick recoiled by reflex; he hadn’t expected the man to speak. He leaned in again, to within a foot of his face.
“Kozel? Can you hear me?”
Kozel coughed; more accurately, he released an explosion of air that sprayed blood across the floor. His body began to swing faster.
“I…hear you,” he murmured. “Where is…Diana?”
“Here. She’s here.”
Nick waved her forward with his left hand, but for a moment she didn’t move, her face a mask of pure horror.
“Hurry! He’s asking for you!”
In spite of her dread, Diana approached and dropped delicately to one knee. She was still sobbing, but managed to clear her throat enough to speak.
“Kozel! Brubby! What is it? Who—who did this to you?”
Kozel’s eyes opened and for a moment he tried to find her, then his pupils focused on her face.
“Diana…”
“I’m here, Brubby! I’m here!”
“Kill…Vasily.”
“Vasily! Vasily Patushkin did this to you?”
“Da. Vasily…and Turner.”
Nick was shocked. He leaned in again.
“Sam Turner? The Sirian?”
“Da. They…double…crossed…”
“Vasily and Turner double-crossed you?”
Kozel, weak from shock and loss of blood, was unable to reply. He closed his mouth and nodded instead, causing his body to swing even more.
“Okay, we’ll get those bastards. Hang in there, now, we’ll call for help.”
“No. Sh…” He exploded into coughing again, then drew a shallow breath. “Sh…shoot…me.”
“No. Kozel, no! I can’t shoot my own brother!”
The irony of that statement whipped right past Nick in the moment. He wiped a hand over his mouth and stared at the dying man in indecision. He had seen a lot of horrible shit in his life, but never anything like this…not even in the war.
“Roo…so.”
Nick cleared his throat. “Right here, Kozel.”
“Russo…shoot…me. P-Please.”
Nick heaved a deep breath and wiped the mist out of his eyes. Without a word, he reached for his .45.
“Nick, no! You can’t shoot him! You can’t! Not like this!”
“I don’t want to, Diana, but look at him. He’s in agony. God knows how long he’s been like this, and even if we call paramedics, how long will it take them to arrive?”
“They can save him!”
“I dunno…”
Kozel whimpered again.
“Please,” he whispered.
Nick pushed himself up and stood, a hand on Diana’s shoulder.
“Say good-bye, Diana. And make it fast.”
She wept even harder, reached out and touched her brother’s arm, but the contact sent a shudder through him. He mewled in pain.
“Kozel! Brubby, I love you! I am so sorry! I love you!”
Kozel’s eyes opened again and crinkled as he located her.
“Love…you, too…”
Nick shot him underneath the chin, the bullet passing down through his skull and blowing brains onto the floor. The shot was deafening, but Kozel Petreykin was at peace.
Diana was not.
Chapter 28
Diana was in no condition to pilot the hovercar. Nick had to physically support her as they made their way back to the rooftop parking lot; he wanted to get away from the casino and off the island as quickly as possible, in case Vasily Patushkin or some of his people might still be in the area.
Diana was a wreck. He lifted her into the vehicle and strapped her in, then crawled into the pilot’s seat and lifted off. His eyes scanned the horizon, from out at sea to the harbor docks to the marina to the city
skyline, looking for threats. His heart raced with something very close to fear—Kozel hadn’t said how many men Vasily had with him, but he surely could not have committed that atrocity by himself, and Nick doubted his two pistols would be enough against them.
He had to get back to the city as quickly as possible.
It took him fifteen minutes to reach the Rodina. In the parking garage, he had to help Diana out of the car; she stumbled to one knee, too distraught to care. He helped her to the lift and used her keycard to access her penthouse. Once there, he set her down on the couch, tugged off her shoes, and made her lie back. He poured her a drink from the cabinet and lifted her head so she could take a sip. She swallowed the vodka with a minimum of effort, then lay back, staring at the ceiling.
Nick stood over her a moment, amazed that such a cold-blooded person could come apart so completely. Not that she didn’t have cause, but he found it paradoxical that just hours earlier she had murdered one brother, then fell apart when the other one died. She must have hated Lebed as much as she loved Kozel…and the manner of Kozel’s death was enough to crack the sanity of any normal person.
He glanced at his watch and could hardly believe it was just past noon. The morning had seemed like a month, and the day wasn’t over yet.
He knelt beside Diana.
“I want you to stay here for a while, okay? I’m going to send Sasha up to sit with you. I have some things to take care of, but I’ll be back.”
He frowned as she continued to stare at the ceiling, unblinking.
“Diana?” He snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Can you hear me?”
Her pupils narrowed a fraction, then she shifted her gaze to his face.
“I’m sorry about Kozel,” he said gently. “I’m going to get revenge for him, but right now I need you to stay here and rest. Are you with me? Just nod if you understand.”
She stared at him a moment, her expression blank. Finally her head bobbed a fraction of an inch.
“Okay, good. Stay here. I’ll send Sasha up.”
He kissed her on the forehead, then stood again. He was reluctant to leave her, but things were sliding out of control and he had no time to waste. Hopefully she would stay put and not get in his way, but he had to go even if she didn’t.
