by Leo Gher
That night, after he had finished loading logs into the firepot, Serge noticed that a sizeable pile of ash had accumulated on the stones. “I’ll clean up the mess tomorrow.”
Realizing that he might uncover her escape route, Tali felt her heart racing, and her tongue going thick. Panic at this moment would be a bitter adversary. “Not in the morning,” she insisted. Serge looked at her suspiciously. “Let the fire cool down. It gets too hot nowadays.”
It was a good comeback, so Serge nodded in agreement. “I’ll bring the ash bucket tomorrow night.”
“Thanks,” Tali said.
Day-53 – Fight or flight. Karun arrived at nine am as usual. She was wearing a raincoat and rubber boots. A storm outside, Tali surmised. The middle-aged woman took off the cloak and tossed it across the chair next to the door. Then she sat down and pulled off the boots. Tali was already out of bed and pacing. “Karun, I have to use the toilet right away,” she said. “I’m having some diarrhea problems.”
Not wanting to deal with an unseemly mess, Karun eagerly unlocked her prisoner’s ankle bracelets, freeing her from the chains. Tali raced to the bathroom. As she passed by, Karun didn’t notice the pockets of Tali’s robe were bulging, heavy-laden with stones. “I’ll set your meals for the day out on the table,” she said, but Tali didn’t respond.
Ten minutes went by without a sound. “You okay, Ms. Nadirov?” Curious, Karun went to the door and knocked. Still nothing, so she opened the door and peeked through the crack, “Ms. Nadirov?”
When she poked her head sufficiently inside, Tali barked, “Surprise, bitch!”
As Karun looked up, Tali struck down on the woman’s skull with one of the stones. Next, full of rage, Tali leaped at Karun and forced her to the floor. She was about to strike again, but the woman was out cold, her right temple bleeding freely. Instantly, Tali found a towel, tore it into several three-inches shreds, then wrapped Karun’s head. She didn’t want to kill the woman.
After that, Tali took a long breath and then did a mental check of her escape plan. Karun was a hefty woman, but no match for Tali’s newfound strength. She dragged the woman to the bedroom, found the keys to the locks, and fastened one bracelet around Karun’s left ankle. Next, she stripped the woman of all her clothes, leaving her with only panties. Tali took a moment to reflect on the irony of seeing Karun naked, how do you like that, bitch! It was all she could manage to hold back a primal scream. Tali was unsure of Serge’s whereabouts, but she thought that he was probably in the next room. Silence was a friend at this crucial moment.
Tali quickly dressed, using most of Karun’s clothes; her bra was too big and would just be an annoyance on the trail. Everything was too big, but she cinched up the pants and shirt as best she could, and then pulled on boots. Lastly, Tali gathered up the packaged foods on the table and stuffed them into the pockets of the raincoat. She heard a thunderclap, and took it as a warning – get moving now!
Twenty minutes later, a mud-soaked Tali Nadirov had found her way through the crawlspace, had knocked out a gap around the vent, and had wriggled her way outside. For an instant, she thought about surprising Serge with one of her stones, but then she remembered that there was sometimes another thug guarding the cabin. She decided to take flight, but which way?
At the very same time that Tali was escaping into the forest, Iza Beggs and Ali Tabak were on the road from Ganja, traveling to Lake Goygol. A little more than an hour earlier they had hooked up at Rustavi: Iza had taken the train from Tbilisi, and Ali had driven in from Kars.
“You didn’t have a car when last we met,” said Iza. “Where’d you get this one?
“I confiscated it. Used to be a Turk ZPT Patrol Car.”
“Confiscated?”
“After seeing you guys off at Ninots, I headed back to Kars,” he explained. “There had been a battle, not more than 90 minutes earlier. That VDW crew and a Turkish army unit had skirmished ferociously; all the Turks had been wiped out.”
“My mother foresees Bәla coming.”
“Great evil, indeed,” Ali remarked. “No one was ever going to use this ZPT again, so I borrowed it. If we run into any trouble, it will be a useful vehicle to have… armored and four-wheel-drive.”
“Okay,” Iza was changing the subject, “What about this Lake Goygol?”
“It’s not just one, but many, maybe 18, 20 altogether.”
“We can’t search them all,” Iza said. “How do we choose?”
“The biggest lake is the one they call Goygol. That’s where I’ve guided the bird-watching tours, lots of tourists there. The others are smaller lakes up in the mountains.”
Beggs was analyzing an area map on her iPhone. “There’s just one road leading from Goygol to the others.”
“That’s right. The lakes at the highest elevations are connected to ski resorts, but Rufet told me that the mid-level lakes are where the hunting lodges are located.”
“We should start there.”
“Exactly.” So, they turned away from the big lake called Goygol and headed up the mountain road where they thought they might find the Kos hideout.
The cabin where Tali had been imprisoned was located in the riparian woodlands of the Goygol Nature Reserve. The ancient Celts, who once lived there, saw such woods as the natural meeting place of two magical realms, one of water and the other of forest.
The first thing Tali saw, as she raced from the cabin, was the forest – a stand of Cappadocian maple trees. It reminded her of the trees in Conor’s garden at the Zümrә Estates. It gave young Tali Nadirov a feeling of confidence as she raced down the mountainside to the waters of Lake Goygol. He’s okay, she thought, I’ll be with him soon.
But Tali was not yet free.
35
Flight to Ganja
It was a sunny spring morning in Ganja, and the men of the Dark Triad were resting quietly inside a boathouse that sat beside the windswept, cobblestoned esplanade of the Ganja River. The facility looked out over the water and the dock where most of the local ruling families moored their yachts. It belonged to Alexandre Kos, Viktor’s cousin.
Viktor was still dressed in his official Azeri VP regalia, but his coat lapel had been torn, and his pant cuffs were mud-splattered from the muck he’d stepped through next to the pier at Baku Bay. “Don’t think we’re free and clear,” he rebuked his sons. “Guliyev will send his army after us.”
Vanya agreed, “That CIA bastard will lead. He’s been after us for years.”
“Chinske?”
“Yeah, Mo Chinske.” The Kos Bey looked frazzled. It had been an exhausting 11-hour getaway through the night. “He’s a pal of Azreal.”
After the failed assassination and unrelenting chaos in Baku, the Dark Triad had successfully cut and run. Knowing the highways, rail lines, and airports would be blocked, Viktor, Vanya, and Vladimir made their way to a secluded dock on the Caspian coast and boarded the 1605 oil-crew transfer vessel they owned. They fled five hours south on the Sea to the city of Lankaran, near the Iranian border. It was the stronghold of House Vidadi, one of Viktor’s closest allies. There, they procured a fast car – a Porsche Turbo S, sapphire blue – and drove nonstop to the house of their clan relatives in Ganja. After securing food, water, and a cache of small-arms, Alexandre Kos escorted them to the boathouse, where they had been hiding since early morning.
Viktor was staring out the window at an ornate white-stone building across the street. It served as a library and archives for maps and charts of the lakes and rivers of the region. The Kos Bey had made an evaluation. “I’m going to call our friends in Armenia; tell them we need assistance in getting across the border.”
Vanya’s eyes lit up, and he scowled, “Do you think that’s wise? I assume that Guliyev; no, I assume everyone is listening.” The elder Kos son was worried about his father’s judgment, which seemed to be getting worse as the crisis grew mor
e complicated.
Viktor said, “I’m going to call just the same.” The collaborators in Armenia were the ones that hired Old Man Chubby and the other assassins. “You two, step outside so I can hear.”
Vlad shot back, “But we agreed to contact them by courier only.”
“I still make the decisions for this House,” Viktor howled. “Step outside.”
A few minutes later, the brothers were alone at the end of the dock. Vanya opened a cryptic dialogue. “Sometimes I believe we would be better off without that old man. He’s been leading our House to destruction for a long time.”
“Agreed.”
“I would do things differently,” said Vanya.
“Agreed.”
“If he were out of the way, we could plead our case to Guliyev.”
Vlad grinned broadly, then added, “Before it is too late.”
By nine am, Mo Chinske and his unit had run into a dead-end. They had chased the Kos 1605 cruiser to Lankaran, knowing that Vidadi clan would harbor Viktor and his sons, or at least supply them with a means of escaping. The logical assumption was that they were headed to the Iranian border, but President Guliyev had ordered all border crossings closed and issued an arrest warrant for the Kos leaders and their allies.
The senior officer of the Azeri State Police turned to Chinske, and said, “My lieutenant tells me that the Kos men are nowhere in the city.”
“And what about Vidadi?” Mo asked.
“All the Vidadis have disappeared.”
“Rolan should not have closed the border and issued the warrants,” Chinske replied. “All the rats have fled the barn.”
The officer continued, “However, we have found the pilot of the 1605 vessel.” He took out a cigarette and lit it. “They have just now finished with his interrogation.”
Mo squirmed at the thought, but he said nothing. “And?”
“The lieutenant reports that the Vidadi had supplied the Kos with a car and weapons.”
“Did the man indicate anything about direction?”
“Only that the Kos knew that the Iranian border was closed, Chinske, sir.”
“That leaves Ganja.”
The State Police officer took another drag on his cigarette, then flipped it away, “Or the Black Garden.”
“Right,” Mo agreed, “that’s the only way into Armenia.”
“I’ll order up the helicopter. We can get to the Ganja airport in 90 minutes.”
Back at the Ganja River, Viktor walked out of the boathouse, and waved to his sons, “Vanya, Vladimir, let’s go.”
The brothers hurried back to the shed, and then Vlad asked, “You’ve talked to Kirdenbad?”
“Yes, they will send two SUVs to meet us at the Lake Goygol lodge,” Viktor replied, “The Porsche will be useless off-road. We’ll change vehicles and then head overland to a wilderness crossing called the Sotk Pass.”
“We can be at the cabin in about an hour,” Vlad said. “Our captive is still there, Tali Nadirov.”
“Perfect,” Vanya said. “We can utilize her as a negotiating tool if anything should go wrong.” At precisely 11 am, the Dark Triad stopped at a gas station at the outskirts of Ganga. Any Porsche Turbo S would draw a few gawkers. The Dark Triad’s sapphire blue one attracted a half dozen. But the Kos men had no time for such trivialities, so an angry Vlad chased the them away. It was a mistake. One of the panhandlers at the gas station would remember the fancy car and the wrathful men it carried.
36
Showdown at Sotk Pass
Goddamnit, goddamnit, goddamnit!
Silent screams between gasping breaths and burning lungs.
Just don’t trip, just don’t trip.
Tali’s prayer as she entered the unfamiliar forest outside the cabin.
… and what do I do now?
After 15 minutes of rattled racing down the mountain, it was inevitable. Tali tripped.
Goddamnit, goddamnit, goddamnit!
She tugged off her left boot and rubbed her ankle. Tali looked for swelling to begin, then frowned in disgust, as if it was the fault of the boot.
Just a wader without ankle support. Now what?
A fallen branch, a boot too big, a twist, a tumble – Tali sat on the damp forest floor with a throbbing foot, wanting to shout out, but knowing she could not. Out of the blue, she heard another branch breaking and then another – sounds from somewhere behind, menacing and foreboding – pursuers pressing near?
Serge, goddamnit.
She thought of his brutish, bad-tempered, sour face and remembered the beating he had given her on that first day.
It won’t be a beating this time, not after…
She had crushed in Karun fat head. For the moment, Tali’s pounding heart had calmed, her aching thighs eased, and then the sounds, which had seemed nearby only a moment ago, moved off in a different direction. Not here yet.
She looked around for some clue, but nothing spoke to her. There was no transcendental revelation.
I cannot just run. Run? Not likely now.
Tali had nothing to wrap her ankle tight, so she quietly pulled on her boot. Moving forward at this point would be painful and slow.
I have to have a plan. I, I, I… have to have a plan. Where is my sweet forest fairy to point out the way?
That’s when Tali noticed a trail. City girls don’t typically detect game trails, but there it was, crossing right in front of her.
Wild boars? Wolves? A Panther perhaps? Deer? Yes, deer, a deer trail… and that’s what I heard, a deer.
Stealth, hide and seek… something to put Serge on the wrong track. Tali stood up and moved to examine the imprint the creatures had made. It was narrow, no more than 12, maybe 15 inches wide.
Whatever it is it’s going somewhere for food, water, or safety.
She had to take a chance. So, Tali limped another 50 feet in the same direction she had been traveling, retrieved and unwrapped a power bar that Karun had brought that morning, and then tossed the wrapper into the brush. Afterward, she retraced her steps to the game trail and carefully entered.
He will be coming for sure, but this will give me some time.
Meanwhile, Iza and Ali were parked on the side of the road that led to the smaller Goygol lakes above. “What can you see?” Iza asked.
Ali was scanning the switchback road above with his field glasses. “An old farm truck about 20 minutes ahead, nothing much else.” Tabak, the consummate tracker, was used to measuring distance as time, instead of miles.
“That fellow at the gas station said he recognized the oil minister,” Iza said. “He was sure of it.”
“What kind of car?”
“He didn’t know what kind, but said it was bright blue, navy, something like that.”
“There it is!” Ali shouted. “About an hour ahead of us, and moving fast.” He could not exactly identify the color of the car, but he could see a cloud of dust rising behind. “Whoever it is, they’re desperate.”
“Got to be the Kos. Let’s go. Tali is surely close at hand.”
“Wait, Iza, let me check the surroundings and possible escape routes.”
“Okay. But I’m going to let Mo Chinske know that we’ve found the Kos and probably Tali too.”
“Give me a minute, and I’ll get the coordinates for you.”
Fifteen minutes later, as Ali was making the turn at the mountain road’s first switchback, Beggs received Mo’s response. “He says they are in helicopters, heading our way.”
“I think I know how the Kos plan to cross into Armenia… an old, abandoned border crossing called the Sotk Pass. Tell Mo that.”
Iza waited a moment, then read Chinske’s reply: “He says he has a State Police officer with him who knows the place. They will head directly for the Sotk Pass to block off any escape.”
Ali shouted, “The hell with that!”
After 30 minutes along the deer trail, Tali heard the sounds of something completely out of place in the woods – the high-pitched revving of a four-stroke engine.
ATVs – two, maybe three. I thought they’d be on foot. I thought I’d have a chance.
Eyes wide with panic, Adrenaline surged through her body. Without regard to the pain or consequences, Tali began running again.
They’re coming. I thought I’d have more time.
With every footfall, jolting pain spurted through Tali’s now very swollen ankle. Then she heard the ATVs roar at full throttle. She could feel them closing in.
It’s not just Serge. He is coming… the shadow man… beating, smashing, rape, torture… Tali was in a tight spot, her mind a tangled mess. Fail, and the sum total of who she is or will ever be will in the balance – run, and the damage is limited to shins, ankles, and knees.
When the Kos men had reached the cabin and found that Tali Nadirov had escaped, they were incensed. “How long ago?” Vlad demanded.
“Not sure, Müserif,” Serge muttered.
Vlad burst open the door to Tali’s prison and quickly spied the hole under the stove where Tali had made her getaway. Eyes in a rage, Vlad returned to the outer room. He began grinding his teeth, then railed against the man in charge, “You and Karun had one job – keep the bitch here until I returned.” Vlad walked to the fireplace, picked up a poker from the rack, and then struck Serge across the back.”
Viktor Kos was unmoved. “Never mind that, Vlad. We have to leave now.”
