Without Options

by Trevor Scott

  “Were you even born in the seventies?”

  “Very funny.” She hesitated and said, “I was a young girl. You remember my school girl uniform. Where next?”

  Jake hadn’t told her that he’d gotten a name and location from the Russian. “Let’s go get the real mastermind behind this whole crazy plot.”

  She glanced at him. “The Russian told you something?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How can you be sure he wasn’t lying?”

  “He was highly motivated,” Jake remarked. “And even if he was lying, you have something better to do tonight?”

  Smiling, she said, “I could think of something.”

  “I meant with our clothes on.”

  “Then no.”

  He gave her the location and she turned off the ring road and headed west.

  “That’s not a great neighborhood,” Alexandra said. “I would have expected. . .well, I don’t know what I thought.”

  “Remember, this is the SVR. Or at least a rogue faction of the SVR.”

  “Have you heard of this person?”

  How could Jake answer that? After a long internal deliberation, he finally said, “Yeah, but we’ve never met.” He explained how he knew the man’s older brother. How the former Russian colonel had died right in front of Jake during a mission. But he didn’t go into any detail.

  “Did you kill him?”

  “No. He was shot by another Agency officer during an Op. I liked Yuri Pushkin. He could drink more than anyone I’ve ever met. But I understand he did try to have me killed more than once.”

  “Well, there’s that. And you still liked the man. You are strange, Jake Adams. What do you know of his brother?”

  “Last I heard he was a major in the Russian Army, but I heard he was attached to the GRU. That was years ago, though. I don’t know when he switched to the SVR.”

  “This is tough to ask, Jake.” She turned and looked at him seriously before concentrating again on her driving. “Does he blame you for his brother’s death?”

  “I don’t know.” It was the truth. After Jake’s action on that mission, he never heard what happened to those left behind, including the disposition of Colonel Yuri Pushkin. “It depends on how the Russians briefed the event. I’m sure they made me out to be the bad guy, with Yuri a state hero. So maybe his brother Viktor blames me. But I don’t know.” Pushkin’s name had not even come up on his radar in the past two months as Jake lay in bed and wondered who had killed Anna.

  “Sounds like a good motive.”

  That’s what Jake thought from the moment Viktor’s name came out of the mouth of the dying Russian. Jake reached behind him to his backpack, retrieving a few more full magazines to replace some of the firepower he’d thrown into the river. Then he made sure all of his magazines were full. Now he had two identical Beretta PX4 Storms.

  “I thought I saw you throw a perfectly good gun into the river,” Alexandra said.

  “It was the Glock I got from Franz in Austria. Remind me to buy him a new one.”

  “All right. I hate to see Jake Adams abusing one of his children. We’re almost there. How do you want to play this?”

  Good question. “I’m guessing the guy already knows I’m coming. Otherwise his man would have called him, saying I was dead. In fact, I’m thinking he bet on his man getting killed, but not before he gave up his location.”

  Alexandra looked shocked. “But why?”

  “Because he wants to confront me himself.”

  “You think he thought his man would fail?”

  “Yeah. I mean, if he’d succeeded he could live with that. He loses a good killer, but then he gets to set me up as well, and take me on his turf.”

  “He’s that calculating?”

  “You can bet on it.”

  “But then he knows we’re coming.”

  “Pull over.”

  She did as he said, pulling her car to the curb in a deserted industrial area of Berlin’s eastern area. Turning off the engine, she stared at Jake with concern.

  He found his cell phone in the backpack and put the battery back into it, activating the GPS.

  “What are you doing?” she asked him.

  “Just in case I fail.”

  “Let me call my people,” she pled.

  He shook his head. “This man killed Anna to get to me. One of the shooters got away that day. I was down and out. He could have simply walked up to me and put a bullet in my head. It’s always bothered me that I survived that shooting.”

  “That’s natural.”

  “There was nothing natural about Anna’s death.”

  “I’m sorry, Jake. I didn’t mean that. I meant you feeling guilty for surviving.”

  “I know. But I was vulnerable in the hospital for nearly two months. An easy target. Why not just kill me then?” That had also bothered Jake for the past few weeks.

  She simply shrugged.

  “Viktor Pushkin was setting this whole thing up, running the chess board like a grand master playing with his grandchild. I knew someone was doing this when I saw the list of people on the hit list. Everyone on that list had some contact with me over the years—either as an adversary or a confederate. I assumed someone was just picking off former agents or government intelligence officers. But that list would have included some people that I had never worked with. This list was quite specific. My only problem was trying to link who else would know I’d worked with these people, and who would have a motive to kill me. Many on the list fit that description. So, I thought that perhaps someone on that list had actually added their name to throw me off.”

  “Ah. That’s why you went to see the Russian in Baden-Baden and the Stasi officer here in Berlin.”

  “Right.”

  “But neither man could’ve been the one who was trying to kill you.”

  “No. Vladimir Volkov was killed right in front of me. And I don’t think Bernard Hartmann is involved. He’s just waiting to die himself.”

  “Let me call in our people,” she reiterated. “We can handle this.”

  “I don’t think so. He’s with SVR. Your people will just pick him up and put him on a plane back to Moscow. He has diplomatic immunity. Then he simply regroups and comes after me again.”

  “Only if the SVR has sanctioned his actions.”

  She had a good point, but he wouldn’t tell her that. He needed to take care of this himself. “Even so, they would still just ship him off to Mother Russia and put a bullet in the back of his head. Maybe send him to Siberia.”

  “Do they still do that?”

  “Haven’t you heard, Alexandra. This is a new Cold War. One the Russians have started with their desire to return to some level of relevance. They want to become a superpower again.”

  “So, the shadow game is on again?”

  “Afraid so.”

  She considered his words carefully and said, “At least let me come with you, Jake.”

  He didn’t want her to get hurt, but he also knew that Viktor Pushkin wouldn’t be alone. Especially if he knew Jake was coming. He would have called in all his agents to help. And it wasn’t like Jake could really tell Alexandra what to do. It was her country. Her intelligence responsibility. She was obligated to take down any rogue element in her country.

  Jake agreed and they took a few minutes to discuss how they’d approach the Russian.

  He thought about his own words to Alexandra. He had not been entirely truthful to her. There were many names on the hit list he didn’t even know. Names he assumed must have been former intelligence officers or agents they had been running. No, this was bigger than Jake Adams, he knew. The Russians were making a major power play. A purge.

  33

  Having just gotten a call from CIA headquarters, Toni and Franz were on the move heading toward Berlin’s east side.

  “Why would Jake turn his phone back on?” Franz asked.

  He must have had a good reason, she thought. But she was glad he’d done s
o. The Agency had been monitoring Jake’s cell phone for days, hoping he would put the battery back into it.

  “Why don’t you call him and find out,” Toni said. “But don’t mention you’re with me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Do it now. He’ll turn it off again soon.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because if he’s going in somewhere covertly, he won’t want his phone going off. He knew we would be monitoring his phone. Knew we would be checking on him. Especially after having gone to see our station chief in Berlin.”

  Franz quickly flipped open his phone and hit Jake’s number in his address book. Two rings later someone picked up on the other end.

  “Jake?”

  “Franz. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Are you driving after dark?”

  Without going into great detail, Franz told Jake how he’d just come from a shooting along the river in Berlin.

  “What are you doing in Berlin, Franz?”

  “Trying to keep you out of trouble. But I seem to be one step behind you at all times.”

  “Some things never change. Hey, your voice doesn’t sound right. Are you okay?”

  “Wunderbar.”

  They were coming to a turn ahead with a choice of left or right, so Toni grabbed onto Franz’s sleeve. Franz pointed to the right.

  “Who’s with you? Stefan Beck?”

  “No, I’m alone.”

  “You’re a terrible liar. I turned on my phone for a reason, Franz. I knew the Agency would be monitoring my line. Since you were the first to call me in the middle of the night, I’m guessing the Agency told you my phone was back on. Why would they do that unless you were with an Agency officer. And there’s only one Agency officer we both know really well. So, why don’t you hand the phone to Toni.”

  Franz shook his head and handed the phone to Toni, who was shaking her head. “He knows you’re here,” Franz said.

  Releasing a breath of air, Toni took the phone reluctantly. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time, Jake?”

  “You know me. If I look hard enough, trouble can be found.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about Anna,” she said demurely.

  “You just found out?”

  “Kurt told me a couple days ago. I was working a special project for him until recently. What’s going on here?”

  Jake quickly explained what he knew about the case, including his current target.

  “He’ll know you’re coming, Jake.”

  “I know. That’s why I could us some backup.”

  “What about Alexandra?”

  “What about her?”

  “Why are you two working together?”

  “I had everyone coming at me at once,” Jake explained. “Not many people even knew that we knew each other. She’s been invaluable.”

  “I see.”

  Hesitation from both of them as they sat in silence and as Toni turned onto a major outer ring on Berlin’s east side.

  “You all right?” Jake asked.

  “Fine.” Was she jealous? Maybe. “How do you want to play this?”

  Jake explained the set up, how they’d driven around the outlying roads to check for possible escape routes, and how they were now ready to move in on foot. He gave her an approach route that would put her on the other side of the light industrial building. He agreed to wait until they were in place.

  ●

  Jake flipped his phone shut and glanced at Alexandra in the darkness of the car.

  “Invaluable?” she said to Jake.

  He reached over and took her hand. “Absolutely. Are you ready?”

  “Of course. I’m a little concerned about your approach.”

  “It’s not perfect,” Jake admitted. “But it’s also short notice.”

  “We could call my people or the Polizei.”

  “We’ve discussed that. This guy doesn’t give a crap about the Polizei. Besides, he has diplomatic immunity.”

  “But I should go in with you.”

  “No. He wants me. If things go all to hell, call in the Polizei at that point.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.” Jake looked off down the deserted road. He guessed that during a normal work day there would be trucks making deliveries, workers coming and going, and a few people walking around. But at this hour, there were no cars, no pedestrians. Nothing. He’d really stick out if someone was watching for him. “I better get going. I’ve got five blocks to walk.”

  Jake got out, checked his guns, and walked off down the sidewalk. He had one advantage. Clouds and a brisk breeze. Also, the sidewalk was not lit well. There were only dull lights on the corners, and some of them had been either knocked out by young miscreants or burned out and not replaced. He was also dressed in black, with a knit sailor’s watch cap, his hands shoved into his pockets. With every step, he tried his best to change his gate to something unrecognizable—no limp, no steady pace. But each strained step brought great pain from his knee. He didn’t even realize he’d been taking pressure off the knee for the past few days, mostly by riding in cars and trains, but also by limping unconsciously.

  As he got closer to the building where he suspected Viktor Pushkin ran his operation, Jake thought about Toni and Franz coming in from the back. She’d said she would wait for him to get in place. He’d text her, without looking, with his phone in his right pocket.

  The building was part of a huge structure that ran the entire block, with truck delivery doors along the street at various intervals, and simple signs at entrances indicating the businesses within those sections. Three cars were parked in the area—a VW Passat, an Audi A3, and a new black BMW. They had already done a check with the Polizei and knew the BMW belonged to Viktor Pushkin, registered to a front company at this location—a cell phone distributor.

  Without hesitation, Jake cut across the street directly to the business next to the cell phone company. His back to the closed circuit camera, it took him just thirty-five seconds to pick the lock to the door. Not a record for him on that lock type.

  He slipped inside and locked the door behind him, his eyes searching for a security system, which he didn’t expect to find. The business seemed to store paper and other office products.

  Next he sent a text message to Alexandra, saying he was in the adjoining business and ready to move. Then he turned his phone to vibrate. Now he just needed to find a way into the Russian’s place without making too much noise. It would have helped if he had plans for the building. But every building in every part of the world had at least one vulnerable entrance. Jake clicked on a small LCD headlamp with a red filter and made his way through the building, his eyes scanning.

  It didn’t take Jake long to find what he sought. Both businesses had at one time been one, split down the middle with an industrial wall, but with a door between the two locked from both sides. He considered quickly how to proceed. He could pick this lock, but that would take time and might make too much noise. Jake had to believe they would know he was coming, having not heard back from their man at the meet. He had no choice.

  Pulling both guns from their holsters, Jake stepped back and with one quick thrust of his right leg, smashed the door right at the dead bolt, sending the door flying inward. He rushed forward, his guns leading the way into near darkness. It was a large storage area with shelves of cell phones. Damn it. Had he been duped? No. The man’s car was out front.

  Suddenly there was movement ahead to his right.

  Gun.

  Jake dove to the floor just as he saw the flash and the loud report from the shots. Two. Three.

  He returned fire with two rounds, rolled to his right behind a shelf and rose to his knee. Then he ripped the headlamp off, switched it off, and had an idea. He strapped the lamp around a box on the shelf, turned the lamp on again and turned it toward the shooter, as he simultaneously moved quietly to his right toward the outer wall
, crouching lower to see through the other shelves, the gun in his right hand waiting for the response.

  It didn’t take long. Three shots. Jake saw the blasts and aimed slightly high, returning fire with three of his own.

  Silence.

  Jake sat onto the floor and looked to his left at the box that had been shot from the shelf. It would have been his head.

  He waited for the next round, which he knew would come soon. But he needed to move. He was pinned down where he was. If someone came around to his left they’d have a clear shot at him down the row, with him having no escape. He could use a little help right now.

  34

  Toni and Franz both heard the shots coming from inside the building just as they got out of their car and were walking along the back side in near darkness. She contemplated how to make their approach on the building, but now they had no choice. Toni knew they had to hurry. She quickened her pace.

  “We have to make a front approach,” Franz said.

  “I know. No other choice.”

  They ran now around the block, heading toward the front door. It had to be on the next block. This end had no doors, only a few windows. She stopped dead in her tracks.

  “Windows,” she said.

  Franz looked and understood, racking his brain for a way in. He ripped his jacket off, wrapped it around his arm, and swung with a backhand at the glass. The first strike did nothing. Second did nothing. He pulled his gun and fired twice, then smashed his arm through the window. It gave way this time and shattered around him. He used his jacket-wrapped arm to knock most of the glass from the lower frame and then put the jacket over it so they could get through.

  Franz helped Toni through the window with a boost and then climbed in after her.

  They were inside an office with a computer and file cabinets. Both had their guns out and moved toward the inner door. Just as they were about to open the door, six more shots rang out. First three and then three more.

  Jake, Toni thought. “Let’s go,” she whispered loudly.

  As Toni cracked the door open, she could see red overhead lights in the hallway. Then there was movement, followed by shots that busted through the door next to her hand. She shoved the door closed, locked it, and backed against the inner wall.