by Greig Beck
He got to his feet beside the trunk of a tree frosted with snow, and paused to get his bearings. He looked up: no stars or moon — good for hiding, but he would have liked just a few stars to guide him.
‘And now we walk,’ he whispered to himself, confident if he kept in line with the old road, he should make it to the village by morning.
Khamid stepped out from behind the tree, and only took a single step before a blow to the back of his head made him finally see the stars he had missed. Everything went black.
* * *
Khamid was tied to a chair. The Russian captain stared into his face as he went through his pockets.
‘Did you know you speak when you sleep?’ He grinned and tilted his head as though expecting an answer. He went back to his search. ‘Your language is good, but your accent… I think you are not really from here… Perhaps not even from Grozny.’
He tugged free wrapped packets of dried biscuits, and a small flask of water. He dumped them onto a table and pulled Khamid’s jacket open and twisted the label around to read: ‘Gieves & Hawkes? Hmm, very fancy… And a long way from London. Imported perhaps… Or maybe you are imported, my friend? People who wear expensive foreign clothes and creep around in the dark are usually rich men hiding from someone… Or maybe spying on someone, hmm?’
Khamid stayed silent, staring at the ground, wondering when the light would go on in the captain’s head, and his identity would be revealed. While the soldiers guessed at who he was, he would be granted another few minutes. Must get away, his mind raced.
‘Looks like a teacher, or maybe a dentist.’ The thin lieutenant opened a packet of Khamid’s biscuits and started eating them. His face lit up. ‘Are you a dentist?’ The man smiled weakly, showing a row of gray teeth, edged with black. After a few seconds his smile faded and he continued his slow chewing.
He grabbed one of Khamid’s hands and turned it over. ‘Soft; not a fighter. Perhaps you are a scientist bomb maker.’ He lifted the hand and sniffed the fingers. He shrugged and turned away. ‘No smell or staining from nitrates or sulfates, so perhaps not a bomb maker… or he was smart enough to wear gloves. He looks smart enough to me.’
The captain rounded on Khamid and planted one large hand on each of the arms of the chair.
‘WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?’
Khamid shrunk and refused to meet the man’s gaze. He hoped for the most part the aggression was a bluff, as the average Russian military person wanted to be in Chechnya as much as the Chechens wanted them there.
This squad was probably just performing a sweep as part of their peacekeeping duties — trying to root out rebels and extremists, and, most importantly, trying hard not to get shot in the back when they took a leak in the dark.
‘Ach, why do I bother? You are not my problem. We’ll let Moscow work you out.’ The captain pushed up off Khamid’s chair. His explosive theatrics of a few seconds ago had totally dissipated now he deemed the show was over. He picked up a towel and wiped his hands, perhaps wiping his hands of their captive at the same time. He turned to the skinny lieutenant.
‘We’ve avoided Moscow long enough; make contact and tell them we’ve picked up a possible infiltrator.’ He nodded back over his shoulder. ‘And seeing you’ve finished off his dinner, you will find him some food and water. Then lock him in the carrier. He can go back to base in the morning and they can send him on to the city.’
Khamid remained still, but his stomach churned. He needed to break free — once in Moscow, there would be no escape.
The lieutenant drew his pistol, and, holding it in one hand, untied Khamid’s hands. He tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Get up.’
Khamid got to his feet and stretched. He was glad he hadn’t brought the disk with him. Not that he could have carried it any farther; his back and shoulders were still screaming from the torturous weight. By now they would have opened it, despite his protests, and exposed them all to its strange effects. They would have all ended up as dust stains in the snow.
He was pushed out into the cold — he guessed that dawn could not be far away now, as the night seemed at its darkest and his body screamed out for rest. Even though his plan was unraveling, and fatigue was dragging on him, he knew he needed to be alert to any opportunity to escape. Being watched by one skinny, underpaid and underfed soldier presented the best chance he’d have.
The lieutenant led Khamid to a large military truck at the outskirts of the camp. Most of the soldiers now slept, and the troop carrier itself was covered in a tarpaulin of camouflage canvas. Shoving him into the back, the lieutenant ordered him to sit on one of the long metal benches that ran down each side. An iron ring was fixed to the support struts on the frame every few feet. The soldier pulled Khamid’s arms behind his back and fastened an iron cuff to his wrist. Its long chain was threaded through the ring, and then his other wrist was cuffed.
He closed his eyes. The truck was cold, and he felt his nose begin to run, snot freezing on his upper lip. The lieutenant reached into a storage cabinet behind the cabin and pulled a few blankets free. He placed one over Khamid’s knees, another over his shoulders. Khamid lifted his head.
‘Thank you.’
The soldier looked down into his face. ‘It is no trouble. You know, I wish you were a dentist. My teeth hurt.’
Khamid smiled. ‘Hot salted tea. Swill and spit. It will ease the ache for a while.’
‘Yes?’ He searched Khamid’s face for a moment, perhaps looking for signs of deception, and then nodded. ‘I’ll try it.’ He turned to the storage cabinet, again rummaging through its contents.
Khamid sagged in his seat and stared out at the snow-covered roadway and on to the impenetrably dark walls of the forest.
A movement caught his attention — a tiny creature that looked like a black worm with a single red eye snaked about half an inch into the back of the truck and reared up at him. It hung there for a moment or two, then pointed its red-rimmed head toward his Russian minder. The lieutenant still had his back to the rear of the truck as he crouched over the cabinet, pulling out and examining different items from its shelves.
In an instant the worm withdrew and in its place a mountainous figure in a white uniform lifted himself into the truck. Khamid blinked; while he watched, the uniform turned dark gray to match the truck’s interior. At six and a half feet tall, the figure moved with a speed and silence that belied his bulk. He crossed to the lieutenant in two steps, wrapping an enormous arm around his neck and chest.
The Russian gurgled and was still. The giant figure lowered the unconscious soldier onto the bench next to Khamid. Reaching into a pouch behind his back, he withdrew a squat set of pliers. He pulled Khamid forward and reached behind him.
Khamid saw the muscles strain in the man’s arm; then there was a popping sound and he was free. The man put his finger to his lips; leaping from the truck, he crouched and looked back, motioning for Khamid to follow him.
Khamid hesitated for only a second. What could be worse than where he was heading? He eased himself down off the back of the truck and allowed the man to lead him into the trees.
* * *
‘Dr. Denichen Khamid?’
The small man flinched as Bronson towered over him. He could see the fear in his eyes. Khamid sat mute, his body crumpled with exhaustion. Alex knelt beside him, placed a hand on his shoulder. Khamid hunched up as if waiting for a blow.
Sam Stozer pushed in front of Alex and spoke softly over her shoulder. ‘Back off, Frankenstein. You’d be enough to scare anyone this time of the night.’ She offered Khamid a small canister of water. ‘We’re American, sir; you contacted us, and we’re here to help you.’
The Chechen looked up at her. ‘American.’ He visibly relaxed, as if tight wires in his shoulders had been cut. ‘Yes, yes, I am Khamid… Dr. Denichen Khamid. I called for you.’ He took the water and swallowed several mouthsful, pausing to gulp air as if he had been holding his breath.
‘Dr. Khamid,’ Br
onson prodded. ‘Where is the package — the cell? Are you still in possession of the power cell you mentioned?’
Khamid nodded. ‘Yes. But I hid it. I can’t let them have it… They’re looking for me; they’re all looking for me. I thought that I would be taken back to Moscow to be tortured. I thought…’ His eyes widened. ‘You need to get me out. I need… I need…’
Bronson leaned closer and took hold of him, shaking him gently. Alex could tell the time for civil conversation was over.
‘Please, tell me you didn’t hide it in the house back in Urus-Martan.’ Bronson’s eyes bore into the scientist and Khamid shook his head.
‘No, no, I couldn’t. The Saidullays had already risked enough for me. I might have put them in even more danger. When I received word that the Russians were closing in, I took off and hopefully led them away. Did I?’
The HAWC team stayed silent. Khamid obviously didn’t know that the family had been wiped out.
‘Where, then?’
Alex answered for him: ‘Katyr-Yurt.’
Khamid nodded.
Bronson straightened. Pulling his GPS from its pouch, he ran his fingers across the display. ‘Katyr-Yurt: seven miles, west — heavy terrain. We move, now.’ He glanced back at Khamid. ‘We’ll be moving quickly; you must keep up, sir.’
He didn’t wait for a reply but instead turned to Stozer. ‘Leave them a little surprise — courtesy of Bill Singer.’
She smiled grimly. ‘My pleasure, boss.’
* * *
A weak sun was just turning the sky a cold steel gray in the east when Borshov and ten of his Spetsnaz killers entered the military camp, each of them still wearing their cyclopean night-vision lenses. The regular soldiers who were awake backed out of the way as the giant and GRU Special Forces strode amongst them.
Borshov walked toward one soldier who had been eating salted beef from a tin; the food now stuck in a throat suddenly gone dry. The soldier rose meekly, trying to stand to attention, but his knees trembled under him. His head only came up to Borshov’s big, bearded chin.
‘Where is your commanding officer?’
The soldier mumbled and pointed to the edge of the camp where a large camouflage tent was set up. Borshov turned and strode toward it.
At the entrance, most of his Spetsnaz formed up in a line, their backs to the tent, guns cradled in their arms. The tent might have once belonged to the squad leader, but now it belonged to them.
Borshov pushed into the tent with two of his men. Captain Serkargov was at a field table with two young officers; at a seat nearby, a thin lieutenant held a damp cloth to his throat.
Serkargov straightened with an audible intake of breath as Borshov loomed like a colossus in the center of the tent. His huge bulk dominated the space and he spoke slowly, almost as if bored.
‘Where is the prisoner?’
Serkargov blanched. ‘Escaped. . He attacked one of my men. .’ He motioned with his head toward the lieutenant.
Borshov eyed the seated man for several moments before crossing to him, his huge body moving slowly. Low-pitched words rose from deep within his barrel chest.
‘Sore neck, yes?’
The man nodded, lifting the damp cloth to reveal heavy bruising. Borshov placed a hand gently on his shoulder and moved around behind him. He grinned at Serkargov.
With startling swiftness, Borshov grabbed the lieutenant by the hair. Wrenching back his head, he drew a slim black blade across the man’s throat, opening a second mouth, which vomited blood onto the floor of the tent.
Serkargov’s eyes bulged and behind him one of his soldiers gagged. His braver counterpart managed to unclip his sidearm, before fear and indecision stayed his hand.
Borshov let the lieutenant crumple from the chair. ‘There is no room for incompetence in battle. This man betrayed his country, his unit and his dignity when he allowed a civilian to overpower him. This type of fool loses wars.’
Eventually, Serkargov’s head jerked into a terrified nod.
‘Good, now we understand each other.’
* * *
Borshov’s Vympel moved like hunting dogs over the terrain surrounding the Russian military camp. After fifteen minutes their circular search pattern had coalesced into a narrow corridor heading northwest.
Borshov stepped onto the trail and watched one of his trackers picking through the mud, crushed grass and puddles of frozen water.
‘How long?’
‘Maybe. . three hours. Five big men, one smaller, maybe a woman — all skilled at concealment. The scientist was with them.’
Borshov nodded. ‘Which direction?’
The man nodded to the northwest. Borshov looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing.
‘Where will you run to, little Chechen piggy, with your pack of wolves? And who are these wolves — Israeli, English, American?’
He hoped they were Special Forces; they took a long time to die, and he was yet to make one beg for mercy.
‘Let’s go, we have a wolf pack to catch.’ He whistled and pointed at two of his men. ‘Get out in front; pick up the trail.’
The men tore away like dogs let off a leash. Borshov watched them disappear into the cold mist that swirled amongst the trees. The big man closed his eyes and tried to place himself in the heads of his quarry. They were on foot — and moving into dense terrain. An airlift would be more difficult. . so why there? Why northwest?
He lifted his dark bearded chin and sniffed deeply, as though trying to catch their scent. The scientist would slow them down. They would not be too concerned if they thought the best that would follow them would be regular army, but if they suspected they were being pursued by Special Forces and wanted to slow them down…
His eyes flicked open just as the explosion thumped deeply in the forest ahead. It was small, but concentrated, and the initial blast was followed by the whipping sound of tiny objects moving in a wave through the trees.
Like the rest of his men, Borshov dove to the ground as the shrapnel ricocheted around them.
In a second it was over. Shredded leaves floated to the ground, and the bark on the tree trunks was pitted and scarred. He got to his feet and exhaled, making a deep rumbling sound in his chest. He looked at the man next to him and motioned forward with his hand. The man trotted in the direction of the blast, this time with a little more caution. In a moment, he reappeared out of the mist and held up two fingers, drawing them across his throat.
Borshov nodded. ‘So, now we are introduced.’ He turned and clicked his fingers, pointed to his ear. A small phone was handed to him and he keyed a number into the pad. While he waited, he pointed to one of his agents.
‘Go back to our soldier friends. Get me some trucks.’
He turned away and spoke the code word, waiting while he was rerouted. He grunted his request.
‘Secure file search — the man I seek: tell me everything about him — open all databases. I want to know all, from when this pushta was born. His past, his recent…’ He grinned. ‘I already know his future.’
Borshov stepped back as the first of the broad, open-topped trucks crashed through the underbrush. He climbed into the front seat, some of his men jumping in the back. The rest clambered into the next truck as it arrived. Borshov held up one large hand, and the group paused while he received some further information.
‘So Khamid is also Khamidov.’ He grunted, nodded, then turned to the driver.
‘Katyr-Yurt.’
* * *
Alex smiled grimly at the sound of the explosion now many miles behind them.
‘That one’s for you, Bill — kick their asses in hell.’
In his gut he felt the anger again — it hardly ever left him anymore. His father had disappeared at an early age, just when he needed him. Then the fights had started — first at school and then just about anywhere he could find one. The military had harnessed that anger, given him an outlet, but it still festered like an infection below the skin. He hoped it would be
different for Singer’s kid.
His jaw was clenched so hard it ached. He knew he should have been clinical, focused, but instead he wanted brutal revenge. He didn’t want to just engage the enemy; he wanted to seek them out, pulverize them, grind them down to shit and dust.
Alex shut his eyes, tried to calm himself. He should tell Hammerson… but then what? He’d likely be pulled from mission-ready status for assessment. No way, he thought. Instead, he concentrated on golden sands and sunlight on crystal clear surf. He could handle it; he could deal with anything. He just needed —
‘Hunter, you still with us?’
Alex’s eyes snapped open. Bronson frowned.
‘Focus,’ he grunted. ‘You and Stozer get out at point. We need to pick up speed and it’s getting a bit crowded.’ Since daybreak, the huge corridors of sunlight that streamed through the trees had closed in around them as the forest became denser. Having to check too many places for concealment would slow them down.
Alex nodded and turned to Stozer.
‘Fifty out front: double time.’ He started forward.
‘Yo.’ She followed him. They ran ten feet apart, slowing when they were fifty feet ahead of the other HAWCs.
She shot him a playful look. ‘Not getting any younger, Alex.’
‘I didn’t realize you were pacing yourself. You want to move faster?’
‘I was going to ask you the same thing.’ He could hear the smile in her voice. ‘If you’re ever going to buy me that drink, you’d better hurry; I’m fighting them off back home.’
He grinned. ‘You fight them off because you like to fight.’
‘And maybe you’re one of those guys who likes a woman to take control. I can do that too, you know.’
Alex laughed softly. ‘I’m sure you could. Right now, I’ve still got some stuff to shake off, but…’
She groaned. ‘Oh boy, still hung up on that kewpie doll, are you? What was her name, Angie? Wish someone carried a torch for me like that.’ Momentarily disappointed, she then seemed to grab another thought from the air.
