by Hunt, Jack
“Shut up, kid. Come on, Alicia! You’re pissing me off now.”
Leo fully expected to die. Not that he cared much any more. His life had never really started. He’d lied to Colby, told him he didn’t have a family. He did. Just not one who wanted him. He’d been in a group home since the age of eight after suffering abuse by his family. Although living in a facility wasn’t home, it was all he’d ever known. At least there he wasn’t attacked, hurt, or made to feel less than.
“Alicia!” the Russian continued to holler.
That’s when Leo remembered the boot knife.
He glanced up. The guy wasn’t paying attention. Could he pull it off?
There was a chance he would squeeze the trigger. Then again, he’d seen the way his finger kept coming out of the trigger guard then going back in. If he could just time it right. Maybe, maybe he could make a break for it. He eyed the peppered Maserati. It was a mess, full of holes, but it offered some protection. It was the only object close enough that he could run to. Leo’s right hand slipped down to his ankle, he slipped up his pant leg and slid the knife slowly out as the guy continued to bellow.
Dragged a few feet, he kept a firm grip on the knife, just waiting, biding his time until he saw the moment to strike.
Had she left? Was she dead? There was a possibility she’d escaped. He called out to Kozlovsky, the only other guy he couldn’t account for. Viktor squinted and glimpsed movement off to his right. A blur in his peripheral vision. Two houses ahead, he caught sight of her. “There you are.”
A smile broadened for but a second when…
His mouth went wide.
Pain flared through his body.
He screamed in agony, releasing his grip on the boy.
The kid took off, scrambling on all fours like a monkey.
Viktor lifted the shotgun and fired.
The kid didn’t stand a chance, one round to the back and he went down, face first, but unlike the bounty hunter, he was still alive.
Gurgling on blood, groaning. Crawling forward on his belly. He wasn’t going anywhere fast. Viktor winced in pain, he looked down at his leg and saw a knife embedded. He yanked it out. Furious. Blood streamed out, soaking his pant leg instantly as he staggered over to the boy.
The boy moaned, rolling onto his back, bringing up his arms to shield his face.
“Stupid boy.”
In one final act of defiance, he said, “Fuck you!”
He nodded. “I respect that. So long, kid!”
Viktor squeezed the trigger, blowing off the top half of the kid’s skull.
“NO!” A cry of anguish echoed before several rounds snapped past him.
He felt nothing as he looked up and walked toward her, unafraid, seemingly defying the rules of physics. But that wasn’t why he was striding confidently forward.
“You can’t shoot for shit, girl!” He laughed loudly, loving every minute of it. “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”
One round clipped his upper shoulder. He touched it then looked back at her.
“Close but no cigar!” He grinned. “My turn!” He unloaded a round at her but was too far away to do any damage.
Defeated, Alicia frantically turned and took off heading for the hills behind the houses. The only place she could attempt an escape. She wouldn’t get far. Viktor stopped, removed his jacket, tore off one of the sleeves from his shirt, and wrapped it around his bloody thigh to stem the flow.
He gritted his teeth to the radiating pain, his muscles screaming.
Adrenaline rushed around his body, the excitement of another kill before him. Viktor adjusted his grip on the Mossberg. His pulse quickened as he took off after her, hobbling but determined more than ever to take her life.
TWENTY-EIGHT
COLBY
Like a lightning bolt striking him, Colby jolted upright, inhaling a large lungful of air. He gasped for a second, the world rushing in fast as he regained consciousness. His head had bounced off the ground, knocking him out cold. He could feel it throbbing, pain radiating through his body. Now, as he looked around, his mind pieced together the situation, bits, and pieces of what had happened.
Ricardo losing his life, the explosion, the deafening chorus of a gun.
Breathing hard, instinctively he patted himself down. He tore open his shirt, grateful to have worn the ballistic vest. The pain was intense, spreading like hot fire.
But he was alive, still alive.
Colby moved at the sound of a scream — Alicia.
He collected the Winchester and staggered to his feet, stumbling forward toward the cul-de-sac. Swells of panic and rage overtook him with every step. He scanned the terrain. He smelled the toxicity of melting plastic carried on the wind. Colby coughed hard as he hurried out onto the asphalt and saw Leo’s lifeless body. “No. No.” He dropped beside him only to turn his face away in revulsion. “Oh, kid.”
He grimaced, balling a fist.
Another cry, farther away, caught his attention, followed by rifle cracks and shouting. Lowering his head to the smoke, Colby skirted around his neighbor’s house following the commotion. He couldn’t see them but he knew they were out there, among the hills covered by coastal sage scrub and chaparral.
Hurrying forward, he glanced down, slowing for but a second.
The sight of blood droplets on a path that disappeared over the hill made him wonder if she was injured or better still — he was.
Colby tightened his grip on the Winchester, raising the bolt-action rifle in front of him before he broke into a sprint.
TWENTY-NINE
ALICIA
Alicia fled over the hilly terrain, stumbling over the uneven landscape of dirt and rock. Her breath came out as a dry heave as she took cover behind the thick brush, desperate to catch her breath. Her pulse hammered hard and fast from fear. She’d unloaded several rounds from the gun she’d managed to unjam but it was no good, she lacked experience, lacked accuracy, and was scared of dying.
“There’s nowhere to hide, Alicia.”
He wasn’t lying. The lack of trees was terrifying. There was nothing substantial to hide in or even hide behind except waist-high thick brush. Certainly, nothing that would offer protection from gunfire. Out there it was a dirt-bike paradise. Endless trails. The whole landscape was just rolling hills of sand, boulders, green shrubs, and a few trees dotted throughout. There were thick bushes but those were far away and widely spread out. Most of the plant life had been destroyed in the California fires.
“You should have left the country,” he said.
She knew they wouldn’t stop pursuing her even if she could escape. If it wasn’t him it would be someone else. Bratva were large in number and were to be found in most cities throughout the country. She tried to still her beating heart but it wouldn’t slow. Fear wanted to paralyze her. Keep her from moving. How many rounds remain? she thought. Alicia ejected the magazine. Two, and one in the chamber.
As she shifted position, her foot snapped a dry branch. The sound was followed by the crack of a gun. His gun. Bursting up, she hit the ground running. Zigzagging, unloading two more rounds his way. It was hard to tell where she was going. Before her were miles of rolling hills. Her face was torn up from the beating, eyes swollen, and throat in agony from nearly being crushed. Exhausted, she wheezed as she ran, feeling like a hunted animal.
One round left.
She could fire it back at him but it would do nothing to stop him.
He just kept coming. Determined to end her life.
Hide. But where?
Every hill she crossed over provided more of the same.
Self-preservation kicked in, instructing her on what to do.
Eyeing some larger boulders in the distance, the first she’d seen since heading out, she made a sprint for them. It was dangerous as it left her exposed. Another round echoed, tearing up the ground behind her. Alicia’s thoughts raced. If a bullet didn’t kill her, he would if he got his hands on her.
In t
hose final moments, she didn’t think of the past or the future.
Fear wouldn’t allow it. She zipped behind the boulders to dodge another gunshot and waited. One round left. If she was going out, he was going with her. She’d wait until he got close enough for her to pounce. The way she saw it, she had a fifty-fifty chance. She’d seen him dragging that leg. He was injured, which gave her an advantage.
As long as she didn’t get shot first, maybe she could get the jump on him.
Heart thundering in her chest, Alicia crawled up on the rock like a lizard, trying to catch sight of him. She heard the swish of his pants through thick brush — and his rage.
“You shouldn’t have opened your mouth to the feds. Yuri would still be alive.”
In the barrenness of her surroundings, his voice carried on the wind, clear and loud.
She gritted her teeth, furious that they were blaming her for his death.
Yuri had brought this upon himself, they all had.
“This only ends one way, Alicia. You know it.”
Alicia did. There were few that escaped them. Those that did were eventually found hiding away in some dingy apartment, working some hole in the wall job. Being on the run wasn’t a life. And one thing the Russians were good at was payback. This EMP was proof of that. Time meant nothing to them. Cross them and you suffered. It was as simple as that.
Fear gripped her but she swallowed it.
She wouldn’t let it paralyze her.
The gun handle slipped in her sweaty hands as she waited for him.
Mentally and physically exhausted, Alicia knew that if she missed this time, she wouldn’t get out of those hills. He’d probably leave her carcass for the birds to feast on.
Planting her boot against the boulder, she shifted up, eyeing his approach. A round exploded and she slipped down behind the rock. There would be no element of surprise. He knew where she was. Would he come around or over? Lowering her head and remaining still so she could hear him clearly, she held her breath.
These could be her final moments alive.
Alicia thought about her mother and wished she’d listened to her.
It’s a dangerous world out there, kiddo. What if something happens to you?
A crunch of stones, he was pitching sideways, coming down the hilly embankment that reached the boulders. “End of the road, Alicia. End of the road.”
His voice felt like he was on her shoulder speaking in her ear.
Acting on nothing but a will to survive, she waited until he was almost on her then exploded up around the boulder, going off nothing more than footfalls. A blur of color. Not even time for her brain to register his face. She squeezed the trigger.
The round echoed in the valley.
He stood there, staring.
A worming smile formed.
No.
It had missed.
Or had it?
Her attacker slowly reached up to his stomach as blood blossomed, spreading red.
Although she’d gotten him, it hadn’t put him down. “You fu—”
He lifted the sawed-off shotgun.
Frozen. Unable to move. Her mind screamed.
Crack.
Another gunshot rang out. The Russian fell forward, collapsing in front of her, eyes glassy, his mouth agape. She stared at the hole drilled through his head. Alicia lifted her eyes to the ridge to see Colby rising from a crouch, rifle in hand.
Epilogue
Los Angeles
Day Five
From outside the city limits, Colby had watched the City of Angels burn.
He didn’t want to believe that this was it, the big one, the breakdown of society, but the proof was there. Undeniable. Nothing but black smoke swirling and drifting across the concrete jungle. There was no going back. Thousands of homes lay in ruin. Businesses looted. Friends just a memory. To remain in the county would have been foolish, but so would have venturing out without preparation.
He stayed three more nights, gathering what was needed to survive the road ahead, the long journey back to Humboldt County. No doubt it would bring many more dangers and challenges, situations that he would need to overcome.
They’d buried Leo and Ricardo side by side on the day they died.
It was the right thing to do. He and Alicia had stood before the graves, lost in thought. He’d said a few words about Ricardo and she’d shared some of her own — notably how Leo had saved her life. It was strange to think that two people from opposite ends of the spectrum — a kid just starting out and an elderly man at the end of his — would willingly choose to put themselves in harm’s way when others would have fled.
He drew strength from the knowledge that there were still good people out there.
Now, before he readied himself to leave, they sat at the back of Ricardo’s house in Adirondack chairs, having one last instant coffee before hitting the road. Kane was dozing at Colby’s feet.
“You still haven’t told me,” he said.
“Told you what?”
“Why they came for you. I know you mentioned your boyfriend but…”
She shook her head and looked off across the hills.
“I never wanted to get caught up in it, Colby,” Alicia said. “Seems ridiculous now as I look back but I have to wonder how many other girls ended up in the same position as me.” She drew in a breath and began to tell him. “I moved to Seattle to become a dancer when I was twenty-one. My mother cautioned me. She was right. I should have listened but I was young and I figured I knew it all.” She sighed. “The dream didn’t work out. I…” She looked into her hands. “It’s embarrassing to admit it but I ended up dancing at a strip joint to make ends meet. You know, while I was pursuing the career.” She chuckled for a moment then reeled it off as if she should have known better. “Anyway, that’s where I met Yuri. We hit it off. I didn’t know a lot about him but he was kind. Which seems odd now as I look back on his family life. He promised to help me get on my feet. Offered me a place to stay, rent-free. I mean, I was living hand to mouth at the time.”
“Why didn’t you go back home?”
“Probably the same reason you didn’t,” she said.
She had a valid point.
“I wanted to stand on my own two feet. You know?” He nodded as she continued. “Anyway, Yuri was involved in the importing and exporting business. I always thought it was legitimate. I saw the products. It was electronics. High-end appliances. I didn’t know they concealed heroin and cocaine.”
“So he told you?”
“Yuri?” She remained stoic. “No. He was very careful what he told me, where he took me, what he showed me. No, I got pulled into it. Anyway, I had just gotten off a shift and this black sedan pulls up, and the next thing I know I’m strong-armed into the back and across from federal agents. They were the ones that told me. They wanted me to help them bust wide the whole operation. They believed it to be one of the biggest sources of drugs coming into the USA.”
“So you helped them?”
“I had no choice. I was forced to help. It was that or do time. You have to understand it was a shock to me. I never once saw any bad elements around him. I couldn’t even go to Yuri and ask him if it was true. All my conversations were monitored. I was to act normal, do as they instructed, show up where they wanted.”
“So what was the deal with the feds?”
“They wanted me to sell him out to prevent doing jail time.”
“Prevent?” Colby gave her a confused look. “But you were on your way to jail.”
“More like on my way to the grave. They screwed me over. The whole thing went wrong. On the day of the raid, Yuri didn’t go quietly. The feds shot him and I was there. They blamed me for the way it went down. Said I had tipped him off.”
There was a pause.
“Okay, but I still don’t understand why the Russians want you dead. You were just caught up in it.”
“Mikhail Boddrov is Yuri’s father. He’s the head of the organization. Bra
tva.”
“Oh.”
“Exactly. Once they had gotten wind of me working with the feds, he blamed me for the death of his son, and millions of dollars of product that was destroyed.” She shook her head. “If I’d shown up for that court date, they would have put me away and one thing you can be sure about — if Mikhail wants you dead, you’re dead. There is no place you can hide. He can reach anyone on the inside.”
Colby nodded. He chewed over what she’d told him, sitting in the silence of the morning. A flock of birds broke away from trees in the distance. “Listen, you know you’re free to go, right?”
“I know. You still thinking of leaving for Humboldt?”
“Yeah. There’s nothing here for me now. Besides, my family is back there. Look, chances are Mikhail won’t be looking for you now. I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe this blackout will work in your favor. Go start a new life. Get far away from here.”
It would be easy for her to start again. No CCTV to pick up her arriving in a city or town. He advised her to go somewhere remote, somewhere she could live off the land.
Colby got up and picked up his coffee cup to head back inside the house.
Kane immediately jumped up to follow him like a shadow.
“But if he continues to look?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“Then you would need a place to hide. Like I said, somewhere remote.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “You know any good spots?”
Colby drummed the door with his fingers. “Humboldt. People go missing there all the time.”
“Humboldt? You haven’t told me about your family.”
“Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”
“Sounds like I’m not the only one hiding.”
