by Laura Scott
A bead of sweat slithered down Mack’s spine, but his gaze never wavered from Igor’s. He knew better than to show any hint of weakness. “Where do you think? Morris is an old friend, we go way back. Dimitri too. But as you know, I used Dimitri’s phone to find you. I don’t have a number for Yahontov.”
The knife appeared once again in Igor’s hand, but Mack was ready. He kicked Igor in the groin and chopped Igor’s wrist at nearly the same time, causing the big Russian to turn a horrible shade of green as the knife clattered to the floor.
Mack kicked the knife out of reach, pulled his gun, and pressed it against the center of the Russian’s chest. Still trying to breathe through his pain, the Russian went still.
“You don’t want to work with me?” Mack hissed in Russian. “That’s fine. But a knife across the throat is not the thanks I should receive for saving your worthless hide. Give me one good reason not to kill you?”
Igor didn’t move.
With another swift move, he kicked and swept Igor’s legs out from under him. Then he hit Igor on the back of his head as he went down. Mack didn’t want to kill him, that wasn’t why he’d come here, but he needed to keep the guy in the bathroom so he could make a clean getaway.
Igor hit the floor hard, going limp as if he’d lost consciousness. It could very well be a ruse, but Mack didn’t care, he needed to get out of there, now. He risked a moment to grab Igor’s phone. Then, pulling the bathroom door open, he walked back through the diner with the same sense of purpose he’d used coming in.
He swept another gaze through the interior, making a mental note of who was there, who shouldn’t be, and who’d left.
The table with two men who he assumed were truckers was vacant. He didn’t remember seeing any food come either.
Quickening his pace, he left the diner and retraced his steps going around the semitruck. He paused for a moment to check the outcropping of trees where he’d left Sun.
He froze, his blood running cold when he noticed the two men standing on either side of Sun, one of them holding a gun against her temple.
Apparently, Igor had brought backup.
Chapter Eighteen
January 19 – 8:13 p.m. – East Riverdale, MD
Sun inwardly railed at herself for not hearing the two men creeping up on her in time to prevent them from grabbing her. She blamed it on the fact that she was sick with worry over what Mack was doing and hadn’t anticipated two thugs coming after her.
A rookie mistake, likely brought on by her sheer exhaustion.
Still, it was mortifying to be caught like this. Especially when they’d taken her gun.
With a Russian goon on each side, one of them holding a gun at her head, she held herself still and considered her options.
The fact that they hadn’t killed her instantly meant they had a plan. Likely to wait for Mack to arrive to take them both out at the same time, maybe even make it look like some sort of murder suicide.
Odd place to do such a thing, outside a truck stop, but whatever. They probably didn’t care much as long as she and Mack were both dead.
A dire fate she couldn’t allow to happen.
Sun knew how to appear small and fragile. As much as she detested acting like a weakling, she’d do what was necessary to gain the advantage.
When Mack arrived, she’d be ready.
“Don’t hurt me,” she whimpered in English, hoping they wouldn’t realize she could understand their native language. She put a tremor in her voice and twisted her hands together in a way she hoped was submissive. “I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt me.”
“Where is your boyfriend?” the one with the gun hissed in her ear. He used English, and she hoped that meant he had no idea she understood Russian. “Call him.”
“I—okay, I—I’ll call him.” There was a hint of movement behind the semitruck, and she knew Mack was there. She couldn’t really call him or the sound from his phone might give his location away.
With exaggerated movements, hoping Mack would catch on, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her disposable phone. She held it up for a moment before bringing her hands together as if to make the call.
Now! Her silent urging must have been reflected on her face because in that moment Mack called out in Russian, “What is going on? Why haven’t you killed her? The boyfriend is dead.”
The sound of Mack’s voice along with the sudden wail of police sirens in the distance was the distraction she needed. The man holding the gun glanced over in surprise and loosened his grip. In a smooth movement, she twisted toward the gunman and swept her joined hands up to push the gun upward so it wasn’t pointing at her, at the same time she brought her knee sharply up into his groin. He let out a muffled oomph but didn’t let go of the gun.
She hit him again, but it wasn’t long before the second man grabbed her. She kicked backward, hitting him low as Mack shouted something in Russian that she was far too busy to translate. Something about the police maybe?
The two men were big and brawny, so Sun hit and kicked, aiming for as many sensitive areas as she could manage as Mack joined the fray.
With Mack taking care of disarming and flattening one of the gunman, she focused her energy and expertise on the second man. When she hit him in the chest with enough force to send him stumbling back, she moved in closer, striking and kicking again, using every bit of martial arts training she’d received over the years.
Her guy finally went down like a rock. She turned to find Mack taking the weapons, money, and phone off the gunman.
Breathing hard, her entire body thrumming with pain, she did the same, glad to have her own weapon back.
“Are you okay?” Mack asked. She could barely hear him over the loud wail of sirens. They were getting closer now, and that wasn’t good.
“Fine, let’s get out of here.” Despite her various aches and pains, she sprinted down the road to where they’d left the SUV, Mack easily keeping pace beside her. As her feet hit the asphalt in rhythmic thumps, she prayed the vehicle hadn’t been incapacitated by these guys in some way.
Thankfully, it wasn’t. Yanking the driver’s side open, she jumped in behind the wheel. Mack joined her. The engine roared to life, and she hit the gas, getting out of the area toward the highway.
“Easy,” Mack cautioned as two police squads came roaring toward them. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she passed them.
The kiss short-circuited her brain in a way fighting for her life hadn’t. “What was that for?”
Mack actually let out a rusty chuckle. “You’re amazing, Sun. After escaping two armed Russians, you’re worried about a simple kiss?”
She felt herself flush. “I’m not helpless, Mack.”
All evidence of mirth drained from his features. “No, you’re not. I went a little crazy when I realized they had you at gunpoint, but then I decided to put my faith in you, in us, and in God to get out of there.”
“In God? Really?” She glanced at him in surprise. Mack had attended church with her on occasion when they were young, but she’d always suspected it was more to humor her than because he really believed.
“Yes.” His simple response touched her heart. “And the reason for the kiss was to throw off the cops in case they happened to glance over at us.”
Her flush deepened, and she hoped the darkness hid her involuntary response. Of course, Mack hadn’t kissed her because he’d wanted to. It had been an act.
Although he’d kissed her earlier, after the last two men had attacked them.
She told herself not to read anything into his kisses. There wasn’t time for that nonsense anyway. “Did you get anything from Igor?”
“A couple of names, Mikhail Yahontov and a Kirill, but I’m not sure they’re real leads or if he was just playing me.” He paused, then added, “I should have figured Igor would have backup in the diner. I’m sorry for letting you down, Sun.”
“You?” She lifted a brow. “I was the one
so focused on watching the diner that I didn’t notice until they were close enough to grab me.” She hated to admit weakness, but the truth was, they were both exhausted and not functioning at the top of their game. “I’m the one who let you down.”
Mack blew out a breath. “You didn’t, Sun. Let’s be honest here, we’ve done pretty well considering the danger is coming at us from all directions. I should have pushed harder for backup.”
The spike of adrenaline began to fade, leaving a crushing exhaustion in its wake. “Nothing good comes from ruminating over the past. But we need to get some sleep, Mack. Or our next encounter with the Russians, or North Koreans for that matter, may not have the same positive result.”
“I know we need to sleep soon, but we still don’t have anything solid on the location of the nuke.”
He had a good point. They had roughly thirteen hours to find the thing. Or enough evidence that would convince the president to cancel the inauguration for the first time in history.
“Okay, we’ll find a motel to stay in for a few hours while we work on getting information on Mikhail Yahontov and Kirill. The motel we used before in Mitchellville isn’t too far from here.”
“Sounds good. I have Igor’s phone too.” Mack patted the pocket of his coat. “Between Igor’s phone and the devices we took off the two Russians, maybe something will break.”
Sun was beginning to lose hope that they’d ever get the break they needed.
The way these Russians were constantly one step ahead of them was deeply unnerving.
* * *
January 19 – 8:48 p.m. – Charlotte, NC
Hana kept a hand on Jarek’s arm as the passengers began to deplane. Hiding her face in the crook of his neck, she whispered, “We should stay on board until takeoff.”
“Whatever you think is best,” Jarek agreed.
Hana wasn’t sure if staying on the plane was the right thing to do. Would they appear more obvious than if they deplaned along with the others?
She kept a keen eye out for the dark-haired man. He was behind them, so if he got off the plane, they’d see him.
And if he didn’t? She couldn’t help but shiver.
Just because the Asian was going on to Washington, DC, the way they were didn’t make him part of the regime.
But it was a possibility she could not afford to ignore.
The knot in her stomach tightened as one by one passengers left the plane. Until there were no more.
And no sign of the dark-haired Asian.
He must still be seated behind them. Waiting, obviously, the way they were for the plane to continue on to Washington, DC. As much as she wanted to turn and look, she maintained her position of leaning against Jarek.
Okay, if he was from the regime, they needed an escape plan for when they arrived at their final destination. Something that would get them safely out of the airport without being caught.
And once they were in the air, they’d have only an hour to decide on the best course of action.
Yet another astronomical hurdle standing in the way of finding Sun in time to save her and prevent a global disaster.
* * *
January 19 – 9:17 p.m. – Mitchellville, MD
Mack hauled the sat computer into the motel room. There were two double beds, and he thought again about what Sun had said about getting sleep.
She was right. The mistakes they’d made so far were likely related to sheer exhaustion. Yet he felt certain if they didn’t keep pushing forward they’d lose whatever small amount of momentum they had.
It may seem as if they kept banging into brick walls, but they’d found Dimitri, Igor, and now could likely track down Mikhail Yahontov or Kirill. Each step brought them closer to the person who actually had the nuke.
Sun disappeared into the bathroom, and he stared after her for a moment, wondering if she was hurt more than she’d let on. She’d broken a stitch over her arterial injury, what if she’d opened the wound more?
Not that she’d tell him if she had.
He rested his head on folded arms while waiting for the sat computer to pick up a signal. He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew Sun was shaking his shoulder.
“You’ll get a crick in your neck if you sleep like that,” she scolded.
He lifted his head, noting he already had a crick. Peering at his watch, he realized he’d only been out fifteen minutes.
Not nearly long enough.
“You can use the bathroom,” Sun went on, looking refreshed. He dropped his gaze to her left wrist.
“How’s the injury?” He pushed up to his feet and was hit by a wave of dizziness.
“Fine.” Sun shooed him off. “Go before you fall.”
When Mack emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, Sun was stretched out on one of the beds sound asleep. She looked beautiful as always, and he forced himself to tear his gaze away.
He fully intended to get to work on the sat computer but somehow found himself stretching out on the empty bed.
Just a few more minutes and he’d get back to work. They needed to find Yahontov, or Kirill. And hopefully a lead to the bomb itself.
* * *
January 19 – 10:11 p.m. – Mitchellville, MD
Sun woke up to the vibration of her phone. The interior of the room was dark with only a sliver of light from the parking lot outside shining in through the slightly parted curtains.
Groping for the phone, she pulled it from her pocket and managed to croak out, “Hello?”
“Sun? Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you.”
Jordan’s voice made her wince. She’d fully intended to call him after the problems they’d encountered at the truck stop. “Fine, we ran into some trouble, but we’re fine.”
“What kind of trouble?” Jordan asked.
She rolled into a sitting position, smiling a bit as she realized Mack was still out for the count. Which was probably a good thing, he hadn’t slept as much as she had. “Hang on.” She eased off the bed and padded to the bathroom, hoping to let Mack sleep for a while longer. It wasn’t as if forty-five minutes even counted as real sleep.
“We have a new lead, a guy known as Mikhail Yahontov and another by the name of Kirill, unsure of his last name. Ever heard of them?”
“No. What kind of trouble? Are either of you hurt?”
“We’re fine, just bruised by all the fighting.” Fighting that had been mostly her fault for not being aware of the guys creeping up on her.
“Where are you?”
“In Mitchellville, why?” She yawned and longed for a cup of very strong coffee.
“I have another lead. I had Yates dig into the computer of the dead guy, Allan Stokes. Seems like he’s been communicating with someone within the Capitol.”
She frowned, trying to follow his train of thought. “Do you have a name?”
“Not yet, but didn’t Remington chase after some North Korean–speaking guy all the way up to the Capitol?”
“Yes. But I couldn’t find him listed in the members of Congress. I even went state by state looking at the newly elected congressmen and women who may not have had their picture in there yet, without success.” She rubbed her gritty eyes. “We feel certain he’s an aide.”
“We’re still following the lead back to the email that bounced off a server within the Capitol and will let you know when we have one. In the meantime, there’s one more possible lead.”
“What kind of lead?” She hoped it was anything but chasing after another Russian thug.
“Sloan and Natalia have transcribed more Russian chatter. It appears there is an American and a North Korean who are causing trouble for the grand plan.”
“Me and Mack,” she said dully, even though she was an American citizen, having been born here in the US, at least according to her mother. And her passport. “That’s not exactly a lead. We’re living it with every step we take.”
“I know, Sun. But you didn’t let me fini
sh. The grand plan is to happen from close by,” Jordan continued. “They picked up the term national. At first they didn’t think much about it, then remembered the National Mall is the entire area located directly across from the west side of the Capitol building.”
A shiver rippled down her spine. “That area will be heavily monitored by Secret Service and the Capitol police. No way could they get a bomb in there.”
“Yes, but if someone within the Capitol is involved, they’d know how to breach security,” Jordan pointed out. “I think you and Mack should check it out. I’m working on getting you security clearance to be there.”
“Okay, but Jordan, isn’t this enough to convince the president and the Secret Service to shut the entire ceremony down?”
There was a long pause. “I tried, but Yates doesn’t think so. The word national can mean many different things, it’s not necessarily the location of the bomb. Even if that is the location, the area encompassing the National Mall is huge. With all the protection we have in place, as you said yourself, the idea that someone could get close enough to set off a nuclear bomb is inconceivable. It bothers me too, but they’re just not ready to pull the plug.”
Of course they weren’t. She let out a weary sigh. “We’ll keep following our Russian trail then, unless you call to send us somewhere else.”
“Go ahead and keep working the Russian angle but be careful. The body count is getting pretty high.”
Yeah, no kidding. Sun disconnected from the call and then ran cold water over her face. Time to wake Mack and get back to work.
If the National Mall area really is the location, the sooner they could verify the actual presence of a nuke, the sooner the entire fiasco would be over.
If the bureaucrats bothered to listen.
* * *
January 19 – 10:27 p.m. – Washington, DC
Staying in character, Hana stood hunched over in the aisle beside Jarek, using the seat rests of each row to brace herself as they disembarked the plane. If she’d had her way, they would have been first off the plane, but that hadn’t been allowed.
