Chapter 4
801 Words
Chapter Four
Sophia heard him.
DC called out for her.
She was trapped in the passenger seat of the overturned vehicle, and he was just out of reach. Gloved hands slithered around his neck and pried him away, and he disappeared, his door left open. Through it, she saw drones swarming in the sky above.
Denton’s voice whispered in her ears.
‘Anything can be circumvented.’
She woke with a jolt, still in a passenger seat, but with Jay driving, not DC. Thankfully, he was dressed now: they’d plucked an ill-fitting sweater off a clothes line when they’d swapped out the rickety Yugoslavian liftback for two new vehicles. Jay was keeping their new Fiat wagon a generous distance behind Ark’s sedan.
She tried to smooth over her jolt with a yawn, but Jay had already noticed.
‘When’s the last time you slept?’ he asked.
‘Sometime … this week.’
Her mouth was dry. She sat upright and checked her ruck, wishing she’d bothered to make room for water. They had to be inside Russian territory by now, which made her feel a little safer at least.
‘I know you were trying to help,’ she said to Jay, ‘but that could’ve ended badly back there.’
‘Trying? I nailed it, Soph. I got Aviary into Purity’s computers and I got that metal case too.’ He checked over his shoulder, as if making sure the case was still there. ‘And I’m willing to bet that’s packing my abilities. So it’s win-win.’ He shrugged. ‘Except the part where we didn’t win.’
Sophia rubbed her eyes. ‘Olesya’s mission was reckless. She shouldn’t have risked your life like that.’
‘You risk my life all the time.’
‘It’s not the same.’
‘Because it’s her mission, not yours?’ Jay grinned. ‘Is that it?’
‘No.’ Sophia paused. ‘Fine. A bit.’
Jay followed Ark along the winding forest road to their Kaliningrad base. As they pulled in, the sun was setting, melting the last of the snow and revealing short crops of grass and well-worn dirt paths.
Ark, Marina and Olesya climbed out of their sedan, leaving it just outside the hangar. Olesya had her Preserver uniform folded over one arm now, and was wearing a brown jacket she’d pinched from the same clothes line as Jay. The roller door opened before them and soldiers wandered out to speak with Ark.
Sophia took her ruck, her MPX submachine gun folded snugly inside, and shut her door.
‘Get everything out of the vehicles,’ Olesya said to them, ‘our soldiers will take them out and abandon them far from here.’
‘You don’t want us to do it?’ Jay asked. ‘We can do it, you know.’
‘We don’t have time.’
Sophia knew the drill. The base likely had a collection of civilian-registered vehicles that could be used discreetly, but they were never to be taken across the border. Operating procedure was to swap with a stolen vehicle first, leaving their original vehicle within range for safe collection.
Olesya turned to her as she walked past.
‘Thank you for extracting us,’ she said. ‘I know you were doing it for Jay, but I appreciate it.’
‘I don’t leave people behind,’ Sophia said. ‘Even those with a death wish.’
They were alone outside the hangar now—everyone else had moved inside, to be greeted by Gleb, who seemed only marginally less exhausted than they did.
‘I take full responsibility for today,’ Olesya said. ‘Even DC.’
That caught Sophia off-guard. ‘Well, OK. But DC … that wasn’t your fault.’
Olesya faced her. ‘If I could have sent myself in place of Jay, I would have.’
‘Doesn’t change the fact you manipulated Jay to get him there.’
Olesya’s calcite-blue eyes narrowed, just a fraction. ‘He is quite capable of making his own decisions.’
‘And you took advantage of that. You offered him a mission you knew he couldn’t back down from.’
Olesya took a step toward her, speaking low. ‘Of course I did. That’s why you wanted me on your side. To take advantage.’
‘That’s different. I thought we could work together.’
A light breeze blew pale blonde hair over Olesya’s face. ‘We can. I have a new plan.’
‘Does it involve throwing Jay to the wolves again?’
‘No. It involves throwing all of us there.’
So Olesya still needed her; it made Sophia equal parts uncomfortable and compelled. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets to warm them.
‘Before that, you should know my decision regarding Czarina,’ Olesya said.
Sophia’s stomach knotted. ‘You’re keeping her alive,’ she said. ‘Otherwise, you wouldn’t tell me now.’
‘You’re correct. But she will be transferred to a prison in Siberia, where all of our captured operatives are processed.’
Sophia chewed her lip. ‘Is that better than death, or worse?’
‘It’s humane, but it is still prison. It will not be an easy sentence for her.’
Czarina had killed one of Olesya’s hunters in the field. Olesya wouldn’t forgive that, and Sophia knew she shouldn’t either. But it didn’t make this any easier.
‘Aren’t you going to say anything?’ Olesya asked.
‘Yes,’ Sophia replied. ‘Can I see her one more time?’
- Writer
