time to feel the Russian's arms wrap around him and lift him off his feet.
'I will crush you like a grape,' he said as he squeezed.
This time, Jason knew he had broken ribs because he felt them give beneath Boris's arms. Pain shot through him, running up his spine and slamming into his skull. Lights flashed before his eyes.
Acting on instinct, he raised his arms and brought his hands down as hard as he could on the man's ears. Boris grunted, staggered, but held on.
Jason did it again, and this time, he felt the Russian's hold on him loosen. Off balance and deafened, Boris dropped him to the ground. He backed away, shaking his head.
Gritting his teeth, Jason closed in. He needed to end this and quickly.
Boris saw him coming and tried to move away, but his strength wasn't speed. Jason moved with him, grasped his left wrist and twisted and yanked the big man toward him. Using all the muscle he had, he spun and smashed his own elbow into the Russian's. It broke with a dry snap and Boris screeched in pain, going to his knees.
End it now, Jason thought. He circled around and drove a snap kick into the huge man's nose, driving his head up and leaving his throat exposed. Dropping down, he planted a knife hand into his opponent's throat, trying to crush his larynx.
But Boris wasn't quite finished and managed to duck his head down, taking the blow on the mouth instead. He drove an uppercut into Jason's chin with enough force to send him flying through the air and managed to gain his feet. He wasn't steady, but the man was a machine. He would keep fighting as long as he could.
Jason lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath when he saw Boris's shadow looming over him. Still deafened, the man was shouting as he said, 'Now you will die!'
Rolling, Jason lashed out, sweeping the man's legs out from underneath him. Already lacking balance, he toppled to the ground.
Knowing that time was getting more precious by the second, he leaped to his feet, then jumped in the air, coming down on the man's sternum with his elbow. He heard a faint crack as it broke beneath the force of the blow.
Jason got up and did it again before Boris could catch his wind. This time, the bone shattered completely. The Russian coughed weakly, blood flowing out of his mouth. His lungs had been pierced by the bones and he couldn't breathe.
Getting up once more, Jason looked down at him and said, 'You're done.' He pulled his combat knife from the sheath at his boot. The blade's edge glittered faintly as he grasped it firmly and drove it into the Russian's heart. He twisted it, shredding the big muscle.
Boris shuddered once beneath him, then died, unable to speak whatever hateful final words he might have said. He had joined his brother in whatever hell awaited them.
Jason climbed slowly to his feet, feeling as if he'd been through a threshing machine himself. He really did prefer a clean assassination mission. One shot, one kill, move on. 'Damn complications,' he muttered, turning to where he knew Feng and Jesse were fighting.
His eyes widened as he saw the Chinese man twist away from a clumsy lunge and come in behind Jesse. His arms circled Jesse's neck and their gazes met for a brief moment, then Feng snapped his neck with one easy move.
Time seemed to slow as Feng released his hold and Jesse toppled over into the cold snow, dead before he hit the ground.
Feng didn't even look all that winded, though it appeared as though Jesse had given a good battle. Blood trickled from a cut on his lip and even in the dim light, Jason could tell that Feng was favoring his left side slightly.
'And then there were two,' the rogue agent said, straightening his lean frame. 'He fought well, for a civilian. A pleasant enough diversion.'
'I'm going to kill you, Feng,' Jason said, his blood turning to ice. He felt nothing. His brother was dead. Tina probably was, too. People he cared about, the closest thing he would ever have to a family, and he felt nothing. 'If it's the last thing I do, I'm taking you with me to hell.'
Moving forward with catlike grace, Feng smiled once more. 'Better men than you have tried, Mr. Siku. For the destruction you have brought down upon my little operation here, I promise you a painfully slow death.'
'Bring it, then,' he said, circling away from the man and gauging his opponent. 'Let's find out if you're really as good as they say you are. My guess is your reputation is probably a little bloated.'
'I promise you, Mr. Siku,' Feng said. 'I am better.'
The real fight, Jason knew, was about to begin.
And worse, he realized something else as the distance between them closed. Feng was better than he was and he was about to die. So be it, he thought. But I won't make it easy for him. Not by any measure.
Feng suddenly leaped into the air, and Jason met him halfway.
22
Spinning wheel kicks sliced through the air, and Jason stepped inside of them, taking one on the shoulder but driving a hard right into Feng's inner thigh. Instead of tumbling to the ground, however, the Chinese man sprang backward, landing on his hands, then flipping once more to right himself.
He didn't pause, but drove forward again, and Jason found himself backing up, blocking twice as many punches as he was able to throw. His opponent was rattlesnake fast and knew where to place each blow to cause the most pain and damage.
Trying to give a little in return, Jason gave up on blocking and stepped into a punch that caught him directly on the cheekbone below his right eye. The pain was excruciating, but worth it as he managed to put a knife hand into Feng's left collarbone. It wasn't enough to break it, but there was at least a crack, and the Chinese man backed off once more.
Remembering that Feng was favoring his left side, Jason pressed the attack, aiming for Feng's ribs this time and driving a hard kick into his side. Feng danced away, but not fast enough to avoid it entirely. He increased the distance between them and began to circle.
'You fight well, Mr. Siku,' Feng said. 'Better than I expected, considering your condition.'
'I'm tougher than I look,' Jason said, turning and moving to his left.
'You already know you cannot beat me,' Feng said. 'I can see that knowledge in your eyes.'
'Maybe, maybe not,' he said. 'But even if I can't, I can hurt you. Maybe hurt you bad enough for you to crawl back under your rock for a while.'
Feng laughed softly. 'You would die an extremely unhappy man should you fail. Your life is all about the mission. I know — I lived it once.'
Jason nodded. 'So I've heard. Still, the charm of all this punching and kicking has worn off.' He reached behind his back and removed two push daggers from his belt. They weren't his favorite weapon, but they required him to get up close and personal. Feng was a little less dangerous when he wasn't leaping and spinning through the air like some kind of tiger.
'Weapons, Mr. Siku?' Feng said. 'I am disappointed in you. I thought we were going to do this the old-fashioned way.'
'Screw the old-fashioned way,' Jason spit. 'I'd rather just kill you and move on with my day.' He lunged forward, capturing Feng's right arm in a twist lock. He jabbed his right hand forward, but Feng twisted, and the blow slipped off the flexible body armor he was wearing beneath his clothing.
Using his left arm, Feng wrapped Jason's right, twisted sharply and dislocated his elbow. The dagger in that hand fell from nerveless fingers and he tried to move, but the Chinese man was faster, slamming his forehead into Jason's nose, breaking it with a horrible crunching sound.
He stepped back, leaped into the air and slammed both feet into Jason's chest.
'That sounded painful,' Feng said, circling once more, even as Jason struggled to get to his feet. Blood poured from his shattered nose, and pain radiated from his elbow in sickening waves. 'I promised you it would be slow. I am a man of my word.'
