Another shot. Louder again. Then another.
Each one ricocheted around the building.
Allissa lay there, waiting. With each shot, she expected the crippling pain of a bullet wound. None came.
Then a light snapped on.
Glancing down at herself, Allissa didn’t see any injuries. She turned towards the light. In front of her, she saw Minty holding a gun and, on the floor, the large man lying motionless.
74
Minty wasted no time after the scene was plunged into darkness. Surging forward, he grabbed the gun and levelled it towards the source of Olezka’s voice. His finger slid over the trigger and squeezed. The shot echoed around the building. Minty felt the ache of the recoil in his elbows.
He redirected the gun and fired again, and again. Finally, the chamber clicked empty.
A light came on and Minty looked around. Three pairs of eyes stared at him in shock. On the floor, already seeping with blood, lay Olezka.
Minty dropped the gun. It rattled to the floor.
Leo got to his feet and steadied Minty.
“Good work,” Borya said, grabbing the gun from the floor and tucking it back beneath his coat.
Borya pulled the bag from Olezka’s hand and passed it to Minty. Then he went through the man’s jacket and removed a set of keys.
Allissa climbed to her feet and exhaled slowly. She stared with wide eyes at the scene until Leo caught her gaze.
“Whoever you people are,” Borya said two minutes later as Leo and Allissa helped him down the stairs, “I thank you. If you hadn’t been there, this would have turned out quite differently.”
Minty walked behind them, carrying the bag in one hand and the torch in the other. Leo saw the early signs of shock in his vacant expression.
“We just going to leave those guys here?” Minty said, casting a glance over his shoulder.
Leo knew the memory of what Minty had done would live with him forever. But without it, Leo had no doubt they would all be dead.
“I’ll get someone out here to sort it,” Borya replied. “I’ll call from the car. By sunrise, it’ll all be sorted.”
“But I… I…”
“Don’t worry, Borya will sort it all. I have the gun. That’ll be cleaned. They’ll be no trace of you on it at all. You’ll be long gone anyway.” Borya looked at Allissa, who supported his left shoulder. “That guy you dealt with will no doubt come round soon and tell the rest of his ublyudok not to mess with me. Good work.”
Borya winced as they took the final few steps.
“You need to get to a hospital,” Allissa said. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“This little scratch.” Borya smiled. “It’ll be fine. I’ll get my driver to take us past a doctor I know. Bullet wounds raise questions in hospitals.”
“She’s dead,” Allissa said, her voice cold.
“Ah shit,” Borya said, limping on. At the bottom of the stairs, he signalled for them to stop. “Take me to the car,” he said, slumping against a wall. “I’ll make a call, and someone will be here soon. I’ve got people. Don’t worry.”
“You’ll pass out soon.” Allissa looked at his blood-soaked trousers.
“Na, I’m fine, this is nothing.”
Allissa took Borya’s left arm and Leo grabbed his right. Together they limped across the yard. Behind them, the tower loomed into the sky. One more dark secret had now added to its nefarious history.
“She’s made a real mess,” Borya said, looking at the splatters of blood covering the inside of the Maserati. “No matter. I’ve just inherited this one.” Borya removed a set of keys. The Rolls Royce clicked open. “Just put me against the front there,” Borya said, pointing to the Rolls’ large fender.
Allissa and Leo did as the Russian asked.
“You need to get help immediately,” Leo reminded him.
“Yes, I will make a call in a moment. My contacts are only two minutes away. Would you mind,” Borya said to Allissa, “getting my pipe for me, it’s on the back seat of the Maserati, I think.”
Allissa rolled her eyes. The guy was minutes from losing consciousness and all he was worried about was smoking a pipe. Looking at his expression though — those blue-grey eyes — Allissa wasn’t going to argue.
“Thank you so much,” Borya said, pulling a pouch of tobacco from his coat. “You guys should go.” He pointed at Minty, who was staring into the woodland. “Look after this one.”
Leo and Allissa nodded.
“I owe you my life,” Borya said, as he began stuffing the pipe with tobacco. “Next time you come to Berlin, you are staying with Borya. The best time of your lives. Just ask for Borya. People know who I am.”
Leo nodded, although he had no intention of finding out what Borya claimed was the best time of your life.
“And Minty,” Borya said, lighting a match. The designer turned. “If you ever want to come back, you know where I am.”
Without a reply, Minty began walking down the hill. Allissa and Leo followed.
After a few metres, Leo glanced back. Borya leaned against the fender of the Rolls Royce and pulled a long breath on his pipe. Removing it from his lips, he exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke. Watching the man, Leo got the impression that, whether he liked it or not, he would see the Russian again.
75
Minty switched on his torch and led Leo and Allissa into the woodland. As the darkness encroached further, Leo pulled out his torch too. The twin beams danced through the trees as the three made progress down the incline.
For a couple of minutes, no one spoke. Minty just gazed forward, his eyes unfocused, his mind no doubt re-playing the moment he had shot Olezka. Leo knew what Minty was feeling. Although Minty had saved their lives, the memory of killing someone would always live
