Sentinel

and Shashka were in the building.

Disabling his interior light so that it would not come on when he opened the car door, he got out, raised his handgun, and pointed it back down the route he had driven. He waited for the sounds of a vehicle, a sight of its headlights, or the noise of a man moving rapidly on foot toward him. But he heard and saw nothing.

He got back into his car and drove slowly to minimize noise. Parking it to one side of the house, he got out again and looked around. Aside from the building next to him, everything remained in darkness. The sounds of the sea were right beside him, and he could smell the salty air coming from it. Tucking his handgun into his belt, he entered the house.

He locked the door behind him and walked along the hallway. He could hear Sentinel and Shashka talking in Russian. He saw them sitting in the lounge facing each other. But as soon as Will entered the room, Shashka jumped up, his face angry and shocked. Sentinel also stood, speaking rapidly and placing a hand on Shashka’s arm.

Shashka broke away from Sentinel’s grip, stepping toward Will. The Russian was in his fifties, was as tall as Will, had neatly cropped gray hair, was clean-shaven, and had removed his overcoat to reveal an immaculate three-piece suit. The anger in his green eyes was vivid. When he spoke, his voice was a deep growl. “I’m told that I must trust you. But I hate being taken for a fool.”

Sentinel moved up to him. “Sir, nobody has done that. My colleague’s here to make sure that you are safe.”

Shashka looked sharply at Sentinel. “We’ve never met with others present before. What’s so different about this meeting?”

Sentinel shrugged. “These are difficult times. I’m merely being cautious.”

Shashka shook his head, remaining angry.

Will held out his hand. “I’m sorry that I startled you.”

Shashka looked at Will’s outstretched hand. His anger remained, but his expression changed a little. He sighed and gripped Will’s hand with strength. “No more surprises. I’m too old for them.” He released his grip and moved to a corner liquor cabinet, extracted a bottle of vodka and three tumblers, and poured the spirit into the glasses. Handing them a drink each, he lifted his own glass. “To peace.”

“To peace,” the MI6 officers responded in unison.

Will took a tiny sip of the liquor, then placed his glass down on a side table. Sentinel and Shashka sat back down in their armchairs while Will moved around the room, pulling curtains over its windows. He shut the lounge door, grabbed a dining chair, and sat so that he was partially facing the entrance. Glancing at Shashka, he could see that the man was not looking in his direction. Discreetly, Will removed his handgun from his belt and gripped it by his side, hiding it from view.

Shashka took a big gulp of vodka and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Why was this meeting so urgent?”

Sentinel answered, “Taras Khmelnytsky. Head of Spetsnaz Alpha. Is there any way of locating him?”

Shashka frowned. “Why do you need to find him?”

“I can’t tell you anything, other than it’s vital I know where he is.”

“That’s not much incentive to help you.” The Russian general swirled the vodka in his glass. “He’s on a classified training exercise with elements of Alpha. For most of the time, even high command doesn’t know where he is because the exercise requires Colonel Khmelnytsky and his men to retain an element of surprise.”

Like placing a nuclear bomb in an army barracks without anyone knowing.

“Someone must know where he is.”

The general took out an elegant cigarette holder and cigarette. Attaching them to each other, he lit the cigarette with a gunmetal lighter, snapped the lighter shut, and blew a thin stream of smoke. “In case of emergency, he can be tracked. My colleagues choose not to know where he is because it benefits them not to know. But they’re not stupid. Khmelnytsky’s working with some very… valuable equipment. If anything happens to the colonel or his men, it’s vital the equipment be recovered and returned to a safe location.”

“There are beacons on the equipment?”

Shashka nodded. “Yes, and they’re visible. But the colonel and his men are unaware that their civilian vehicles have been secretly equipped with tracking devices.”

“Are they activated?”

“No. As long as the colonel provides his daily reports on time, the beacons are kept off to make the exercise as realistic as possible.”

Sweat began to trickle down Will’s back. He desperately wanted the meeting to end, because he knew that Razin could strike at any moment. But what Shashka was saying was adding a whole new range of possibilities to capturing the man.

Sentinel asked, “Can they be turned on?”

Shashka smiled. “Even I don’t have that authority. The only men who could authorize that are my boss Luchinski, Barkov, Nikitin, Fursenko, or the big man himself-Platonov.”

Lieutenant General Vladimirsky Luchinski, Lieutenant General Ilya Barkov, Lieutenant General Daniil Nikitin, and Lieutenant General Viktor Fursenko. Respectively, heads of the Western, Central, Southern, and Eastern Commands. Colonel General Platonov was their superior and answered only to the Russian president and prime minister.

“You could try to persuade Luchinski to activate the beacons. Maybe say they need to be tested.”

Shashka shook his head quickly. “I’m quite happy to feed you information. But if I make a request like that, it’ll be viewed as highly suspicious. The only reason I know about Alpha’s training exercise is because it falls under Western Command and sometimes I have to countersign some of Luchinski’s orders. But I’m not special forces. For me to attempt to interfere would seem odd, to say the least.”

Will stood, knowing that Sentinel would be feeling overwhelming disappointment and also knowing that the three of them were sitting ducks. He moved around the room carefully, so as not to let Shashka see his gun.

Shashka looked at him. “Why are you pacing? Is there something out there that I should be aware of?”

Will smiled. “Ignore me. I’m just here to make sure you’re safe.”

A bullet tore a hole in the lounge wall, traveled across the room, and removed a large part of Shashka’s head from his body.

Sentinel dived to the ground, shouting, “Fifty caliber with thermal!”

Razin.

With a precision weapon that could rip through buildings and kill on impact.

And a telescopic, heat-sensing sight that could detect any living creatures within the house.

Will lunged at the door, kicking it open. “Get to the back of the house!” He spun around, dropping low in the doorway. A second bullet struck the door frame, right where his head had been a second before. Sentinel was leopard-crawling fast across the floor, his handgun held in one fist. Will reached out, grabbed Sentinel’s other outstretched hand, and yanked him toward the doorway with all of his strength. A third bullet crashed into the skirting board.

Will pulled him to his feet, turned, and sprinted into the hallway and along it. “Move!”

He reached another closed door and threw his body sideways at it, causing it to come off its hinges and fall to the floor. Sentinel was right by him. Both men moved deeper into the room. It was the kitchen. They crouched down, breathing fast.

Sentinel gritted his teeth. “Bastard.”

Will looked quickly around. The four walls between them and Razin would make him blind to their position, so Razin would now be moving to get another line of sight.

Sentinel also looked around, his eyes now filled with hatred. “He’s not going to leave us alone.”

Will’s heart raced. “I know.” He looked at the back door. “We’ve got to close him down.”

They both knew the only way to do that was with speed and erratic movement. Even then, the chances of success were slim.

“Let’s go.”

They moved to either side of the door. Will opened it, nodded at Sentinel, and dived through the exit. Crashing to the outside ground, he rolled and dived for cover just as another shot rang out. The bullet struck the ground inches from him, but it had given him what he needed. “He’s on our two o’clock. One-fifty yards away.”