awake.”
Guy was silent for a few moments. When he spoke, his words were slow and angry. “Then I’m in the company of demons.”
Will shrugged. “I’ve not told you anything to suggest otherwise.”
Guy looked quickly at the box on his belly before glancing away, clearly deep in thought.
Will kept his attention firmly on his prisoner, studying the officer, wondering whether the man would fall for his ruse. Because there was no rat in the box.
Guy looked toward Will. “I’ll embrace the pain… let it shut down”-his voice was hesitant-“shut down my mind and body.”
“I wish you luck because I’ve no idea if you’ll be able to do that. I’ve been tortured before, but I’ve never experienced what’s going to happen to you. This is a new experience for both of us.” He moved his arm in front of his flashlight’s beam. “I’d say the rat could awaken in ten minutes, maybe less.”
Guy shook his head; he was now clearly agitated. “Who are you? Who sent you?”
Will leaned back. “I’m a man who must capture and kill Razin. I sent myself.”
“You’d let this happen to me? You’d just sit there and watch me die in agony?”
Will chuckled. “No, not just watch it happen. As the rat goes through you, I’ll keep asking you about the whereabouts of Razin. And if you refuse to answer, I’ll personally strap a metal plate onto your back so that the rat has no chance of escape there and will have to turn around and find another route out of your body.”
“Questions and answers won’t matter at that stage.” Guy’s face was now covered in sweat. “I’ll be dead or dying by then.”
“You’ll most certainly want to be dead by then. You’ll beg me to end your life with a bullet in your brain. I’ll be willing to do that if you tell me the truth.” Will leaned forward again, and spoke in a near whisper. “But does it need to come to that? There’s still time for me to remove the box.”
Guy lowered his head; his breathing was fast. When he looked up, his face seemed terrified, confused, but it still displayed some strength and defiance. “I’m an MI6 officer. Men like me don’t betray secrets.”
“And yet you’ve betrayed secrets in the past.” Will raised his voice. “In any case, we shall have to see if others agree with you. Perhaps some of your colleagues may also have an idea about Razin’s location. And I wonder if they will be as resolute when confronted by unimaginable horror. If we don’t get what we want from you, we’ll follow every other member of Moscow Station to their homes, torture them in the same way, and slaughter their families until we get our answer.” He moved his face into the light, knowing that Guy could now see him. “You can end this here, or you can allow me to escalate matters by murdering your entire station. Either way, I won’t stop until I get the secret.”
Anger was once again on Guy’s face. “How could God let you into a place like this?”
“God?” Will laughed, but his tone held utter menace. “God has no jurisdiction over me.”
Guy’s head slumped down.
“Head up, I said!”
Guy lifted his head; his eyes were wet.
“The rat will be awake in minutes, maybe seconds.”
Guy looked toward the ceiling and muttered, “Save me.”
“Look at me. The only thing that matters is me!”
Guy did so. His breathing was very fast now.
“You need to make a decision.” Will kept his face in the light. “Give me the location of Razin or die a horrendous death just before we leave to butcher your colleagues, their wives, and their children. The decision is yours and yours alone.”
The Head of Moscow Station had tears rolling down his face. He shook his body, but the ropes and the heavy chair remained firm. “Get this thing off of me!”
“Not until you answer my question.”
Roger spoke. “I reckon the rat will be waking up now.”
“Get it off of me!”
Will narrowed his eyes. “I repeat, not until you answer my question.”
Guy let out a scream, his face screwed up in terror. Gulping air, he shouted, “I’ll tell you anything. Untie the box. Please. Please.”
“No.”
Guy was hyperventilating. Will stood, stepped quickly forward until he was right in front of the MI6 officer, placed one hand over the box, and pushed it tighter against his body. “It appears my colleague is right. I can feel movement against the inside of the box.”
Guy stared with wide eyes at Will. His face was now a mess of sweat and tears. His body reeked of fear. “I’ll tell you!”
“Where is he?”
Before Guy could respond, Roger shouted, “Smoke!”
Will spun around, pointing his flashlight left and right. He heard movement to either side of him and knew that Laith and Roger were taking up defensive positions. “What’s happening?”
Roger did not answer but instead ran forward, his flashlight held firm against the side of his assault rifle. The beam from the flashlight moved toward the church’s entrance. Then Will saw what Roger had seen or smelled. Black smoke was wafting through the air. It was moving from the entrance toward the altar.
Will positioned his flashlight on Roger, who was now on the other side of the church. “Smoke grenade?”
Roger pressed himself beside the doorway, waited a moment, placed a hand against the wooden door, winced, then stepped away from the exterior wall. “Not a grenade. This building’s on fire.”
Will’s heart beat fast; he pulled out his handgun. “Razin!” He swung his light on Guy. “He’s come to silence you.”
Guy moaned. “Please take the box off me. I beg you.”
Will ignored the man and shouted, “Laith! We need an exit!”
From the darkness, the paramilitary officer replied, “I’m working on it.”
The smoke became thicker. Will began coughing. He unbuttoned the top of his jacket, pulled it up, and then closed it so that its collar was resting over the bridge of his nose, acting as a crude mask. Then he saw the first flames curling underneath the door. Soon there were more. Stained-glass windows burst as more smoke and flames moved into the church. Curtains caught fire, their dry fabric allowing the flames to accelerate up the walls. Sparks spat across the pews.
Laith shouted, “Run to my voice! I’ve found a side entrance!”
Roger dashed across the church. Will was about to move to check the exit but stopped as he felt something dripping on him. He pointed his flashlight at the roof. He saw one hole, then another, then many of them. Liquid was dripping through them, but within seconds it was pouring. His heartbeat increased as he realized what was happening. “Gasoline!”
He pulled out his military knife and ran toward Guy to cut him free of the ropes. But as he did so, liquid drenched the Head of Moscow Station. A spark jumped through air, landed on Guy’s lap, and set his clothes on fire. Will recoiled from the intense blaze and heat.
“Will, we have to get out of here!” Laith’s voice was desperate.
But Will tried to move closer to Guy. The man was screaming in agony; the smell of roasting flesh was in the air. More liquid fell onto Guy, and he became a human fireball. Gasoline from the other holes in the roof turned into columns of fire that rose up from the church floor to its ceiling. In the middle of them all, Guy rocked his body back and forth but could not free himself from his shackles. He stopped screaming. Will stopped moving.
“Will, come on!”
Will lifted his handgun, cursed everyone and everything, cursed himself, but at the same time decided that he was not going to let his prisoner die in agony. He pointed his gun at Guy’s head and pulled the trigger.
He turned and saw flames race across the pews toward him. Sprinting to the right, he reached the wall and was grabbed by Laith and hurled out of the side door. He crashed onto snow-covered ground, was grabbed again, this time by Roger, and was lifted to his feet and pulled fast away from the church. After a hundred feet they stopped. Laith ran to them, his rifle held high, scouring the area around them. The small church was now engulfed in flames.
