Lone Wolf (21 page)

Noah, who was the first to enter, instantly threw himself against the door. It crashed into someone standing behind it and there was a loud grunt and a thud. Noah snatched the door away and aimed his gun directly between the eyes of a tall, dark-haired man. The fellow raised his hands in surrender, and Moose snatched up the pistol he had dropped to the floor.

“Holy geez, am I glad to see you guys!” Pendergrast said. “He was about to kill me!”

Noah grabbed the stranger by his shirt and yanked him away from the wall, throwing him onto the foot of Pendergrast's bed. “Well, well,” he said. “And just who might you be, my friend?”

The man simply sat on the bed, and did not respond. Pendergrast volunteered, “He's one of Nicolaich Andropov's people. Apparently, Nicolaich is a little pissed at you, and he's going to great lengths to try to track you down. This guy was sent to question me, and he wasn't happy about my lack of information regarding your whereabouts. I don't know how you managed to pick this moment to show up, but you couldn't have planned it any better if you'd tried.” He threw off the covers and spun to put his feet on the floor, but Noah pointed at him and said, “Stop!”

“What the hell?” Pendergrast asked angrily. “You save my neck and then you get all pissy?”

“Saving your neck was an accident,” Noah said, keeping his eyes on the stranger. “Tell me what you know about this guy.”

Pendergrast gave a shrug and looked irritated. “I already did, he was sent here to try to get me to tell him how to find you. Just in case you didn't know it, that kid you killed in Kubinka was Vasily Andropov, as in son of Nicolaich Andropov. The old man didn't take kindly to you whacking his kid, and he wants your head on a platter.”

Noah looked into the eyes of the Russian. “If you don't speak English, you're useless to me. If you're useless, I put a bullet in your head. Got anything to say?”

The man stared back at him for a moment, then shrugged his own shoulders. “You're going to kill me no matter what I say,” he said. “At least I will die with the satisfaction of knowing that Nicolaich will make your death a long, slow and painful one.”

“Don't be such a pessimist,” Noah said. “If you're interested, I might be willing to bargain for your life.”

The Russian rolled his eyes. “There can be no bargain,” he said. “I have my orders, I am to either kill you or die in the attempt.”

“And those orders came from Andropov?”

“They did, and I dare not disobey them.” He narrowed his eyes. “I would very much like to know, however, how you knew that I was here. I know that I was not seen by those bunglers who sit outside in cars all day and night. Would you tell me that, before I die?”

“I didn't have the slightest clue that you were here,” Noah said, “but let's not end our conversation too quickly,
tovarisch
, okay? As it happens, I'm here because I'm looking for your boss just as hot as he's looking for me. You help me find him, and I might decide the world is better off with you in it. Care to deal?”

The Russian gave him a sad smile, and shook his head. “You are a madman,” he said. “No one goes looking for Nicolaich, not if he wishes to live. As for me, I am not the average SVR operative; I am a former Officer with the 45
^th
Guards Spetsnaz Brigade, forced into service with Nicolaich because he keeps my wife and daughters under his control. If I disobey or desert, they will die. He may kill them anyway, since I have failed in my mission.”

Moose, who still had his gun pointed at Pendergrast, snorted. “Doesn't sound like you got much to lose, either way. You help us, maybe we get Nicolaich and your family could be free.”

The man flicked his eyes to Moose, then turned back to Noah. “I wonder if you have any idea how many people have tried to get to Nicolaich? He is always guarded, always protected, and he never allows himself to be exposed in any way that can make him a target. He will not stand near windows, he will not walk out of any building into the open; if there is no garage structure that he can enter with his armored limousine, he simply will not go into any place. He is alive only because he never takes any chances. More than three-dozen have tried to kill him in the past few years, and not one has ever even seen his face. It is arrogant of you to think you might be the exception.”

“But I am the exception. I killed his son, right? Do you think he'll be satisfied with just hearing that I've been killed? He wants to see me die, maybe even pull the trigger himself. I'm right, aren't I? Is he going to let someone else perform my execution?”

There was a brief flicker of brightness in the Russian's eyes, but it faded almost as quickly as it came. “I will tell you that it is true he demands that you be taken alive and held for his arrival, but if you think you might turn the tables on him, you are insane, as I have said. He will not come alone, but with enough of his killers that it would take a battalion to stop him. I do not think you have a battalion.”

Noah winked at him. “I don't need one,” he said. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

Another shrug. “You are an American killer. That is all anyone needs to know.”

“Now, that's where you're wrong. I'm not just an American killer; I'm the number one, all-around-best, top-of-the-line American killer. It doesn't matter who I'm assigned to kill, I'm going to always carry out my mission, and I have the most capable support team in the world behind me. I'm going to give you one more chance. You can help me get Nicolaich, and I'll let you live, or I'll have no choice but to terminate you right now. Which way will it be?”

The Russian sat there and stared at him for a long moment, and Noah could see the wheels turning in his head. At last he spoke. “Your friend is correct, I don't have much to lose. As long as I am alive and do what Nicolaich wants, my family would be safe. If I die, however, then they will have no protection from him. I do not want them to suffer; my daughters are but children and my wife is young and beautiful.” He stared into Noah's eyes for another ninety seconds, and then leaned forward. “My name is Dimitri Konstantinov, and if it is possible, I will assist you. I have only one request, however. If we succeed, will you help me seek asylum in America? It is for my children, not for myself. I do not think your country would welcome someone like me.”

Noah watched his face as he spoke, and then lowered his gun. He tucked it back under his jacket and extended a hand to Dimitri. “I'll do the best I can,” he said. “And you might be surprised about whether they let you in or not. I suspect you have a lot of information our side would like to hear.”

“Hey! What gives here, guys?” Pendergrast was still sitting on the bed, his eyes wide and his face twisted in anger. “If you didn't come here to rescue me from this jackass, then why are you here? And for that matter, why are you kicking in my door?”

Noah turned to look at him. “Because, Jeremy old friend, you and I are going to have another little talk. I think maybe you knew more about what was going on with that girl than you admitted to me, and that kind of pisses me off.”

Pendergrast's eyes went wide, and he began shaking his head from side to side. “Whoa, no way,” he said. “Look, man, I figured out real quick that you are not a guy I want mad at me. There's no way I would've held anything back.”

“Jeremy, you were bait. We were meant to find you, and find you quickly. I'm guessing that whoever was behind that harebrained scheme thought that we would simply come in, snatch the girl and everything would be over. What they didn't count on was the trail of bodies I left behind. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised they didn't kill you themselves. The fact that I left you alive, it seems to me, would make it pretty obvious that you were helpful to me. Don't you think?”

Pendergrast was still shaking his head, trying to appear innocent. “You shot me! I think they just figured I got lucky, and that's why I was still alive.”

Noah started to answer, but Dimitri turned and looked at Pendergrast. “No one thought anything like that,” he said. “Orders were given to allow you to return home to England, in order to leave you with a false sense of security. It was obvious that you were involved in the rescue, and I was specifically ordered to come here and do whatever was necessary to learn about this man.”

Noah shrugged. “See? Jeremy, Jeremy, it looks to me like you're running out of friends in a hurry. Now, I can be a friend, or I can be an enemy. Which column would you like to put me in?”

Pendergrast let his head sag, and muttered something under his breath. When he looked up again, he said, “So what do you want to talk about this time? And can you do anything to keep me safe?”

“First, I want everything you can tell me about Vladimir Sokoloff. He and I need to have a little chat. Can you tell me where he lives?”

Pendergrast groaned. “Oh, come on, you know damn well that if I tell you that, it will get me killed for sure. If he finds out I gave him up, I'm dead.”

“Well, you don't need to worry about that. He won't be going anywhere or telling anyone anything. I plan to get information out of him, and then I plan to kill him.” Noah stepped closer to where Pendergrast was now sitting on the edge of his bed. “You can either tell me where to find him, or I can take you back to the farm for a little while.”

“Okay, okay,” Pendergrast said. “He has a large house on Palace Garden Mews, just a few blocks from the Russian Embassy. It's the last house on the left heading away from the Embassy, you can't miss it.”

“Does he have security there?”

Pendergrast rolled his eyes. “Of course he does, he's a Russian! He hires local security, though; I think he's afraid the Russian guards would spy on him and report back to the Kremlin. At night, there are probably a half-dozen guards on duty. I spent a few nights there, and I never saw a lot of security guards wandering around.”

“I know Sokoloff,” Dimitri said suddenly. “If I asked him to come with me somewhere privately, he would do so. If this is part of your plan to reach Nicolaich, I will assist.”

Noah gave him a grin. “That sounds like a plan,” he said. He turned back to Pendergrast and said, “Jeremy, old buddy, I can't take a chance on you tipping Vladimir off. I'm afraid you're coming with us. If you don't give me any trouble, I’ll let you put some clothes on. Otherwise, you're coming with us just the way you are.”

P
endergrast stared at him for a moment, then shook his head and got up out of bed. Moose kept his gun trained on the man as he opened a closet and began putting on street clothes. Moments later, the four men walked out the front door together, and anyone observing would have thought they were all old friends.

Unfortunately, the Land Rover had bucket seats in the front, and wasn't big enough for all of them. Dimitri pointed to a sedan a hundred yards up the street. “That is my car,” he said. “If I am going to bring Sokoloff out, I would do best to have only one of you with me. I realize that you do not trust me yet, so if one of you wishes to ride in the backseat where you can keep a weapon trained on me, I would understand.”

Noah looked at him for a moment. “Do you anticipate any problems in bringing Sokoloff out of his house? Getting past the security?”

Dimitri shook his head. “No. Vladimir and I have done business many times, and it is not unusual for me to need his assistance even in the middle of the night. He will come with me, and if there is someone waiting in my car, he would think nothing of it. It would not be the first time.”

“Neither of us speaks Russian,” Noah said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

The Russian smiled and shook his head. “Not at all. No one there will speak to you unless I introduce you, which I will not do. You will not have any reason or opportunity to speak.”

Noah turned to Moose. “You three take Jeremy on out to the farm. Blindfold him so he doesn't know the way, but you don't have to tie him up in the barn. I don't think he's stupid enough to try to run away, but keep half an eye on him anyway. I'll go with Dimitri and bring Vladimir as soon as we can.”

Moose eyed Noah as if he wanted to argue, but turned and got into the Land Rover, ordering Neil into the front seat so that he and Pendergrast could sit in the back. Noah turned to Dimitri and motioned for him to lead the way.

The sedan was a Jaguar XE, and Noah chose to sit in the front with Dimitri. He didn't bother to draw a weapon, but Dimitri seemed to understand that Noah didn't particularly need one. As the car pulled away from the curb, Dimitri said, “May I ask what to call you?”

“Alex,” Noah said. “Alex Colson.”

Dimitri looked over at him for a second, then turned his eyes back to the road. “Colson? That is the name used in Kubinka, but I do not think it is your true name. No matter. You are Alex.” He grinned. “I have a brother named Alex, or I did. He died during a mission to Syria.”

“Dimitri, if I succeed in my mission to kill Nicolaich Andropov, what will happen to you if the SVR finds out you helped me?”

The other man shrugged. “Russia today is not as bad as the old Soviet,” he said. “In those days, my entire family and I would be executed, but today it would only be me. There are what you call death squads, and no matter where I went, they would hunt me down. If we can avoid letting my involvement become known, that would be good.”

Noah nodded. “I'll do my best.”

It took almost an hour to make their way across the city to the area where the embassies were clustered together. Dimitri drove straight to Sokoloff's house and turned into his gated driveway. A security guard stepped out of a guard shack and approached the driver-side window.

Dimitri spoke to the guard in Russian, while Noah attempted to look bored and uninterested. There was a brief moment when the guard seemed to pay a lot of attention to Noah, but Dimitri barked an order and he quickly returned his attention to the driver. Dimitri sounded angry, and a moment later the guard went back into the shack and picked up the telephone.

Dimitri turned to Noah. “He tried to tell me that Vladimir is sleeping and cannot be disturbed. I informed him that if he did not notify Vladimir that I wanted to see him, then he would be far more disturbed by the screams of the guard as I disemboweled him.”