Lone Wolf (22 page)

Noah grunted. “I'll have to try that technique sometime,” he said.

The guard hung up the phone and returned to the car. He seemed thoroughly chastised and even subservient, and while Noah could not understand his words, it was obvious that he was telling Dimitri to go on into the compound. Dimitri didn't even bother to respond other than with a curt nod, putting the car in gear and driving away quickly enough to make the guard jump back a couple of steps.

“I told him to tell Vladimir that I was forced to kill someone and need to show him where I left the body. If it were true, then tomorrow morning he would send people out to clean up after me. That is part of his duties here in London.”

“Have you done that with him before?” Noah asked.

“Yes, on two occasions. He knows that I do not trust anyone else here. Vladimir and I served together in the 45
^th
Guard a few years ago, and became friends. We are not so much friends today, but I have always been able to trust him. For his part, he worries about repercussions from those above me if he does not cooperate with me when I ask it. In that, he is wise.”

“I can imagine so,” Noah said. “Okay, then I just sit here in the car, right?”

Dimitri nodded. “Yes, and when you see us coming, moved to the back seat. It is what he would expect.”

They came to the circular parking area in front of the house, and Dimitri parked the car directly in front of the door. He looked at Noah. “There is something about you,” he said, “something that makes me believe you are as deadly as you claim to be. I have just driven you directly into the mouth of the bear, but I sense no fear, no anxiety. I will do nothing to betray you here, but if Vladimir becomes suspicious, it will be necessary for you to control the situation. While he is not as dangerous as I, he is an accomplished killer. If he gets the upper hand for even a second, he will not hesitate to kill you or me.”

“Understood,” Noah said. “I just want to get out of this estate before I let him know what's going on. If he figures out that I'm not one of yours before we make it past that gate, things could get bad.”

“I will cover you. If Vladimir speaks to you, I will interfere. I will say to you in Russian to keep your mouth shut, and tell him that you are with Nicolaich, sent to observe and learn from me. He knows that I detest training others, so he will probably laugh, but he will not be surprised that I want you to be quiet.”

Dimitri got out of the car and walked up to the front door. It opened as he approached it, and he stepped directly inside past the armed guard who had opened it for him. As soon as he was inside, the door closed once again.

A pair of guards appeared from around the side of the house, and came to stand only a few feet from Noah's side of the car. They looked at him, but said nothing. Noah let his eyes rest on them for only a second, then leaned his head back and lowered his eyelids until they appeared to be closed. He heard one of the guards snicker, but resisted the temptation to look at them again.

Dimitri was inside the house for nearly half an hour, and Noah began to wonder if he was being betrayed, after all. He had paid close attention as they came up the drive, and had already planned out various scenarios in his head if he had to try to escape. Beneath his nearly closed eyelids, he kept the two outside guards in sight, ready to shoot both of them instantly if it became necessary.

The guards both turned suddenly, looking up at the door of the house. Noah opened his eyes and looked that way himself, to see Dimitri and another man step through the doorway and start down the stairs. Noah opened his door and stepped out, then immediately opened the back door and climbed back inside. Dimitri and his companion came straight to the car and got inside, with Dimitri behind the wheel again.

Neither of them spoke to Noah, but the car started up and began moving. Noah kept a bored expression on his face until they drove past the guard shack and out onto the street.

Dimitri and Vladimir had been talking in Russian, but Dimitri glanced at Noah in the rearview mirror and gave a slight nod, then said, “We will now speak in English.”

Vladimir looked at him in surprise, and asked a question in Russian. Dimitri smiled and said, “Because my friend in the back seat is an American, who does not speak our language.”

There was a split-second of confusion on Vladimir's face, but his eyes registered understanding as Noah's Glock suddenly pressed against the side of his neck. “Dimitri, what are you doing?” Vladimir asked, this time in English.

“I am taking the only chance I have to survive, and to free my family from the sword that hovers over their heads. This man is Colson, the American assassin. He is seeking Nicolaich Andropov, and you and I are going to help him.”

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Dimitri reached over to Vladimir and removed the man's pistol from its shoulder holster. Without a word, he passed it back to Noah.

Vladimir slowly turned his head to look at Noah. “Do you have any idea who you have gone up against? Nicolaich Andropov is by far the most dangerous man alive today. He will never allow himself to be captured or killed by an American.”

“Yeah, well, I don't share your opinion,” Noah said. “Nor do a lot of other people, come to that. In fact, I know quite a few folks who think that title belongs to me, so I'm willing to take the risk. You and I are going to have a little chat, because I need to know everything I possibly can about how to draw him out. He wants me just as bad as I want him, maybe worse after I killed his son. He may want my head on a platter, but I don't think he could resist the temptation to take it for himself.”

Vladimir looked over at Dimitri. “I can understand your desire to be free of Nicolaich,” he said, “but do you honestly believe that this man has any chance of success? Western agents have tried many times just to identify Nicolaich, and none have ever gotten close.”

Dimitri made a face that was a combination of an eye roll and a grimace. “Colson and one other man managed to take out five of our best Spetsnaz Security people when they took the girl. I have no doubt of his abilities. The only question that remains is how to get him within reach of the Boar. On that matter, I agree with his opinion that Nicolaich will want the pleasure of killing him personally.”

Vladimir grunted. “And what is to keep this man from killing you as well, once he has used you?”

Dimitri looked at Noah in the rearview mirror again, and then smiled as he returned to watching the road ahead. “Because he will not need to kill me. I am his ally in this, because he will help me to get my family asylum in the United States. My children will grow up in freedom, with no fear of Nicolaich Andropov.”

Both men fell silent. Noah directed Dimitri to the M4 highway, and they rode in silence the rest of the way to Twyford. Getting to the little village took less than an hour, with another twenty minutes to negotiate the back roads to the farm. Dimitri parked the Jaguar beside the Land Rover as Moose stepped out of the house with a short rifle in his hands.

“Okay, Vladimir,” Noah said, “step out of the car gently. My buddy there is an expert marksman, and he won't hesitate to blow you away if you make any sudden moves.”

Vladimir nodded, then slowly opened the car door and stepped out. Moose kept him covered as Noah and Dimitri also stepped out of the vehicle, and then Noah led the men inside the house. “Let's have a seat at the table,” he said. “If we can continue to talk like gentlemen, then there will be no need for any of my less subtle tactics.”

Vladimir glanced at him, then took a chair at the table as he was told. Dimitri joined him, and Noah sat down across from the two of them. He glanced up at Moose. “Where is our other guest?”

Moose grinned. “Hiding in a bedroom. I think he's shy.”

“Bring him down. Let's have a little reunion, shall we?”

Moose nodded and turned toward the hallway. A couple of moments later, he reappeared with Jeremy Pendergrast. Pendergrast's face looked ashen when he saw Dimitri and Vladimir sitting at the table, but he didn't say a word. When Moose pulled out a chair for him, he simply sat down and looked resigned.

Vladimir sneered at him. “So they have you, too? Did you also volunteer for this suicidal mission?”

“Jeremy didn't get a choice in the matter, any more than you did. You're both here for the same reason. I want to know everything you can tell me about Nicolaich Andropov, and how I can flush him out. Where should we begin?”

Vladimir stared at Pendergrast, but then he gave a deep sigh. “Nicolaich is already looking for you,” he said. “Every agent of Russia, no matter where they are in the world, has been told to watch for you. We have all been shown photographs that were taken by hidden security cameras when you took the girl, and instructed to report any sighting of you to the SVR. If you want him to find you, then you need only leave a trail for him to follow.” He looked at Noah. “I do not, however, share your opinion that he will come for you himself. Nicolaich is no fool. Do you think he will not know that you're trying to trap him?”

“You can let me worry about that,” Noah said. “The fact of the matter is, I'm not so much trying to trap him as inviting him to trap me. All I want from you is to know where I need to go to leave that trail of breadcrumbs for him to follow.”

Vladimir shook his head. “It is not so simple, Mister Colson. Nicolaich is not a man who can be led about, he is always several steps ahead of you. You will think you are leading him on a merry chase, only to find that he is waiting for you at the end of your run.”

Dimitri slapped the table in front of Vladimir. “Vladimir, old friend, stop this. Stop defending that monster. As long as Nicolaich Andropov lives, none of us are safe. This may be the only chance we ever have to free ourselves of his threats.” He turned to Noah. “Nicolaich takes it personally whenever something happens to any of his top people. In his eyes, I am one of those people. If you will give me your word that you will get my family out of Russia, I will volunteer myself. Kill me, and leave my body where it can be found by Russian authorities. Nicolaich will know that it was you, and it will give him a place to start looking.”

Vladimir started to speak but Noah cut him off. “I appreciate the offer, but I think you're more valuable to me alive.” He turned to Vladimir. “What about you? Would Nicolaich get upset if something happened to you?”

Vladimir shrugged. “I don't think I'm that valuable to him,” he said. “Men like me are easy to replace.”

“He is correct,” Dimitri said. “My suggestion is the best one, but if you don't like it then I have another.”

Noah looked at him. “Let's hear it.”

Dimitri nodded once, then flicked his eyes to Vladimir for just a second. “Let him go. He will immediately report to his superiors that you are looking for Nicolaich. That information will get to the Boar very quickly, and he will set all possible resources to locating you. Since Vladimir will also report that I am now working with you, Nicolaich will be enraged. He will want us both, and it will then become a matter of which of us is the hunter and which is the prey.”

Noah studied him for a moment, and then turned to Vladimir. “I'm not sure I like that plan, but it might be my best option. You're not going to get off scot-free, though; your life comes with a price. I want you to give Nicolaich a particular message, will you do that?”

“If you give me a message for him, he would expect me to deliver it. As soon as word reaches him that you are looking for him and that I survived a meeting with you, he will undoubtedly contact me directly to find out how that is possible. If I tell him that you wanted me to deliver a special message, then he probably won't have me killed, and he will take the message very seriously. What is it?”

Noah smiled, a shark-toothed smile that sent a shiver down Vladimir's spine. “I want you to tell him that I killed Vasily as an afterthought, just because the kid was too damned cocky, and that I'm going to kill him for the same reason.”

Dimitri suddenly laughed. “Oh, my goodness,” he said. “That will be exactly the thing to say if you want an insanely enraged Boar on your trail.

Noah looked him in the eye. “That's exactly what I want,” he said.

“I
t's two o'clock in the morning,” Noah said. “How long will it be before Vladimir is missed?”

“Probably,” Vladimir answered for himself, “when I don't show up at my office in the morning. Because I left with Dimitri, none of my personal guard will think anything of it, and will expect me to go on to work or call in to say I will be late. If I do neither, our security will be alerted to begin searching for me.”

“Good, I want them worried. Vladimir, you're going to be my guest until sometime tonight. Moose, is there a room we can put him in that he can't get out of?”

Moose grinned and nodded. “There is a room in the basement, solid concrete with a steel door. I guess it was a storm shelter of some kind—there are two sets of bunk beds down there and it even has a bathroom. The door can be locked from the outside, so he won't be going anywhere.”

“That'll work. Take him down and lock him in, then we should all try to rest. In the morning, we can talk about our next moves.” Moose stood and motioned with his gun for Vladimir to precede him down the stairs that led off the kitchen. Noah turned to Dimitri. “There are several bedrooms, find one that's empty and make yourself comfortable. I don't have to tell you what would happen if you suddenly decide to change sides on me again, do I?”

Dimitri gave him a half smile. “I am no fool, young man. At this point, I am a corpse that is still walking around, caught squarely in the crossfire between you and your archenemy. My only hope of seeing my family again is for you to succeed in your quest to kill Nicolaich. If you do not, then he will kill me for even considering this kind of betrayal. If I try to escape you, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will kill me.”

“You're absolutely correct,” Noah said. “Go get some sleep, and we'll talk in the morning.” He looked at Pendergrast. “You might as well go back to bed, too, Jeremy. We'll talk more in the morning.”