Snow Wolf (74 page)

As Lukin approached the dacha he tensed.

Blood pumped furiously through his veins
as the sound of gunfire still raged in the distance. He had the white rag in
his hand, and as he jogged toward the driveway he caught sight of a figure
moving out of the bushes at the front of the garden.

A big man, ruggedly built. He had a
Kalashnikov in his hands and was moving toward the front of the dacha.

Lukin froze.

The man was partly in shadow and he
couldn't make out if it was Stanski.

Before he could react an engine suddenly
burst into life and two powerful beams of light illuminated the driveway. Lukin
stood there totally confused. The man with the Kalashnikov seemed to freeze
too, but then a car roared out of the darkness and down the driveway,
headlights blazing.

Lukin stood stunned as the man in the
garden.spun around and fired off a rapid burst as the Skoda shot past.

Lukin flung himself down as the weapon
chattered, and he heard the sound of lead rip into metal as a volley of fire
answered from the driver's window.

The Skoda shot onto the street and the
man with the Kalashnikov ran after it, firing wildly.

Windows shattered as the car skewed and
slid on the snow, then it suddenly righted itself and swung left out into the
middle of the street.

As it swung, a rear door burst open with
the sudden force of the turn and a figure came hurtling out onto the snow and
rolled across the street.

Lukin watched in disbelief as the man
with the Kalashnikov kept firing at the Skoda, and then suddenly he caught a
glimpse of Stanski at the steering wheel.

The man with the Kalashnikov had emptied
his magazine and he tore another from his pocket and hastily reloaded and
cocked the weapon.

Lukin wrenched out his pistol just as the
man turned, horror on his face when he saw Lukin.

As he went to raise the Kalashnikov,
Lukin got off two shots, hitting him in the chest and neck and punching him
back into the snow.

He ran out into the street and saw the
Skoda's taillights disappear, racing over the snow.

"NO ... ! " he roared.

There was a groan of pain from behind,
and when he turned back Lukin saw the figure from the car writhing in the snow.
He was wounded in the chest and his face was twisted in agony. Then he saw that
his hands were tied behind his back.

"Jesus ... help me ..."

The man spoke in English.

For several moments Lukin stood there in
total confusion, then suddenly he heard shouts and saw a knot of men come down
the street, flashlights in their hands as they moved toward him at a trot.

Romulka led the way, his pistol out.
"Halt! Stay where you are! "

Where the hell was Pasha?

Lukin turned back frantically and saw
that the taillights of the Skoda had vanished. He knelt and gripped the wounded
man by the collar and dragged him back to the BMW.

After ten seconds Lukin was almost out of
breath. A volle of shots rang out, kicking up Puffs Of snow in front of him. Y
He glanced back. Romulka and his men were less than fifty meters away.

"Halt! Do you hear me? Halt!"

Lukin kept going, the man's weight like
lead. When he reached the driveway, he flung open the passenger door of the BMW
and lifted the man inside, into the driver's ' seat, turned the ignition key
and the engine roared.

As he reversed out onto the street two
men ran up, firing Pistols at the car.

Lukin heard shots puncture metal and
glass and the rear window shattered.

As Lukin glanced back, Massey suddenly
became conscious and Lukin heard a moan and a voice saying drowsily, Where am I
... ?"

"Keep down!"

He didn't wait to see if Lebel had
obeyed. He shifted fran tically into gear as he ducked his head, hit the
accelerator and the car roared forward.

Bullets cracked into the chassis as he
raced down the street.

The last thing Lukin glimpsed in the
rearview mirror was Romulka running after him in the middle Of the street, firing
wildly, his face twisted in rage.

Lukin sweated as he drove.

He had kept the headlights off in case he
caught up with the Skoda, but the road was unlit and he found it difficult to
keep the BMW straight.

Every now and then he got too close to
the curb and the front wheel hit the right side of the road and He had to
wrench the steering wheel over.

What he had done was crazy, but he knew
he had to follow Stanski. All he saw up ahead now though was night and empty
White streets.

The Skoda had a head start of maybe only
a minute, but the, BMW was faster, so it couldn't get far ahead. Besides, Lukin
could just make out the single set of tire marks in the virgin snow and knew it
had to be the Skoda.

He came to a fork in the road. He saw
tire marks leading left and followed them, picking up as much speed in the
darkness as he dared.

What had happened to Pasha? Lukin guessed
that once the firing became too intense he had tried to double back to the
dacha.

Unless Romulka had killed him? At that
thought Lukin sank into despair. But then he knew Pasha. He was headstrong but
he had the native cunning of his Mongol blood. Lukin guessed-hoped-the man
would somehow find his way out of it.

The Frenchman was conscious now in the
back, the drug wearing off. The shooting had obviously startled him awake. When
Lebel finally saw the wounded man in the front seat he suddenly seemed to come
alive, a bewildered look on his face as he spoke.

Lukin didn't know what the word meant or
if it was French or English. The man beside him was barely conscious. His head
was slumped on his chest and he was gurgling and coughing up blood. The
Frenchman leaned over shakily and felt the passenger's pulse and said in
confusion, "What's going on? For God's sake, can't you see he's
dying!"

There was something in his tone and
action that suggested Lebel knew the man. The car bumped as it hit the curb,
then Lukin righted it again and kept following the tracks in the snow. The man
in the passenger seat groaned and his head rolled to the right.

Lukin said urgently, "You know
him?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?" Lukin demanded.

Lebel looked at him, perplexed. "Who
are you? How did I get here?"

"Major Lukin, KGB. I released you from
the Lubyanka."

Confusion filled the Frenchman's face and
he fell silent. Lukin guessed that he was still too disoriented from the
morphine to recognize him from the hotel. And the Frenchman looked to be in
considerable pain. Before Lukin could speak again he suddenly noticed the red
taillights of a car a hundred meters ahead and his heart skipped. He had almost
reached the Moscow River and a bridge ahead led across to Novodevichy. When the
car in front trundled over the bridge and the taillights kept straight on,
Lukin realized the vehicle was headed toward the old convent.

It had to be Stanski.

The marks in the snow were the only ones
Lukin had seen all the way from the dacha. Stanski was obviously desperate and
had nowhere else to run. The deserted convent would offer brief cover.

Lukin slowed and Peered beyond the
windshield. Just then he saw the beginning of the convent walls on the
left-hand side of the road. He felt his heart thumping against his ribs as he
saw the car slow and then turn left toward the convent entrance. He had kept a
safe distance behind and still had the headlights off, and he guessed the
occupants of the car hadn't noticed him. But even from a distance he thought
the car was a light colored Skoda.

As he came toward the left turn, Lukin
increased his speed, looked and saw the Skoda halted outside the convent
entrance, fifty meters away. He glimpsed the shattered rear window and sighed
with relief. A hundred meters farther on, he doused the headlights, swung the
BMW back around facing the convent, then eased on the brakes and switched off
the engine. As he sat there he could just make out a figure moving into the
arched entrance. Moments later the figure returned, climbed back into the
driver's side, and the Skoda drove in through the archway and disappeared.

Lukin waited, then started the car again
and drove closer to the convent. Fifty meters from the entrance he Switched off
the engine and let the BMW coast silently to a halt just outside the archway-
He saw the gate inside was open.

The man in the passenger seat groaned
again.

The Frenchman said, "He's dying. For
God's sake do something, quick!"

"Listen to me, Lebel, and listen
well. I mean you no harm.

If you do as I say, you go free. Do you
want to go free?"

Lebel stared back in disbelief.
"Would someone kindly tell me what the hell's going on? I've been abducted
and spent two days in a stinking cell, had one of my balls half crushed by a
deranged maniac who said I'd never see sunlight again. And "Jake ...
flicked on the lights, and drove straight on past. He turned to now you're
asking me if I want to go free, like it's all been some terrible mistake?"

Lukin handed over the key to the
handcuffs. "Here, release yourself."

The gesture seemed to amaze the Frenchman
and he quickly unlocked the cuffs. Lukin asked, "Who's your
frien&?"

Lebel hesitated, then said, "An
American. His name's Jake Massey. If you want to know more, ask your friend
Romulka.

"Time for explanations later. And
Romulka's no friend. If I hadn't taken you from the cellars he would have had
worse in store for you, I can assure you. But right now I want you to deliver a
message to the convent."

There was a puzzled look on Lebel's
pained face. "I don't understand."

"Your friends from the dacha just
drove in there. There's a man named Stanski with them. Tell him I want to talk.
Tell him that it's important and I mean him no harm."

Lukin saw the confusion on the
Frenchman's face.

"He'll doubt you, Lebel, but assure
him this is no trick. Here, I want you to give him this." He removed the
file from his tunic and handed it over. "Tell him to read what's inside
carefully. Tell him Major Yuri Lukin has discovered the reason why he was
chosen to find the Wolf. When he's read it I need to talk.

Lebel frowned uncertainly.

Lukin said, "Please, trust me and do
as I ask. I haven't been followed and I mean none of you any harm. Assure
Stanski of that. Take my gun if you don't believe me."

He removed the Tokarev from his holster
and handed it to Lebel. When the Frenchman didn't take the weapon, he grabbed
his hand and forced the gun into his palm and closed his fingers around it.
"Take it. Can you drive?"

Lebel looked bewildered. He nodded. Lukin
said, "Take my car and drive into the convent. Tell Stanski I'll be
waiting by the river. Take your friend with you. The others may be able to help
him."

He climbed out of the car and helped
Lebel out of the back and into the driver's seat, the Frenchman wincing in
pain. "Take it easy," he groaned. Lukin stuffed the Tokarev and the
file into Lebel's pockets. "Do you think you can manage it?"

"Mon ami, so long as I don't have to
return to the Lubyanka, I'll manage anything."

"How do you feel?"

Lebel grunted. "Like someone's set
fire to my right testicle." Lukin found the white rag in the car and
rolled down the driver's window. "Take this. Keep waving it as you go
inside."

The Frenchman looked alarmed. "You
think there'll be shooting?"

"For your sake I hope not."

"I think it's time to get out of the
Moscow fur business.

Move somewhere safer and More peaceful,
like Hell's Kitchen, New York. Wish me luck."

"Go, please. Quickly. And remember
what I told you."

Lebel drove unsteadily toward the convent
gate. As Lukin watched him disappear into the dark courtyard beyond he heard
the distant sound of a clock strike half past midnight.

He walked on down to the river. The lace
was deserted, the frozen water silver in the pale moonlight. He found a bench
and sat. He removed the cigarette case from his pocket, lit one with a shaking
hand, and waited.

Massey became conscious again as he sat
in the car.

A draft of icy cold rushed in through the
open window and stung his face. Then shock waves of pain flooded his entire
body. He moaned 'in agony and tasted blood on his lips. His lungs and chest
felt as if they were in flames, but his brow felt cold as ice. He coughed up
blood and it spewed onto his coat.

He thought: God, I'm dying.

A voice said, "Take it easy, Jake.
We're almost there, you goddamned son-of-a-bitch. Don't die on me now."

Massey was faintly aware Of a silver
light at the end of an alcove, an open trellis gate and a courtyard with
gardens be yond. The car drove through very slowly and finally came to a halt
and the engine died. And then the man beside him was waving something and
shouting. "I've got a wounded man here, for Christ's sake! Give me some
help!"