Chapter Fourteen
"Please tell me there is a plan?" Lucas said as soon as he stepped inside Litchka's apartment.
"We just heard now," Peter said rising from his seat by the phone. "We need to head to the port of Riga. We're to look for KL Shipping on the way."
"And then?" Lucas asked.
"We meet our contact there, at the main office. A David Lipov. He will get us onboard a container ship headed for Helsinki. Once in Finland, we'll be met by US agents."
"If all goes as planned," Nelson muttered.
"All will go as planned," Peter replied looking to Nelson and doing his best to gauge his ability to walk on his own.
"I'll be fine," Nelson said as he watched Peter. "You two worry about yourselves."
"We'll need to acquire a vehicle. It's a long way to the dock and we must be there while it is still dark," Peter said, looking in anxiety at his watch. "The ship leaves port at 0630."
"You should go then," Litchka said harshly.
"Yes, we…" Lucas stopped what he was about to say when he heard a noise outside the apartment and held his hand up, motioning for silence. Moving towards the door, he pressed his ear against it, listening for a moment before carefully opening the door slightly and looking out. Closing it, he leaned his head against it then turned back to the others.
"They've found us. One of Josip's guards is outside. I…they must have followed me. I'm sorry," he whispered. "I thought I had been careful."
"We need to leave now. Is there a back way out?" Peter asked Litchka.
"There is a fire escape at the far end of the hall. It leads down to the street."
"That means we still have to get past our friend out there," Lucas whispered, glancing quickly to Nelson, knowing he would not be able to run. "Is there no other way out?"
"There is only one way out of this apartment and it is that door unless you want to jump two stories straight down. And I do not think he is up for it," she replied, gesturing to Nelson who was struggling to rise from the couch.
"We should get moving," Nelson said, trying not to groan at the agony that flared through him as he rose from the couch before Peter or Lucas could help.
"From the street below, we can steal a car to take us to the port," Litchka said as she began moving about the apartment quickly.
"Wait…what do you mean we can steal a car?" Peter asked before she could disappear into her bedroom.
"I must go with you now. They know my apartment. They will come for me when you are gone. I will not endure three more years in a camp…or worse."
Frustrated, Nelson frowned. "We don't have time…"
"We can tie you up," Peter said. "Make it look like we broke in and forced you…"
"No. I will not take the chance they do not believe that lie. I have been prepared for this day. I knew one day it would come," she explained as she headed into her small bedroom and emerged a scant few minutes later with a small suitcase, a small backpack and a black Russian Makarov pistol. Checking her pistol's load quickly, she announced, "I am ready. Unless you disagree?"
Her eyes bore into Nelson's, daring him to deny her. With a shrug, he said, "I guess this time you win. It's out the door and down the fire escape. Lucas? Your gun?"
"I can…"
"No. I suspect you both have had enough of killing. My turn," he said as he took Lucas' gun and walked to the door, doing his best to ignore the stabbing pain that accompanied the motion. Carefully, he inched the door open and spied the guard who looked both young and scared. Clenching his jaw tight, he aimed for a spot over the young man's heart, then pulled his aim a bit higher and to the right and squeezed off a shot, watching as surprise flitted over the young man's face as the bullet hit him high in the chest near the shoulder and he fell down the stairs. "Come on."
Peter, Lucas and Litchka followed Nelson out the door and down the hallway to the window at the far end. Opening it quickly, Peter looked up and down the street below and gestured for the others to climb down while he covered them with his own pistol. Once Litchka had started her climb down, he followed, landing on the alley below.
"No one up on your floor even looked out their doors at the gunshot," Peter said in amazement.
Litchka shrugged. "They do not wish to know what is not their concern. Now come, we must procure a car."
The group headed off through the alley, stopping at the end where Peter motioned them to remain hidden while he hotwired a car.
At the sound of the motor turning, Lucas grabbed Nelson under the arm and helped him to the car, putting him inside quickly while Litchka moved to the front seat beside Peter. Lucas was just about to get in beside Nelson when the night air exploded in a spray of bullets, one of them hitting him and spinning him to the ground.
Angered, Nelson pulled himself from the car and fired back with Peter's gun, scattering the guards that were approaching from behind. Grabbing Lucas under the shoulders, he and Peter managed to pick him up and toss him inside the back of the car. Both Nelson and Peter jumped inside and before Nelson's door had closed were tearing off down the street, around a corner and headed, hopefully, for the port and safety.
"Let me see how bad it is, Lucas," Nelson muttered as he pulled Lucas' shirt up.
"It's nothing," he ground out as he looked at the long red streak that marred his left side, blood welling up.
"Here," Peter called from the front, handing Nelson a handkerchief. "Use that on it."
"You're lucky. It's just a crease," Nelson said after a minute. "Gonna be sore for a time but the bleeding's slowing already."
"Thanks," Lucas ground out, flinching as Nelson dabbed at the cut.
"How far to the port?" Nelson asked as he did what he could for Lucas.
"We are to go to the main offices on Duntes and pick up an agent who will get us aboard the freighter," Peter answered. "Litchka? How far is that?"
"To this office…it should only be fifteen…twenty minutes from here. To the port? I do not know. There are many on the river and a few that are back off side channels. I do not know which one we will go to."
"How do we get there?"
Litchka thought for a moment then gave Peter concise directions to the office.
"Hopefully, Josip and Vasnev have no idea where we are going," Peter whispered.
"There is always the possibility someone contacted by your people is not as trustworthy as you would like to believe and told what they know," Litchka muttered. "They could already be waiting for us."
"Let's hope that's not true. It would be nice to catch a break," Nelson muttered, struggling to fight off the lethargy he felt course through him. To be in this situation, running for his life, was one thing, but to know he could very well cause the deaths of everyone in that car filled him with a terrible, heart-wrenching fear. His wound throbbed in beat with his heart and he put a shaking hand to it, then frowned as his hand encountered a sticky wetness. He pulled his shirt up a bit, but the pitch-blackness that filled the car hid the wound from his sight.
"You all right?"
He turned as he heard Lucas' concerned voice.
"Yeah…I…I'm fine," he said, frowning when he heard Litchka snort. "Something you want to say?"
"Me? No. But you keep moving around as you have been and you will be bleeding again, if you aren't already."
"There's nothing to do for it," he answered testily. "We can't be caught here."
They drove for twenty minutes heading farther and farther from the heart of town and soon saw a building on the right. "There. Head in there," Litchka called.
Peter turned the car into the darkened parking lot, turned off the car's lights and waited.
"Any secret word you are to remember?" Litchka asked sarcastically. "Any secret knock?"
"I was told to park in this exact parking spot and wait. We would be met here and taken to the ship."
More than a few minutes passed as the group waited before suddenly, a knock on the driver's side door had them all jumping.
"You are Peter?" the tall, mustached man asked.
"Yes. David?"
"Yes. I am to take you to the Aila and get you onboard. You must be onboard in a little over an hour. We must hurry. Do you have weapons?"
"Only three handguns and no ammunition."
David said something that just by the tone, Nelson was sure was a curse. "Wait here. I will be back."
"Why do I get the feeling he isn't overjoyed to be helping us?" Lucas asked.
"Because those left behind must pay a heavy price if caught. If you are lucky, you only die," she said, turning to look Nelson in the eye with what looked like a smile on her face. "If we are caught…we and our families will suffer for it. I will not be caught alive by them. I will not go back."
The door on the other side of Nelson opened and David jumped in, two AK-47s, one brand spanking new AK-74 and two small handguns in his arms along with rounds of ammunition. "Now you are armed. We must go. The freighter is headed for Helsinki. You will be met by authorities there once in port. She is loaded now and waiting for the tide. Her full crew will not be onboard for awhile yet. Those onboard now have been paid to look the other way if they see you. You should be safe from view of anyone else if we can get there while it is still dark."
"You trust this crew to 'look the other way' while we board?" Nelson asked.
"Yes. I do. Those loyal to Mother Russia have been granted a few extra hours ashore," he said, his lip curling in derision at the term Mother Russia. "Those onboard have no love for Russia."
"Good enough," Nelson whispered as he and Lucas took the guns and busied themselves loading them while Peter started the car and began to head away from the building.
"Who will meet us at the dock?" Peter asked.
"A man by the name of Heinrik Vasily. He will take you to an empty container on the ship where you will stay out of sight until you reach Helsinki. You will be onboard and hidden before the rest of the crew arrives. I apologize in advance for the accommodations, Admiral Nelson" he said, a smile in his voice. "But we were given little notice that you would be coming."
"I've been in worse spots," he assured David. "As long as…"
What he was about to say was interrupted when suddenly the way in front was blocked by a black Lincoln, men already crawling out the side doors.
"Reverse! Get us out of here!" Nelson cried.
"I'm trying!" Peter cried. "I can't get it in reverse!"
Finally, just as the soldiers were aiming their rifles, the car shot backwards. Peter swung the car around and headed back down the long, dark road they had come in on only to discover another car headed towards them.
"Damn! We're trapped!" Peter cried.
"We need to make a stand," Nelson said harshly as he took the AK-74 and handed an AK-47 to Peter. "You and David take the car behind us. They're farther away. Lucas, you and I will deal with our friends right here. Litchka, use that gun you brought and help Peter."
Nelson burst from one side of the car and Lucas from the other, using the open doors as cover. Both began firing on the black Lincoln before those inside could get out. Two guards fell out the back seat of the car and the three in front began putting down a blistering fire.
Behind him, Nelson heard Peter, David and Litchka firing and prayed their aim was true.
The firefight went on and on, bullets tearing into the car Nelson and the others hid behind. After a time Nelson noticed the firing from their attackers lessening and he yelled to Peter, "How are you doing?"
"I think we're good! There's no more firing coming from them," he called as he and David moved to join their guns with those of Nelson and Lucas, firing on the car in front of them, smiling as two more bodies joined the others on the round.
Silence filled the night air and Peter hesitantly stood up, his gaze on the far car. When there was no return fire, he said, "We should move out now. We're running out of time."
"Oh shit," Lucas whispered. "There's another car coming! We have to get moving!"
"You go. I will stay," David said, reloading his rifle quickly. "Remember the name I gave you?"
"Yes," Nelson said. "But I can't let you…"
"You will go. Now!" he cried as he shoved Nelson away and towards the car. "I will hold them off for as long as I can. Get to the ship but be cautious. Look for Heinrik. Use the code word svoboda. He will know what happened." When the group hesitated, taking their cues from Nelson who looked from David to the car rapidly approaching, he said, "Admiral, I have no one. The Russians took my family from me one by one. I want to join them and take a few of them with me. Now go!"
Lucas grabbed Nelson under the arm and pulled him up, throwing him as gently as he could in the back seat. "Go, Peter!"
Peter revved the engine and spun the car about, swerving around the idle black Lincoln and continued down the road they had been headed down before the attack.
"Everyone all right?" Lucas asked from the back seat as he helped Nelson back up onto the seat. "Peter? Litchka?
"Yes, I am fine," Litchka said wearily.
"Me too," Peter agreed. "How are you doing, Admiral?"
"I…I'm fine," he muttered doing his best to keep the pain out of his voice.
"Your wound?"
Nelson was silent for a time as he fingered the wet hole in his side and decided there was no reason to lie. "It's bleeding. Has been for awhile."
"Here," Litchka said taking a handkerchief from the small backpack she carried and handed it to Lucas. "Press that against it."
Lucas took the cloth and pressed it as gently as he could against the wound, smiling a bit as Nelson's eyes stayed locked with Litchka's for a long moment.
"Thank you," he murmured to her.
"It is only a handkerchief," she said, turning away.
Sighing deeply, he laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, contemplating David's sacrifice, and wondering once again at the depths a man's choices could take him.
"We should consider that our destination is known," Peter said. "Did anyone see Vasnev or Stepankov?"
"I saw Vasnev go down. He was in the first car and one of the last to be hit," Lucas said quietly. "I did not see Josip in either car."
"I saw Josip," Nelson answered quietly. "He was in the car in front of us. I saw him hit and go down."
"You're sure?"
"Very," he said, grimacing as Lucas pressed harder on the wound, hoping he could continue to stay conscious. "He didn't get back up."
"We'll have to head to the freighter and board. Assume Josip and Vasnev are dead," Peter said. "We have no other option right now."
The group drove as quickly as possible down the pitch-black unfamiliar road until they came to an area lit brilliantly with lights, a soft mist wafted over the area casting it in eerie shadows. Docked at a long pier on a channel off the Daugava River sat a container ship, Aila emblazoned on her stern.
"There! That must be the freighter," Peter said as he parked as far away from the ship as he could and in a darkened corner.
"Any sign of activity?" Nelson asked doing his best to sit up.
"No. She looks fully loaded though. Containers standing four…five high. You stay here. I'll look for this Heinrik," Peter said as he got out of the car and walked slowly towards the gang plank.
"Ya mogu vam pomoch?" asked a voice from the shadows near the ship.
"Yes, yes maybe you can help me," Peter said with a smile. "I am looking for someone."
"Who?"
"Good. You speak English. I'm looking for Heinrik."
"Why?"
"David sent me."
Peter watched as the small man before him flinched slightly then looked about furtively.
"And? Where is this David?"
He decided it was no use to lie. "Dead probably. He covered our escape."
Heinrik closed his eyes briefly before moving towards Peter. "What else did he say before he died?"
"Svoboda."
"Da," he assented after a brief hesitation. "Where are the ones I am to help?"
"In that car over there."
"Get them. And hurry. The rest of the crew will be coming soon. They must not see you."
Peter ran back to the car and opened the back door. "He's legit I think. Come on," he said as Lucas got out, then reached in to help Nelson from the back, frowning at the weakness he felt in the man. "We can carry…"
"No. I can make it. You'll need your hands free if this doesn't go right," he muttered.
"Hurry," Peter said as Lucas wrapped an arm about Nelson to help him anyway, then turned back to Litchka who had her suitcase and back pack in hand and was already hurrying after Nelson.
"Come," Heinrik called as he looked about apprehensively. "Thereis little time."
Once the group reached the gang plank, Heinrik walked quickly up to the top deck, waiting anxiously as Nelson and the others followed.
A few crewmen could be seen on the far side of the ship but, after a cursory interested look, turned away and went back to their duties.
"This way," he said leading them down a narrow aisle; containers stacked high overhead until he came to one particular one about four rows back and in the center of the ship.
"In here is where you will stay until you reach Helsinki. Once in port, your people will come for you," he assured Nelson. "They have been notified of the sailing time."
"Thank you," Nelson managed to croak out.
"You are hurt? I will find medical supplies and bring food for your journey. Water is already inside," he said as he hurried down the aisle and disappeared from view.
"Guess we should get you situated inside," Peter said.
"Not just yet I think," a familiar voice deep in the shadows said.
Turning, the group saw Josip Stepankov, blood from a wound high on his chest coloring his shirt and a Mauser pistol aimed at them.
"Put your weapons down," he said watching closely as they complied. Gesturing to Peter he said, "You, over there by the woman," then turned back to Lucas and Nelson who was having a hard time staying upright.
"You thought you had won, didn't you, Nelson?"
"How…how did you…?" Nelson asked, the hope he'd felt that they were safe fleeing.
"How did I find you? Is that what you wish to know? I was shot, by you I think, but not killed. I waited until you and your friends here left and followed you once the shooting had died down from the one you left behind. You and your friends were not very careful."
Turning his gaze to Lucas, a look of rage washed over his face. "Your father would be ashamed of the man you have become," he growled, backhanding Lucas brutally, smiling as he watched his head flung backwards and blood trickle down his face.
"I take that as a compliment," Lucas muttered.
"I do not understand," Josip whispered staring in bewilderment at Lucas. "He was your father. You loved him and he you!"
"My father loved no one but himself, Josip. You know it's true. You remember surely how he treated you. There was no gratitude in him for anything. Everything was his right…his right to rule, his right to steal, his right to kill."
"No. He loved me. I was his brother. I…"
"He had no use for you," Nelson interrupted. "When you went over the side of the raft, he didn't care, never looked to see if you were alive, never gave you another thought. The only one he cared about was himself."
"You lie! You both lie! Alexi was my brother! He…"
"…hated you," Lucas finished. "When I was a child, I…I would hear him talk to my mother when she still lived. He would mock you…curse you. He had no use for you as Nelson said. He used you as he used everyone. You were only a means to an end. He pretended fealty, you freed him from the firing squad. He proclaimed you would rule beside him, he had your undying loyalty. But they were just words."
"NO!" Josip cried.
"It's true."
Off to the side, Nelson watched out of the corner of his eye as Peter moved slowly behind Josip.
"Alexi…he would not lie to me," he snarled as he advanced towards Lucas, anger clouding his eyes and his mind. With a quick flick of his wrist he hit Lucas across the cheek with the butt of his gun, turning quickly to Nelson before he could move.
"I wanted to watch you break. I wanted to see the man I hold responsible for Alexi Brynov's death to die slowly or become a traitor to his country. You thought you had denied me that. Didn't you? Now, I will at least see you die," he spat as he trained the gun on Nelson who stared his coming death in the eye. But before the gun could go off he felt a body crash into him and felt himself falling. The loud report of the gun, a muffled cry and another gunshot filled the air before a deafening silence took over.
His strength almost gone, Nelson had just enough left to lift his head to see Heinrik, a small pistol in his hand and Josip Stepankov at his feet, eyes open and staring blindly at the sky above.
Peter rushed to Nelson's side and helped him sit up, then turned to Lucas who was beginning to come around.
Looking into the shadows beside him, Nelson saw a figure, flowing, ebony hair blending into the pre-dawn sky, lying unmoving beside him and he reached a hand out. "Litchka?" he called, crawling to her side. He smoothed the hair back from her face, then drew her to him, cradling her in his arms. A sticky wetness covered his hand and he pulled it from her to stare at it in amazement. Blood? She was hurt? How?
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up into Nelson's confused eyes. "I…I don't seem to be able to think clearly around you," she whispered. "That was not my best plan."
"You…you pushed me away? You saved me?"
"As I said…not as good a plan as I thought."
Nelson felt Lucas kneel beside him. "We need to get inside. Tide is rising. The crew is coming."
"She needs help," he whispered, shock filling him at what she'd done. "Heinrik…take her. Get her help. Please get…"
A light from somewhere nearby illuminated the area suddenly and Nelson struggled not to groan aloud as he saw the ragged hole in her chest, felt her weakening breaths, her body trembling and knew she was dying. Even if help was close…she was dead.
"It is too late," she whispered. "You…must go but…please…take me with you."
Agonized seconds passed as Nelson struggled against the reality he faced. "Help me," he muttered finally as he tried to tug her inside the container. Lucas grabbed her arms and gently helped Nelson pull her inside, her blood leaving a crimson trail behind.
"Don't leave me. Please," she begged Nelson as she wrapped a feeble hand around his arm and squeezed. "I don't want to die alone."
"I won't leave you. Stay still," he whispered to her as he stroked her hair.
He heard the heavy clang of the container's door close and what seemed to be only a few short minutes later, heard the ship's engines fire and felt the vibration that told them they were leaving port. A feeble light flickered on in the cold, desolate container, enough that he could see the stark fear on her face and his heart clenched. "Why?" he murmured.
"I…I do not know."
"I thought you hated me."
A brief laugh that turned into a moan caused Nelson to pull her closer. "So did I. I blamed you. All those days, weeks, months, years in that camp, I blamed you, cursed you, hated you."
"Then why? Why would you…"
"Because I…I finally saw that I was the only one to blame. My choices…my fault. I remembered your eyes on the pier that day. I saw you stop when I called and I remembered seeing regret in your eyes that warred with concern for your friends. And as I said, I did not think my plan through all the way. I should have moved faster."
Nelson lowered his head, unable to look at the woman who had saved his life, the woman who'd used him to further her plans.
"That…that night…what happened between us…it was not part of the plan," she whispered. "It was not part of my plan."
"It wasn't part of mine either," he agreed, shifting his body a bit to hold her closer. "I should have known better."
"But…I lied. That night…it meant something to me. It was spontaneous…not planned. Believe me when I say I did not use you. I almost turned from the plan after…I almost told you. I came downstairs and…watched you sleep before making sure the cesium was in your bloodstream. I almost told you then."
"Why didn't you? Why?"
"I was afraid."
"Of?"
"I was afraid if things went wrong, I would be left behind to face the consequences, if not in Russia, then in your country. You would be gone and I would be alone." She laughed slightly, her body shaking, her voice a mere whisper on Nelson's cheek as he leaned closer to hear. "Funny…but that was what happened anyway. What is it they say about karma?"
"I…I don't know," he whispered, his heart aching for the woman dying in his arms.
She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek, a slight smile on her face as her eyes locked with his. "You will not let me go?"
"No, I won't."
"Do not let them take me back to Russia. I do not want to be buried there. I…I would rather be thrown overboard than…than go back."
"I…I won't let them take you back. I promise."
"Spasibo. Ne zabyvay menya," she managed to whisper. Her hand dropped to the floor and Nelson felt her take one final breath.
"Ya ne zabudu tebya. I…I won't forget you," he choked out.
He looked up to see Peter and Lucas kneeling beside him, concern on their faces. "She's gone," he managed to say before passing out.