Chapter 14

Diana's smile wiped away with every step toward the closed bedroom door. She had business with these two whom she knew as Viktor and Leonid. She was never around them long enough to remember their last names, and it never mattered. But now the two were captured, and Borovsky and Jorsh, his second in command, were dead and captured respectively. She didn't care about the status of the other two lackeys left behind at the site where they found Fiona. In her mind, Vik and Leo were the only two left. It was time to get chummy again and maybe they would give up Westen. She unlocked the door and opened it. Her stony gaze fell on Vik and Leo, their bodies wriggling in an attempt to free themselves.

"Careful, you might cut off the circulation," she said to them in Russian.

"Diana, what are you doing with these people," Viktor asked with a shaky voice in his native tongue. "Why did you leave us? Was it that man, that spy?" The way he said it, Viktor made it sound like a dirty word.

"That spy was my partner Ray," Diana answered as she took a few steps and came around to face him. "All the time I was with you and Mikhail and the others, I was spying for the U.S., but I was... exploring my options." She smirked. "You never picked up on that, huh."

"Mikhail suspected," Leo said, looking at her over Viktor's shoulder. "But he could not believe it was true."

By the look of sadness on Leonid's face she understood, and the pieces of the past fell into place. Diana nodded. "I see. I thought he was in love with me, but he was always too busy with the mission to pay me much attention. That's okay, since the feeling was hardly mutual," she said with a serious tone as she examined a cracked nail. She shrugged and slapped the rifle barrel into her hand. "Oh well, doesn't matter. You guys should be more worried about what Sam and Jesse are going to do to you if you don't cough up where Michael Westen is."

"We don't know." Leo's answer was too quick.

"Come on, Leo, we're buddies. At least, we were. I did you a lot of favors, didn't I?" She smiled and left Viktor to face him, getting down to his level, yet keeping her rifle where she could whip it around and shoot him right in the heart if necessary. She would have to be careful, because the way the two men were lined up, if she shot Leo, the bullet would take out Vik too, and then she would never know where Michael was. Her eyes held ice while her lips gave him a warm smile. "Remember all that American candy I got you for your girlfriend and her daughter? How about that doll I got for your kid for her birthday? That wasn't easy, my friend."

"You were a friend. Friends do these things," Leo said, grasping for something to appease her. "I appreciate it very much."

"And what did you do for me, huh, Leo? Not a thing. Oh wait, I know." She got close to his face with hers and ground out, "You killed my partner. That's the thanks I got." She straightened and kept pacing around them. "Where I come from, that's not buddies. Friends don't do that to friends, kill their other friends."

"He was a threat," Vik said in a vain attempt to justify their actions. He looked up at Diana and she gazed down at him as she leveled the gun at his body. The butt touched his upper chest an inch from his heart, and he gasped. "Please, don't kill us. We didn't want to do what Mikhail wanted."

Leo nodded, his head bobbing to the rhythm of his words. "Viktor is right. He threatened us, our families. We had no choice!"

"We did not want to take Westen and his girlfriend. Mikhail ordered us to do it," Vik added.

"Mikhail is dead. Ray and I killed him ourselves," Diana pushed out through gritted teeth.

Vik looked into her eyes as he said, "This is bigger than Mikhail. Michael Westen was a wanted man. We took him and the woman..."

"Did you make his mother a virtual prisoner in her own home?" Diana queried. "Did you bug her place, and put that bracelet on her ankle?"

"Yes. We did that with Ivan and Bruno. Where are they?" Vik asked.

"Either dead or in police custody by now. So you better keep talking or we may turn you over to the cops. You're better off having a... friend... ask you questions than the police."

The two men scoffed. Vik said, "We hear stories about these American policemen. They are pansies."

"If your buddies talk first, just wait and see how they treat you. Don't kid yourselves, they'll rip you to shreds to get the truth." A knock on the door interrupted her, and Diana moved to open it, keeping her eyes on the two the entire time.

"How are things going in here," Sam asked barely above a whisper.

"They're morons but they're smart enough not to talk," she replied.

"Need some help?"

Sam looked like he was eager to bust a couple of heads. Since it was his best friend who was missing, she couldn't blame him. "Sure, come on in." She turned back to the two captives. "Sam, meet Vik and Leo." She aimed the gun at each one as she introduced them. "Guys, this is Sam. English, Russian, doesn't matter which way you go. He'll understand you."

In English, Sam spoke. "Mind getting me up to speed here, fellas? I understand that you and Diana have a... relationship. But I don't know you guys from anybody else. All I know is that you've got my friend somewhere, and I want him back."

"I was just trying to remind my friends how I did things for them with no payback. Now it's time to give... before they give with their lives," she said.

"Very reasonable terms if I say so," Sam said.

Diana nodded and turned to her captives. "So, let's go back to our little discussion about Michael Westen and why you took him. Mikhail was dead, so who wanted him?"

Vik and Leo remained silent. "You know I really hate it when prisoners play this game," Sam said with a heavy sigh as he glanced at Diana. "We might have to get Mike's Ma in here." He turned to Vik and Leo. "Trust me, you do not want to piss off Michael Westen's mom. She'll get the information from you, but it won't be pleasant."

"We're pussy cats compared to Madeline Westen," Diana agreed. "So, you guys might as well just get it off your chests, and we'll put in a good word when we turn you in to the CIA..."

Diana and Sam caught the looks the two men exchanged at the mention of the agency. "I am sorry," Vik finally said, his eyes downcast. "We cannot talk."

"Okay," Sam drew out on a breath. "Your choice. Come on, Di. We'll get Maddie in here."

"You don't understand, Diana," Leo cried out as the two reached the door. Diana and Sam turned to look at him with interest. "There are people in the Ukraine who will kill us if we tell where Westen is and what is their plan for him."

"You're going to die either way," Sam said as he took a step closer and raised his gun. "So you tell us, and maybe, if your intel is good and we find him, our government might make a deal with you. If not... who knows what'll happen."

"You may not make it out of here, or the government will hunt you down. Hey, maybe your friends in the Ukraine will kill you. Either way, you're dead." She softened her tone. "Come on guys, help us out, and I promise we'll put in good word for you. Maybe even get you protection or something." She paused.

Leo blinked. "We took Westen to a man named Sterling. He is an American with interests in various parts of the country. Many years ago, Westen destroyed his plans, and now he wants revenge."

"All this for some revenge? You've gotta be kidding me," Sam exclaimed. "My fiancee is dead because some guy wanted to get back at Mike? That doesn't make sense!" Sam took two steps and grabbed a handful of Leo's shirt, lifting him up, forgetting that he was tied to Vik and the chair. Leo cried out in pain.

"I tell you the truth! I don't know what you are talking about. All I know is, we were supposed to take Westen and his girlfriend at Carlito's on your Thanksgiving holiday. We had drug put into their drinks, but it didn't work." Leo gasped as Sam dropped him onto the chair. He took a few breaths and continued. "It was not easy, but when Ivan threatened to kill the girl in front of him, he gave in."

Sam shook his head, finding the entire scenario hard to believe. "You've had him for two months. Where were you?"

"We had difficulty contacting Sterling. We kept the two in the location where you found us."

Sam's mouth had a hard set to it. "You're lying. Nobody could keep Mike that long without him trying to escape!"

"Most likely they were kept drugged enough to remain submissive," Diana said. "Am I right, boys?"

"Yes," Vik finally spoke. He looked at Sam. "If Westen did not get the drugged drinks..."

"My fiancee and I did," Sam replied with a cold, menacing tone. "Only I didn't drink all of mine. Elsa did. But what I did drink incapacitated me and now she's dead, and I spent almost two months in the hospital recovering and learning how to walk again." As he spoke, his voice rose. "You two are lucky I don't just kill you right now with my bare hands. That's the best you deserve."

"Sam." Diana put a calming hand on his arm. "Maybe you better go cool off. I'll finish up in here."

Sam looked at Diana, then the prisoners, and returned his attention to her. He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I need some fresh air." He lumbered out of the room, shaking his head. Diana watched him leave with misty eyes. With the flurry of activity to find Michael, he'd been allowed to forget about what happened to Elsa. As the pieces started coming together, his loss came to the forefront again. Her heart ached for him.

"Alright, you gave Michael to Sterling. Where is he?" Neither of the men answered. "We're playing hard ball now, are we? Well you know I can play that game too." She pulled back her hand and let the back fly across Vik's face. It hurt her, but no doubt made a greater impact on her captive. A trickle of blood rolled down the corner of his mouth. "Believe it or not, Sam likes to be a nice guy when it comes to interrogation. Don't touch the prisoners, just threaten them convincingly. Me, I like to knock people around a little. Let 'em know that this is a picnic compared to what they're getting later if they don't talk."

Vik and Leo watched her as she rested the rifle against the wall, pulled out her sidearm and caressed it from the barrel tip to the safety, which she unlatched. She'd been ruthless before, they knew it. By the look in Leo's eyes, she knew he was calculating how hard it would be to break free and get to the rifle to defend himself. Vik held his emotions in check. He was always the tougher of the two.

Diana approached Vik and pressed the cool metal up to the middle of his forehead. "Last chance, Vik. Do you really want to leave your family behind?" The corner of her mouth quirked up. "I remember how proud you were of them, how you loved them. If you still love them, I'm sure you'd want to go home alive rather than in a body bag." She glanced down at his chest and noticed that he wore a chain. On the end of it, a small pendant that she knew held the picture of his family.

She yanked it off, ignoring Vik's scream of protest. Opening it, she smiled at the photograph and turned it so he could see it. "Think about it. This is the last look you'll get of them if you don't give up Sterling's location. I'll give you until three, then all talk is over and you can say goodbye." Diana snapped the case closed and straightened. "One." She aimed the gun at him. "Two."

"Alright," Vik said with a tone that indicated he still wasn't sure which was the lesser evil, giving the information and living only to die when Sterling found out he told, or to die at Diana's hands. "Sterling has a boat. A yacht called the Quicksilver. It is docked in Miami, but by now, who knows where it could be? We took Westen there a few hours ago."

"Where in Miami is it docked," Diana asked.

"Not far from Carlito's. The original plan was to drug Westen and his girlfriend, take them to the boat immediately. But we have trouble with Westen, and Sterling had business come up, so we were told to control him for awhile." Leo revealed. "Sterling came back to Miami today, so we moved him."

"I bet he's pretty ticked that Fiona isn't with Michael," Diana said.

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. He really wanted Westen. Fiona... the woman..."

"Was leverage." Diana nodded. She turned on her heel toward the door and picked up the rifle. "Thanks a lot, guys. I'll be back."

Diana left the room and passed the bedroom where they put Fiona on the cot. She was awake and talking softly with Sam and Maddie. She stopped in the doorway, and Fiona's eyes went up to her. Diana gave her a soft smile.

Sam smiled at Diana and beckoned her into the room. She approached slowly. "Hey, Di, this is Fiona. Fi, this Diana. She's a burned spy, just like Mike."

"My condolences on your state," Fiona said with a solemnness in her voice.

"Thanks." Through their many hours together, Sam told Diana about the past few years and how hard it was on everyone. "I found out where Michael was taken. There's a yacht called the Quicksilver moored in Coconut Grove, pier five, at the end. I don't know if it's still there, but that's where Vik and Leo took Michael this afternoon."

"We don't have much time to get there," Sam said as he stood. "Maddie, will you be okay staying here with Fi and our prisoners? We should have Jesse stay too."

"But you know Sterling's going to have a whole bunch of guys watching Michael," Diana said. "We need as much manpower as we can get."

"I can go," Fiona said as she stood. "It's not like I've been injured. Just a little disoriented after being in captivity." Her smile, directed at Diana, was laced with a covetous light in her eyes. "I hear you have an arsenal in this house."

"Yeah." Diana's smile turned into a grin. "Come on, you can have your pick." She led Fiona out of the room, leaving Sam and Maddie alone.

"Maddie, do you think that Fi is really ready to do this," he asked her with doubt written on his face.

"She's fine, Sam. She needs Michael to be safe, and I know if you try to hold her back, she'll find a way to get involved." Maddie patted Sam's arm. Adding a smile, she said, "You're better off not trying."

"Yeah," Sam replied with a long sigh. "I suppose you'll want to go along."

"What about your two friends?"

Sam thought for a moment. "We're taking them with us. They might be useful."