Hi, this is me again! Longest chapter yet, 15 pages on Word :D I hope you like it! Please R&R!
Yassen fell quickly, arms outstretched, reaching desperately for the roof that suddenly seemed much too far away. But it was suddenly rushing up underneath him and he crashed into it, driving all the air from his lungs for the second time in as many minutes. His legs were hanging in space, but his chest had definitely reached the roof, the lances of pain in his chest said as much. His hand was still clutching the handle of his suitcase.
He turned his head and saw Wolf lying beside him, grey faced and panting.
"You alright?" He asked quickly.
"Yeah, fine," Wolf pulled himself up into a sitting position. "What did you do?"
"Used a grenade," Yassen answered. Wolf nodded, looking up at the wreckage of Yassen's room.
"You sure you're ok?" Yassen asked, climbing to his feet and pulling Wolf up beside him.
"I'm fine, I just hit my shoulder when I landed," he replied shortly. Yassen leant forward and pulled Wolf's T-shirt up. Blood was seeping slowly through the bandages, staining the white cloth.
"You opened it up again, you'll probably be alright. Do you want another bandage over the top?" Wolf nodded briefly, turning his head away.
Yassen pulled out another roll of bandages and wrapped it tightly around Wolf's shoulder, holding the first bandage in place.
"There," he said sitting back on his heels, "that should stop the bleeding."
"Thanks," Wolf said quietly. Yassen smiled slightly.
"Come on, we should get down from here," He said, pulling Wolf to his feet again. The younger man swayed, grimacing, before steadying himself and, breathing deeply, nodding to Yassen.
"I'm ready. Let's go," They walked slowly to the back of the roof and picked their way over the slippery tiles to an open window. They climbed through, Wolf needed help to get through; his shoulder had flared up again and was unbelievably sore and tender.
The building they were in now was another hotel, less sumptuous than the one they had booked into, with narrower, darker corridors. All this was to Wolf and Yassen's advantage, as they were able to slip out without being seen.
A few minutes later they both slid into the Aston, feeling considerably less confident than they had when they'd gotten out.
"I think you'd better call your contact," Yassen said slowly, turning the key in the ignition.
"Yeah, me too," Wolf replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. Sirens sounded in the distance and Yassen looked round sharply.
"Let's go," He said, and drove them out of the yard in front of the hotel, easing the Aston out into the traffic. They were instantly brought to a standstill by the heavy traffic, but at least they were away from the hotel, though not by far.
"Wolf…" Yassen said, his voice emotionless. "Thanks, you saved my life in there." The words came out fast, like he wanted to get it over with.
"It was nothing, we're even now: you saved me, I saved you," Wolf said, smiling slightly. He hadn't expected any gratitude from the Russian.
"Anyway, what now? Skinner obviously knows we're here, so how can we make sure he can't trap us again?"
"I don't know," Wolf replied slowly, "Stop as soon as you can and I'll try and phone Baker, my contact. He might be able to give us some ideas, and possibly some protection,"
Yassen snorted.
"We don't need their protection. When I can't protect myself, it'll be time for me to die." Wolf shuddered at the matter of fact tone in his voice.
"So what do we do?"
"Phone him, get the information, but don't tell him where we are. I don't particularly want to spend the rest of my life in prison," Wolf smiled.
"Didn't think you would," He replied.
They followed the traffic across a set of lights and over the river. Yassen turned left on the far bank, and then took another left. He pulled over at the side of the road and turned to Wolf.
"Will this do?" he asked shortly.
"Yeah, this is fine," Wolf said, looking around and pulling his phone from his pocket. He was surprised that it was still working after his fall from the roof, but it still had the number inside. Yassen looked around suddenly and swore in Russian.
"You had your phone on you? That's probably how they found us," he snapped, making Wolf jump. "Use mine, it can't be traced. I'll get rid of yours."
He allowed Wolf to copy out the number into his own mobile before getting out of the car and walking to the river bank. He was half tempted to throw it out into the murky water, but Skinner would know instantly that they had worked out how he was tracking them.
A plan started to form in Yassen's mind and he pocketed the phone again, walking back to the car. Wolf was still talking to his contact, gesticulating angrily despite the fact the Baker couldn't see him.
Yassen waited for him to finish before stepping forward, his eyes gleaming.
"Baker won't give us the information and he was threatening to report me for destroying that hotel room. The report arrived just as he was talking to me, the timing couldn't have been worse," Wolf paused for breath and Yassen cut across him.
"I know how we can find Skinner," Yassen said. Wolf stared at him open-mouthed for a few seconds, then a slow smile spread over his face.
"How? What do we have to do?"
"Call Baker again on your phone, just let it ring once or something, but make sure it connects," Wolf did as he was told, taking his phone back from Yassen.
"Now what?" He asked, sliding it shut again and closing the connection.
"Now we put the phone under the bridge and get ready to follow Skinner's men when they come to get us,"
"Yeah..." Wolf said. "That might work." He passed his phone back to Yassen and watched as he walked to the river bank and dropped the phone on the concrete beneath the bridge.
"Now we wait," He said, walking back up to Wolf.
Three hours later, they were sitting in the Aston at the side of the road. Darkness had fallen about an hour previously and Yassen had pulled a pair of night-vision goggles from his suitcase. They weren't much use around the brightly lit riverside, but he was able to see clearly into the dark space beneath the bridge.
Wolf was asleep beside him, his head lolling gently against the window as he snored quietly. A flicker of movement caught Yassen's eye as he looked past Wolf and he froze, holding himself completely still.
Two men emerged from the darkness; both of them carried a gun across his chest and walked with all the confidence of professional killers. They passed within a few metres of the car, but didn't see Yassen watching them.
Once they were past him, Yassen reached out and shook Wolf awake. He was instantly alert, looking questioningly at Yassen.
"They're here," he said quietly, jerking his head towards the men.
"We're going to follow them?" Wolf asked, "What if they're on foot?"
"Then we follow them on foot, but they're not on foot, look." Yassen pointed past Wolf to a set of headlights that was advancing slowly towards them.
By the river bank, the men had realised that they had been tricked, Yassen could see one of them holding Wolf's phone up to show the other.
"It begins," he muttered, watching as the men went to the car and got in.
Yassen started the Aston's engine as soon as their door closed and, keeping the lights off, followed them a little way. He turned on the lights when they turned the corner, taking advantage of the moment when they would be out of sight.
He kept back from the men, making sure that there was always a car between them so they would be less obvious. Wolf was sitting beside him, cleaning his gun carefully. Yassen understood the feeling; when he was younger, he'd needed something to do with his hands when he was on a mission, or if he was nervous.
They drove for almost twenty minutes. The men in the car they were following didn't seem to notice that Wolf and Yassen were behind them and drove between two car showrooms, plunging into a narrow alleyway. Yassen stopped the Aston, knowing that the wide car wouldn't fit between the towering walls of concrete.
"On foot now," he said, climbing out of the car. Wolf nodded, quickly reassembling the gun as he climbed out of the car and stepped into the darkness on the narrow lane. Yassen locked it and then followed Wolf into the alleyway.
The two men ran alongside each other, Wolf's breath coming in short, painful gasps as they raced after the distant lights of the car. They died suddenly and Yassen's sharp ears picked up voices as the men climbed from the car. He and Wolf stopped running, stepping lightly on the ground, anxious not to give themselves away.
Wolf's face was contorted with pain, but he didn't let a sound escape his lips. Yassen was silent beside him, moving with all the grace of a cat. They followed the men closely, keeping to the shadows. They were only a few metres away, but the men didn't have a clue about their presence, they hadn't expected to be followed, so they had allowed themselves to relax. Big mistake, Wolf thought, stepping carefully around an old hubcap.
"Sonny, let us in, mate, it's freezing out here," one of the men called, suddenly turning and hammering on a metal door. Wolf started, taking a surprised step back.
His foot hit the metal hubcap, raising a loud clang which echoed eerily along the alley. The three men froze instantly, turning and looking right towards him. Wolf shrank back, grateful that he had thought to buy dark clothes. There was another clang, this time it was the door. It jerked open, swinging outwards.
Wolf took the opportunity to duck behind one of the bins, but he needn't have bothered; the men had apparently decided that the first bang had come from the door, and stepped inside, closing the door behind them.
"Sorry," Wolf muttered, looking round as Yassen appeared at his shoulder, apparently stepping out of thin air. "He surprised me." He explained uncomfortably, feeling like he was pinned down by Yassen's gaze.
"Understandable, but don't do it again. Let's find a way in,"
Yassen turned away from Wolf, who followed silently as he padded along the side of the wall. They reached a corner and slid around it, moving lightly and silently. Wolf stopped; they'd hit a dead end.
Yassen hesitated, apparently unsure of how to continue. He glanced around, searching for an angle, any possibility of getting into the building they were circling. His eyes fell on a metal bin lying on its side.
"Come here," he said, beckoning Wolf to follow him. He walked over to the bin and heaved it upright, though upside down. "Hold that. If I fall, it won't just be your arm hurting."
"If you fall it'll be your fault," Wolf replied through gritted teeth, bracing his good arm against the cold metal.
Yassen leapt lightly up on top of it, and then sprang to the top of the wall, using one hand to steady himself. He peered over the far side of the wall, and then dropped back down to the concrete floor of the alley.
"There's a fire escape there, we could probably get in. Do you think you'd be able to get over?" he added, casting a glance at Wolf's arm.
"Yeah, it's not too high. I might need a hand up, though,"
"Fine," Yassen said, nodding. "Get up there, and I'll give you a hand to get to the top of the wall,"
He placed his hands on the rim of the bin and held it steady, pressing it against the ground. Wolf pulled himself up on to it, balancing carefully on the tilted metal. Yassen stepped up beside him, brushing past his good arm and swinging himself up onto the wall again.
He reached around and, bracing one leg on either side of the wall, he helped Wolf to pull himself up opposite him.
"Ready?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Definitely," Wolf replied, a savage smile on his face and his eyes burning with energy.
They dropped down the far side of the wall, landing ankle deep in oil-slicked water. Wolf wrinkled his nose as he picked his way out of the puddle, following Yassen. They started to climb slowly up the fire escape, wincing as their feet squelched in their shoes with each step. However, no one came running out to see what the noise was, and they made it to the door at the top without any incidents.
Yassen tried the heavy wooden door and found that it was locked. He pulled back slightly, thinking hard. Wolf stood on the step below him, watching carefully.
After a few moments, a small smile flickered over Yassen's lips, vanishing almost instantly. He pulled the knife from inside his boot, wiping it carefully on his jacket, and then flicking it open and setting the wide blade against the bottom of the lock.
A few minutes later, and a lot of careful working of the blade into the crack beneath the handle, it splintered and fell off. Yassen caught it before it hit the floor, lowering it gently onto the metal grille beneath their feet.
"Ready?" He asked again, looking down at Wolf. The younger man pulled his gun from his waistband, checked the magazine, slipping another into his pocket, and then nodded.
"Let's do it," Yassen pulled his Socom out too, moved the Beretta to his pocket, and set his shoulder against the door, forcing it inwards.