Chapter 11

Author's Notes: Alright, here's Chapter 11! In this chapter I'm bringing the action back! Sorry romance fans, no more mushy gushy. (Okay, maybe I'll squeeze in a few love lines here and there…) Anyways, thanks for all of you guys who put my story on your Favorites, Alert, or Reviewed. It means a lot to me knowing that someone's reading the story I've been working so hard on. I appreciate it a ton! I'll try to keep you guys satisfied with daily updates and try to improve my writing skills each time I write. Thanks guys! (And gals!)

The radio clicked off before Kliment had a chance to say anything else. He stared at the object astounded at what he had heard. Kill a woman? Sure he had deliberately shot out their supposed hotel room, but that was only after he was sure no one was in there. As he stood there in the snow, he had to make a decision: Follow the orders or become like Sergei? He sighed and saw that he had no other choice. He would obey…

He headed back towards the direction of the hotel, his mind set on what he had to do.

An hour had gone by after their love making and Anna had drifted off to sleep, her arms wrapped tightly around Sergei while he, on the other hand, had a simple arm drooped over her. He had to admit he enjoyed their little love session and even hoped in the back of his mind that there would be more of those to come. However, as he thought about it, there was more than just her body that he liked. He enjoyed the companionship she gave him. It was something he had been devoid of for years.

Without realizing it, he soon found himself pulling her closer to him so both of their nude bodies were pressed against one another. With not even a millimeter separating them, he stared at the sleeping beauty beside him and wondered what it must be like, to go to sleep every night with a woman he cared for and waking up next to her. Nothing to worry about, not a single care in the world… What he would give to live a life like that.

As he continued to embrace her, his eyelids began growing heavy and just as Anna had done, he began drifting to sleep.

Just moments after Sergei had entered the dream world, the bedroom door opened, allowing the light from the hallway to flood in. Treading lightly to avoid waking the couple, Kliment stood at the foot of their bed gripping a pistol in his sweaty palms. He had searched every room of the hotel, kicking down doors and arousing fearful civilians until at last, he found who he was looking for.

He looked down at them, both of whom were sleeping peacefully. Although he had a mission to do, he couldn't help but stare at Sergei Dragunov. For all the years he had known Sergei, he had never known the man to look so peaceful. Yet here he was, sleeping like he was a…human…Suddenly all the hatred and jealousy he held towards the former commander were erased. Then just the way they held one another as they slept, he couldn't help but think that they resembled himself and his own wife. It almost made him reconsider pointing his pistol at Anna's lovely face.

Even in the midst of his sleep, Sergei could feel someone's presence hovering over him, watching him. This feeling forced him from his sleep and as he opened his eyes, it didn't take long for him to realize that his sixth sense was right. Quickly he took in the current predicament and definitely took note of the gun aimed at Anna.

Before anyone else had the chance to react, Sergei took her in his arms and quickly rolled off the bed just before the pistol was fired, leaving a bullet where Anna's head had been seconds before. Panting, Sergei looked down at Anna and realized she was still asleep! Even the sound of the gun failed to arouse her. Gently he placed her to the floor before rising to his full height to face their intruder.

Kliment looked his former superior up and down before painstakingly whispering, "I mistook you for all these years, Commander Dragunov…Here I was thinking you were nothing but a mindless machine only to come to realize that you're no different from me. You don't know how hard you make it, to follow these orders…"

Slowly he pulled the gun up and aimed it straight at Sergei's chest. "Hand over the woman, Dragunov." Sergei remained unflinching as he stood his ground. His silent pose intimidated the soldier even though he was the one to be holding the gun. Refusing to show any fear, Kliment fired a second bullet which flew straight past Sergei's head, wedging itself to the closet behind him. "I'm not playing around Sergei! Now—"

In a blink of an eye, Sergei had already received the man's firing arm and was twisting it upside down, almost to its breaking point. In this position, Kliment looked up at Sergei who was currently looking down at him. Sergei's eyes glared down at him, but those eyes, Kliment realized were unlike the eyes he was accustomed to seeing on his face. They were still menacing, but they were also full. Full of life maybe, Kliment couldn't tell.

Just as he was sure his arm was going to be detached from the elbow down, Sergei slowly began to release his grip, but not without first taking the gun from his hand. "I've given you your chance," Sergei whispered, his voice deep and dark, "Spare yourself and leave. Don't ever allow yourself within my sight again."

As Kliment was returned use of his right arm, he looked to the floor, an exhausted look on his face. "That, I can't do Sergei. Orders are orders." Just as he said that, he reached into his boot to retrieve his knife. He made an attempt to strike at Sergei, but as expected, Sergei caught it just before it was able to sink into the flesh of his arm.

Mercilessly, Dragunov delivered a knee to the man's face, breaking his nose and then turning him around, pulling his left arm around his back. However, rather than snap the arm, he instead decided to target the fingers, snapping the forefinger all the way back and then the middle.

Kliment let out a cry as he felt his two fingers break and he was also prepared to hear a third snap as he felt Sergei grab ahold of another one of his fingers, his ring finger.

Sergei prepared to dislocate the digit until he felt something cold and metallic around it. Looking down, he saw that it was Kliment's wedding ring. Although it was a simple gold band, it symbolized the everlasting bond between two people. Clenching his fist out of frustration, he dropped the man's arm, sparing his hand from any more pain.

He watched as the man cradled his wounded hand then said calmly, "Go home to her…"

Kliment's eyes widened upon hearing his words, but slowly, he turned his lips upwards into a small, gentle smile. He gripped his ring finger and whispered, "You've really changed…Commander…"

As Sergei was tucking Anna back in bed, Kliment rose to his feet and picked up the discarded pistol in the corner, causing Sergei to glance at him from the corner of his eye. However, no threat was made from him and soon he was standing right beside his former commander. He extended the gun out to him and whispered, "You'll need this, Sergei. Aleksander won't stop searching for you until he's dead."

Sergei stared long and hard at the item given to him then glanced back up at the face that handed it to him. Kliment smirked when he spotted a hint of confusion on the man's face. "You're truly confused, aren't you, Sergei? Well let's get this straight: When I was first assigned this mission, I took it up willingly, maybe even ecstatically, because I thought I would be surpassing the man who had insulted and degraded me many years ago. However, my mission soon changed into something else. I was told by Mikhail to kill that woman." He nodded towards Anna's sleeping body. "Even though it was against my morals, a promise is a promise and if not for you…Who knows? I might've ended up as you were. A cold, mindless killer…"

He felt Sergei's glare on him sharpen, but nonetheless he continued speaking. "And now when I've finally found you, I find out that you're no longer the man I was seeking for revenge. Because that Sergei would've killed me the moment I stepped into this room. To sum it all up, the Sergei Dragunov I was assigned to hunt down isn't here, and he never was."

He slipped the pistol into Sergei's hand and gave a nod. "I'll be taking your advice now. I'm sure my wife is worried about me anyhow." Taking one last look at the two lovers, Kliment placed a friendly hand on Sergei's shoulder. "I hope we can meet again and speak like friends, Commander." With that, Kliment walked out of the room, leaving behind a Sergei who was more confused than ever. Kliment, who just had two fingers broken from him, considered him a friend?

As Kliment exited the room, he could've sworn he heard his radio emit a noise. Taking it out of his pocket he stared at it but saw that it was off. Shaking his head, he tucked it back into his pocket. It must've just been his imagination…

Nine hours passed and Anna finally awoke feeling revitalized and alive. She was oblivious to last night's events as she had slept peacefully through all of it. Turning over, expecting to find Sergei still sleeping beside her, she found that he was already dressed and prepared to leave. "What's gotten you up so early?"

He didn't answer her as he remained motionless staring out at the city below through the blinds. Slipping out of bed she joined him by his side and peered out with him. What she saw made her bring a hand to her mouth. "It looks like your friends are here, Sergei." There were around seven soldiers standing out on the street looking up at their room. Casually Anna walked back and began picking up some new clothes to slip into. "I guess I should make myself presentable for our guests, shouldn't I?" She said that in a jokingly manner which almost made Sergei smile.

He had not spoken a word to her about their current predicament yet she seemed to know all about it. It was nice to have a woman as intelligent as her around. He turned around and helped her slip on her chosen outfit which in this case happened to be a black halter dress that barely reached her mid-thighs. After the dress was on, he began running his fingers down her hair to clear it of any knots then planted her cheek with a kiss. Anna wiggled her way into his arms and whispered, "I'll never get used to that, Sergei."

Sergei took a step back from their embrace and grabbed one of her hands. He slipped Kliment's gun into it and looked to her face, hoping she would understand the meaning behind it. Just as he had hoped, he received the correct reply from her. "Where should we meet up?"

He leaned into her and whispered into her ear, almost tickling her with his breath. He gave her specific directions and when he was finished doing so, Anna gave him a wet kiss to the lips and replied, "Be careful." Picking up the duffel bag Sergei had prepared when he woke, she blew him another kiss and exited the room, taking the specific passage Sergei had told her.

She took a right when she left the room and headed deeper into the hotel than towards the exit. She looked for the room Sergei had told her of, keeping track of the numbers that she ran by but soon came to realize that she had no need to do so. She came upon a room with its doorknob broken off and the door itself hanging wide open. She let out a sigh. The poor hotel manager would have so much to replace and repair by the end of all this.

She entered the room and took a look out the window to the ground below. Pillows littered the alleyway underneath her and a ladder, possibly leading up to the roof, was on her right. Taking the duffel bag, she tossed it out onto one of the pillows and later set herself on the ledge, her long legs dangling over the ground below. Maneuvering herself to the right, she gripped the ladder and very carefully moved onto it, taking caution that her heels weren't getting caught on the rungs as she descended.

Just as she was making her way downwards, she heard the ladder begin to creak. Looking up, she saw that one of the rusted screws that were connecting the ladder to the building was going loose. She turned to the other side of the ladder and couldn't help but let out a groan. The screw on that side had already fallen off! Before she could take another step downward, the ladder broke off from the wall, sending itself and Anna downward to the concrete flooring.

"Ow…"Anna mumbled while rubbing her rear. She had fortunately managed to land without breaking anything and after cleaning herself off she grabbed the duffel bag and ran off. Hopefully, she didn't make too much of a racket with that fall.

Back in the hotel room, Sergei's eye flinched. What had Anna done to make such a noise? He was tempted to go check on her, but decided against it when he heard one of the soldiers call out to him. "We know you're in there Sergei Dragunov. Come out!"

Sergei continued to look down at them, wondering how they had discovered his hideout. Had Kliment told them? It wouldn't make sense if he did. After all, last night he could've just killed the both of them and claimed all the glory. Sergei shook the idea away. It didn't matter anyhow.

Just as he was prepared to head down and face them, a familiar voice was heard from outside. "Sergei," it called, "either you're coming down or we're going up! You decide." It was Aleksander without a doubt. It struck him odd that Aleksander would come all this way just to capture him. Through all the years he had known the man, he couldn't recall a time when he ever exited that building of his. He didn't understand what made him so much more important than everyone else who had been targeted.

Seeing as how Sergei wasn't going to come down yet, Aleksander decided that now was the time to use his trump card. Motioning to two of his soldiers, he whispered, "Bring him out." They nodded and scurried off. As they were following commands, Aleksander switched his gaze back up towards Sergei's room and with a smug look on his face called, "We have someone you might want to see, Sergei. You better hurry and see them because I think they're on their last breath."

Sergei felt his heart skip a beat. Had they captured Anna? Through the blinds he saw the two soldiers return dragging a man between them. Narrowing his eyes, he realized that the man was Kliment. "Do you see this Sergei?" Aleksander called again. "Are you going to—"

Before he could let another word escape his lips, the window shattered and Sergei had jumped out, landing before the seven men. Some of the soldiers stepped back in surprise while others raised their guns, prepared to shoot. Aleksander however, raised his arm causing the gunmen to return to their defensive position. "We're giving you one last chance, Sergei," he spoke calmly, "Return to us and we'll let everything you've done slide."

His words fell on deaf ears as Sergei continued to stare at Kliment. One of his eyes was swollen shut, his face, hardly recognizable through all the bludgeons it received. And his body was battered, bloodied, and bruised all about. So much so that he couldn't even support himself under his own weight. "Sergei…" He heard Kliment whisper, "I'm sorry…"

Aleksander heard the voice just as Sergei had and walked towards the nearly lifeless man. He pulled from his coat a pistol and pressed it against his back. "That's enough out of you, traitor." Before anyone could react, he pulled the trigger.

Sergei widened his eyes and he felt himself tremble. Whether it was from rage or sorrow, he couldn't decide. He stared at Kliment's body, lying face first on the concrete and let his eyes travel to his left hand that was outstretched before him. He took in the sight of the broken fingers and the wedding ring.

Slowly he shifted his gaze to Aleksander who stood before the fallen body, a guiltless expression written on his face. He clenched his fist as the rage within him built up until finally it exploded. "I will kill you!" Sergei called out as he rashly charged towards his former superior…