A/N: Happy Wednesday evening…..and welcome to Chapter 14 – Hunting the Hunter. I released a little early as I will be traveling early tomorrow, and wanted to get this out before getting on a plane. I'll also take this opportunity to share that I will be going back to a weekly release for future chapters, with Chapter 15 – Bulls-Eyes and Near Misses scheduled for release on Thursday the 28th of December. As always, thank you all for the amazing messages and reviews. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Christmas was magical for Chuck and Sarah, and as things settle, their closeness deepens. Moreover, thanks to President Walker, both Chuck and Morgan avoided serious repercussions from their various activities, another unexpected Christmas gift. In the meantime, a few breaks in the investigation have prompted Chuck to launch his own "under the radar" search for the money trail. And while all this is happening, Roark has put a hit on Volkoff, sending Decker to London to execute the contract.
Again, my deep thanks to klipdoctor for beta reading, and to CliffM for his pre-reading service. And as usual, I don't own Chuck or profit in any way from writing this completely AU story.
Valkyrie's Invisible Shield
Chapter 14 – Hunting the Hunter
Date: Sunday, 26 December 2021
Time: 09:30 EST
Location: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. – The White House.
The gentle knock on the door caused both Sarah and Chuck to stir. They had slept the entire night with very little movement aside from the fact that Sarah had somehow managed to climb a little more on top of Chuck's side and further tangle her legs with his. The two were safely snuggled in a warm nest of down and high-thread cotton as the knock sounded again, this time a little more forcefully, accompanied by Ellie's voice. "Are you guys up?"
Sarah lifted her head a little to look into Chuck's eyes. "Good morning, boyfriend!" Sarah's eyes sparkled, and her smile was broad.
"Good morning, girlfriend," Chuck replied, lifting his head a little to meet her smiling lips with his own. "I'm guessing Ellie and Devon are up?"
"I guess so." Sarah turned her eyes toward the door. "Come in, Ellie."
The door slowly opened, and Ellie's face peeked around it. "Good morning, Sarah. Did you two have a good night's sleep?" Ellie pushed open the door and entered the Queen's Bedroom wearing a robe bearing the seal of the White House. "You didn't damage him, did you?" Ellie asked humorously as Devon, wearing a similar robe, walked in behind her.
"I don't think I've ever slept better, Ellie. And no, I didn't break Chuck." Sarah giggled. "How about you guys. Did you enjoy the Lincoln Bedroom?"
"Sure did. I four scored…Ouch!" Devon clutched his arm after a beet-red Ellie smacked him. "I'm sorry, babe, but I couldn't resist the play on words….or you, for that matter." He smiled genuinely at Ellie, then turned back to Sarah. "Sarah, how do we go about getting some coffee around here?"
The rest of the morning was spent having a quiet breakfast and helping Sarah pack a bag so she could relocate to Chuck's apartment for the rest of the holiday week. Both couples were thrilled with their Christmas experience, but that was particularly true for Sarah and Chuck, who were still new in their relationship. Both were excited for the week ahead and the opportunity to spend some time deepening their connection.
-O-
Date: Sunday, 26 December 2021
Time: 15:30 GMT (10:30 EST)
Location: 7 The Avenue, London - Bruce Rooms, Tottenham
As he approached the door, Decker pulled the slide back on his nine-millimeter Glock 19. He quickly checked the peephole and cautiously opened the door, moving the Glock to behind his back.
"What news?" He motioned for Stavros Demetrios to enter, closed the door, and tucked the gun into the pancake holster at the small of his back.
"We found Volkoff. He's at one of the restaurants he frequents just off Sloane Square. He's dining with two women, likely paid escorts, and has a small security team with him. His residence in London was seized a few months back by the authorities, so there's no clear record of where he currently resides, though our sources say he has multiple apartments owned by shills that he uses." Demetrios looked at Decker with an appraising eye. "What do you want us to do?"
"Keep following him. I need to know where he works from and where he keeps an office. Until we figure that out, I want to know where he is at all times, and I want a detailed list of any address he goes to." A cold smile appeared on Decker's lips. "Once I figure out where he does his work from, you and your men are free to move on." Decker stood and opened the door. "I want constant updates; you got me?"
"Yeah. I got you." Demetrios stood and walked out the door without another word.
Across the street, a black van captured pieces of the conversation on a parabolic microphone and snapped photographs of Demetrios leaving the boarding house and getting into a black Range Rover. The van waited for the car to move off, then followed at a discrete distance.
Forty minutes later, Decker's phone rang. He checked the number. It was a local call….Demetrios had an update.
"What?" Decked answered brusquely.
"Volkoff checked into the Savoy with the two escorts."
"Does he keep a room there permanently, like an office or apartment? Or is he just there to bang the escorts?" Decked inquired.
"We will confirm, but because he didn't just go up, it looks like a one-night stay."
"Good. Unless it's a residence or office, I don't care." Decker hung up the phone. Calls came regularly for the next several hours, but it would appear Volkoff was spending the rest of the evening at the Savoy Hotel with his two "on-demand" girlfriends. Hopefully, tomorrow would be a better day for fox hunting.
-O-
Date: Monday, 27 December 2021
Time: 09:00 GMT (04:00 EST)
Location: SIS Building, 85 Albert Embankment, London
Cole Barker and Lou Pallone were sitting in Cole's office reviewing the latest updates, including the arrest of the NYPD Lieutenant in Brooklyn, when there was a knock on the door.
"Enter!" Cole shouted.
A young administrative assistant entered, holding a plastic file folder. "Sir, this was logged in on Saturday, but unfortunately no one noticed it until the liaison returned from holiday this morning." The assistant handed Cole the file apologetically.
"Bloody hell!" Cole shouted. "The information in here is two days old. It's bloody ice-cold. Get me the name of the duty officer who cocked this up. I want a word."
"Sir." The assistant stumbled out of Cole's office as Lou reached over and gently pulled the file from Cole's hand. "Shall we see what the file says, Cole?"
Lou opened it and her eyes widened in shock. "Jesus! Look at this, Cole!" Lou passed the file back.
"Stavros Demetrios, the man who allegedly leaked the information about the plot against your president, is now meeting with an American and referring to Volkoff. This is not a coincidence." Cole shook his head. "The plot thickens, milady. Please have your guys check if you can tag him through your facial recognition databases. I'll get our people on the same." Barker picked up the phone to call his assistant, who came back into Cole's office immediately.
"Please have this image run through facial recognition. I want to know who this bloke is." Cole instructed.
"Sir, I took the liberty of initiating that process as soon as I saw the file this morning. Given that the gentleman appears to be American, I've focused the search at Heathrow and the immigration systems."
"Excellent work. Well done. Please notify me the minute we get a hit."
"Yes, Sir!" The assistant stood a little taller before exiting the office and closing the door.
"Cole, send Anna a digital copy, and she'll have it run immediately." Lou then picked up the phone and called Anna directly. "Anna, Cole is sending you an image. I want it run through all our facial recognition databases, including DOD, FBI, and CIA. The guy in the picture is apparently American, and given that Shaw was a former spook, this guy …." Lou was interrupted by another knock on the door. It was Cole's assistant again.
"Sir, this is just in for you." Cole took the new file and opened it.
"Thank you, and again, good work on the image." He dismissed the assistant and turned to Lou.
"Your American arrived at Heathrow on Christmas day on Virgin's morning flight as Alec Trevelyan. Here are his passport details."
Lou resumed the conversation with Anna as she nodded to Cole. "Anna, Cole will also be sending you some additional material. One is a passport scan for Alec Trevelyan of Rock Creek, Maryland; the other is his photo from the immigration service. Run both ASAP, please." As Lou finished the call, Cole was already on the phone with MI-5, asking who was tailing Stavros Demetrios, where he was, who he was meeting, etc.
After several separate calls and disparate data sets were collated, a very hazy picture began to emerge. The American, presently identified only as Alec Trevelyan, had met with Stavros Demetrios and received some packages, and together, they seemed to be looking for Alexei Volkoff. To what end remained unclear.
Cole picked up the phone to call SIS's contact at the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. "Inspector, this is Cole Barker from MI-6. I'm sending you an image of an American whose last known location was a boarding house in Tottenham. We suspect the suspect is up to no good and, at a minimum, traveling under a false name. Could you immediately send an armed unit to detain him for questioning?" Cole forwarded the address of the boarding house along with a caution that the man was likely armed and potentially very dangerous. "Thank you, Inspector, I'm on my way." Cole looked at Lou. "Come along, Ms. Pallone. Shall we see if we can track down the mysterious Mr. Trevelyan?" He grabbed his coat and moved swiftly into the hallway with Lou hot on his heels.
-O-
Date: Monday, 27 December 2021
Time: 06:15 EST
Location: 2501 Q Street, Georgetown, Washington D.C. Chuck Bartowski's residence.
The shrill sound of Chuck's work phone pierced Sarah and Chuck's peaceful sleep. Feeling more physically comfortable, Chuck had managed to sleep on his side, playing big spoon as Sarah wiggled her backside into him as the little spoon. Chuck was still slow to move, so Sarah hopped out of bed, retrieved the phone quickly from Chuck's side of the bed, and handed it to him before jumping back under the covers.
"Bartowski," Chuck struggled to get the sleep out of his voice as he looked at the time on the phone's screen.
"Sorry to interrupt your recovery time, Chuck, but we just picked up some intel from Lou and the team in London, and we have another dot to connect. A dot you need to add to your search." Casey had obviously been up for a while.
"Walk me through it, Casey."
Chuck listened intently for the next fifteen minutes while trying to ignore Sarah, who had slipped one of her long, bare legs between his as she cuddled. "Any questions?" Casey asked as he brought the discussion to a close.
"No, Casey. Thanks. No questions. However, I do need some additional computing power brought to my apartment. The work I'll be doing needs a lot of processing capacity, and I'll have a detailed shopping list for you by eleven at the latest. Anything else I need to know?"
"No. I'll keep you posted on what else the London team digs up, and as soon as you give me your shopping list, I'll get you what you need to get set up. The emerging picture is that the strings are being pulled by somebody here in the D.C. area, and the sooner we find this guy, the better." Casey signed off.
With the call over, Chuck put the phone back on his nightstand and turned his attention to Sarah, who seemed to struggle to maintain her discipline in the context of Chuck's recovery.
"Damn it, Sarah, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and if you don't stop rubbing yourself against me, I will not be responsible for my actions." He leaned in and kissed her deeply, his hand gently stroking her cheek, and his eyes locked on hers. As the kiss continued to deepen, he felt Sarah's body responding. Her hips grinding against his side, her foot sliding up and down his shin, and her free hand suddenly finding its way up the inseam of his boxers. He reached out and stopped her wondering hand.
"Sarah…."
"Chuck, I need you." Sarah looked up to him through her eyelashes. "I promise I'll be very gentle, but I've been aching for you and I can't wait anymore. Please let me make love to you."
Chuck let go of her hand. He stroked her cheek again and kissed her tenderly, conveying as much affection as he could manage in the kiss. He pulled back enough to whisper, "I love you, Sarah." Then he laid back and closed his eyes, surrendering himself to her.
Forty minutes later, Chuck Bartowski was speechless. True to her word, Sarah had been extraordinarily gentle and careful. Neither had thought making love with so little movement or force could be so earth-shatteringly perfect, but the care and intimacy that Sarah put into every element of their lovemaking created an experience so profound both were stunned.
"Sarah…."
"Oh, God, Chuck…..me too. That was the most intense…..I've never felt anything like that before. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Hurt? No. Broken? Completely."
Sarah leaned forward, her hands resting on the pillow, one on each side of Chuck's head, and kissed him tenderly. "Broken, huh? You seemed to be working perfectly well to me." Sarah smiled mischievously. "I'll be needing more of that later, Mister. So, broken or not, be prepared to deliver." She kissed him again and carefully slipped off him. "I'll put the coffee on, then I'll come back and help you in the shower." She smiled innocently.
-O-
After a PG-rated shower, Chuck and Sarah dressed and prepared breakfast for everyone. Once breakfast was done, Ellie and Sarah took care of the clean-up while Devon and Chuck excused themselves and went to Chuck's bedroom so Devon could do a quick check-up. Chuck was due for his first post-surgical consult in the U.S., and Devon had wanted to make sure Chuck's recovery was well on track.
"Any pain here, Chuck?" Devon felt around Chuck's chest as he moved Chuck's left arm.
"Yeah. A little, I guess, but it's not too bad." Chuck replied.
"Any pain or discomfort associated with elevated heart rate?"
"No, though I haven't tried going for a run yet, and I suspect chin-ups are a ways off…."
"So, no sex?" Devon smiled as Chuck just stared at him slack-jawed. "I'll take that as a yes, then. Way to go, bro! I'm proud of you. Gotta get back in the saddle, and it's the best form of low-impact cardio…depending on how you do it." He smiled at Chuck. "But no pain, shortness of breath, nothing like that?"
"I mean, other than that she takes my breath away every waking moment I spend with her….no. Nothing like that." Chuck stumbled over his words.
"Ok, you're all done and good to go. You're healing really well, and I'm not seeing any issues at this stage. You may need some physical therapy to fully regain your strength and mobility, but it's looking good. Your first post-op follow-up should be easy." Devon smiled, giving Chuck a gentle slap on the back, and walked back out to the living area where Sarah and Ellie were sipping coffee.
"Sarah, your boy is healing beautifully, and as his physician, he has my permission to engage in controlled sexual activity."
Ellie rolled her eyes as Sarah barked out a hearty laugh. "Thanks, Devon! Good to know. And please let me know when we can engage in uncontrolled sexual activity!" Sarah's eyes twinkled as she laughed out loud, causing Ellie and Devon to join in.
"What's so funny?" Chuck asked, tucking his T-shirt in as he emerged from the bedroom.
"Absolutely nothing, honey. Devon was just telling us how well you're healing." Sarah grinned and winked at Chuck.
Chuck nodded appreciatively, then plopped himself down at his desk in the corner of the room and began to tap out the shopping list of items he would need Casey to procure and have delivered. With the list completed, he hit send. The post-op check-up with Dr. Franz was next on his "to-do" list.
-O-
Date: Monday, 27 December 2021
Time: 09:15 GMT (04:15 EST)
Location: 7 The Avenue, London - Bruce Rooms, Tottenham
"What?" Decker answered the phone without courtesy or welcome. "What have you found out?"
"20 Brunswick Square in Tottenham. Maybe two hundred yards from the soccer stadium. Looks like a business front of some kind. He went in this morning without the women, just his security team." Demetrios answered. "We'll stay until you tell us to leave.'
"I'm on my way." Decker slipped the Glock into the holster at the small of his back and threw on a mid-length insulated leather jacket. Before leaving his room, he took the rifle that was still in the box and hid it behind a stack of washing machines in the shared laundry room. He stepped outside and waved down a black cab.
-O-
"Is he still in there?" Decker stepped into the Range Rover Demetrios occupied and got straight to business.
"Yes. He arrived in two cars with a total of six men. Two are outside. One is on the roof, and the rest are inside with him. We don't know if anyone else is inside, but he had to unlock the door to enter, and no one has come since he arrived. Access is along a very narrow street, so it's a choke point with nowhere to hide if they start shooting." Decker took a moment to appreciate how Demetrios laid out the facts, followed by an opinion supported by additional facts and a recommendation of sorts. That kind of tactical thinking was appreciated by Decker, so he stored the interesting factoid away for possible future use.
"Good. When he leaves, you follow him and let me know where he goes. I need to get inside and see if this is where he does his business." Decker needed to find Volkoff's computer and files to ensure nothing was linking him to Roark before he could kill him. The good news was that this location checked many boxes for someone who wanted to keep their operation off the radar.
The two men sat in the car for another twenty minutes before they saw movement. Volkoff and his security team exited the building, piled into their two vehicles, and sped off. Demetrios started the Range Rover and put it in gear as Decker slipped out and casually crossed the street.
Down the block, the shadow team, still unaware that the American was important, snapped more photos and followed the black Range Rover.
-O-
Date: Monday, 27 December 2021
Time: 09:45 GMT (04:45 EST)
Location: Barker's car en route to Tottenham
Cole and Lou left the SIS building with urgency, but halfway to their destination, Cole received a call on his mobile from the strike team. The American suspect was not at the expected location, so they pulled back, and unless they were called elsewhere, they would stay on station to see if the man showed up. Cole's frustration was visible in the way he was driving.
"What happened, Cole?" Lou asked as she grabbed the "holy-shit" handle fixed above the passenger side door.
"We missed him, Lou. The team that shadowed Demetrios on Saturday had no idea our "Mr. Trevelyan" was important, so they just followed Demetrios when he left. We might have nabbed him if we received the information from the weekend meetings earlier." Cole slapped the dashboard before continuing. "The strike team is still there, but they pulled back and will wait to see if Trevelyan shows up, but they won't wait for long. And if he makes them, he'll be tough to find."
"Cole, what are the odds that Demetrios still has your shadow on him? Can we get MI-5 to check and get an update from them?" Lou asked excitedly.
Cole gave Lou a grin and hit speed dial for MI-5. He spoke to the duty officer who tracked down the team shadowing Demetrios and then provided Cole with the information. The intel revealed that the same man who had previously met with Demetrios had arrived earlier and sat in the car with him for a while. The other man exited the vehicle before Demetrios left. The good news was that the intel was fresh, and the forwarded digital image clearly showed what he was wearing. The bad news was that the shadow team had no idea where the unknown subject might have gone after he left the scene.
"Let's leave the strike team watching the boarding house while you and I do a little walking around the area to see if we can spot him," Cole explained his plan to Lou. Ten minutes later, they parked and exited the car, aiming to make their way on foot to the address the team shadowing Demetrios had noted.
"Cole, your eleven o'clock, exiting the alley about 40 yards ahead of us," Lou whispered nonchalantly while looking straight ahead.
"Got him," Cole responded as he reached for Lou's hand, passing themselves off as a couple out for a stroll. As they moved to cross the street 40 yards ahead of them, Decker turned, spotted a cab, and sprinted across the street to flag it down. Caught in the middle of the road, Cole and Lou were too far away to take action, yet close enough to be spotted as a threat. They watched Decker get in the cab, and as it pulled away, they ran back toward Cole's parked car while he called in the tag number of the taxi. He asked the duty officer to alert the local police to keep an eye out for the vehicle and then dialed the strike team.
"This is Barker. We spotted the subject getting into a taxi before we could apprehend him, and the suspect may be heading back to the boarding house. Be ready to intercept him. We'll be there in a minute." Barker hung up and pressed down on the accelerator, causing Lou to reach for the "Holy Shit" handle once more. Cole then dialed the MI-5 duty officer.
"This is Barker again. If the tail unit spots the American subject, their job is to follow him and call me immediately, understood?" Barker received a satisfactory confirmation from the duty officer and hung up. As they approached the boarding house, his phone rang.
"Barker."
"Sir, this is control. Met Police report that they stopped the taxi you flagged, but it had no passenger. The driver said the man he had picked up got out just a few blocks away on Fore Street near the McDonalds. He did not see where the man went after he exited the cab." Barker thanked the duty officer, hung up the call, and then looked at Lou.
"We lost him."
-O-
Decker slipped into the McDonalds and ordered an egg McMuffin and a coffee. Ten minutes later, he flagged down another taxi and was dropped off two blocks from the boarding house. He walked cautiously, trying to blend in with other pedestrians and looking like he belonged when he saw it. Parked on a side street a block away from the boarding house was a black box van that looked suspiciously like an unmarked police vehicle. Inside the truck, he saw one man, wearing the usual dark blue tactical gear, smoking a cigarette.
Decker had been made. This meant his Trevelyan alias had been uncovered and could not be used to exit the U.K. He casually turned around, walked away from the unmarked van, and picked up his phone.
"This is Stavros," Demetrios answered.
"I've been blown and need to lay low. I'm going to book an Airbnb and will call you tomorrow. Also, either you send one of your guys to the boarding house to collect my rifle, or I'll need another one." Decker commanded.
"Where do I find the rifle?"
"Laundry room, tucked in behind the washers and dryers."
"Got it. Is there anything else you need me to retrieve from your room?"
"No. There is nothing there but some clothes and my toothbrush, but remember to keep me informed on Volkoff's whereabouts. I found what I needed at the location, so now I need to get to Volkoff. Call you tomorrow." Decker then used his smartphone to book an Airbnb and paid for it with a card issued under yet another identity. Ten minutes later, he was in a taxi on the way to the location.
-O-
"Boss, we have a tail." Sergei was a bear of a man and Volkoff's most trusted security person.
"Sergei, call Nikolai and have him secure our intrusive friend. Have him taken to the auto shop. I need to ask this man some questions." Volkoff paused thoughtfully for a moment, then resumed speaking. "Sergei, while we let Nikolai do his job, let's go to the Dacha shop for some tea and biscuits. I'm hungry and don't want to interview our friend on an empty stomach."
Never taking his eyes off the road, Sergei picked up his phone and called Nikolai, who was following in the second car and then accelerated away.
-O-
As soon as Nicolai hung up on the call from Sergei, he spoke to his two companions, then slammed on the brakes, causing the following car to skid to a stop a mere inches from the back bumper of Nikolai's Mercedes. As the driver of the trailing car cursed, the three men leaped out of the Mercedes and drew automatic pistols on the driver and passenger. They ripped the doors open, yanked the two men out of the car, frisked them, stuffed them in the trunk of the Mercedes, and sped off, leaving the empty car sitting in the middle of the roadway with its engine running. Nikolai then called to let Sergei know that they had two guests, neither armed, and that they would be ready for questioning at the garage whenever Mr. Volkoff was ready.
-O-
Volkoff entered the garage, a small set up on the outer edge of Tottenham, to find Nicolai leaning against an old car body with no engine. In front of him were the two toughs that worked for Stavros Demetrios. The two were lying on the ground, hands tied behind their backs with their ankles bound and feet lifted into the air by two hooks attached to electric winches used to haul engines out of cars. Volkoff took a seat and motioned for the two remote controls for the winches, which Nikolai quickly provided, as he leaned in to tell Volkoff what he had learned about the two thugs.
Volkoff slightly lowered the two captive's legs. "Gentlemen, I apologize for Nicolai's aggressive behavior. As you can see, I am a reasonable man, and you two look like you want to help yourselves a little, no?" He smiled at the semi-suspended men. "If you tell me what I want to know, I will let you both go without further injury, but if you test my patience, I promise you will truly regret your decision." With that, he looked at Sergei and nodded toward an acetylene torch set up to cut metal car frames. The torch was on a wheeled dolly, and as Sergei approached with it, both of the captive's eyes widened. Volkoff smiled.
"Gentlemen, let's start with a simple question. Who do you work for?
Both men quickly answered. They had already admitted to Nikolai they worked from Demetrios, thinking that might scare their captors, but Nicolai had only laughed before he started beating both severely. "Excellent. Thank you for your prompt answer. Now. Why are you following me?"
Neither man answered.
"I see you are choosing the difficult path." Volkoff used the remotes to lift both men entirely off the floor. "Nikolai, please remove their shoes and socks." The two suspended toughs started to buck wildly, but with help from Volkoff's other men, Nikolai made quick work of ripping off their socks and shoes.
Volkoff nodded again, and Sergei turned the valve on the large tank, lifted the nozzle, and used a striker to ignite the flame, making a show of adjusting the mixture to turn the flame blue and sharp.
"We use this torch to cut steel. It produces a temperature of over three thousand degrees Celsius and will easily cut your feet off. However, what I have in mind is to just give you a little taste of the flame at a time so you can appreciate it, and then, I am going to take the skin off the bottoms of your feet so you will not be able to walk properly again without excruciating pain. Now, one more time, why are you following me?"
This time, the younger of the two men screamed out. "We don't know why. We were only told to follow you and report back whenever you stopped somewhere. I swear. That is the truth." Tears ran down the younger man's face as he spoke, fear deep in his eyes.
"I see," responded Volkoff. "How long have you been following me?"
"Sunday…since Sunday morning. Please…we were never to approach you. Just report your location."
Volkoff looked at the older of the two men, who was showing some disdain at his younger partner's willingness to talk. He used his remote to lower the younger man back to the ground. "You have been most helpful. Thank you." He stood and walked over to the older of the two, who was still fully suspended upside down. "You, however, my friend, have been considerably less forthright, so I feel I have no choice but to motivate you a little." Volkoff took the torch from Sergei and swiped the blue flame very quickly across the balls of the man's feet far enough away so that it would burn but not cut.
The inverted man let out a blood-curdling scream as the skin on his feet instantly blistered, releasing the smell of charred flesh. The man continued to scream as Volkoff took a moment to let the pain fully register before speaking again.
"Quit your screaming. I've done no permanent damage yet, but I assure you I will if you don't start talking." Volkoff smiled at the man. "I'll make it easy for you. Tell me anything you think I might find useful, and this unpleasantness can stop." Volkoff waited for a moment, then moved the flame back toward the man's feet.
"American…An American…." The burned man shouted. "Demetrios was working for an American. We don't know who he is, but I know that Demetrios furnished him with a rifle and a pistol. We don't know why."
Volkoff returned the torch to Sergei and then asked Sergei and Nikolai to follow him into his office.
"Nikolai, I want you to go back to the office and let me know if it has been disturbed. After you do that, go find Demetrios and question him about the American. Once you get what you can out of him, kill him. Then you go and find the American. Squeeze him for information….I have no doubt he is working for Roark, but I want you to hear him say it. When you are done, kill him as well. And while you are at it, get rid of those two idiots in the garage. Leave Vasili here with me, but take the other four with you. I will call you with further instructions in the next 48 hours." Nikolai nodded and walked out the door. A moment later, two gunshots reverberated across the garage.
"Sergei, you, me, and Vasili leave for Saint Petersburg tonight through France, by car. Once we get to my plane, we will head to Caracas and take the yacht out to sea, where it will be much harder for Roark to find us. In the meantime, I will start making my preparations to destroy him."