Private Moscow (Private 15)

They ran as fast as they could, fighting the draining resistance of the deep powder. Dinara’s legs went numb with cold, and her lungs burned with each freezing breath, but she pressed on, fueled by the memory of her abduction by Veles and his men.

Like a specter summoned by thought, the fearsome killer appeared a hundred meters to their left, halfway along the bridge. He was with another man, and both of them started sprinting when they caught sight of Leonid and Dinara running through the snow.

Dinara forced herself toward the steps. She glanced behind her and saw the pair exit Gorky Park and start across the plaza. The other duo emerged from beneath the bridge, their hot breath clouding the air in rapid bursts as they ran across the plaza. One of them drew a pistol, and Dinara reached for her own and opened fire. Her shots went wild, but their pursuers scattered. The gunman and his companion retreated beneath the bridge, and the pair from Gorky Park ran for a concrete structure that protruded from the park’s museum.

They didn’t stay hidden for long.

“Here!” Leonid yelled as the crack of gunfire rose above the noise of nearby traffic, and bullets snapped through the air around them.

He grabbed Dinara’s arm and pulled her in front of him. When she looked back, she saw him falter as he was hit in the back by a bullet. He was hurt and stumbled in the snow, but quickly found his feet.

“I’m OK,” he insisted. “I’m wearing my vest.”

They made it to the steps and crouched as they ran up them. A stone wall shielded them from the shots, and the air around them filled with dust and debris as bullets chipped at the protective barrier.

Up on the bridge, Veles and his companion were no more than fifty meters from the top of the stairs.

“Come on!” Dinara urged.

She opened fire, and the wild shots had the desired effect, slowing Veles and the other man down. She and Leonid crested the last flight of steps and reached the bridge twenty-five meters ahead of Veles. She was about to turn east, when she saw the trio of men who’d been coming along the boulevard running toward them along the pavement on the other side of the bridge. Further down the street, she saw Anna Bolshova hurrying in their direction. Either she’d been attracted by the commotion, or she was part of the ambush.

Dinara cast around for an escape route, and realized the stairs on the other side of the bridge were their best hope. If they could get down them and run east, they might be able to make it to the Interior Ministry or one of the other nearby government buildings.

“This way,” Dinara said, and she pulled Leon

id forward.

They leaped the ice-cold steel girder that was the anchor for the bridge’s suspension system, and ran across seven lanes which were crowded with rush-hour traffic. Cars screeched to a halt, and cab drivers tooted their horns. They reached the other side, and Dinara vaulted the northern anchor. She sensed movement behind her and turned to see Leonid get tackled by Veles.

The assassin’s companion sprinted forward, jumped the girder and came at her. Dinara reacted instinctively and fired a brace of shots that hit him in the gut. The man staggered back a couple of steps and fell to the ground, his face twisted in horror.

Beyond him, Dinara saw the four men who’d chased them across the plaza emerge from the staircase on the other side of the bridge, and the trio to their east were almost upon them. Traffic had stopped now, and drivers were out, watching the unfolding violence.

Dinara’s eyes moved to Leonid and Veles, who were slugging it out on the bridge. They traded vicious punches, and Leonid seemed to be holding his own. Dinara searched for a shot, but the men were moving too quickly, and she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t hit Leonid.

Then, to her horror, she saw a flash of silver. Leonid swung his right fist and Veles ducked the blow, stepped inside it, and drove a gleaming blade into Leonid’s side.

“No!” Dinara screamed.

Leonid looked at her with a mix of shock and disbelief, and Veles pulled out the knife and stabbed her friend twice more, in the collar and throat. Leonid’s shock turned to despair, and then there was nothing.

His eyes went blank and the life left him.

Tears filled Dinara’s eyes, but she remembered her gun, and pulled the trigger as Leonid’s body fell. Veles was quick and sidestepped the shot, which was the last in the magazine. As Dinara tried to reload, the assassin rushed forward. He was almost at the anchor when Dinara heard the roar of an engine, and turned to see a car hurtling along the bridge’s emergency lane. Anna Bolshova was driving, and she didn’t slow. Veles tried to jump clear, but the car caught him and knocked him down.

There was a screech of brakes, and the passenger door flew open.

“Get in!” Anna yelled.

Dinara could see Veles’ accomplices across the bridge, and the trio further down. She leaped the girder, dived into the passenger seat and was thrown around as Anna hit the accelerator.

Bullets thudded into the chassis and smashed the rear window, but soon there was nothing except the roar of the engine as they sped out of range.

Dinara wept, consumed by the thought of Leonid lying dead, his blood freezing on the cold tarmac beneath him.

CHAPTER 78

I WAS IN the library studying the files Justine had sent when I heard a commotion coming from somewhere in the building. There were raised voices, shouts of disbelief and crying. I ran toward the source of the noise, and found a crowd of people in the lobby, all clustered around Dinara. The detective who’d attempted to interrogate me, Anna something, stood next to her.