Private Moscow (Private 15)

“He’d forgotten who he was,” Kavanagh declared. “I haven’t. And I never will.”

I cast around, looking for Veles. He had to be nearby. Somewhere he could watch and listen. As I looked around the room, I realized Dinara was gone.

CHAPTER 112

DINARA CREPT AROUND the server racks. She didn’t have long, and her options were limited. She couldn’t clear her plan with Jack, and in truth it wasn’t much of a plan, but pressure had made her desperate.

Once she reached the end of the row, she started jogging swiftly, moving silently between the racks. She kept looking right to see Jack and Kavanagh in a standoff. Passing up the rows made the scene flicker like a movie playing through an old projector, and Jack moved toward Kavanagh in jagged jump cuts. Dinara realized he couldn’t possibly see the pistol Kavanagh held behind her back.

When Dinara was to Kavanagh’s rear, she ran along the row, flanked by high cabinets on either side. She gathered speed as she reached the last rack, and was sprinting by the time she burst into the open space. Kavanagh looked startled, and tried to bring the pistol up, but she wasn’t quick enough, and Dinara tackled her.

They went down, and as Kavanagh tried to rise, Dinara smacked her with the pistol, and the Russian spy hit the floor, dazed.

“Find Veles,” Dinara said. “I’ll make her deactivate the system.”

“Now you’ve done it,” Kavanagh said in Russian. “The Secretary of Defense won’t be alive much longer. And neither will you.”

“Then there’s no point playing nicely,” Dinara replied.

She pressed her pistol into Kavanagh’s knee and pulled the trigger. The thunderous gun

shot resounded around the room, and the older woman screamed. When her cries of agony had subsided, Dinara said, “Tell me how to deactivate the system or I’ll kill you by inches.”

Dinara glanced at Jack, who had frozen. He seemed shocked and torn.

A feeble cry came from their right.

“Go!” Dinara yelled.

Jack hesitated for a moment, and then started running.

CHAPTER 113

I SPRINTED TOWARD the noise I’d heard—a guttural cry. I came to the end of a row of servers and discovered an access aisle. I ran left and soon reached a service area full of giant power transformers, refrigeration compressors and communications boxes. Eli Carver stood in the center of the space. His hands were bound behind his back, and a length of cord was tied around his neck. The other end of the noose was attached to a hook, which was connected to a winch and gantry system used to move heavy gear around the facility.

“Help,” Carver cried as he caught sight of me.

I heard the hum of a motor and the rattle of a chain being wound. The winch coiled, dragging the hook up, and pulling the cord tight around Carver’s neck. His legs flailed and he made a horrible choking sound as he was hoisted into the air. He didn’t have long, and his eyes locked onto me, pleading.

Every fiber of my being wanted to rush to his aid, but I knew it was a trap. I was meant to go to him, and once I reached his side, I’d be executed and he’d be left to die. I looked around the space, trying to figure out a way to save the man without dying in the process.

Another gunshot echoed around the server farm, and it was swiftly followed by a woman’s screams. I prayed Dinara would keep Kavanagh alive until I returned.

Secretary Carver looked at me with utter desperation as his face started to turn purple. I was running out of options and had to move now. I checked my pistol and then scanned my surroundings once more. There were two good vantage points that offered a clear line of fire. One was on top of a transformer unit that rose from the floor and stopped a few feet from the ceiling, and the other was a service gantry that ran behind a row of cooling vents. I could only keep my gun and eyes on one. I opted for the gantry, and stayed locked on it as I ran to the secretary.

I felt a chill scrape its way down my spine, and thought I’d made the wrong choice, until I saw Veles step out from behind one of the vents. I emptied the clip at him, and he managed one reflex trigger pull as he tumbled backwards off the gantry and fell to the floor behind a cooling unit.

I turned and lifted the secretary by his feet to relieve the pressure on his throat. I searched for the remote unit that controlled the winch, but it was probably on the gantry where Veles had been hiding. I didn’t think Carver would survive long enough for me to reach it, but I saw a stepladder behind one of the transformers, and ran over to grab it. Carver flailed behind me, and I knew I had to be quick.

I returned with the ladder, propped it open, and raced up the steps. There was a third gunshot in the distance, and more screams, but I ignored them as I climbed to the top of the ladder. I held the muzzle of the pistol against the taut cord that led up from Carver’s neck and pulled the trigger.

The bullet ripped through the cord, and the Secretary of Defense tumbled like a sack of stones. I jumped off the ladder and raced to him.

He was clawing at the noose, so I set down my pistol, and together we managed to pull the cord away from his throat.

He gasped a hideous, rasping lungful of air. His eyes widened with terror, and he tried to say something. All that came out was a throaty cry, but I knew it was a warning, and managed to duck and roll just in time to avoid the slash of Veles’ blade.

CHAPTER 114