Nadya's Nights: Road to Vengeance (10 page)

Things had gone rather smoothly so far.  She just hoped her luck would hold out long enough for her to get to the garage and secure a vehicle.

Preferably something fast.

Chapter Fifteen: Leaving Home

Nadya led Ulbrecht back down the hall and into the secret passageway.  Once inside, they stopped for a moment so she could remember the best way to get to the garage from where they were.  It wouldn’t be easy as it was on the other side of the estate.

While she thought, she brought him up to speed on what was going on.  She was glad he didn’t interrupt her to ask questions, although he did have a few after she finished.

“There’s a cure?” he asked, sounding a bit hopeful.

“Maybe,” Nadya replied, letting her eyes drift closed while she mentally traveled through the secret passageways within Vladimir’s estate.

They couldn’t get to the garage using them.  They’d have to go through a few halls.  She cursed softly and opened her eyes then pulled her lighter out and flicked it on.

“C’mon,” she said, leading the way.

Ulbrecht followed behind her.

Nadya reached into her waistband and pulled out one of her two guns, handing it back to him.  ”Just in case.  But don’t go shooting anyone if you don’t have to, and try not to kill anyone.  This is still my family.”

He took the gun and nodded.  The way he held it was awkward and the awkwardness only grew as he attempted to push the weapon into the waistband of his pants.  He pushed it too far and it wound up sliding into his pants and tumbling down a pant leg to spill out onto the floor.  Nadya’s mouth gaped open as she stared silently at Ulbrecht for several lengthy moments as she realized just how out of place he was in a violent environment.

“On second thought,” she muttered as she leaned down to scoop the pistol up.  “Maybe I should keep all the guns.”  She shook her head.  “What the hell are you even doing here?”

Ulbrecht gave her a blank stare in response.  “You pulled me in here through that secret hole in the wall,” he finally replied.

Nadya rolled her eyes.  “That’s not what I’m talking about.  How do you know Vlad?”

“I don’t,” Ulbrecht said.  “I mean, not personally.  I only knew of him.  He stays out of the news, but everyone told stories about him in Görlitz, where I was raised.  He was kind of a combination folk hero and boogie man.”

“Great, that tells me how you know
of
him, but how did you wind up on his payroll?”

“Oh,” Ulbrecht said.  “I’m not.”

“What?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with him until he called me last night and told me to expect you.”  Ulbrecht shrugged.  “I guess he must have known I could help.  He offered me money if I did a good job and kept my mouth shut and death if I didn’t.  After all the stories I’d heard about him, I couldn’t exactly refuse.”

“Well, I guess you’ve just taken your first step into a larger world,” Nadya muttered, turning away from him.  “Come on.  We need to get to the garage before anyone knows you’re not where you’re supposed to be.”  She continued to walk at a fast pace.  The sooner they got to the garage, the better.  As soon as the alarm was raised, they were going to have to deal with a major shit storm.

They reached the ladder Nadya had come down earlier and headed up.  Once they were on the first floor, she turned in the opposite direction she had originally come from and started down another narrow passage.  She stopped at another secret opening a little ways down the tunnel and turned back to Ulbrecht.

“Let me go out first,” she told him.  “If someone sees me, they’re just gonna figure I’m up to my usual games.  I’ll signal you if it’s clear.”

He nodded and she turned to the secret opening, pressing against the proper block and causing an audible click.  She pushed the wall section open and stepped out into another hall.  She blinked a few times to get used to the light then looked around.

Surprise flooded through her but she tried to keep her expression neutral as she spotted Vladimir walking down the hall towards her with a smile on his face.  She quickly, but casually, closed the hidden opening and cracked an easy smirk at her boss.

When he reached her, he parted his arms and leaned forward, giving her a gentle hug.  She tensed from the physical contact, more of a natural reflex than anything.  She felt him press against the gun in her waistband, still concealed by her jacket, but she was sure he could feel its bulk.  If so, he didn’t mention it as he moved back away from her.

“I thought you were coming to dinner,” he said.  “When you didn’t show up, I thought you might still be mad at me.  I see you’ve been missing your little pathways.”

Nadya nodded.  “I was on my way, but I remembered the entrance in the Altman painting and figured I’d see if I could get to the dining room through them.  I’m getting old, though.  I got lost.”

“Old?” Vlad laughed at the statement.  He noticed the pack on her shoulder and his grin faded a bit.  “You don’t look like you’re on your way to dinner.  You look like you’re leaving.  So you are still mad at me.”

“No,” Nadya shook her head.  “I just didn’t want to overstay my welcome,” she offered.

“You could never,” he said.  “Stay until you’re healed.  Or longer.  I have other assassins to cover the jobs I need done.”

Nadya struggled franticly to come up with a better reason for her to be leaving so that Vladimir would let her go.  “Well, it’s not that so much… I’ve… got a boyfriend.”  She couldn’t believe she even said it, but it was the only thing she could think of.  Hopefully, she could get Vlad to go for it.  “He’s going to wonder what happened to me.”

“A boyfriend?”

As she’d suspected, he looked uncertain.

But then a fresh grin formed on his face.  “Nadezhda, that’s great.  I was hoping you’d meet someone eventually.  If that’s the case, I understand completely.  I’ll drive you back to your flat personally.  I’d like to meet the man who finally got your attention.”

Nadya sighed.

She didn’t want him to drive her anywhere; she wanted him to leave so she could finish sneaking Ulbrecht out of the place.

“Well… actually… he’s not at my flat.”

It was obvious he wasn’t going to be convinced to leave the hall without her, so she’d just have to leave with him.  She reached over and flicked the switch to open the wall segment again.  As it swung open, she called into the dark opening.

“Ulbrecht.  It’s clear.”

The young German man exited the passageway and stepped into the hall.

Vladimir’s eyes widened with surprise that quickly became anger.  “Him?  Nadya, we’ve already discussed this.”

She nodded.  “I know.  I’m going to try and find him a cure.”

Vlad’s face grew stern and his voice grew icy cold.  “Nadezhda, don’t be stupid.  You know I can’t let you leave here with him.”

She drew the gun from her waistband and aimed it at Vladimir.  It was the hardest thing she’d had to do in her life, but she did it anyway.  “It’s you who shouldn’t be stupid.  Hands where I can see them.”

He complied, his expression letting her know how stunned and hurt he was by her action.

“He won’t cause you trouble.  I can promise you that.  I owe him like I owe you.  I don’t like the fact that the two debts have to counteract each other, but there’s nothing to be done about it.  Take us to the garage.  Once we’re gone, you won’t hear from Ulbrecht again.  And you won’t hear from me again.  If it’s what you want.”

He shook his head.  “It’s not.  I don’t want any of this.”

“Like I said, it can’t be helped,” Nadya replied, then motioned with her gun for him to move.  “Garage.”

She slipped the gun back into the waistband concealed by her jacket.  She glanced back at Ulbrecht and nodded for him to follow along.

“Please, don’t make this harder than it has to be.  Don’t make me start hurting the people I care about.  I’ll hate myself for it, but you know I’ll do it.”

Vlad looked into her eyes, saw the dead seriousness there, and nodded.  He turned and started down the hall.  Nadya and Ulbrecht followed behind.

Going through several halls, they passed by guards, maids, and butlers.  None of which so much as gave them a second glance.  They all knew not to disturb Vladimir unless there was a damn good reason.

It seemed Sven was still trapped in the quarantine room and hadn’t raised the alarm yet.  Nadya could tell Vlad was furious by the way he walked. 
Probably why the people we’re passing are doing their best to stay out of our way.
  But he didn’t say a word to warn the guards they passed.

Finally, they entered the garage.

It was huge, filled with more than a few expensive cars and motorcycles.  Nadya surveyed the collection before pointing to the Maserati MC12.  It was, by far, the fastest vehicle in Vladimir’s collection.

Unfortunately, it’s also his most prized vehicle.

It was no great surprise, as there were only thirty in existence, most of them used for professional racing.  Still, fast was exactly what Nadya was shopping for.  She didn’t want to have to worry about Vlad sending anybody after her and Ulbrecht.  There was no doubt he would, but she wanted to be able to outrun them.

That seems to be my default position.  When in doubt, make sure you can outrun your enemies so that you can double back and kick them in the fucking throat later.  Vladimir isn’t my enemy, though.  At least, he wasn’t…

The Maserati only had two seats, but that was fine.  She only had one passenger and her pack was small enough to fit with them.  Also, with limited time and no idea where she’d have to go to find the cure she was after, the speed of the car would come in that much handier.

Vlad let out a groan as she pointed the MC12 out.  “You’re really not making this departure any easier on me, you know.”  He reached into his pocket, where he kept the keys to the Maserati and tossed them over to her.

Nadya caught them and headed for the vehicle.

Ulbrecht moved with her, going around to the passenger side and getting in.  She tossed him her pack then turned back to Vladimir, giving him an apologetic look.

“I am sorry.  Really sorry.  You know this is the last thing I’d ever want to do.  But he saved my life.  I have to at least try to save his.”

He didn’t reply, but she wasn’t expecting him to.

She turned and got behind the wheel of the Maserati, inserting the key and gunning the engine.  She punched a button on the dashboard and watched the garage door open in front of her.  She looked back at Vlad a final time, wondering if he’d ever be able to forgive her.

Then she pressed her foot down on the gas pedal and the car revved and shot forward, accelerating like a rocket.  She guided it along the curved driveway to the main gate of the estate, punching a second button next to the first.  The gates slid open slowly in relation to the speed they approached them.

Ulbrecht let out an uncertain sound, but Nadya kept her foot on the gas.  The car nearly scraped the sides of the gates as it passed through them.

Scratching up her boss’s prized vehicle wasn’t the first step to getting back in his good graces, but she couldn’t fight the urge to get as far away from him as possible.  Even as she got onto the road and accelerated, the image of how he looked at her just before she’d left stuck in her head.

Nadya turned to Ulbrecht, her bruised jaw clenched firmly.  “If I can find this cure, you’d better fucking appreciate it.”

She looked away from him again, focusing on the road, not wanting him to see the tears welling up in her eyes.