Project - 16 (37 page)

“
I killed him.”

“
It looks as though he's hired a team of mercenaries - an
outfit I’ve never seen before,” said Riley. “Without Corban paying
the tab I'm not sure what they'll do.”

“
They will send another to take his place,” said the
General.

“
Excuse me sir - but who is 'they'?” I asked.

“
They? They are the people behind this in the first place.
They are American but they aren't America, if you understand me. We
heard about them during the war. It was only rumour at first but
the dossier is thick with incidents we believe they were behind -
one of which being the bombing of your country.”

“
With all due respect - the blame was placed at NSU feet,” I
said.

“
Of course it would be. We are the enemy, are we not?” I let
it pass - I had no time to dig further nor any kind of inclination.
My Dad might of, but I wasn't about to. “It is they who were behind
the shooting down of the flight carrying the plague in the first
place.”

“
So you think they've enough power still in place to put a
serious force on the ground?” I asked.

“
Do any of you know how Corban and his team
arrived?”

“
The
Revenant
is nearby,” said Riley. “We suspect they're based on board
it.”

“
Then there'll be a new leader installed at the bunker. But
that will not be all. With Corban dead they will reinforce the area
for fear of another attack. Do they know of Saska and this man?” By
which he referred to Alex. I nodded. “American Intel,
eh?”

“
It's how I got involved in the first place,” I
said.

“
So We must first destroy their ship - cut off the head from
the body so to speak. Then we can take their ground forces apart
piecemeal,” he said. Saska brought over the tea and her father
poured it into the cups. It would've been a pleasant scene had it
not been for the tension. “Then what is your plan?”

“
To get in and get the cure,” said Alex.

“
Then what? My men and I turn around and go home? Is that
it?”

“
I don't understand...?”

“
Well I'm glad one of us does then.” He stirred sugar into the
cup and added a splash of milk. “If I use my influence to gather
enough forces to take this bunker - because my Government can't
know about this action - then at the end I will take the cure and
my daughter back to Moscow and together we will work to put this
problem right. But what about you, Alex DuPont? What will you do
when this is over?”

“
I love your daughter,” he said.

“
That is not what I asked.”

“
It's all I have. If she goes then I'll find a way to follow -
I promise you that.”

The General continued stirring. “We will discuss this
further. What makes you think the cure is there?”

Saska filled him in on the disc and the message from my Dad.
Occasionally he'd look over at me and wait to see if I agreed with
the account. I couldn't argue with it - Saska had an amazing
memory.

“
I see. It makes some kind of sense at least,” he said. “It
would also give us what we need to help our people and also allow
us to 'aid' the struggling Americans on their own soil.” We knew
what that meant and I was just glad Riley didn't react to it. It
also meant we were on the verge of a Russian globe - a world the
kids would colour in red.

He drank his tea and smiled. “I may be able to muster enough
forces to do this,” he said. “There are many Captains of submarines
that owes me a favour or two.”

“
Why the secrecy?” asked Saska.

“
Because I am here for you, Saska, not for Russia. The
Government knows nothing about where I am right now and who my
staff and team are - they are volunteers, come to help me because I
knew you needed me.”

“
Oh Papa,” said Saska, placing her small hand on his seemingly
enormous one. He covered it with the other and smiled at
her.

“
Anything for you, my darling.”

We drank our tea and it reminded me of Piotr and his promise
of a samavar. I'd miss the old man once this was all
over.

“
We will rest today and I will set up the men in the grounds,
reinforcing this stronghold. I will also dispatch some craft to
search for the
Revenant
and perhaps even sink her in the process.
Meanwhile I will call in as many favours as I can and begin to put
a mission together. Perhaps, Riley, you will assist me in this
given your recent contact with these mercenaries?”

Riley appeared stunned by the offer but quickly recovered her
calm. “Yes sir, I'd appreciate the chance to have another shot at
them.” The General rose to his feet and we all followed like we
were under his command. It was hard not to be.

“
Then I will see you later. I have much to do,” he said and
left the canteen. Saska and Alex followed leaving Riley and me to
clean up.

“
You'd seriously fight alongside them?” I asked
her.

“
Why not? I was a Security Consultant for a long time and
there were all sorts of soldiers out there that I had to work with.
What makes these guys so different?”

“
Well, it's your call I guess. I just thought you might have
wanted to pass on this one.” She collected the cups and took them
to the sink, weighing her response.

“
I think I need to have one last action. One last shot at a
real enemy before...”

“
Before what?” I asked.

“
Before I settle down with you. It's like I need to get it out
of my system before I hang up the rifle and live with you. I'm not
sure I can go home until I’ve done that. Do you
understand?”

“
Of course I do, I guess I just didn't expect it to look like
this. Do you think we're just going to go home and sit round the
fire until we're old and grey or something?”

“
No, of course not, it's just-”

“
You do, don't you?” I said.

“
Well yes, I guess I do.”

“
I see.”

“
Don't say it like that,” she replied.

“
Like what?”

“
Like I just shit on your cornflakes. Tell me - what are we
going to do when we get back?”

“
I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Fuck your brains out
was first on the list. To tell you the truth that kind of dominated
the schedule.”

“
I just don't want it to-” she began.

“
I know what you're thinking - you're back to what you said
before - that you don't want to end up getting home and feeling
different when the excitement and the danger have gone, when it's
just you and me and a lot of empty land.” She nodded without
looking at me. “Well that's what it means to be with me. It means
we have to take each day as it comes no matter what and I can't
promise there won't be a bit of down time where we have fuck all to
do but sit in front of the fire with a bottle of wine and make
love. If that's as bad as it gets then I'm okay with
that.”

“
I am too!” she said. “I'm just scared, that's
all.”

“
I get that and I get you, Claudia Riley, but we have to meet
in the middle somewhere. You've been doing this for years now and
maybe, though I don't like to admit it, you should be involved in
this.”

“
You mean that?”

“
Yeah, I do. You wanted to go home and I wanted to see this
thing through - well here's the price I'm having to pay. But once
it's done we're going home. Do you understand?” Another nod. “After
that, I'm sure life will have enough adventure for the both of us
if we're willing to work at it. Don't you think?”

“
Yeah, I guess so,” she said. She put the cups down and put
her arms around my neck. “I love you, Miller. I really fucking
do.”

“
I love you too. We can make this work - but you have to trust
me.”

“
I do.”

“
And you have to make sure you come back from this in one
piece.”

“
I will.” I kissed her and felt her body pulse with pleasure.
“Are we really going to do it in front of the fire?” she whispered
in my ear.

“
Every Monday and twice on Fridays,” I said.

“
That's a little bit creepy. You're scheduling our
lovemaking?”

“
Yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe on Tuesdays too.”

The camp came to life quicker than we could have imagined.
Tents were erected, equipment and vehicles were flown in and troops
arrived by the score. It was clear that General Ibromavich had some
clout in the ranks below him in order to command such a large
voluntary force. It was also clear that the NSU military structure
was so efficient that it could afford to lose a detachment of
ground and air forces without even noticing. I didn't know whether
I should be worried by this or not.

As I walked around the frantic, busy base I caught snippets
of cross-chat; people quietly commenting on how good it would be to
nail some Americans and how this was clearly some government
black-op that the General had been given to carry out under the
radar. It was starting to sound like Ibromavich was quite adept at
pulling off stunts like this. What else had he been up to behind
the backs of the NSU?

I didn't see Riley that day or the next and she never
returned to our bunks. I often saw the back of her moving among the
command staff, already wearing some NSU camouflage pants and her
familiar black jumper - now hidden behind a kevlar vest riddled
with ammo packs and grenades. She was Ranger Riley once more, back
in the thick of the world she knew best and everything and everyone
outside that circle ceased to exist. For a brief moment, as I was
filling the CERV with fuel cans and other bits to take back home, I
turned and saw her looking back at me through her sunglasses. I was
about to smile but I quickly realised she was looking past me at an
incoming chopper on the horizon. It came to hover over the pad and
dropped a pallet of boxes that was suspended on cables underneath
it. She jogged over to begin unpacking the contents.

It was then that I realised something I'd put to the back of
my mind; a nagging doubt that I'd forced into some dark corner came
rushing to the light again. It was then that I saw the future - the
real future for me and Riley and I'd been a fool to see otherwise.
I tried to ignore it, to concentrate on packing the CERV with
equipment, but it still kept coming.

“
Miller,” said a voice behind me. It was Alex and he stood
there with the expression a man gets when he knows he's surplus to
requirements. I was probably wearing the same one. I nodded to him
and he took his hands out of his pockets. “I just wanted to say
goodbye.”

“
Goodbye?” I said.

“
Yeah. His Royal Highness has given orders for Saska and I to
fly back to St. Petersburg in the last transport plane. It leaves
in thirty minutes.”

“
I thought...” Alex shook his head.

“
They don't need us now. Once they have the cure they'll ship
it back themselves and hand it over to their own specialists. Saska
will be involved of course, but my bit is pretty much
done.”

“
Oh, I see," I said. "What will you do now?" He
shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe head back to the States and see what I
can do to help. I might go looking for Mom but..." I nodded my
sympathy. "I gave up everything for her. Everything. My life, my
career. Everything I had. And for what? To be brushed aside by
Daddy. It fucking sucks, Miller. It really does."

"Is he still against you and Saska being
together?"

"It doesn't matter now - she's the one who's left me. She
wasn't forced to either. She said it was for the best, that it'd
been nice when it was exciting, when people were out to get us and
the adrenaline was pumping, but now..."

"She can't handle a quiet life?"

"No. She wants high-speed, edge of your seat, white knuckle
fucking excitement 24/7. I can't give her that and I don't think
I'd want to anyway. Sometimes it's nice just to hear yourself
breathing, or watch a sunset, anything quiet and peaceful. She
doesn't understand that."

"Yeah," I said. "I know."

There were shouts and commands being barked behind him and
they drowned out whatever he said after that. The next thing I new
he'd extended his hand to me and I took it.

“
Thank you, Miller. Whatever it was, luck, karma, I don't
know, it brought you here at the right time to unlock the mystery.
A lot of people will owe you and your Dad their lives in the years
to come.”

“
A lot just owe us their deaths.,” I asked, not wanting to
dwell on it.

“
We can't control everything,” he said. “Anyway, good luck. I
assume you're staying here?” I looked for Riley but couldn't see
her anywhere.

“
Yeah, I guess so.”

“
Look, if you decide you want to visit Russia...” He passed me
a small memory stick in a sealed plastic bag and grinned. “I hacked
Saska's computer. It's all the emails and files on that mysterious
third party we told you about. I thought maybe you might want to
find her.”