Russian Law (Law Series ) (Volume 1) (11 page)

“And
I never leave home without it,” he said as he pocketed the device. He wished
he’d taken the same consideration with his passport but really even he couldn’t
have anticipated this.

They
both looked down the street as they heard screeching tires. Two SVR 2010 GMC
Terrain SUV vehicles were bearing down on them.

“Get
in the car!”

Elena
didn’t wait to be asked twice, she scrambled into the car and was in the
process of closing her door when Lucas pulled away from the kerb and joined the
other motorists on the street, exceeding the speed limit by twelve miles.

She
looked behind and saw that the chase was on. Another shiny black GMC Terrain
SUV had joined the other two.

“Another
one,” she informed Lucas.

“I
see it,” he navigated a sharp turn without slowing. He must have had a high
speed chase maneuvering lesson at some point. She watched the scenery blur
outside the window as Lucas weaved in and out of traffic, sometimes finding
their car up on the footpath. Her head hit the ceiling as they ascended and
descended rapidly as they passed over a speed bump.

The
Terrain wasn’t far behind them. They didn’t even bother to slow down. It was
the public who would have to move out of their way or they were barreled
through. So much for protecting your citizens Elena thought as she saw the SVR
driver side swipe an unsuspecting motorist.

She
soon found herself being driven past some of Moscow’s beautiful sights, the
triumphal arch on Kutuzov Ave, Ostankino Tower and the Novodevichy Convent and
realized she wished she could share her country’s landmarks with Lucas. She was
extremely proud to be Russian and was a true Patriot. Perhaps another time, she
thought as she was jerked into his shoulder as he took another corner too fast.

Pop.
Pop
.

She
frowned at the strange sound and looked back at the vehicles in pursuit.

“Oh
my God, are they
shooting
at us?” she asked Lucas, incredulous.

He
spared at glance at the rear view mirror.

“Seems
that way to me,” he replied easily, unfazed.

He
didn’t seem surprised or concerned which frustrated the hell out of her. He
could at least act scared. She however didn’t have to act. She was frightened
and getting shot at was not helping the situation. “And you’re not worried
about that?”

He
shrugged. “The possibilities of them actually making a direct hit are extremely
limited with the vehicle travelling at the speed ours is.”

She
heard more popping and then the sound of metal hitting metal as a bullet
connected with the undercarriage of the Chevrolet. Lucas swerved to accommodate
the impact.

She
looked back at him. “You were saying?”

He
shrugged again. “It’s not an exact science.”

She
could see in her side mirror her fellow SVR agents leaning out their car
windows, their guns aimed in her direction, trying to shoot out their tires.
She worried for the bystanders afraid that one of them might be hit. Lucas navigated
the car in and out of the morning traffic, through red lights and up onto a
kerb narrowly missing a street light. She felt nervous sweat coat her skin, and
prayed she wouldn’t die today. It was an uncertainty but in the back of her
mind, she trusted Lucas’s driving skills. She heard a loud thump and the sickening
sound of a car’s chassis compress. She looked back to see one of the GMC
Terrain’s following them had not been so lucky to miss the street light,
parking the SUV dead centre, the hood crumpled at the force of the smash.

As
they went through another red light, she held on tight to the handle above the
door. Her left hand was keeping the edge of her seat in a death grip. She
looked over at Lucas, who wore an expression of deep concentration,
perspiration coated his forehead at the exertion required to keep from losing
control of the car. His long fingers gripped the steering wheel hard. She heard
another sound of metal folding and Elena looked back to see another SVR issued vehicle
crash as a disgruntled driver smashed into the vehicle while trying to go
through the intersection. The driver got out and started swearing a blue
streak. He was not a happy camper. His attitude would soon change when he found
out who was driving the other car.

She
let out a sigh of relief as there was only one more SUV in pursuit, she was not
one for this kind of excitement and had never longed for adventure. She was
quite content with her life as it was. She liked knowing what to expect and
this was certainly not on her list.

“Buckle
up,” Lucas advised.

She
looked over at him and saw where he was headed, she muttered another curse and
was vaguely surprised at her herself. Not one to swear often, she had
definitely tripled her quota since meeting him. Elena quickly buckled herself
in, reaching across his lap to do the same for him as he pulled out of traffic,
going down a set of pedestrian stairs to the street below, they bounced up and
down as the tires connected with the stairs.

The
Terrain SUV behind them followed suit, Lucas pressed down harder on the
accelerator as they flew down the stairs, the tires now barely touching the
ground. They hit the street below, sliding somewhat and Lucas fought to correct
it. Trying to lose their tail, he steered the vehicle across the lanes of
incoming traffic and turned right to drive down along a street adjacent to
Alexander Gardens, past the Metro station. It was a tight fit as Lucas tried to
avoid hitting a row of tightly parked cars.

Elena
resisted the urge to shut her eyes, the cars blurring as they sped past. If her
window had been down she could probably have reached out and touched them. She
could see the busy intersection up ahead. She looked to her right at her side
mirror again and behind her she could see the black GMC once more gaining on
them.

She
fought the urge to gulp, grabbing hold of the hand brace above her door with
one hand while the other one pressed hard against the glove box in an attempt
to keep from smacking into the dashboard.

The
Chevrolet protested the speed at which Lucas executed a hard left at the end of
the street, going around the sharp turn on two wheels amidst squealing tires
and burning rubber. Lucas never eased off the accelerator, immediately
correcting the steering wheel as he brought them into another tight alley. He
spun the wheel quickly, narrowly avoiding plowing into a dumpster.

Jesus,
were these guys ever going to give up? he thought, as the Government vehicles followed
them down the street, gaining on them at an alarming rate. An admirable trait unless
you were the one under pursuit. Lucas kept his eyes on the road. There wasn’t a
lot of wiggle room, he couldn’t afford to crash. The SVR boys would be on them
like bees to honey. Then he would be screwed and so would Elena and that
couldn’t happen. He gripped the steering wheel harder, he was downright pissed
off. He hadn’t had any sleep the previous night, waiting for Elena to show up,
he was cold and hungry. He was miles away from his country and his friends,
people who believed in him and knew he was a good guy. He had practically
kidnapped Elena from her apartment and involved her in God only knows what. He
was seriously going to go Clint Eastwood on the ass of the person responsible. They
sure as hell won’t be feeling lucky.

At
least Elena wasn’t complaining. She had been a downright trouper through the
entire affair. It couldn’t be easy on her. She barely knew him. Didn’t know the
kind of person he was. He would have to ask her one day why she put her trust
in him. But now wasn’t the time.

Pop.
Pop.

Fuck.
Didn’t these guys ever run out of bullets? He can’t be up so high on their shit
list to warrant such a response. Could he? What the hell has he stumbled upon?

Pop.
Pop.

He
felt the back tire deflate. Someone got in a lucky shot. He fought to control
the car as they drove past the Kremlin, between the building and the Moska
River. The SVR tail came up behind, undaunted by the narrowness of the street,
pushing their speed higher in an attempt to catch up with them.

The
black terrain - finally having gained on them since Lucas didn’t want to risk
colliding with anything in the small street by going at a ridiculous speed - clipped
the tail of the Chevrolet causing it to spin around a few times hitting the
larger SUV as it did so. The force of the impact causing the Terrain to flip
over before eventually ramming the Chevrolet’s right side into the wall of a
nearby structure, the car sat idling.

Elena
felt like she was going to throw up, her head was still spinning and her heart
was thumping in her throat. Lucas turned to face her, his eyes surveying her
for any damage. He looked relieved so she assumed she wasn’t bleeding or dying.
Things could be looking up.

“Elena?
Are you alright?” he asked, concern clear in his voice.

She
caught her breath. “Do all American’s drive like that?”

Lucas
grinned. “Only the good ones.”

He
got out of the car and waited for her to shimmy over from the passenger side
and exit through the driver’s door since her side was pressed up against a
wall. Elena was thankful for the stretchy fabric of her skirt as she
inelegantly climbed out of the car. Just then she heard the sound of material
ripping and sighed. So it wasn’t
that
stretchy.

Her
legs felt like jelly and her knees almost buckled under her weight. Lucas
caught her about her waist and held her upright for a second while she gained
her legs before taking her hand in his. They began to move quickly away from
the scene of the accident.

“Hope
he had insurance,” Lucas added as an afterthought.

Elena
narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re making jokes at a time like this?” she
scolded. Her heart rate had yet to return to normal. The adrenaline was pumping
heavily through her veins.

He
gave her a brief look. “Would you prefer sarcasm?”

She
shook her head and told herself that she would not smile. She would
not
encourage
such outrageous behavior. How could he stand there and pretend the last hour
did not just happen? She had never been more scared in her entire life. She
could feel the hysteria welling up inside her and resisted the urge to hit him.
Hard.

“I
would prefer good ideas,” she said instead. “Less John Wayne antics and more
Isaac Newton revelations.”

“I’ll
try to be accommodating,” he said dryly.

The
tires of a car squealing behind them caught their attention and they both
turned around. Another SVR vehicle was coming at them. Not again, Elena
thought, she can’t take much more of this. Lucas yanked her hand and they took
off running only just avoiding being hit by the Terrain as it sped towards
them.

Elena
was grateful for the tear in her skirt as it allowed her to keep pace with
Lucas’s fast, long strides, something she was sure she wouldn’t have been able
to accomplish had it not torn. She took the lead, this time pulling on Lucas’s
hand, directing him into the throng of people congregating in nearby Red
Square, hopefully losing themselves in the crowd. She squished through the mass
of tourists across the centre of the square running past the multi-colored
domes of St Basil’s Cathedral.

They
made it to the opposite side of the square, dipping into a small obscure
alleyway. They looked out onto Red Square checking for signs of their pursuers.
There were none. They had finally lost them. Relief filled her body and made
her feel almost euphoric.

Still
catching her breath she said, “It appears they have given up – for now.”

Lucas
nodded. They stayed in the alley for a while longer. They couldn’t stay out in
the cold all day. He and Elena would need to go someplace warm. The temperature
had already dropped his body warmth and could feel the cold chilling him now.
The exertion and subsequence perspiration was not helping to keep his body heat
in.

“Are
you alright?” he asked.

Elena
looked at him, her eyes misty. She was shaking. He recognized the signs of adrenaline
crashing. Her body had had just about enough. He didn’t want to have to push
her any further. He wished he could just let her rest.

She
could feel the tears threatening to spill over her eyes and tried desperately
in vain to blink them back. She knew she couldn’t trust her voice so instead
she nodded.

“Hey,”
he said softly and moved closer to her. “It’s alright.”

He
pulled her into his chest, wrapping his strong arms around her. God she felt
wonderful. Her head rested on his shoulder.

“I’m
fine,” she said and then the floodgates opened. The tears she had gallantly
fought back now trickled down her cheeks. Her ungloved fingers scrunched up his
coat as she tightened her fist around the fabric on his arm sleeve. Her other
hand rested on his solid chest.

He
could feel the sobs rack her body, but barely any sound came out her mouth
which was currently pressed hard against his shoulder. His hands rubbed up and
down her back in unconscious movement as a way to give her comfort. He pressed
his face into her hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo mixed with her
flowery perfume.