BooksBarbecue
Back The Asset
Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

Her mind was running at a million miles an hour and she had to shut her eyes to clear her thoughts. The image of Timokhin’s head being blown open flashed through her mind.

The car swerved wildly and she jammed on the breaks, sending it into a spin.

“No,” she cried as the car skidded off the track and crashed into the brush. It came to a sudden halt against a large tree, glass shattering and airbags filling the vehicle on all sides.

She was jolted violently against the front airbag and it took her a few minutes just to realize what had happened.

The airbags deflated and she looked around. The car was a write off. It wasn’t going anywhere.

She was fucked.

She let that sink in for a moment. That, and the thought of being brought back to the cellar and strung up again on the rope. She banged her fists down on the steering wheel over and over and screamed as loud as she could for as long as the air in lungs allowed.

Then she forced herself to get a grip. She could still run. She’d be on foot, but it was better than waiting to be picked up.

All she could see was forest and snow in every direction. She had no shoes. No supplies. No idea where she was. And the GRU was on its way. But she knew she’d rather die naked in the forest, being hunted by dogs, than let them take her back to that cellar.

Out of desperation, she tried starting the car. She pressed the button over and over but it made only the feeblest of attempts to fire up.

She sat there, frantically trying to come up with a plan as her body got colder and colder. That was another thing she needed to worry about. The cold. Very quickly it would start clouding her judgment. If she even had any judgment left.

Then she saw a vehicle approaching along the track.

They’d been even faster than she’d expected. She still had the gun and she checked it. It was ready.

She would go out in a hail of bullets. Better to die fighting than surrender.

The car came to a halt where her vehicle had skidded from the track and a man in a black coat stepped out. She trained her gun on him and waited to see if anyone else followed. No one did. It was just him. One man. Easy. Maybe she could kill him and steal his car.

She aimed at his head. If she spared his clothing she could take those too. She wouldn’t make the mistake of leaving the shoes a second time.

She put her finger on the trigger and was about to pull it when a sudden realization flashed through her.