Belotserkovsky swung into the lodge and closed the door. Stoyan came in from the back. ‘Clear at the rear. But there’s bad news there as well. Someone has disabled the vehicles. If we want to get out of here, then we have to walk.’

‘That should make it easy for them,’ said Belotserkovsky grimly.

‘Enough of that,’ said Buslenko. ‘I’m not going to let that bastard Vitrenko fillet me the way he did Vorobyeva.’

‘So you think he’s out there?’ asked Olga.

‘Oh, yes. If the prey is special to him, he likes to be there for the kill.’ Buslenko paused, frowning. ‘Funny … I said exactly the same thing to someone just yesterday.’ He felt a sudden panic in his chest as he thought about Sasha. Sasha was no soldier. He was an analyst. A soft and easy target. The thought must have registered in his face.

‘What’s wrong?’ said Olga.

‘The guy I got to put the team together … He was the only person who knew we would be here. They must have got to him.’

‘Bribery?’

‘No …’ Buslenko shook his head. ‘Never. Not Sasha. They must have …’ He let the thought die.

Belotserkovsy rested a hand on Buslenko’s shoulder. ‘If it was him, Taras, he’s not in any pain now. They wouldn’t have kept him once they knew we were here.’

7.

The BMW braked as it came around the corner and found Maria’s Saxo head-on in its path, but the tyres aquaglided on the wet surface. The driver corrected by accelerating and swinging the BMW to avoid the Saxo. By the time he passed Maria where she stood at the side of the road, she had the illegal automatic aimed at the flank of the speeding car. She fired six rounds in rapid succession as it passed and the side windows shattered. The BMW swung from side to side, straightened, then accelerated away. Maria fired three more rounds at the rear of the car as it disappeared into the distance.

Maria watched the BMW for a moment, then took a second clip from her pocket, rammed it into the grip, snapped the carriage back to put a round in the chamber and stood, arms locked before her, waiting for the BMW to come back. It didn’t. Her heart pounded. The rain plastered her newly darkened hair to her scalp and she was chilled to the core of her being.

And she felt better than she had in months.

The bastard had seen her as an easy victim. She had seen herself as an easy victim. But now the hunted was the hunter. Nine rounds into the body of the car: she must have hit him somewhere. Maria ran back, spun the Saxo around in the road once more, and headed off after the BMW.

8.

They had been in the lodge for three hours. They had not allowed themselves a light, nor the comfort of food or drink.