He pushed himself up instantly knowing there must have been an earlier shot, a shot that would have pulled him out of his sleep.

He threw his covers back, but before he could even push himself out of bed, he heard the rattle of a key. His door flew open.

“Quick! Get dressed. You must hurry!”

It was the guard who had brought him his dinner the evening before, but unlike last night, he was now carrying a machine gun. Behind him was another guard similarly equipped.

Middleton jumped out of bed and felt around for his clothes in the semi-darkness.

Outside the gunfire intensified. It was hard to tell how close it was, but the fact that there were two guards anxiously waiting for him to get dressed told Middleton all he needed to know.

As he pulled on his final shoe, the first guard said, “Come. Come.”

He grabbed Middleton by the arm and shoved him into the hallway.

“That way!”

The guard pulled him forward and started to run. Middleton had no choice but to do the same. From elsewhere in the house, he could hear people yelling orders and feet racing down other hallways.

The guard whipped him around a corner then angled toward a wide stone stairway. Instinctively, Middleton veered for the flight leading down, but the guard yanked him to the left.

“No. Up. Up.”

They took the stairs two at a time, racing upward, not stopping until they reached an open metal door. Beyond it, Middleton could see the night sky and the flat surface of the mansion’s roof.

As they stepped through the door, the intensity of the gunfire increased.

“This is a dead end,” Middleton said. “What are we doing—”

Suddenly another sound drowned out the sound of the bullets. It was loud, rhythmic and familiar. Middleton turned in time to see the helicopter rise up from the rear of the mansion just high enough to clear the lip of the roof. He realized it must have flown in low over the rear of Chernayev’s estate, keeping out of sight of the attackers out front.

As soon as it touched down, the side door flew open.

Middleton didn’t wait for instructions. He immediately began heading for the helicopter. As he climbed aboard, the pilot motioned for him to take the seat farthest from the door and strap in.

As soon as his safety harness was buckled, Middleton looked up, and gave the pilot a wave to let him know he was ready.

But the helicopter didn’t move.

The runners remained firmly on the roof.

Then movement beyond the open door caught Middleton’s attention. Someone else had come onto the roof. But this had barely registered on Middleton when the sky flared bright from a large explosion. The noise was deafening, even momentarily overpowering the sound of the rotors.

The moment the noise subsided, he leaned toward the pilot and yelled, “We’ve got to go!”