The Soldier and The Spy: Tess Danvers- Episode 1

Chapter 3

The car was coming to a stop, the sound of gravel crunching beneath the wheels suggesting they were somewhere industrial, maybe even outside the city. She didn't fight as the trunk opened and she was hauled out, though even bound and blind she could have, and instead kept pace with her captors as they walked her forward. It was better to assess the situation before deciding how to handle it. The bag over her head prevented her from making out her surroundings but Tess didn't need her sight to tell her where she was. The smell of seaweed and brine was thick in the air, as was the metallic tang of oil; they were at one of the city's shipyards, which made sense given that Ivan Shevchenko, the man who's men had taken her, used them often. Ivan was a local arms dealer whose connection with the Bratva gave him illusions of grandeur. He'd probably seen her at the club and decided to try his luck. And in doing so fucked up her evening.

The only reason she'd gone out in the first place was because Liam had asked her to see her. He was a contact and the owner of The Tomb, an underground den for criminals, but more importantly he was a friend. He'd had information, nothing critical but still solid information about a weapons shipment arriving in Bahrain that she could pass along to her team. And if she were honest she liked the club. She also liked Liam. He was good humoured and smart, not to mention well connected, and he never asked for anything in return, not that he needed to. It was the way their friendship worked, the way most of her relationships did now. A favour for a favour. Those who knew her well, like Liam, knew that promise didn't equal a blank cheque; she never did anything she didn't want to, and hadn't for a long time.

Present moment not withstanding.

They'd gotten lucky grabbing her. She'd been in the back alley when four of his men ambushed her, while Ivan himself stood back and watched. Normally they wouldn't have been a problem but with the wound on her stomach she just hadn't been able to block the blow that had knocked her out. She also hadn't been expecting it. The Tomb was neutral territory, no fighting allowed, but it seemed Ivan had decided those rules didn't apply to him. If he got out of tonight alive Liam's' men would be having a word with him. It was too much to hope they would show up before hand- neutral meant neutral, and while it was common knowledge the two were friends there were some lines he couldn't cross.

No, tonight she was on her own.

Suddenly the men holding her stopped and shoved her to her knees. "To sweeten our deal." She heard Ivan say cockily as someone finally pulled the bag off her head. Sure enough they were in a shipyard, Ivan and his goons behind her and Igor Kuznetsov and two of his own men before her.

This night just kept getting better.

Igor was a Bratok, a high ranking Bratva member who oversaw the transport and transfer of weapons into the entire Midwest. He was smart, fast, and vicious. He also didn't like her.

"Surprise." She greeted him with an easy smile, her sapphire eyes light, as though she was completely unbothered by the situation.

She and Igor had met a few times over the last few years, mostly on good terms, but he'd never forgotten the first. He had tried to kill her, and gotten his ass kicked in the process, only to be called off by his Avtoritet, the man who ran his unit and who understood that her own connections in the Bratva were a lot higher than either of theirs. She was hoping he would remember that now but by the way he grinned she didn't think he did. Or more likely didn't care.

"Where did he snatch you up?" He asked, taking a few steps closer as he examined the rope binding her wrists. It was thick, coarse and tight; she'd loosened it but not enough, and by the wicked spark in his eye he knew it.

"The Tomb." She replied smoothly, watching as he immediately looked to Ivan, his brows furrowing with irritation.

"Outside. Which is not technically on the grounds." His words may have been confident but his tone wasn't. Ivan was a coward at heart, someone who'd made his way up the ranks by ass-kissing and trickery. Both of them dismissed him.