Her Russian

Chapter 39-The Rescue

Ilia was getting more antsy and more strung out from no sleep. He was snapping at everyone but they knew not to take it to heart. The man was going through a living hell at the moment and they understood.

Everyone was working tirelessly on finding Galina, and while they were getting closer, it seemed it was taking forever.

Just as they were getting ready to close in on the current location of the captors, they received word from Roman that Galina was being moved again and this time they would be followed.

This was a definite step in the right direction and the prospect made Ilia's heart a little lighter. He didn't want to think about what she had been subjected to, these three weeks that she'd been taken.

Lighting another cigarette, Ilia was pacing again, walking back and forth across the warehouse floor just trying to keep his mind busy when his phone rang. "Savin!" his dark accented voice rang out.

"Ilia?" Galina whispered. His voice hitched. "Galina? Baby? Is that you?" he cried into the phone. "Yes, yes. Please come find me, Ilia. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on" she pleaded.

"Listen to me baby" he tried giving her strength. "You hold on. We are closer than you think. I'm coming for you" he promised.

"Ilia! They're coming! I have to go! I love you!" she whispered and hung up.  "Damn it!" he yelled into his phone.

"Maxim!" Ilia called for his second.  Everyone came running, not just Max.  Handing him his phone, Ilia said "Galina just called me!  She got a hold of a phone somehow.  She said she would keep the phone on so we could possibly track it.

Max, she sounds bad.  We've got to get to her and now!" Ilia's voice was betraying him but he didn't care right now.  He just had to get her back, in his arms, safely where she belonged.

He swore to himself after this was over, he and Galina would sleep for a long time but he wanted to take her away somewhere, on a trip.  Just the two of them, so they could put this horrible mess behind them both.

Taking the phone, Max and Tori headed to the computer and proceeded to track the phone and just as they were getting their answer, Roman called in to say that they had stopped at another set of warehouses and told Ilia where.

When Max came back with the information off the phone, they lined up perfectly!  They knew where she was!  "Mount up!" Ilia shouted and all of a sudden the warehouse came alive.

There was a flurry of activity going on.  Men strapping on guns, belts with grenades, pistols, knives, shotguns, a full arsenal of fire power was behind them.

With the layout from Roman's surveillance, he was able to tell Ilia and Max exactly where Galina was being kept.  They had one room, with one heat signature, everywhere else there were multiples, so it made sense that the single one was Galina.

"Men!" Ilia said addressing his people.  "Roman has figured that there are only around twenty men, so we definitely out number them.  Conserve your ammo by making a direct kill shot.  One bullet to the head or the heart.  Make them count" he said as he dismissed them.

"Mount up!" Maxim shouted as the men ran towards their various modes of transportation.  They were about ten minutes away from rescuing Galina.

Ilia couldn't believe how close they were to her and he was so very thankful that she'd been able to get a hold of a phone.  He closed his eyes in recollection at how wonderful her voice sounded.

He was also filled with a fiery anger over how scared, tired and sick she sounded.  Everyone of those motherfuckers would pay for the pain and anguish they put his woman through.

"Five minutes out!" Maxim said over the two-ways.  You could hear the actions on the pistols being slide back as the men readied themselves.

Tori startled Ilia by placing a gentle hand on his knee.  "Just a little longer" she said sweetly.  "And she'll be with you.  She's a strong one, Galina, and a fighter.  I can't see her giving up on you."

Ilia just nodded but on the inside he was thankful for Tori's kindness and was so glad that Maxim had found himself a good woman.  You just never really realize what you have until it's ripped from you.

Never again he thought.  He was going to shower Galina with love, his time, trips, jewelry, clothes, anything she wanted or needed was hers for the asking.  All he wanted was to take care of her the rest of their days.

Ilia realized that the vehicle had stopped moving and then he heard Max give the signal.  "Deploy, deploy!" he shouted into the radio.  The men moved stealthily like ninjas as they neared the warehouse.

Ilia made sure, at Max's request, to stay behind his men in case they were met with gunfire but from the looks of it all, the captors weren't too concerned about anyone finding them.

"Allister, you fucked up, you suka!" Ilia gritted as he pulled his pistol from his waistband.  They made it to the entrance to the rusted out building and on Maxim's mark they entered.

All throughout the warehouse you could hear short, concise burst of weapons fire, meaning that the men were hitting their targets with one shot as ordered.

Once those idiots were taken out, Roman came over the radio and said that they had captured Allister, Igor and four other men trying to escape through a side door.

After Ilia knew they were in custody, the search for Galina was on in earnest.  They checked every door going deeper into the belly of the warehouse until he heard a shout out from Erik.

"Boss!" he screamed.  "We've found her!"  Taking off running like a bat out of hell, Ilia made it to where Erik was standing and from the look of horror on his man's face, he dreaded going in there, but he had too.

There was his lady, his baby girl, laying strapped to a table, her panties torn and hanging around her right ankle.

Her face was bruised badly, her hair was dirty, so was her dress and body.  She was shivering and unconscious as Ilia reached for the straps.

"I need a blanket in here!" he shouted and no sooner had he asked for one, Yuri came running back in with one.

"Yebena mat' (Holy shit)!" Yuri exclaimed when he saw the shape Galina was in.  Getting the straps off, Ilia sat her up so he could wrap her in the blanket.

"Tell Ilia I love him" she whispered, out of it and feverish. "Tell him not to cry for me, that I cherished every moment I had with him and will carry it with me forever."  

"Galina!" Ilia cried as he watched her eyes roll back in her head.  She had given it a good fight and now he would do the rest.

Maxim came a put a hand on his friend's shoulder.  "Doc's waiting for her back at the base.  Once he gets her stabilized, we should be able to load up the plane and head back home, where you both belong."

Nodding, Ilia carried his love to the vehicle, got in and Max had them back at base in ten minutes if that long.

True to his word, Dr. Markov was waiting on them and the assessment was bad.  Her heart was a big concern but he said he would know more once he had access to his machines.

He cleaned her up the best he could and attached an IV full of antibiotics because he knew right away by her shivering, that she was sick and feverish.

Ilia held her the whole time on the plane and once they were back at the compound, Tori assisted him in bathing her, getting her hair cleaned, her body washed and all of her cuts and bruises were tended to.

Putting a soft tee shirt and panties on her, Ilia carried her to their soft bed and tenderly placed her beneath the sheets.  Once she was settled in, he took a quick shower himself and then crawled in next to her.

The silent tears that ran down his face, were for Galina and him.  Tears for rejoicing that he had her back, tears at the thought of almost losing her and tears from fatigue.

Snuggling next to her, his hand came around her waist as he held on to hear for dear life.  "Sleep, my little kot" he whispered as he allowed his eyes to close for the first time in a very long while.