Project Frostbite

Chapter 8

Logan began to stir in the chair Firestorm had bound him to, and I sat up from where I had been lying on the couch. My mind was a whirlwind of questions. Who was Logan really? Why did he try to attack me? Was Micah in on it as well?

Just how much of my life was a lie?

"Mornin' sunshine." Firestorm greeted as Logan lifted his head up. I tried not to cringe at the large egg on the back of his head from Firestorm's blow and instead watched Firestorm circle the chair painfully slowly, a gun hanging loosely from her hand, a silent threat. "You know, I knew I recognised you from somewhere. Took me a while. A few more months dulling that accent, and I would never have known it was you, Dmitri Volkov. I have to admit, it was a brilliant cover." The man in the chair chuckled darkly.

"Good to see you too Stormy." He greeted, and I finally noticed the intensity of the Russian present in his voice. He had done so well for all these years. "I'm so glad that you survived the blast in Austria." Sarcasm laced his voice like honey dripping from a hive. Firestorm snorted.

"Oh yeah. You're lucky I made it out so I could come back and kick your arse." She replied icily. "So it would be in your best interest to answer my questions, seeing as I have a witness present." Dmitri leaned back as well as he could in the chair and pretended to examine his fingernails.

Firestorm sighed, and before I knew what had happened she had cocked her gun and fired a bullet straight into Dmitri's knee cap. He cried out and leaned forward, and I watched in horror as blood began to trickle from the wound. Firestorm grabbed the nape of his neck and wrenched his neck back, crouching down so close her lips nearly touched his ear.

"You see Dmitri, I am not a fan of killing." I snorted, and suddenly found the floor to be very interesting when she glared at me. "But, I have no qualms injuring the bastard who won't answer my questions. Now how did you get into the business and how long have you been Hyde's little messenger boy?" Who was Hyde? I couldn't help but remember a book assignment we'd done in English Lit, called The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Was Hyde-

"Jekyll hired me a few years back to keep tabs on the kids at our school. Once I found a Potential, I bagged 'em and sent 'em off to Base 51."

"Why did you befriend me?" I couldn't help but asking, interrupting Firestorm's interrogation.

"You and Micah were the in-crowd. If I got in with you, I basically had twenty-four hour surveillance. Eventually, I woulda bagged you too, if it weren't for this piece of-"

"Finish that sentence. I double dare you. Give me an excuse to carve your eyeballs out." Firestorm threatened. I carried on, hurt by the lack of emotion in Dmitri's voice. A small piece of me was relieved that Micah wasn't in on it as well.

"How could you do that? We helped you bury Piper!"

"Hey!" Dmitri exclaimed. "He was a good dog, leave him out of this."

"Enough!" Firestorm interrupted. "Where are you sending the Potentials? Who's your contact?" She asked. Dmitri stubbornly shut his mouth, and I stood up.

"Check his phone. If I actually know anything about him, it's that Logan always put his phone in the front right pocket of his jeans." Although Firestorm looked hesitant, she searched Dmitri, and pulled out two phones, one of which I had not seen before. It was a cheap Nokia prepay phone, and Firestorm handed both to me. I checked the Nokia first, trying to ignore Dmitri's whimpers of pain from the bullet wound. On the Nokia, there was one number titled Ryan Hunter. I handed it back to Firestorm.

"Where can I find him?" She asked. Dmitri stayed quiet, but when Firestorm pulled out her gun again, he tensed. She sighed, handing the phone back. "Check all of the messages to that number and check the latest call. I'm going to have a bit of fun with Dmitri here." I followed her instructions, but when she began talking again, I couldn't help but look up at what she was doing. "You see, I happen to be an exceptional shot." Firestorm said, and pulled a 44 Magnum out of her back pocket. I knew what make it was because it had always been Kris' favourite model watching the old western movies. She opened the cylinder, and tipped all of them out. I watched as she slipped one back in, but then took it out just before she closed the cylinder, causing my eyes to draw in a frown. "So, I'm only going to need one bullet. I've heard rumors that the genitalia are one of the male's most treasured parts." Firestorm spun the cylinder and Dmitri gulped. "Now, I don't know which one of these holds that last bullet. How about we play a game? It's called Dead or Alive." She pointed the gun between Dmitri's legs, and sat down on the table expectantly.