Dinastiya Tested // 3rd Book of the Takaryev Trilogy

Chapter 26

Artem was banished from the realm of sleep by a clanging that sounding as if it was coming from the ceiling. He opened his eyes and looked up. 

He briefly questioned whether or not he was asleep when he saw one of the ceiling tiles move, then fall to the floor. A pair of legs appeared from the gap in the ceiling, and a figure dropped into the room, with gleaming rectangular glasses and reddish-brown hair.

"Ravil?" Artem's voice quavered.

"Yep." Ravil answered, starting to unchain Artem. He sniffed. "I smell blood. What did they do to you?"

"Electrical torture." Artem explained briefly. "And they shot me in the foot." 

"You can't walk, can you?" Ravil asked.

Artem shook his head. 

Ravil finished with the chains and picked Artem up, hoisting him carefully onto his shoulders. "Climb into the vent," Ravil said. 

Artem clambered into the vent, pulling himself up. Ravil leapt up and followed. When they were both in the vent, Ravil checked the map again and revealed his laptop. Artem looked on in anticipation. 

Ravil hacked into Lubyanka's systems again and knocked out the computer and radio communications on the opposite side of the building. He closed the laptop and put it back into his bag. "Alright, let's go. Can you crawl?"

"Yeah," Artem replied.

"Okay," Ravil took a deep breath. "Onward, then." 

They crawled through the vents in near silence until Artem whispered, "What if they find us?" 

"They won't." Ravil assured him. "I've got this figured out. Just follow me." 

"Alright," Artem said. "By the way, have I ever told you that you have a nice butt?" 

"Pfft!" Ravil blew air through his nose in slight surprise. "You're the gayest person I've ever met." 

"Thanks." Artem replied. "I'm glad you came back for me." 

"Why wouldn't I?" Ravil grinned. 

Artem nodded briefly. "How are we going to get out?"

"I've got a getaway driver, but we have get in and go as soon as possible." Ravil explained. "The sooner we're on the road, the sooner we get to the Kremlin."

"The Kremlin! I nearly forgot," Artem exclaimed. "Is there anything left of it?" 

"The palace is just a bunch of rubble now, if that gives you an idea," Ravil replied. 

"So where are you staying?" Artem asked. 

"Saint Michael's Castle," Ravil answered. 

Artem nodded thoughtfully. "Have I missed anything else?" 

"I'll explain in the car," Ravil promised.