Liberators

The Inner Circle

Chapter Twenty-one: The Inner Circle

Markhov Prospect

Sonolovichyrevko, Rivymiyitevko

October 31, 2008 1326 Rivymiyitevko (1126 Krakozhian time)

It had been a week since the Second Siege of Sonolovichyrevko had begun, and by that time, the Krakozhians had control of over a third of the city. Although the fight had quickly degenerated into the house-to-house combat, the situation was looking good for the Krakozhians. But for Rivymiyitevko, it was their state that was hanging in the balance.

Konstantin Benin had decided that it would be too risky for his inner circle of advisors to meet in the Capitol, as missile strikes began to pound the historic building into pieces starting at the third day of the siege. Benin had decided to meet his inner circle at locations around the city that he would only disclose a few hours before the actual meeting, leaving little time for them to prepare themselves. Unknown to them, however, one of their aides was actually a spy from the Krakozhian KGB who had been passing on Benin's meeting places to the Center, but whenever a Spetsnaz team came to capture the inner circle, they were already too late.

Today, the meeting had been delayed. Benin had not yet arrived at the old post office building in Markhov Prospect. Because he was certain that the Krakozhians were spying on him—and they were—he had decided to take a long and winding route from his current bunker to the meet.

"Are you sure that this is wise, brother?" asked Ekaterina Domshomidova, who was seated beside Benin in his car. For his own safety, he had decided to drive his private vehicle, but he was turning out to be a slightly reckless driver in dodging the piles of rubble that had littered the streets of Sonolovichyrevko ever since the siege began.

"Of course, my dear sister," he replied in his calm, silky smooth voice. "Why, do you think, did I order that many decoy cars to run around in the streets?"

"I still feel like I'm being watched."

"Get your head in the game, sister. You have an army to manage, and I have my country to lead."

"Silver Mercedes coming up on target building," said Lev Arigov. "Two occupants inside."

"Copy, One-one-seven," replied Gavrina Kumilyova. "Report when occupants have exited the vehicle."

"Roger." Acting on yet another tip from their KGB informant deep inside the inner circle, Arigov had been deployed into Sonolovichyrevko's Red Zone, which was what they called the area of the city still unsecured by the Army and possibly full with RIM soldiers, mainly to make sure that the inner circle had not yet left before the Spetsnaz could grab them. With him to back him up were Maria Atolova and Roman Zhemnev, which he would admit were the only persons that he would trust his life with in such a mission like this. Through binoculars, the three of them watched the Mercedes stop in front of the post office building and its occupants step out.

"Farmer, occupants of Mercedes are Rebel Primary and Rebel Secondary," Arigov told Kumilyova. It was the Krakozhian codenames for Benin and Domshomidova, respectively.

"Copy that, One-one-seven," she replied. "We're moving in."

"Roger that. Okay, guys, weapons ready."

"I've always wanted to use this," muttered Zhemnev, chambering a round into his new Chinese QBU-88 sniper rifle. He mounted the weapon on a pile of rubble in front of him, looked through the scope, and made corrections. Behind him, he could hear the turning rotors of a Mil Mi-8 Hip, which then passed over the structure where they were hiding. On the post office building, a sentry looked at the helicopter in curiosity. "Fire when ready," muttered Arigov. Zhemnev corrected his rifle one last time and then pulled the trigger. The sentry who had looked at the Spetsnaz Hip with curiosity fell into a crumpled heap, never to see another chopper again. "Target down," he said. At the same time, the Hip began to hover above the building roof and deposited its load of special troops.