Russian Roulette

Chapter 34 : Mission accomplished

I raised an eyebrow as a group of Russian men entered the unit after kicking down the door in a violent manner. They might not look suspicious due to the casual style they are now wearing but to me, nothing is really innocent when facing Russians supposedly linked to the notorious FSB. "Where is that bastard?" he pressed on in his native tongue. 

"Sorry, who?" I asked in a British accent. "What are you talking about?"

"Shut up woman, we know that you're meeting with Volodin." he finally said a sentence in English. "Hand him to us and you'll walk away free."

"Same old stage quotes." I said with a sigh. I kicked him square in his abdomen and threw a nearby vase at another, but it's clear to the FSB guys that I'm not going to give him up. One of them cursed in Russian and took out a handgun. In a heartbeat he fired, prompting me to hold up the first man on the ground as a shield. "Seriously, one bullet?" I asked, before knocking the guy out cold as he pulled the trigger but his weapon clicked, a sign that he's out of bullets. Before I could turn on the next thug I heard a thwip and he went down. CIA agent Calvin Rodriguez lowered his M16 rifle while my partner FBI Senior Special Agent Andy Duncan held a handgun in his hand. I grabbed a handgun and kicked aside the remaining few. "You boys are late." I say. 

"The French were alerted, we've got to get our man outta here!" Calvin said. 

"We're bringing along extra baggage." I said. "Sergei wants us to also bring his wife to America."

"Fine, Ryan's going to charter us there with a private plane anyway." Andy said. "Come on." 

"Sergei! Coast is clear!" I shouted. 

"Don't move!" another group of FSB agents surrounded us and they came, armed to the teeth. "Tie them up while you search the target, shoot to kill." the lead agent snarled. Taking away our weapons the remaining FSB agents tied the three of us to the nearby dining chairs with ropes and searched for the leader of the Russian opposition. They searched for ten minutes but to no avail.

"There's nothing here." one of them reported. The leader then grabbed my chair and dragged me towards an open window.

"We know he told you where is Sergei Volodin, tell us now." the leader snarled, pushing the chair outwards, intending to give me a quick death via a 25 feet drop. "You're lucky that I won't put a bullet into your head right now."

"Isa!" Andy shouted.

"Shut up American!" the leader yelled. "Keep a lookout outside." he ordered two men. "What is it going to be American? I kill you or you talk."

"Your methods in intimidation is way cheaper than I have predicted." I said. "You've watched too much American TV." the Russian reacted, with a hard hit to my face with the butt of his rifle. 

"Try that again and you're a dead woman walking."

"Try me." I smiled, headbutting the leader and sending him backward when I heard sirens wailing from a distance. Grabbing the pocket knife from the pocket of his pants using sleight of hand I managed to cut myself free and threw the knife towards their direction. The leader stumbled but recovered, throwing a punch at me to try using the force to throw me out of the window. I ducked, avoiding the punch, grabbed the leader's arm, and returned the favor by striking at his gut as the men came without body armor. Clutching his stomach he fell to his knees while the boys also handled the thugs who stayed.

"You little-" before the leader could finish he tried to land another punch but I grabbed his arm and swung him off, breaking the window and sending him falling down, landing on top of a SWAT van in pain. Another one charged at me in a mad bull rush and I kicked him in his groin, causing him to yelp in pain and fall to the ground, plus a kick to his face to make sure he stays down for good. Stepping on a surviving window frame I looked out to survey the man's injuries and despite the distraction I saw Bruce among the crowd of onlookers, glancing at me with his eyes wide in surprise. 

"That is some John Wick Isa." Andy said. 

"Been in the Army. Know a few tricks on my own." I say, pulling back from the position. "Come on, we need to get them out of here." the local authorities arrived on the scene but only concentrated in taking away the Russian spies. 

"We'll take it from here, get them out of here as possible." the officer in charge told me in French. "Pleasure to help." I nodded as the couple entered the living room. 

A few hours later

"Ryan, it's me." I said into the phone on the Gulfstream jet as the aircraft soared across the oceans. "We got the Alpha target."

"Good, quite a ruckus there but the French wasn't all that pissed."

"I felt sorry for them."

"Eh, the French President was somehow glad that they helped us out. We helped them out when the Paris Opera was held hostage by terrorists."

"Repayment?" I asked.

"You can say that." my boss replied. "Good work to the three of you, that was one hell of a hit to your face."

"Ryan, I'm a former soldier, I can take it."

"Well, make sure to have a look at the doctor's."

"Definitely." 

"You'll be landing on Maryland, and bring them to their new home. More of a safe house to be precise, but they can begin their lives again while continuing their fight."

"Of course, the FSB would be pissed that they didn't kill their target."

"And the French arrested them, charging them with the crime of attempting terrorism in plotting to attack the Palais de Justice."

"That's... convenient." I say. "I'll return to the case as soon as I get back."

"This is definitely a hard case to crack when the only lead you have is now dead."

"Very funny Ryan." I say. "But I'll manage."