In her other ear, she heard Nadira’s warning. “The police and military are closing in. Two helicopters are inbound. And fires are rapidly spreading throughout the building.”
“And the others still haven’t shown themselves?” Valya noted. “Not even to flee that growing inferno.”
Nadira didn’t bother responding to this. Instead, she focused on the timeline. “Should I call a retreat?”
Valya stayed silent, then spoke with an icy certainty. “Yes. Clear out. The others must already be gone. Somehow.”
As Seichan eavesdropped, she heard a muffled voice through the door. While she couldn’t discern the words, the cadence and tone matched what was spoken through the radio.
Valya’s definitely in there.
Getting this confirmation, Seichan pulled back and retreated down the hall. But Nadira’s next question gave her pause.
“And our captives?”
Seichan listened more intently.
“Take them to Sergiyev Posad,” Valya ordered. “Archbishop Sychkin will want his botanist. And I’ll deal with the other. See what use we can make of the man.”
As Nadira acknowledged these orders and signed off, Seichan backpedaled farther down the hall. Once at a safe distance, she dropped to a knee and lifted the RPG launcher to her shoulder. She squinted an eye and centered the weapon’s sights on the 1509 stenciled on the door.
She waited for Valya to show herself.
Each second grew longer than the last.
C’mon...
Finally, the door opened. Voices carried to her. The first to appear was not Valya, but a hulking figure in body armor. The escort had a pistol in hand and an assault rifle slung behind him. He stiffened as he spotted Seichan down on a knee, with a weapon aimed his way.
Shock slowed him for a fraction of a heartbeat.
But even that was too long.
Seichan pulled the trigger. The explosion of the rocket’s exhaust gasses deafened. Blue-gray smoke burst behind her. The grenade launched out the tube, traveling a hundred meters a second.
The gunman had no time to blink. The grenade hit the half-open door. The detonation blew his body into armored pieces. Black smoke blasted into the hallway.
Seichan threw the launch tube aside and burst forward, like a sprinter off a starting block. As she closed the distance, she slipped a dagger into a hand and pulled her SIG Sauer into her other grip. She ducked low through the smoke and spun past the shattered ruins of the doorway. Fires flickered all around her, casting up embers as she passed.
As she continued into the apartment, a breeze blew toward her, shredding the swirling mix of dust and smoke around her.
Damn it...
She knew what that must mean. She dove headlong to the left. A barrage of rounds tore where she had been. But that wasn’t her main concern.
She hit the floor and shoulder-rolled into a low crouch. She spotted the source of the breeze. An open window fluttered with drapes. Past its sill, a dark figure hung from a rappelling line.
Valya.
It appeared Gray wasn’t the only one with an emergency exit plan.
The woman slipped down the rope, vanishing from view.
Seichan rushed to the window and ducked her head out. She caught the barest glimpse of Valya sailing down, using her legs as brakes, one gloved hand on the line. The woman leaned back and fired up at her.
Forced away, Seichan lifted her SIG’s sights to her eyeline andwaited for a breath. Valya was armed with an assault rifle, an unwieldy weapon when fired one-handed. The recoil from the barrage would worsen that aim.
With rounds still bursting past the window, Seichan leaned out and fired down at her target. By now, Valya had descended four floors, making for a harder target. Even worse, the woman’s body swung wildly on the line, either purposefully or due to the gunplay.
