“Agent K in trouble,” Number Eight warned inside her ear. “Agent K abducted by Cummings. Scanning Cummings files. Missing CIA top level double agent who escaped Deutsche Internationale without his wife during COS operations. Number Nine is looking for him. Repeat, he’s Number Nine’s assigned target.”
She could have told Eight Ball the information was a bit late as she was pulled by the hair and dragged to her feet, but Eight Ball was informing the other operatives in the house. So Jed was around to go after this guy. She’d wondered why he would be bothering with her little operation.
“I’ll come with you. Let Dr. Kantor go,” she managed to gasp out, doing her best to sound commanding. It’s tough when one’s ribs felt like it’d been gored. “I have the laptop.”
“You better do that quickly then before I decide to wait on your partner out there and shoot him.”
The noise outside the room was horrific. She could tell a huge fight was going on. Rapid gun shots. It didn’t sound like Walker fighting two men at all.
“How many men outside, Eight Ball?” She asked sharply, taking advantage of the fact that the other man didn’t know she had an ear piece.
“Six currently.”
“Cover the scientist, Nadia,” T’s voice came through. “Let Cummings go. Tell him Number Nine is coming after him.”
Nadia gasped again as Cummings shoved the gun against her ribs. She’d better act quickly. Her darling Walker couldn’t take down so many men without her.
“Who are you talking to?” Her new captor demanded, pulling her to the back of the room.
“Number Nine. He’s the one who’s going to find and kill you,” she announced. “Once you give me to the Russians, you’ll be all alone on that ship.”
Cummings opened an access nearby, some sort of escape chute. “In there,” he ordered. “I’ll take care of Number Nine when I see him.”
Not if I took care of you first.
He had to let go of her and move that gun away from her ribs some time in order for her to climb into the chute access. The second he did that she jabbed her elbow back hard. He tried countering with a defensive move and she put all her strength in swinging the briefcase up and against the side of his head. The momentum tipped his whole body into the chute and he slid down into the darkness, his yelp of pain growing fainter.
“Eight Ball, assailant in chute. Report back to team. I’m off to save Walker.” She ran past Dr. Kantor, barking down at the cowering man. “Stay down and away, Dr. Kantor.”
She could tell the power had come back on, signifying the other rooms had been secured and the teams were heading up their way. The hallway was lit up, even though the room she was in was still in semi-darkness.
Sounds of struggles, bodies hitting walls and male grunts. She moved cautiously, going low while peering out. And stared.
Walker was fighting two men. Four lay on the ground. They looked dead. Sergei had Walker in a backward headlock and Walker swung his body up and kicked out at Ivan, hitting the latter in the head.
She saw the belt with the weaponry stuck to the drywall not too far from the bodies and went to retrieve it. Ivan came at her and she avoided his bear hug. Obviously, he still thought she was incapable of self-defense.
Out of the corner of eyes, she registered Walker and Sergei on the floor, punching and scrambling after something. Must be some dropped weapon. She flung herself at the wall where the belt was. Her opponent followed, this time swinging his arm like it was a club. It came down on the drywall right next to her face.
Nadia turned, laughed at the Russian right in his face, and kneed him between the balls. She pulled out the belt with the embedded blade, and whipped it out at Ivan’s face. His pained howls were filled with fury. He was bleeding all over his face as he fought to grab hold of her weapon. She twirled, wrapped it around his neck and pulled. The big man fell, silent.
“Your Honey Bun Bun dies right now.” Sergei said from behind her.
She turned slowly. The thug had a gun against Walker’s head.
“Dammit, why does everyone threaten to kill men with me? Isn’t it weird? Shouldn’t I be the one whose head you have the gun against?” She stalked off to the briefcase set on the ground. “I’m so done. I want to go with you. Don’t you remember? You’re supposed to take me to see Kantor...or was it Vadim? I can’t remember now. And what do I get?”
She picked the case up and turned. “Aren’t you coming? That other man and Dr. Kantor went down the chute. We need to go. Those people downstairs are coming. Is that Vadim?”
“Diya, don’t do it,” Walker said, quiet fury in his voice.
She was careful not to look at him. She wanted all the Russian’s attention on her. That weapon was way too close to Walker.
Sergei shook his head. “I’m not buying your act any more, scientist or not. You and he are some kind of agents. I’m taking that laptop with me. Give me the briefcase and you get your Honey Bun Bun back.”
“Then what? You’ll just shoot him in front of me. No, you don’t have time. Take me as hostage and we both go to the ship.” She could tell the Russian was thinking about his options. She pressed on. “Vadim isn’t here, is he? He left you high and dry and so you’re in charge. You’re one man against a bunch. I’m just me. You can handle me.”
She used her voice persuasively. GEM negotiation technique was special and she excelled at it because of her gift. NOPAIN—Non-Persuasion and Innovative Negotiation—was her agency’s bread and butter. The only person better at it than her was her trainer and Operations Chief, T.
