Page 88 of Dark Soul

I guess I’m playing good cop now.

“You’re meant to tail them, right? Pull out slowly after them.” As the man pressed the start button, Dark rewarded him by pulling his gun infinitesimally sideways. He could bring it back in an instant, should he need to, but he wanted to show Ilya that he could be trusted.

They tailed the other car as it drove towards the airfield, moving slower and slower as snow began to fall in earnest. They took the turn to the airfield. Dark was still crouching low, so he had to trust Ash to know they were heading in the right direction. The sky had turned a gritty gray that spoke of evening, even though it was only a quarter to eleven in the morning.

As the car began to slow down, Dark felt a sudden wave of calm pass through him. He leaned into that calm, knowing he would need it if he was going to figure out a way to get Alexia out of this safely.

* * *

“Now what?” Ilya growled.

“Are you meant to go out there and help your friend?” Dark asked quietly. He noticed Ilya was leaving plenty of room between him and the other SUV.

Ilya shook his head. It seemed he’d decided his best bet was to tell the truth. “I’m here as backup, in case a getaway car is needed.”

Ash slammed the butt of his gun unceremoniously on the man’s head. Dark leaned forward, grabbing on to the man’s shoulders before his head had a chance to slump forward onto the steering wheel. He set him back against the headrest. Ash already had zip-ties in his hand, which he proceeded to place around the man’s wrists and neck, sticking a finger between the zip ties and the skin as he did so to make sure Ilya had room to breathe.

They worked in silence, as if they’d done this together countless times before, and Dark was struck again by how easily they could all read each other’s mind.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Ash said, finally. He spoke into the headset. “All good on your end?”

It was Rogue who responded, his voice loud and crisp, as if he were sitting right beside them in the car. “We’re in position behind the small hangar. It’s fucking cold here. No sign of Lemercier yet, but we’re looking at Kvyat’s two cars.”

“We’re in the second car. We’ve disabled one of the security guards. Kvyat is in the first car. He doesn’t know we're here.”

“Copy that.”

Dark stared at the vehicle in front of them.

What are they waiting for?

“Where’s Lemercier?” Ash asked quietly. “It’s almost eleven.”

“He’s probably somewhere nearby, watching to make sure he’s not walking into an ambush,” Griffin said.

They heard the sound before they saw the white van.

“That’s the van that hit me,” Slate said.

“Hold your position,” Dark instructed. He stayed low in his seat. Anyone looking into the vehicle would just see Ilya in the driver’s seat.

The white van drove past them, stopping next to Kvyat’s car. For the next minute, nothing happened. Dark wished they had eyes and ears inside the other car.

Then two things happened at once. The back door of the SUV opened, and Ilya’s phone rang.

Dark ignored the phone. He watched Kvyat step outside the vehicle, leaving the door open behind him.

He’s scared.

In his hand, he carried a hard-shell silver briefcase.

“We can see Kvyat. With his briefcase,” Rogue said.

The phone was still ringing. Ash reached into the man’s pocket and grabbed it. “Da,” he growled. Dark blinked. Ash sounded for all the world like he’d grown up on the Russian steppes.

He listened for a moment, then hung up without saying anything else.

“My Russian’s rusty,” he said. “But I think he told me Kvyat is making the trade, and to be ready.”