Blacklist Aftermath

19

Fisher’s gaze averted from the Snow Maiden’s fiery eyes to her trigger finger. The gun was slightly too large for her, and the pad of her index finger barely reached over the trigger, meaning if she fired, her shots would tend to go left. Too small of a gun and too much pad over the trigger would send them to the right. This was all academic, of course, because she had Fisher point-blank in her sights. It was just a matter of whether she’d hit him perfectly center mass or a few inches in either direction.

“You’re looking for Kasperov,” Fisher began, trying to distract her. “We know where he is.”

The Snow Maiden opened her mouth, but something on the periphery caught her attention, Briggs perhaps. As she flicked her gaze to the left, Fisher started toward her—

She backed away and pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out with an ear-piercing explosion that sent Fisher stumbling back and falling onto his rump.

But the only pain was in his ears, and when he glanced up, he spotted the Snow Maiden staring down in shock at the smoking pistol in her hands, the slide blown clean off.

One of those cheap rounds had prematurely exploded inside the weapon, possibly firing out of battery.

Fisher bolted to his feet, crying, “Briggs, get Nadia! Grim, get over here!”

The Snow Maiden threw down the pistol and lifted her arms in a defensive block as Fisher lunged at her.

While he outweighed the woman by at least sixty, maybe even eighty pounds, he once more marveled at her agility. Even as he tried to seize her wrists and straddle her, she was already writhing out of his grip and sliding between his legs, only to roll back and hook her ankles around his neck, forcing him back into a blood choke conducted with her legs.

Whether she’d learned these unconventional techniques with the Russian circus or had invented them herself was beside the point; she was the most asymmetric combatant he’d ever faced, twisting and turning like an oily snake.

She even growled now through her exertion, as though every sinew in her body had a voice. With each pound of pressure she applied to his neck, it seemed as though she cast out another demon. He’d just met her, but she fought like it was personal.

A chill of panic struck as he realized he couldn’t pry free her legs. The world darkened along the edges, like ink bleeding into his field of view.

A gunshot boomed.

And suddenly the pressure was gone. He could breathe. He wrenched himself up. Turned. She was gone.

Briggs was hauling him to his feet.

“I think I hit her, but she took off over the wall. Want me to go?”

Grim came to a squealing halt in her rental. “Come on!”

Fisher blinked hard as the blood rushed back into his head. He looked at Briggs, at Grim, then finally said, “Help me get Nadia into the car.”

Still dizzy, Fisher turned back to the SUV, where Nadia was lying, her lips taped shut, her eyes wide. They’d fastened her wrists and ankles with zipper cuffs that they ignored for now, lifting the girl and rushing back to Grim’s car.

After getting Nadia into the backseat, Briggs crossed to the passenger’s seat while Fisher remained in back. As they took off for the next intersection, Fisher gently removed the tape on Nadia’s lips. She took a few tentative breaths. Fisher saw now that her eye was red and bruised and had probably been much more swollen. She looked at him for a few seconds, her brain seemingly unable to function until she finally asked in Russian, “Who are you? Did my father send you?”

Fisher glanced at Grim, who pursed her lips then said, “No use lying to her.”

Fisher softened his tone. “We’re Americans.”

“So I’m being kidnapped again?”

“No, we’re trying to help your father. We know he’s on the run. We’re offering him — and you — asylum. Do you know where he is?”

She shook her head. “How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“She killed my friend.”

“Who? The Snow Maiden?”

“Is that what they call her? She’s… she’s…” Nadia began to break down.

Fisher placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right. We’re taking you to our air force base in Turkey. She can’t touch you anymore.”

“Sam, it’s Charlie again. Police on the scene now. They’ve recovered a few of the weapons. I tracked the Snow Maiden on security cams for a few blocks, but then I lost her. She was favoring one of her arms, so Briggs might’ve shot her. Interesting that she doesn’t want any contact with the local authorities.”

“She’s not supposed to blow her cover.”

“Well, she lost Nadia.”

“No, she didn’t,” Fisher corrected. “Not yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll get to that later.”

Charlie sighed. “All right, but I bet she’s on the shit list in Moscow…”

“I doubt that scares her.”

“Right. Anyway, glad you’re still with the living.”

“Me, too.”

Fisher glanced once more at Nadia, so frail and pathetic, looking as though she had nothing.

Instead of everything.