The Hunters

36

Cobb made his way to their sleeping quarters where Jasmine was tending to their injured colleague. Since the car had been cannibalized from the first-class compartments of the Lev Tolstoy, it required very little improvement. There were six spacious cabins and two baths with multiple sinks and shower stalls.

Cobb was amused by the dichotomy between this luxurious train car, which was known for first-class travel between Moscow and Finland, and the frugal man it was named for. Lev ‘Leo’ Tolstoy was one of Russia’s greatest writers, having written the monumental classic War and Peace. By the end of his life, Tolstoy was a fervent believer in nonviolent resistance and famed for his ascetic lifestyle. Cobb wondered if Tolstoy would be amused or outraged by the extravagant carriage that bore his name — especially since the other cars of the train were loaded with weapons. He also wondered which was louder: the rumble of the engine or the sound of Tolstoy spinning in his grave?

In either case, each cabin had one large, square window that could be covered with a set of blue and white curtains for privacy or sealed shut with a bulletproof grate that slid from the top. Every compartment had a sitting section, which looked like a restaurant booth, and a sleeping section with a comfortable bed beside a small chair and table.

Cobb knocked on the door of Sarah’s compartment. He was about to walk in when Jasmine opened the door. ‘How’s she doing?’ he asked.

‘She’s okay,’ Jasmine said in the doorway. ‘Embarrassed, but okay.’

‘Why is she embarrassed?’

‘Because someone got the best of her. She’s used to delivering blows, not receiving them.’

Cobb smiled. ‘How’s her head?’

‘Her head is fine. It’s her neck that’s killing her. The guy didn’t knock her out. He choked her unconscious with some kind of death grip.’

He glanced at the bruises on Jasmine’s neck. ‘There’s a lot of that going around.’

She nodded. ‘I finally convinced her to get some rest. She wanted to go out and slaughter the first person she saw in a black coat.’

Cobb shook his head, his mouth stretched into something that denoted both a grin and a grimace. ‘We have to assume they are all trained in Sambo. It’s the Russian equivalent of the Israeli Krav Maga.’

‘Rough-and-tumble, result-oriented?’ Jasmine said.

Cobb nodded. ‘Both were created by the military to be the most brutally effective self-defence systems they could think of. By the way he acted getting in and out, I’d guess he was ex-secret police. The KGB was big on organic infiltration like this, not break-ins. Let the inhabitants bring you inside with them.’

Cobb studied Jasmine’s face. She was upset about something. He could see it in her eyes and the way she clenched her jaw. ‘So, what did you want to talk about?’

Jasmine glanced away. ‘Jack, I’m worried.’

‘I can see that. What about, specifically?’

‘I remember all the drilling, all the lessons I was taught back in Florida, but… you saw me in the field. When that punk attacked me, it all…’ She tried to pinpoint the feeling the memory elicited. ‘It all went away. Just vanished.’

Cobb smiled kindly. ‘Let me ask you a question.’

She took a deep breath and met his gaze. It was clear from her expression that she didn’t want to back away or back out. She was looking for something to get her back on track.

‘Do you want to get attacked again?’ Cobb asked.

‘No!’ she blurted, her voice filled with anger.

That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

‘There you go,’ Cobb said. ‘You said it yourself: you know how to prevent it. What you didn’t know was how it was going to feel. How you were going to feel. But now you do.’

She nodded slowly, trying to absorb his message.

‘Pro athletes often talk about the speed of the game. It’s something you can’t fully grasp in a practice session. You have to experience it to understand it.’

‘Are you talking about adrenalin?’

‘Partly. But it’s more than that. It’s about making correct decisions under fire. A fist coming at you demands that you move or block. You don’t have time to remember complex moves, and there’s no need to. You just have to reply to whatever move is put on you. You’re being choked from behind? You know where your opponent’s eyes are for gouging, where the groin is for grabbing, where fingers are for bending back. Simply do what you’ve been taught.’

‘You make it sound pretty easy, when you think about it,’ Jasmine said.

‘Actually,’ Cobb laughed, ‘I’m saying it’s pretty easy when you don’t think about it.’

Just then, they heard a noise inside the cabin. They both looked at Sarah, who was now sitting up on her bed.

‘I’ll tell you what I’m thinking about,’ Sarah complained. ‘That if you really wanted me to get some rest, you wouldn’t be talking in my doorway.’

Cobb smiled. ‘So, you’re saying you’re better?’

‘I’m good enough.’

‘Glad to hear it.’

She looked at Jasmine. ‘Thanks for looking after me.’

Before Jasmine could answer, Garcia interrupted in their ears. ‘I got it!’

‘What’s that?’ Cobb asked.

‘What the Black Robe wanted,’ he said.

Cobb looked at the two women with encouragement. He was glad they were back on speaking terms. ‘One drama finished, another ready to begin…’

Garcia was at his workstation, focused on a device that resembled a small spider that had died on its back with its legs up.

Papineau stood behind him, peering over his shoulder. ‘Very apt. It even looks like a bug.’

Both of them looked up when the foursome entered. Cobb led the way, followed by Sarah, Jasmine, and McNutt, who joined the others when they came through the freight car.

‘Where’d you find it?’ Cobb asked, noting the six sticky antennae legs and the tiny central hub, no bigger than a Tylenol.

‘In McNutt’s car, inside an outlet plate,’ Garcia said. ‘At first I thought it actually was a daddy long legs, but a daddy long legs doesn’t lie flat like this did.’

Cobb nodded. ‘It’s KGB all right. Or at least ex-KGB.’

‘The KGB was that sophisticated?’ Jasmine asked.

McNutt laughed. ‘Oh, they’ve got a long history with bugs. Once they planted a listening device inside a Great Seal of the United States, which they gave as a gift to the US Ambassador in Moscow. It worked for six years. When we finally discovered it, the KGB had the entire construction crew essentially make the newly built US Embassy in Moscow one gigantic listening device. That lasted for ten years. And when it was finally discovered, there were so many bugs in the place we actually had to tear the whole thing down!’

‘See?’ Garcia interjected, holding up the device. ‘The legs are a mixture of transmitters and microphones. It really is a clever design.’

‘Are they listening now?’ McNutt asked pointedly.

‘Nope. I clipped all the wires and crushed the processors.’

Cobb shook his head sadly. ‘Stupid of me. I should have told you to just find it. We could’ve used it to throw the Black Robes off track.’

McNutt clapped him on the shoulder. ‘The good news is there’s no telling how many others he installed before skulking away.’

‘Good point,’ Cobb said. ‘Hector, take Jasmine and go tell the train workers to look for any more, just to be on the safe side. While you’re out there, check with Dobrev to see if there’s anything more he wants or needs. The sooner we get this show on the road, the better it’ll be.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Garcia said. ‘If they’re out there, I’ll find them.’

‘Not worried at all,’ Cobb smiled.

‘On the road?’ Sarah asked. ‘On the road to where?’

‘We follow the prince’s most likely trail,’ he told her. ‘Anything is better than waiting here for the next Black Robe.’ Cobb turned to the Frenchman. ‘You better get ready, Papi.’

‘Get ready?’ Sarah repeated. ‘What does he have to get ready for?’

‘His speech,’ Cobb said.

Papineau straightened his tie. ‘I am attending the official launch of the Eastern Euro Trans Energy Study at the Leningradsky rail terminal across town.’

McNutt, Sarah, and Jasmine looked at their employer in surprise.

‘What do you mean?’ Sarah demanded.

‘I mean that I will be suffering through many hours of boring speeches from a variety of low-level Russian dignitaries while toasting many glasses of middling vodka. Then I will board a non-luxury train and lead the study toward the Bering Strait — in the opposite direction of you.’

The trio continued to stare at Papineau.

Cobb let them stare for a while. ‘You didn’t think he was coming with us, did you?’

McNutt looked from Cobb to the Frenchman, realized the beauty of the plan, and then grunted in realization. ‘Oh, I get it! You’re the decoy.’

‘Exactly,’ Papineau said. ‘If it hadn’t been for our black-robed friend, you might have gone completely unnoticed. But now I have to do my best to lead the hounds away.’

‘Don’t you need me there as translator?’ Jasmine asked.

Papineau looked at her with mock disdain. ‘Now, you don’t think a man as important as I am has just one interpreter, do you? Besides, I need you to stay here and take care of Andrei.’

Jasmine nodded. ‘It will be my pleasure.’

Cobb glanced at Papineau. ‘Any final words?’

He smiled at Cobb. ‘Hit the road, Jack — but stay in touch.’