Page 9 of Code Name: Reaper
I grabbed my laptop bag and weapon. “They’ll have it covered.”
“Better than staying here.”
The first Russian appeared at the top of the stairs. I put two rounds dead center before he could raise his pistol. The body slunk to the floor.
“Contact!”someone shouted in accented English.
Reaper reached the window and looked down. “Two more in the alley, but it’s our only way out.”
More footsteps pounded up the stairs. The remaining team was almost here.
“Jump! I’ll cover you!” Reaper shouted.
“Are you insane?”
Gunfire erupted from the hallway behind us. No choice now.
“Move!” Reaper kicked out the window screen and stepped onto the metal platform.
I followed him out the window, and we clattered down the stairs as fast as we could.
Bullets sparked off the grating around us when the Russians in the alley opened fire.
“Jump from here!” Reaper shouted when we reached the second-floor landing.
Two stories down onto wet pavement. I hit hard and rolled across the alley. Reaper landed beside me and pulled both of us to our feet.
“Motorcycle!” He pointed to a black BMW at the alley mouth. “Let’s go!”
We ran as bullets hit the concrete inches from our feet as we raced toward it.
Reaper kicked on the engine of the bike he must’ve arrived on. His muscles flexed under his gear. “German intelligence response is five minutes out!”
I climbed on behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.
The bike launched forward. Behind us, automatic weapon fire lit up the night as the FSB agents poured from inside the building.
“Left!” I spotted a roadblock ahead. “They’ve got the main streets!”
Reaper’s knee nearly scraped the pavement as he leaned into a turn that defied physics, and shot onto a narrow side alley.
Bullets whined off brick walls inches from our heads as we weaved through the streets.
“Subway!” Reaper pointed ahead of us.
He skidded to a stop at the entrance. We abandoned the bike and raced down the concrete steps into the tunnel system.
“Run!”Reaper grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the maintenance corridors.
Footsteps echoed from behind. Heavy boots. At least three hostiles on our tails.
We squeezed into a narrow maintenance passage, pressed together in the confined space. I could feel his heartbeat, fast and hard.
Flashlights swept the main tunnel, and voices shouted orders in Russian. They were more now, spreading out, searching systematically.
We pressed deeper into the shadows when a beam of light drifted past our hiding spot. The voices faded as the team moved beyond our position.
We stood there in the dark, breathing hard, facing each other. The adrenaline, the fury, the electricity between us—it was all still there, crackling in the air.
