Ten minutes later, Will remained motionless. The soldiers were busy examining the farmstead.
One of them approached Captain Zaytsey and reported that every inch of the place had been searched and there was no sign of the bomb or blueprints. The cars, including Razin’s SUV, had also yielded nothing.
Another told him that the barn had been doused with gasoline. He wanted to know what to do with the bodies that were inside the building. Zaytsey thought for a moment before saying, “Put the major and Khmelnytsky in there with them. We’ll torch it before we leave. Bring our vehicles here.”
After a further fifteen minutes, a four-ton army truck and a jeep were driven into the clearing. The captain summoned the drivers and the rest of his team. They stood around him as he said, “This has been a total fuckup. Ordinarily I should call this straight into HQ and also report the location of the MI6 prisoner so that they can send another team to get him. But I say we have a chance to make this right. I say we go and get the MI6 man ourselves.”
Zaytsey studied his men.
All of them nodded.
“Good. Let’s go.”
The men ran to the vehicles; the engines started.
Zaytsey stayed on foot. He walked to the barn, withdrew a lighter, ignited it, tossed it at the barn, turned, and ran to the jeep.
T he Spetsnaz vehicles were out of sight as Will ran to the barn. The whole building was ablaze. As he got to within fifteen feet of the building, he stopped dead in his tracks, his arms shielding his face from the intense heat. He tried to take a step forward but immediately recoiled. The pain on his exposed skin was immense. He tried again but again involuntarily retreated.
He had to get in there.
Just had to.
After taking several steps back, he stared at the barn’s large double doors. They were covered with flames. He sucked in a lungful of air, held his breath, braced himself for the pain that was about to come, and charged straight toward the blaze.
It was worse than he expected. Much, much worse. But he wasn’t going to stop this time.
He dived at the doors, hitting them with his shoulder and forcing them to burst open. Rolling on the barn’s interior floor, he got to his feet and looked around. Korina was there. He ran to her, picked her up, and cradled her in his arms.
Just as he’d done before resting her gently on her bed.
Running as fast as he could, he exited the building, his face screwed up in pain as flames curled around him and smoke wafted into his eyes. He staggered, nearly fell, and placed one foot in front of the other. He thought he might lose consciousness, but he kept moving.
The pain ebbed.
Cold air soothed his face.
More steps forward.
The roar of the inferno grew quieter with each step.
Turning, he looked back at the barn. It was ninety feet away; the fire showed no signs of abating. He moved farther away until he was in the center of the clearing. Carefully, he rested Korina on the ground. His legs buckled, and he fell down until he was kneeling by Korina’s side.
The chest wound was bloody. Razin’s hidden knife had been plunged so deep that there was no doubt it would have killed her instantly. But the rest of her body and face were untainted by what had happened here today. Will placed a trembling hand against her cheek, leaned forward, and kissed each closed eye, then her lips. Gripping her body, he let his head slump until his face was flush against hers. His body began to shake; he began to sob.
Lifting his head and upper body, he looked up and screamed, “Fuck you all!”