agenda? Either way she was sick and tired of getting pushed around and watching them push Viktor around right along with her. If Karkoff wanted a word, Katie was ready to give him several.
* * *
Viktor wanted to know what had happened to the women he’d let out of the van less than twenty-four hours ago. He slunk through the shadows of the alley around the corner from the hospital where he had jimmied the lock and let them go. There was still evidence of his presence there the night before. Several burlap sacks lay discarded against a brick wall, a few shreds of nylon rope lying on top of the pile.
He squatted down and poked through the refuse. Pulling out his phone, he used it as a light to search for any shred of information that might help. He was feeling a little guilty for just dumping them and dashing off to meet Sasha.
A noise pulled his attention away from his sober contemplation. He quickly stashed his phone, leaving himself shrouded in pitch black. There were low voices speaking in Russian, perhaps two or three. The men were walking in his direction.
“Why are we looking here?” the first man asked. “No woman is going to hang out in an alley waiting to get mugged after she managed to escape slavery. This is stupid.”
A second man tripped over a pile of garbage in the alley. He cursed, and then snarled at his companion. “There’s a hospital less than a block away. If you were a woman in a strange city without money or clothes, wouldn’t you go to a hospital?”
“Are those bitches even smart enough to know what a hospital is?” The first man snickered. “We pull them from the middle of nowhere. Who knows what a Siberian hospital is like?”
The men were pacing closer to Viktor’s position. He wondered if they had already been to the hospital. He didn’t recognize them as Karkoff’s men. That likely meant they belonged to whoever was supplying Karkoff with the women he was selling to brothels all over the country.
Viktor pushed his back against the brick wall behind him. Two lines of light cut a swath through the dark alley. The lines bobbed and weaved as the men lumbered along, still talking. There were only two. Yet Viktor could have sworn he had initially heard a third man walking with the other two. His senses went on high alert as he wondered where the third man had gone.
There was a dumpster just a few feet away from Viktor. He could smell the pungent odor above the stale oil-and-grime scent of the alley pavement. Edging closer to the cover of the oversized metal container, Viktor kept an eye on the two flashlight beams.
Then someone grabbed him from behind. “Going somewhere?”
Viktor didn’t waste a single second. He grabbed the hand on his shoulder and twisted it violently to the right while stepping left. Pivoting on the ball of his foot, Viktor spun about to face his attacker. It was dark and he had no notion of the man’s identity or size beyond what he could sense.
The man grunted, finally seeming to come to his senses enough to fight back. There was a muted whistle in the air as the guy drew back to throw a punch. Viktor lurched out of the way just in time. He felt the wind caused by the man’s fist pass right beneath his nose.
The guy took a breath to call to his friends. That could not happen, no matter what. Viktor chopped the man in the throat and felt his windpipe nearly collapse with the force of the blow. There was a choking noise and the man sank to his knees.
“Yuri?” the first man called out. “You okay, comrade?”
Viktor sank his hands into his opponent’s greasy hair and used the leverage to smash the guy’s face into his knee.
“Yuri?”
The other two were coming. Viktor could hear them shuffling closer in the darkness. He needed to get out of there fast. Keeping hold of his unknown assailant’s head, Viktor rammed him into the wall. When he was satisfied that the man was out cold, Viktor ran off into the night as silently as he could.
He could
* * *
Viktor wanted to know what had happened to the women he’d let out of the van less than twenty-four hours ago. He slunk through the shadows of the alley around the corner from the hospital where he had jimmied the lock and let them go. There was still evidence of his presence there the night before. Several burlap sacks lay discarded against a brick wall, a few shreds of nylon rope lying on top of the pile.
He squatted down and poked through the refuse. Pulling out his phone, he used it as a light to search for any shred of information that might help. He was feeling a little guilty for just dumping them and dashing off to meet Sasha.
A noise pulled his attention away from his sober contemplation. He quickly stashed his phone, leaving himself shrouded in pitch black. There were low voices speaking in Russian, perhaps two or three. The men were walking in his direction.
“Why are we looking here?” the first man asked. “No woman is going to hang out in an alley waiting to get mugged after she managed to escape slavery. This is stupid.”
A second man tripped over a pile of garbage in the alley. He cursed, and then snarled at his companion. “There’s a hospital less than a block away. If you were a woman in a strange city without money or clothes, wouldn’t you go to a hospital?”
“Are those bitches even smart enough to know what a hospital is?” The first man snickered. “We pull them from the middle of nowhere. Who knows what a Siberian hospital is like?”
The men were pacing closer to Viktor’s position. He wondered if they had already been to the hospital. He didn’t recognize them as Karkoff’s men. That likely meant they belonged to whoever was supplying Karkoff with the women he was selling to brothels all over the country.
Viktor pushed his back against the brick wall behind him. Two lines of light cut a swath through the dark alley. The lines bobbed and weaved as the men lumbered along, still talking. There were only two. Yet Viktor could have sworn he had initially heard a third man walking with the other two. His senses went on high alert as he wondered where the third man had gone.
There was a dumpster just a few feet away from Viktor. He could smell the pungent odor above the stale oil-and-grime scent of the alley pavement. Edging closer to the cover of the oversized metal container, Viktor kept an eye on the two flashlight beams.
Then someone grabbed him from behind. “Going somewhere?”
Viktor didn’t waste a single second. He grabbed the hand on his shoulder and twisted it violently to the right while stepping left. Pivoting on the ball of his foot, Viktor spun about to face his attacker. It was dark and he had no notion of the man’s identity or size beyond what he could sense.
The man grunted, finally seeming to come to his senses enough to fight back. There was a muted whistle in the air as the guy drew back to throw a punch. Viktor lurched out of the way just in time. He felt the wind caused by the man’s fist pass right beneath his nose.
The guy took a breath to call to his friends. That could not happen, no matter what. Viktor chopped the man in the throat and felt his windpipe nearly collapse with the force of the blow. There was a choking noise and the man sank to his knees.
“Yuri?” the first man called out. “You okay, comrade?”
Viktor sank his hands into his opponent’s greasy hair and used the leverage to smash the guy’s face into his knee.
“Yuri?”
The other two were coming. Viktor could hear them shuffling closer in the darkness. He needed to get out of there fast. Keeping hold of his unknown assailant’s head, Viktor rammed him into the wall. When he was satisfied that the man was out cold, Viktor ran off into the night as silently as he could.
He could
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