Chapter 9: The Approaching Storm
Cassandra sat in the passenger seat of the lead SUV, her manicured nails digging into the leather armrest so hard her knuckles were bone-white.
The vehicle bumped violently over the unpaved mountain road. The towering pines on either side of the dirt path looked like jagged teeth in the fading twilight. She hated the woods. She hated the dirt, the cold, and the silence. But most of all, she hated the man waiting at the top of the mountain.
"Two miles to the coordinates," the driver grunted. He was a massive, scarred Russian mercenary named Yuri, one of Viktor’s top enforcers. He held a suppressed submachine gun resting across his lap like it was an extension of his own arm.
"Slow down," Cassandra ordered, her voice trembling slightly. "Marcus isn't stupid. If he knows you're coming, he'll have set up defenses."
Yuri sneered, not bothering to look at her. "He is a computer boy. We are soldiers. He does not know how to fight."
"He built firewalls for the Department of Defense!" Cassandra snapped, her mask of elegance completely gone, replaced by venomous panic. "He anticipates threats for a living. If you underestimate him, he will kill us all."
Before Yuri could reply, a deafening explosion shattered the quiet of the mountain.
The ground shook violently. The SUV slammed on its brakes, fishtailing in the loose gravel as a shower of rock and dirt rained down on the windshield. Cassandra screamed, covering her head.
"What happened?!" she shrieked over the ringing in her ears.
Yuri kicked his door open and stepped out into the freezing air, his weapon raised. Cassandra cautiously peeked over the dashboard.
Fifty yards ahead, the narrow wooden bridge that crossed a deep, rocky ravine was completely gone. Only splintered, smoking timber remained. Marcus had blown the bridge.
"The computer boy has teeth," Yuri growled, spitting on the ground. He keyed the radio on his shoulder. "All units, dismount. The road is impassable. We move on foot through the tree line. Night vision on."
Cassandra scrambled out of the car, her thin prison-issue shoes sinking into the freezing mud. "I'm not walking up there in the dark!" she protested. "We don't know what else he has waiting!"
Yuri turned to her, stepping close enough that she could smell the metallic scent of gun oil on his gear. He pressed the barrel of his rifle hard against her ribs.
"Viktor's orders were clear, little bird," Yuri whispered menacingly. "You lead us to the drive, or I leave you in this ravine with a bullet in your spine. Start walking."
May you like
Swallowing her terror, Cassandra began the grueling trek up the steep embankment. The shadows in the forest grew longer, darker, and more terrifying with every step. She clutched a heavy silver revolver—a weapon Yuri had shoved into her hands before they left the city—so tightly her hand cramped.
I will kill him, she repeated in her mind like a dark mantra, using the hatred to fuel her burning legs. I will make him watch while I take everything from him.
