professional athletes, able to turn on a dime and adjust to real-time changes on the field. Nobody did these kinds of things better than they did.
Nevertheless, this kind of operation was nothing but wild cards. With each unknown, the odds of failure rose exponentially. To say what they were about to do was exceedingly risky would be a gross understatement.
Haney felt the same way. In fact, he had pulled Staelin aside, shortly after takeoff, to share his reservations.
As the senior operatives, the mission planning and decision-making would come down to them. It was a tremendous responsibility, but one they were more than capable of taking on.
With all of the unknowns, there was one thing they did know, one thing they agreed on: that no matter how dangerous, no matter how bad the odds, Harvath would risk it all to come for them. He was one of them, their brother. They weren’t going to leave him behind enemy lines.
“So,” said Nicholas, wrapping up. “Does anyone else have any questions?”
Staelin leaned in toward the phone, wanting to make sure he was perfectly heard. “Just one thing,” he said. “What are the rules of engagement?”
“There aren’t any.”
“So weapons free?”
“Weapons free,” Nicholas confirmed, granting approval to engage any target with lethal force. “The only thing that matters is bringing Harvath back.”
CHAPTER 46
* * *
* * *
MURMANSK OBLAST
Harvath was delirious. He couldn’t remember if he’d heard the dogs first or had felt the rough hands as they yanked him to his feet. They were carrying guns.
He did remember someone making a big deal about his shotgun and snatching it up so that he couldn’t reach it.
In a sense, he was relieved to have been captured. He hoped they’d put a bullet in his head and just be done with him, but in the back of his mind he knew that wasn’t likely.
His brain was foggy and his eyesight was almost nonexistent. It was nearly impossible to tell what was going on.
One of the men, yelling in Russian, slapped him around. He had suffered worse in his SERE training. The more the man yelled, the more the dogs barked. Someone patted him down. They then took off his skis and tied him up. After that, he had blacked out.
When he awoke, he could still hear the dogs. They were someplace close. Did Wagner even have dogs? It was possible, he supposed. Plenty of military units used them. But dogs meant any escape was next to impossible. It sounded as if they had a lot of them.
His vision was slow to return. He attempted to move his arms and to his surprise, he was no longer tied down.
When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that he was in a cabin of some sort. It smelled like clay and chimney smoke. A fire crackled in the fireplace.
Most of his clothing had been removed. He was lying in a bed, with a compress laid across his head. A fire burned warm and bright nearby.
At a small table, an older woman sat with her back to him, humming. Next to a leather satchel were what looked like plastic Ziplocs filled with dried herbs. He had no idea where he was or what had happened.
His head felt as if it had been split open with an axe. He tried to sit up, but that only made it worse. Closing his eyes, he fell back against his pillow.
When he opened them again, the woman was standing over him. A large cup was in her hand. “Drink,” she said in English, offering it to him.
Seeing the distress he was in, she set the cup aside and propped him up. Then, she held the cup up to his mouth so he could drink.
It was a broth of some sort. “Spaseba,” he said, after he had finished.
“It’s okay. I speak English.”
“Where am I?”
“In the woods.”
“In the woods where?”
“Outside the village of Adjágas,” she replied. “You’re safe here.”
Adjágas, though, wasn’t the village he was supposed to be in. “I need to get to Friddja,” he said, trying to get up.
“Relax,” she responded, easing him back down. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I think I do,” she said, removing the note Christina had written and handing it to him. “I’m Sini.”
“Where’d you get that?” he asked, taking a better look around the room. Near the front door he could see his rucksack, along with his shotgun.
“The men who found you in the snow, they were trying to figure out who you were.