She spat the word. “Stand down. This is your only warning.”
“Afraid I can’t do that.” Amusement glimmered in his gaze as he looked over at Kostya. “Fine mess you’re standing in. This bastard is downright crazy, almost more than me.”
“Enough!” Kostya thundered. “Kill them. Leave my son to me. He will watch his cousin die, then I will give him what he deserves.”
“So, you’re the bastard he’s been ranting about,” Spade said. He chuckled. “I’ve got to know. How are you still breathing? My boss back there thinks I missed my shot. But I don’t ever miss.”
“You shot him,” Addy said, her voice low.
“It was a test.” Spade shrugged. “Our new client here wanted his trouble gone. Looks like I’ve got a second chance to earn that payday. After you tell me how you’re still breathing.”
“Vest,” Kristof said. “That and Iriana shoving me out of the way just enough.”
“Iriana, huh?” Spade smirked. “Love the blonde, sweetheart. I’ve heard they have more fun.”
“Shut up,” Shep growled.
“Kill them,” the other Mandrake operative said. “He gave you an order.”
“Yeah, like that’s the smart play.” Spade shook his head as Kostya’s men stepped closer to Shep, Johnny, and Maksim. Each move took them farther from Olaf, which was likely what the men had wanted. “A dead Arsenal operative does nothing but put you in the crosshairs of the others. How many are here, Iriana?”
“How would I know?” Addy responded.
“More than you’re capable of taking on,” Shep said.
“Kill them!” Kostya ordered. “Put down your weapons or Olaf dies!”
A standoff. Kristof knew none of the men around Kostya were prepared to make the first move. Unease quickened the three non-Mandrake soldiers’ moves as they rapidly moved their weapons from Shep to Johnny to Maksim. None of the Arsenal moved. They each had a target locked on someone, just as he was trained on Kostya.
“Let him go,” Kristof said. “You aren’t making it out of this room. It’s over.”
“You have no idea what power I wield!” Kostya shouted.
“Power without money means nothing,” Addy said. “You’re broke. Soon to be dead broke. Let him go.”
“You’re Iriana. Ivan mentioned you, said you were a problem. I see he was right.” Kostya looked back at the second Mandrake operative. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have had him killed.”
“It was necessary. He knew too much,” the man said.
About what?
“We need that Mandrake bastard with Spade breathing,” Edge said. “Prepare for attack. We have two drones incoming from the back room. Cord found a secondary entry.”
Kristof tensed.
As much as he wanted to take the kill shot that would end the decades long nightmare, he wanted Olaf, Addy, and her team to walk away unharmed. He’d do whatever it took to ensure that.
“Ivan was an idiot,” Kristof said. “He was too stupid to see anything.”
“You betrayed me beneath his nose,” Kostya said. “Dima saw. He told me about your network. What you’ve done through the years. You’re why I had to…”
“Shut up!” The second Mandrake took a step toward Kostya and aimed his weapon at him. “Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll kill you myself.”
“You wouldn’t dare. You need me,” Kostya argued.
“We needed your compound and your firepower. Now that they’re here, you’re a liability.”
“You’ll never get everything out of the country without me.”
“Everything. There’s more than those three missiles in play,” Edge said. “Cord, get the extra zingers scouring the catacombs. There’s another payload here somewhere. We need to find it.”
“You crawled into bed with them to stem the bleeding,” Kristof said. “That was a stupid move, Father.”
“You left me no choice. I should’ve killed you that night, left you in the same hole as your mama and uncle. May they rot in hell.”
“Where are the rest of the weapons?” Addy asked.
“You’ll never find them,” the Mandrake replied with a laugh. “You can’t stop us.”
Under house.
Under house.
Olaf flashed the two words on repeat. Eyes wide, he stared at Kristof.
“What is he signing?” Jesse asked. “Get me a visual from the nearest drone so I can see his hands.”
“HERA is translating,” Cord said. “Under house.”
Kristof expended the breath he hadn’t realized he held as Edge and Jesse barked orders into the com. Clicks sounded on the com as Nolan’s team headed to the new target position.
“We have a solution mapped,” Edge said. “Kristof, you need to take Kostya out first. Nod if you can. Otherwise Johnny will take the shot.”
Kristof firmed his grip on the weapon and nodded. If he made a precision shot Olaf might survive.
“Drones will take Spade out. We’ve got two kill