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“Then we will not stop.”
***
“Motorbikes. There, on the road.”
“The Americans usually call them motorcycles, Ostap.”
Commander Ostap turned and glared at the technician. “If I wanted to know the correct terminology then I’d go find someone less annoying than you. Now shut up and let us focus!” The words came out in a hissing stream, and Oles backed up, raising his hands and turning his head away in surrender. Jacob shrugged and rolled his eyes as Oles glanced at him, and together the pair of technicians sat down on the sidewalk a few feet away.
“How many do you count?” Carl had a pair of binoculars up to his eyes, studying the windows of the nearby buildings for any signs of movement. Ostap still had his gaze fixated on a location a block and a half down the street, where a collection of motorcycles were sitting in the middle of the road. Their engines made no sound and no one appeared to be nearby, but Ostap could see that the bodies of the motorcycles were red-hot in the thermal scope, an indication that they had only recently been turned off.
“Seven in the street, but there could be more that we can’t see from this position. Anyone in the buildings?”
“Nyet. Buildings are clear, but this angle is terrible. We need elevation.”
“The second site is just past those bikes, off to the right in those buildings on the hill. That’s the priority.”
“Can we go around?”
“No.” Ostap shook his head. “There’s a collapse across the street to the north, and my guess is that most of that group went to the south—no, wait.” Ostap pulled out his own pair of binoculars and dropped into a crouch. “I see them. A trio, in the complex where we need to go.”
“Only three? Should be easy.”
“Indeed. Two men, one woman. One of the men is older, and they all have just basic rifles.”
Behind the two Spetsnaz officers, the technicians had their binoculars out and were focusing in on the trio outside the buildings at the facility on the hill. While they tried to locate the three individuals, Ostap and Carl were busy unslinging their rifles and adjusting their scopes. There was no verbal communication between the pair. After years of working independently and together on countless missions requiring absolute silence and stealth, both men were well-versed in performing their duties in complete silence. The technicians, however, were another matter.
“What are they looking at?” Oles spoke to Jacob as they knelt a few feet behind the Spetsnaz officers.
“No idea. They look like they’re expecting trouble, though.” Jacob adjusted the zoom and focus on his binoculars, trying to get a clearer view of the trio. After a few seconds, he gasped and furiously tapped Oles on the shoulder.
“That older one, with the glasses standing behind the other two; don’t you recognize him?”
Oles took a few more seconds to zoom in closer, then he gasped as well. “Dr. Michael Evans?! No… it can’t be!”
While the two soldiers had been doing their level best to ignore the furious whispering going on behind them, the muted shouts of the two men were too much for Ostap. He turned and snapped at the pair. “What the hell are you two going on about?”
As Ostap spoke, Oles realized that Carl’s rifle was pointed at the three people on the hill. He lunged forward, knocking the rifle to the side, then turned to Ostap. “You can’t shoot them! One of them is Dr. Evans!”
“Who is that, and why should I give a damn?” Carl spat at Oles as he retrieved his fallen rifle.
Oles groaned, removing his cap and running his fingers through his greasy hair. “He’s a prominent computer scientist; he actually designed the precursor to Damocles!”
Carl was just about to level his sight on the three when Ostap held out a hand to stop him. The lead Spetsnaz officer narrowed his eyes at Oles, studying the technician closely. “Are you certain?”
“Positive!”
“Then who are the other two?”
“I’ve no idea!” Oles was still nearly shouting, and Jacob had to put a hand on his comrade’s shoulder to help calm him down. “But if Dr. Michael Evans is here, then that can only mean that he’s searching for a way to stop Damocles, too! I’ll bet anything that those two are helping him.”
“Why would the U.S. government send a lone scientist with a pair of what look like
civilians all by themselves into a place like this to search for a way to shut down their own creation?”
“You’re assuming, of course, that the U.S. government didn’t intend for all this to happen.” Carl inserted himself into the conversation and Jacob rolled his eyes.
“Please. Not even they are stupid enough to… well, perhaps. But they still wouldn’t do it.”
