[drhyde79]

Chapter 115: What Lies in Wait

Alexei stifled a yawn as he looked out the window, the dim yellow lights flashing by as his little convoy rushed towards its long-awaited rendezvous. He had barely a moment’s rest, having just flown in on his Gulfstream before being picked up by his men.

Samsonov had tried talking him out of it just before he boarded the jet in Hong Kong. He had tried his very hardest to persuade him, determined to take his place in this little operation but Alexei had used his arguments against him. If it’s so simple, he could do it just as well, couldn’t he? Besides, the men Samsonov had picked, they are all good men? Nyet? The best at their jobs, no?

Sigh. He hates fucking over Samsanov like this. The man has had his back time after time, keeping him safe ever since their first little ‘adventure’ in Burma. But he had to. This time, it’s personal. The fuck with what they have been taught about personal not being the same as important. That was in the NKVD. That was when Mother Russia needed them. Now? Now they are free men. So the fuck with it.

He almost smiled as he recalled Samsanov’s upset expression. The man his men nicknamed ‘Old Iron Face’ can actually express his emotions so openly. He wondered if they had a bet going about when Samsanov would ever show his feelings? It might be quite a sizeable pool that someone had won this morning if they had been near enough to see him.

Turning his thoughts away, Alexei glanced at the screen of his phone for the sixth time, a grim line across his mouth as he reviewed the task in front of him. An ancient itch was growing between his shoulders. He has worked as an operative long enough to develop these little twitches, a sixth sense which tells him when something is about to go wrong.

Quickly, he went through his mental checklist for the little smash and grab they are about to perform.

Approach. Mikail and Stefan are solid men. Ex-Spetsnaz. They have the tools and skills. Alexei had watched them rehearse a couple of times.

Breach. The model of the digital lock is known. Oleg has the burner, and there is a backup, just in case.

Grab. Pyotr is one of the largest sonofabitch he had ever seen. The target is old, fat and fucked. No way he stands a chance against Pyotr. Besides, he will have the help of ‘Little’ Nikolai, there is no way that will be a problem.

Exit. The cars will be kept warm and running. The drivers are good men. Traffic at this time of the morning is clear. His yacht is ready and waiting as well.

Shit.

So what the fuck is he unhappy about? Where is this sense of unease coming from?

Bbbzzzz. Bbbzzz.

The glow from screen of his phone told him there was an incoming message.

Yebat!

He had left instructions not to be disturbed. So why the fuck is there a message now?

Shit. His men knew him and knew what he is on his way to do. Which means this is not from his men. Which means this must be private. Private or important. Really, really important.

Alexei looked at his phone.

Arlena.

They have not spoken ever since she had returned to Singapore. It has almost been 3 weeks and he had missed her. She was as intoxicating as he had feared, the delicious heat inside of her, the way it surrounded him each time they are together was all he had thought about. Even the guilt from seeing Vicky did not diminish how much he had missed her. Damn. He could still remember how good it feels to be touching her flesh to flesh, to envelop her slight petite frame within his massive body.

With just a moment’s hesitation, he put his finger on her message to read it in its entirety.


************************************************** *************

Jin sat in the cafe, a cheap Huawei Android phone connected to the battered MacBook in front of him. He's using the burner phone as a Wi-Fi hot spot, scouring for targets using its 4G bandwidth.

There was no need for him to be involved in this operation really. He could have commanded from a distance, directed his men as they made their move but he didn’t. He wondered if it was sentimentality, a whim of his to show his men that the boss still has it? Jin took a sip of his latte as he glanced at the screen before him, a set of GPS coordinates, along with a vehicle identification number, make, model and IP address had suddenly appeared on the laptop screen. Jin squinted, it’s a Honda Vezel. He plugs its GPS coordinates into Google Maps to reveal that it’s racing down the CTE. Sighing inaudibly, he closed the entry and resumed scanning.

The Russkies are good with counter-surveillance, he had to give them that. Their cyber-security is top-notch too. Even the team of hackers on loan to him were unable to hack their cars’ systems. He wondered if that was why he saw the need to be a part of the operation. Perhaps. Perhaps it was out of respect. The Russian had made his move in person, so perhaps it behoofs him to do likewise in return. Sentimentality at this age, who would have guessed.

It would be so simple if they had managed the hack. Still, that doesn’t matter.

The battered Macbook hummed as it worked. Jin hummed along as he enjoyed his drink. It did not take long before another set of GPS coordinates, along with vehicle identification number, make, model and IP address appear on its screen. This time, it’s a Toyota Prius driving near Holland Drive.

Joh-eun. Good. This should do, he thought to himself.

The two vehicles his counterpart is using are currently cruising along Commonwealth Ave West. They would turn into North Buona Vista Road soon.

He does not need to control their cars to stop them. Almost every other car on the road can become his tool. Not everyone can afford the cybersecurity protocols that Alexei Tikhonov can. He almost shook his head in disgust as his train of thought continued, so many people don’t even do the basic updates to patch the gaps in their CAN network protocol. Don’t they know this is allowing a halfway competent hacker to take control of their electronic control units? The bloody Americans have already demonstrated this a number of times. He had read their research papers himself, so much for freedom. He had almost wanted to thank the evil capitalists. The fucking greedy carmakers have played down the severity of the threat each and every time some ethical hacker or scientist pointed out these system vulnerabilities. If it is not for these greedy capitalist pigs, he wouldn’t have this opportunity today.

Jin glanced at his Huawei.

It is time.

His team has three other cars ready.

It is time.

************************************************** *************

“Dear Alexei,

We need to talk.

I think I’ve missed my period.”

He stared at the simple message. Seven words that made his world slow and come to a stop.

Fuck.

Staring at the screen, Alexei never saw the headlights that flared so suddenly from his right felt. He never felt his driver pull the emergency manoeuvre, nor the G-force tugging at his body as his car swerved desperately to avoid the oncoming vehicle, nor felt the impact of the collision.

The last thing he ever saw was the message from Arlena.