Chapter 3
4504 Words
Berlin (Germany)
Radisson Blu Hotel
6 04 2016
1930 hours
The car Liam sent for them stops in front of the Radisson Blu hotel at 7:30pm local time. They’re sharing a suite this time, because it turned out that they weren’t really in sync with the schedule in Manhattan.
“We’re leaving in thirty minutes so you better be ready by then.” James warns Zayn, because he knows how long it takes for his sidekick to get ready after a flight.
Zayn already starts working on his hair, so James opens the mini bar and treats himself to a glass of Rum and Coke.
“I thought drinking on the job was prohibited.” Louis says as he leans against the doorframe of the living room with his arms crossed.
“Technically I’m not ‘on the job’ yet, and after spending three hours with you in a closed space, I need a drink.”
“Oh, I’m flattered.” Louis sarcastically mutters and walks over to check out the minibar. He gets out a bottle of water and sits down on the couch before he turns on the TV.
“So how do you know Kozlov?” James asks when he sits down next to him with his drink in his hand.
“I’ve done a job for him before.”
“What?”
Louis sighs. “I already told you, it’s confidential.”
“Oh come on, it’s not like I’m going to do anything about it.”
“The difference between you and I.” Louis starts and turns his head to look at him. “Is that I keep things to myself so I don’t put others in danger.”
“What a load of bullshit. I’m just curious.”
Louis thinks about it for a moment before he says:
“If I told you the deal I made with him, I’d have to kill myself.”
James looks at him confused as he watches Louis standing up and walking towards his room.
“That’s not the line!” he yells after him.
“I know what I said!”
***
Kozlov’s villa is actually a giant mansion on the outskirts of Berlin. It’s gated and apparently on twenty-four hour supervision, which means it’ll be really difficult to get in.
Their chauffeur drops them off a block away so they have to walk the remaining distance.
“What are you doing?” James asks when Louis loads his gun and stabilizes it behind his back into his belt.
“Preparing to shoot whoever gets in our way? How do you think we’re going to get in with this much security?”
James looks at Zayn incredulous. “Like we normally do? Through the back door so we’ll avoid as many casualties as possible?”
“Oh, grow up. Once they’ll spot us-which they will, by the way, they’re not going to hesitate putting a bullet through our heads. Do you really think these people haven’t done anything wrong?”
James doesn’t answer, so they make a deal to try the door in the backyard. They jump the fence one by one and manage to get to the back door undetected.
Louis gets to work on the lock while James and Zayn turn on their watches and get in contact with their handlers.
“Everything alright? I can see your heart beating fast.” Nick says as soon as the clock is turned on.
“Yeah.” He whispers and pushes the door open once Louis is done.
The house is dark and suspiciously quiet, but there’s light coming from upstairs, which is probably where Kozlov’s office is located.
They manage to get upstairs without making any noise, and get through the dark hallway until they’re right by his door. James and Zayn pull out their guns as a safety measure, and James tries opening the door but it doesn’t budge.
“Shit.” He whispers at the exact moment that a gunshot is heard.
There are two silhouettes at the end of the hallway, approaching them and pointing guns straight ahead while shooting.
Louis pushes James out of the way and holds up his gun, shooting twice. The two men fall on the ground with loud thuds.
“Get out of the way.” Louis tells Zayn, before he shoots the doorknob and kicks the door open.
Kozlov is behind his desk with a gun pointed in their direction.
“Call off your security.” Louis tells him and waves the gun towards the desk. “Now.”
When the man doesn’t budge, Louis takes a shot at the window. “Now.”
“I’ll guard the door.” Zayn says and exits the room.
Kozlov caves a few seconds later and presses something under his desk, before he’s back at holding the gun in Louis’ direction.
“Look, there are two of us against one.” James starts and points his own gun towards him. “So how about you tell us what we need to know and no one will get hurt.”
“But first, put the gun down.” Louis interrupts him, and places his finger on the trigger to accentuate his words.
Kozlov drops his gun on the ground and holds his hands up. “Alright, alright. Why are you here?”
“Who is Romanov?” James starts, taking a step closer.
“I used to work with him.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is he?” Louis repeats James’s question, raising his voice.
“I don’t know.”
Louis sighs and directs the gun towards Kozlov’s leg and takes a shot, which causes him to fall to the floor and groan in pain.
“Say again?”
“I don’t-“
Louis takes another shot, this time at his other leg.
“The next one will be right between your balls, just saying.”
Kozlov presses his hands against his legs and looks up.
“He’s in Moscow. Ahh, shit.”
“Where in Moscow?” James asks.
Kozlov scrunches his teeth. “I don’t-ah-know. He has an apartment in Solntsevo.”
“Now, was that so hard?” James smirks.
Louis steps back. “Thanks.”
Then he shoots him in the chest.
“You said you wouldn’t kill him.” James says when they’re out of the office and walking towards the stairs.
“He would’ve called security the moment we left his office, and probably given Romanov a heads up.”
There’s a guard right by the back door looking outside and Louis chokes him until he loses conscience. The car is still waiting for them one block away.
“Did you hear all that?” James asks into his watch as soon as they’re in the car.
“I did. Already scheduled a flight tomorrow at 0600 hours to Moscow.”
“What did you find about Solntsevo?”
Nick takes a few seconds to respond. “It’s one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world, known for high crime rates.”
“Just my cup of tea.” James laughs and stares out the window.
“Don’t pull a Bangkok this time.”
James snorts and rolls his eyes, staring down at his feet. “I won’t.”
They get to the hotel ten minutes later, and as soon as James opens the door to their suite, Zayn makes a beeline for the shower.
Louis walks over to the table in the living room and takes off his watch, placing it on the table. Then he turns to James who is just taking off his shoes, and asks:
“What happened in Bangkok?”
James raises his eyebrows. “Where’s this coming from?”
“You should really turn down the volume of your earpiece. Just saying.”
James sits down on the couch and turns the TV on. Louis walks over to him and takes a seat next to him.
“So, Bangkok?”
“I thought you didn’t make friends. Strictly business and all that.”
Louis sighs and grabs the remote to change the channel, in spite of James’s frowns. But it’s too late and he’s too tired to fight a professional assassin over a f*****g remote.
“So last year I was in Bangkok trying to locate a drug lord and bring him into custody, but the thing is, I actually ended up in jail for three days because I accidentally bought boots filled with cocaine.”
“What the f**k?” Louis laughs and turns his head. “This is too much. Why would you buy f*****g boots, how in the world were they filled with cocaine, and how the f**k did you get caught?”
“The guy knew I was coming so he set me up. And the drugs were in the detachable heel.”
“You bought boots with heels.” Louis seriously states and stares at him like he’s from another planet.
“I did, they were nice. And cheap.”
Louis shakes his head as he stares at the TV screen. “You’re something else.”
“That’s why I’m not allowed to buy things from like…stalls anymore. Liam and Nick spent three days trying to look for me because I got strip searched and my gear was confiscated right before I got thrown into a dirty cell.”
It’s Louis’ time to raise his eyebrows. “They made you strip?”
“No, God no. They didn’t like, made me get butt naked in front of them or anything. They used a metal detector and took my earpiece and watch, which made finding me even more difficult.”
“This could only happen to you, I swear.” Louis smirks and crosses his arms over his chest.
“You barely even know me.”
“I know your national insurance number, your social security number, all your relative’s names, and the fact that you used to pee in the bushes at parties with your arse out for everyone to see.”
James’s mouth falls open.
“So yeah, I think I know you better than most people do.” Louis says, and finishes the conversation by standing up.
“You don’t know me though.” James tries.
“Oh, I don’t even need to know you to know you. You’re like an open book, James Edward Smith born on the first of February 1994.”
“That’s really creepy.”
Louis shrugs as he walks over to the table to retrieve his gadgets. “’m going to sleep, and you should too. We’ve got an early flight.”
James nods and watches him walk away before biting his lip.
As soon as he realizes what he’s just involuntarily done, he shakes his head and turns off the telly. He blames it on the exhaustion.
***
The flight to Moscow is about five hours long, so James catches some sleep on the jet before they get land at 12 pm local time. They make sure to change out of their typical suit attire and into some jeans and a simple shirt, in order to keep their identities and intentions hidden, as well as to avoid prying eyes.
It’s the first time James sees Louis in anything other than a suit and trousers, and he can’t say he’s disappointed (he doesn’t say anything at all), because Louis’ legs are thin yet muscular, just like James imagined they would be – not that he’s had any thoughts of that nature.
The smart thing to do right now is to avert his eyes and focus on getting his s**t together before they get off the plane.
Moscow, Solntsevo (Russia)
Солнцево Отель
7 04 2016
1215 hours
Their motel is located in the heart of that shady neighborhood, so they can ‘keep an eye on things’ and locate Romanov’s apartment before they do anything drastic.
“When Nick said the neighborhood was dangerous, he wasn’t lying.” Zayn mutters when they get out of the taxi in front of the motel.
Even though it’s sunny outside, there’s a group of people who seem to be high off their minds right at the end of the street, and two prostitutes sitting on the curb, smoking.
“I’ve seen worse.” Louis says and opens the door.
James makes a face and mocks him silently as he follows him to the front desk.
There’s a middle-aged woman behind the desk, smoking while browsing through a magazine. She doesn’t even look up when the three of them stop a few feet away. It’s only when James rings the bell that she lifts her head and continues chewing her gum.
“Yes?”
“Can we get a triple room?” James asks.
The woman looks at him as if just spoke Chinese to her.
“прощение?” she asks, confused and bored at the same time.
“трехместный номер.” Louis says and she nods, before she turns around to look for a key. She hands it over to Louis and points to the prices on the desk.
Zayn hands her three thousand Russian rubles, which should be about 28 pounds, and then walk over to the stairs.
“You know Russian?” James asks, surprised as they walk up the stairs towards room 15.
Louis nods. “I know ten foreign languages.”
“And those are?”
“German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, Japanese, and Mandarin.”
“That’s impressive.” Zayn tells him and stops in front of the door.
The key turns about seven hundred times until they manage to get the door open and walk inside.
“This place smells like death.” James states and drops his suitcase on one of the beds.
Zayn unzips his suitcase and pulls out a shirt. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“I’m not sure how safe and sanitary it is to take a shower here.” Louis mumbles and looks around; meanwhile, James spends his time smelling the pillow he’ll be sleeping on.
“I’ll figure something out.”
While Zayn’s taking a shower and Louis is unloading three different types of guns from his suitcase, James looks for bars and pubs in the area they can visit in order to find out Romanov’s whereabouts.
He gets in contact with Nick to tell him to run the names of the pubs through the database and let him know which one would be their best shot.
“The Lion’s Den is famous around the neighborhood because of the nearly daily bar fights and the occasional murder. I’ll send a photo to your watch so you can see how it looks from outside.”
“Alright, thanks Nick.”
He turns off the earpiece because keeping it on would be useless; at least until they get to the pub. James and Louis shower once Zayn comes out of the bathroom (separately, of course), so they don’t leave their room in the next thirty minutes, because they also spend time hiding their suitcases under their beds.
Louis apparently knows where the pub is located; at the very end of an alley between two buildings. Russian music is playing in the background when they enter, and the average age here can’t be less than forty.
The three of them take seats by the bar, and Louis doesn’t waste any time to order a round of beers. James opens his mouth, but before he can even get a word out, Louis stops him.
“Chi non beve in compagnia o è un ladro è una spia.” Louis says and accepts the beer that’s just been placed in front of him. “That means, someone who doesn’t drink with company is either a thief or a spy.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, thank you very much.” James mutters and takes a swig of his beer.
“Yes you were.”
“I was going to ask about that man’s tattoo.” James says and subtly nods his head towards a bulky guy in the back. He’s sitting at a table with two other guys, smoking and laughing about something in Russian.
“What about that tattoo?” Zayn asks, inching closer with his elbow.
“I’ve seen that symbol before somewhere, but I can’t place it right now.”
Louis turns his head to have a look. James doesn’t waste any time and discretely snaps a picture with the tiny camera so Nick can run it through the database. He then turns his earpiece back on and plans to leave it like that for the rest of their time in the pub.
Nick eventually checks in when the three of them are having a conversation about typical British topics, like the fact that it always rains and the taxis are incredibly expensive.
“That star is Russian’s Military Symbol. And the guy in the photo is an ex-Marine called Vladimir Lebanov.”
“Ex-Marine? What did he do?” James asks and looks right at Zayn, so it doesn’t seem suspicious that he’s talking to himself.
“He sexually assaulted other comrades and took a shot at their captain. Did four years in Russian prison for that.”
“So he probably knows where our guy is.”
“Exactly.”
“Thanks. We’re going to talk to him.”
“He also speaks almost fluent English, so don’t go all fake Russian on him.” Nick laughs and James shakes his head.
“Be right back.” He tells Zayn, before he’s on his feet and walking towards Lebanov with a cigarette in hand. Although James’s pretty sure smoking indoor is also banned in Russia, it seems like the people in here don’t take the rules too seriously.
“Hi, do you have a light?” he asks, and the three men look up at him simultaneously.
Lebanov points to the lighter next to their ashtray, so James thanks him and uses it. He doesn’t move once he’s exhaled the smoke and put the lighter back down, so the three men are giving him pointed looks.
“None of you would happen to know a Nikita Romanov, would you?” he casually asks.
“I know him, why?” Lebanov asks, accent thick.
“He owes me some money but I haven’t been able to contact him for weeks. I know he’s hiding in this district somewhere, but he hasn’t told me where.”
Lebanov looks at him seriously. “He owes you money for what exactly?”
“I’m afraid that’s confidential.”
“So is Romanov’s address.”
James bites the inside of his cheek. Should he pay him off or tell him some made up story?
“Would ten thousand rubles change your mind?” he finally asks.
Lebanov and the other two raise their eyebrows. “Maybe.”
“I’ll be right back gentleman.” James says and turns around with the cigarette in his hand. When he stops in front of Zayn and Louis, they’re both waiting for an update.
“I need ten thousand rubles right now so I can find out where Romanov’s apartment is.”
Zayn hands him a stack of cash without saying anything else, and James returns to the table of three.
“First the information, and only then the cash.”
Lebanov makes a face. “Ulitsa 50 let Oktyabrya, 23465 квартира 54.”
“So, number 23462?” James asks, changing the last number intentionally. It’s an old tactic of his, to make sure the information is correct.
“23465.” Lebanov corrects him, and therefore passing the test.
“Thank you.” James nods and hands him the cash.
When he gets back to the bar, they decide to stay for another thirty minutes before leaving.
They return to their motel to grab their guns and gears, before Louis asks the receptionist to call a taxi for them. James’s not sure if going to Romanov’s house while there’s still light outside is a good idea, but he keeps it to himself as stares out the window.
The taxi stops in front of a trashy building, and Zayn pays the driver before they get out of the car. The name list at the entrance next to the apartment numbers doesn’t have any Romanov on the list. There’s another name next to the number 54, so James asks Nick to check out Romanov’s aliases just to be sure.
“He also goes under the names Brusilov, Voronov, and Gurkovsky.”
“Yeah, Voronov’s the name.” James says and turns to Louis. “Now would be a good time to put your lock picking skill to use.”
Louis shakes his head. “I don’t have the kit on me, fuckin’ hell.”
James doesn’t waste anymore time and takes his gun out, shooting the window above the lock. There’s a loud crash but he manages to get the door open from inside by sticking his hand through the gap.
They take the stairs all the way up to the fifth level, and when they get to door 54, James knocks on it with his free hand. There’s no answer or movement from inside, so he tries again, but to no use.
“I’m going to break the door in.” Zayn says and kicks it three times until it finally caves and opens.
There’s an eerie silence in the apartment, but it smells like blood and gunpowder, which isn’t a good sign.
“Shit.” Is the only thing Zayn says when he gets to the bedroom, only to find Romanov dead by his window, with a gunshot wound to the head.
“What happened?” Nick asks.
“He’s been shot.”
“f**k. Alright, try to look for a computer, a phone, or anything that might indicate the last person he was in contact with.”
“Already on it.” James says as he kneels down next to Romanov’s lifeless body, and pulls out his phone out of the pocket of his jacket.
He hands it over to Louis. “It’s all in Russian. I’ll check his computer.”
There’s a laptop on the table in the kitchen, and it’s just his luck that it’s still turned on, so he doesn’t have to hack into it.
He checks his history, not surprised when he finds some kinky porn on there, and then moves along to his files.
There’s a locked folder labeled 30416, which also happens to be the date of the day before the Priminister got abducted and the bombing took place.
“The date of the gunpowder shipment.” He says to himself. He tries cracking the password, but doesn’t succeed. He feels defeated when he calls Louis over and asks him to do his best.
“Who do you think could’ve killed him?” James asks Zayn while Louis’ fingers fly over the keyboard.
“The last person he called had a french number.” Louis informs them without taking his eyes from the screen.
“So we’re dealing with France too? Jesus Christ, can this thing get even more complicated?” Zayn complains and sits down at the table with a binder in his hand.
While Zayn looks through the binder and Louis tries breaking into the computer, James dictates the phone number to Nick, so he can run it through the database.
“It’s a public phone number, located on Champs-Élysées.”
“No name, no nothing?”
“Safest way to contact someone without getting caught. Whoever we’re dealing with, it seems like they know how to stay hidden.”
“What’s he saying?” Zayn asks, placing the binder on the table and looking up at him.
“I think we’re going to Paris tomorrow.” James says.
“These are a lot of folders.” Louis interrupts them, and pulls out the flash drive from his watch to copy the files onto it, since they don’t have the time to go through twenty separate folders, all labeled in Russian.
They get to their motel around ten that night, because they stopped for another round of beers at The Lion’s Den on their way back.
James doesn’t even bother showering before he takes off his shirt and jeans, and then drops on the bed. It creaks so loud, he thinks it’s going to give in any time now, but he can’t be too bothered; all he wants to do is to get some extra hours of sleep.
***
Paris (France)
Champs-Élysées
8 04 2016
1730 hours
James was the only one who was sent to Paris for this small task, together with a team of forensic team to gather prints and DNA from the phone booth in question.
“There’s no cameras or mics inside.” James tells Nick and steps out of the booth to let the forensic team inside. He lifts his head to look at the Gucci store across the street, and smirks when he sees the cameras pointed towards him. “Actually, I think I might have an idea.”
Nick ends up contacting the storeowner and asking for the security footage from April third to April eighth.
James then waits around for the team to finish before they’re headed back to headquarters in London. This might just be the shortest period of time he spent on a task.
***
London (England)
MI6 headquarters
8 04 2016
1830 hours
James enters Liam’s office that same day, merely an hour later after being on Champs-Élysées, and isn’t surprised at all when he sees that Zayn and Louis are already there.
“Oh, you waited for me before you started? How nice.” James sarcastically says when he sees Liam’s serious expression. His boss is leaning against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest.
James takes a seat on the last empty armchair in front of the desk. “So, what’s going on?”
“A team has already started checking the security tapes and identifying every single individual who has used the phone in the past five days. Unfortunately, that is going to take some time.” Liam starts.
Zayn frowns. “How long?”
“About…a week or so. Two, probably. I want the tree of you to take this time to relax and clear your minds. Your service these past four days has been incredible, and I can honestly say I’ve never been more pleased.”
“So what you’re saying right now, is that we have two weeks off?” James asks, smirking.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Nevertheless; wherever you’re going to spend your time, please make sure that you’re always prepared to come back in a moment’s notice. Did I make myself clear?”
They all nod.
“Yes Sir.” Louis says. “I’ll see you in a few days.”
They stand up and shake Liam’s hand, before they walk out of the office one by one.
“So what are you going to do with your free time?” Zayn asks Louis while they wait for the elevator.
“I’m never free.” Louis answers without turning his head.
“So you always kill people for money.” James states.
Louis turns his head to look at him. “Exactly.”
He then winks at a silent James, before he steps into the elevator.
- Writer
