I must have read that book a hundred times. He was my first hero—the boy who learned to shoot by hunting wolves. Then a man who perfected the multi-point scout and sniper formation still used today.
He probably fascinated me so much because he was the master of patience, while I’m not patient in the slightest. It seemed like a superpower to me, the ability to hide and wait for days at a time.
I could quote the whole of that book still.
Particularly the part where Zaitsev says, “We find the enemy. Study his habits and methods, and patiently await the moment for one, and only one, well-aimed shot.”
That’s what I’ve been doing for three days now.
I’ve been watching Avo Kazarian. Or, watching his house at least. That paranoid old fuck is holed up tighter than a hermit crab. He must know that his ledger’s been stolen, and he suspects what will happen next.
If he were smart, he would already have run away. He could have been in Bermuda by now. But men like him can’t bear to abandon their castles. He’d rather be dragged out and shot than leave voluntarily.
So I’m going to give him exactly what he wants.
As soon I get his face in my crosshairs, I’m putting a bullet between his eyes. Because that’s the only way I can know for certain that Lara is safe.
The only downside is that Lara doesn’t want him dead. She wants him in prison, suffering for his sins.
If I kill Avo now, she won’t know who did it. She’ll only know that he’s gone. And I hope that relief will be enough for her.
I don’t have any other choice. I can’t just sit around, waiting for Avo to kill her instead. I don’t trust Erdeli and his ridiculous promises of justice.
Still, the guilt nags at me.
I shove it down and keep my eye on my rifle scope.
Avo has to come outside eventually.
His next breath of fresh air will be his last.
Then I see a man creeping around the perimeter of Kazarian’s walls. The man is wearing the blue tactical gear of the OMON, the Special Purpose Police Unit. Almost as soon as I spot him, I see three more OMON officers on the opposite side of the road, creeping through the woods to take their positions.
Fuck.
That means Erdeli is here too, right this minute. I can’t see him yet, but I know he wouldn’t send in a unit without personally overseeing the operation.
I should have climbed the walls and killed Avo Kazarian three days ago when I first arrived. Now I’ve waited too long, and I’m going to have to compete with the cops.
But actually, this may work to my advantage. They can break into the house, drag Avo out, and then I’ll shoot him before they can load him into their van. Erdeli can help me out—something that would infuriate him as much as it pleases me.
I watch as a dozen more OMON officers maneuver into position. They’re heavily armed and moving in a coordinated fashion, though not as subtly as they probably think. If Avo’s men haven’t caught sight of them yet, they soon will.
Sure enough, the Kazarians are the first to fire from their positions inside the stronghold. They take down three OMON officers while the others scramble for cover.
But Erdeli’s not fucking around. The OMONs cover the gate while two men set incendiary devices. There’s a pause, then a dual explosion sends shock waves rocketing up the hillside. Avo’s gates blow open, along with a six-foot stretch of his stone walls on either side.
Now three OMON trucks come roaring up the road. They’re basically armored tanks, with bulletproof glass and heavily reinforced sides. Their tires are so thick they could run right over caltrops. They barrel through the remainder of the gates while the Kazarians reign down useless fire from their guard towers.
The doors open upward so the OMON can exit under cover. Several of Avo’s men tumble down from the walls, felled by shots from officers both inside and outside the compound.
I see Erdeli himself climb out of one of the vans, recognizable by his wire-frame glasses beneath the visor of his helmet. For once he’s not wearing a suit. He’s decked out in tactical gear, including a Kevlar vest. But through the scope of my rifle, his face looks as wide as a barn door. I could shoot him in the neck right here and now. That would end his plans for cleaning up St. Petersburg.
My finger curls around the trigger. Ivan would probably tell me to do it, if he were here.
But Lara wouldn’t. Erdeli has taken care of her for almost six months. He helped her escape her father’s house. He kept her hidden, treating her as his own daughter.
I can’t kill him.
I can kill the Kazarians though.
I shoot two of them off the compound walls. I don’t know if they’re Lara’s cousins or uncles or what, but I don’t think she’d give two shits if I killed them all. She’d probably thank me.
I hit one more Kazarian while he’s firing down at the OMON officers from an upper window of the mansion. In the maelstrom of shots from all sides, nobody notices mine.
Still, Vasily Zaitsev would say that I should switch positions. He always practiced the “hide and sting” approach, moving to a new location after every two or three kills. Stay too long in one spot, and someone will find you. You won’t know you’ve been found until the top of your head blows off.
So I grab my rifle and move to a position slightly further down the hillside. I try to keep an eye on the yard while I move—I can’t risk Avo Kazarian being squirreled away by the OMON while I’m in transit.
While I’m moving, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket.
I’ve got it on silent of course. And it could easily be Ivan or Maks or anyone else.
But somehow, I know it’s Lara. I can feel it, as clearly as if she’s spoken my name in my ear.
Ignoring the vibration, I take my new position and set up my rifle once more.
Just in time—the OMON have succeeded in storming Avo’s house. They’re dragging him out, hands cuffed behind his back.
He’s not particularly intimidating from this position. He’s an older man, sixty years or more, with thinning hair and a deeply lined face. The most disturbing thing about him is the complete lack of expression as they pull him out of his house. He’s not yelling or swearing or threatening the officers. He’s as calm as a covered well.
I hate him. I hate him more than any person on this planet.
I hate him because he hurt the woman I love.
I have him right in my sights. No helmet or vest to protect him. I’ve already measured the distance and wind. My bullet will fly straight and true, directly into the front of his skull and out the back again.
My finger caresses the trigger.
Until my phone buzzes again. It trembles against my thigh like an insect trapped in a glass.
Like a shout echoing around.
Like Lara begging me to stop.
I don’t think she knows where I am. But I know what she’d say if she did.
The OMON are dragging Avo toward the van. In two seconds more, they’ll load him inside, safe behind the bulletproof glass. I won’t have another chance. It’s now or never.
I start to squeeze the trigger.
And then I stop.
I watch through the scope as Erdeli personally shoves Avo Kazarian in the back of the van.
Then he closes the door, locking Kazarian inside.
It’s gone. I lost my chance.
I’m alone on the hillside, watching as that murderous fuck is ferried safely away.