Moscow Gold (SOKOLOV Book 5) by Ian Kharitonov

Author:Ian Kharitonov [Kharitonov, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781647342692
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Published: 2021-02-02T16:00:00+00:00

21

Black soot covered the wall above the broken third-floor window of the office building. The firemen had extinguished the flames, and now the area at the corner Fairfax Drive and Vermont Street was cordoned off with police tape as investigators got down to work.

A small crowd of gawkers surrounded the site, aiming phone cameras, posting photos and video clips to social media, snapping selfies against the backdrop of cop cars with flashing emergency lights. The crews of local TV stations would arrive soon.

Details were scarce, but scrolling through the news feed, Sokolov found confirmation that one man was dead as a result of the fire.

From a distance, he and Constantine observed as the body remains were removed from the scene inside a zipped bag and taken to the medical examiner’s office.

“What a gruesome way to die,” Constantine said. “How? How could it happen?”

“My best guess is that they used a thermobaric round. It combines heat and pressure for maximum damage in enclosed spaces, equivalent to five kilos of TNT. Perfect for urban warfare. The fuel it contains is also highly toxic, making it a kind of chemical weapon against anyone who survives the blast wave and the fire. Hilton had no chance,” Sokolov said soberly.

He was raging inside. The blackened façade evoked memories of Beslan and the shelling of the Russian parliament. A pang of guilt tugged at him for doubting Hilton, for being late but he reined in his emotions, knowing that there was no way he could have saved Stephen Hilton III from his horrible death.

He channeled his rage at the killers and their chosen method of murder.

It was a message from hell, sent to him. Signed, sealed, and delivered.

A reminder of the bomb which had blasted the Vympel team.

If Sokolov could blame himself for anything, it was underestimating the enemy. He’d believed he had outsmarted them, fighting terror with terror. Today, he’d received a painful lesson from the real masters of the craft.

“Bringing death and destruction is the only thing that Russia is any good at,” Constantine noted.

“No one is beyond the reach of Mother Russia. And now she’s holding Paulina in a crushing embrace.”

“Stephen and Daniil are dead. Paulina’s gone. So are the documents, consumed by the fire. Where do we go from here? It’s all finished.”

“The hell it is.”

From his pocket, Sokolov produced a flash drive.

“What’s this?” Constantine asked.

“A copy of Paulina’s files. Netto backed up her flash drive for me.”

“Brilliant. What are we going to do with it, though?”

Sokolov held it between his fingers. “It’s the key. Whoever ordered the hit was desperate to destroy it. Someone who feared exposure. I’m sure that these files uncover the traitor’s identity. A high-placed U.S. asset bought by the Kremlin. Out of a handful of people who knew about the safe house and the HRF, there can’t be many who hold positions of power.”

“Only two men fit the profile. Jeff Monteith of the CIA and Senator William Brathwaite.”

“One of them directed the killers.”

“Or both.”

Sokolov nodded. “We can’t rule it out.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.