Stalin's Hammer: Paris: A Novel of the Axis of Time by John Birmingham

Author:John Birmingham [Birmingham, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Gigantic Weapons Corporation
Published: 2016-10-05T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Julia spat out the tip of Oleg’s finger. The man pulled his hand away quickly, grunting and snarling, but not crying out like a normal man would have. The runnels of dark blood pulsed out of the ragged stump dripped to the floor. His expression was murderous, but controlled. He looked to Skarov, not Julia.

The Russian seemed amused, but when he spoke his voice was cold.

“I will talk to Professor Bremmer about this missile shield he is to build for you. If you are lying, we will come back and Oleg will take all of the fingers on Miss Duffy’s right hand. If you are telling the truth, just this finger…”

He held up his middle finger, as though flipping the bird. It was the same as the digit Julia had just spat out onto the filthy deck. Her cheeks were smeared with Oleg’s blood. Her eyes were filled with dull fire.

“Get a bandage and some pliers,” Skarov ordered his men. “Clean yourself up,” he told Oleg. “You were foolish to let the woman do that. I will take her finger as punishment for the insult done to me, not to you. Idiot.”

His henchman looked sickly at that, much worse than he had when Julia had bitten off the top of his finger. He muttered something that sounded like an apology, and shuffled towards the door with his chin on his chest, and his wounded hand closed in a fist. It looked as though he was squeezing blood from himself.

“So that went well,” Harry said, as the hatch clanged shut behind them.

“I was improvising,” said Julia. Her voice was thin.

“Well, you may have just improvised yourself into a handicapped parking sticker. What the hell were you thinking, Duff? This ugly Russian fuck does not look the type to make empty threats.”

She spat. Twice. Getting the last of Oleg out of her mouth.

“He has to release my wrists to cut off my finger. That’s our only chance, when my hands get free. I’m going to stick my thumb in his eye, and you’re going to kick out his legs. I take his eye, then the pliers or whatever they use to cut my ties and I stick it in Skarov’s neck. Sound like a plan?”

“It sounds like you’re still improvising.”

“That’s because I am.”

The Russians were not long in returning, maybe ten minutes or so. Skarov was not with them. Oleg led the way into the cabin, his face looking flushed, a fresh bandage wrapped around his finger. Harry thought he could smell some sort of crude liquor on the man’s breath, but could not identify it.

He took a blade from his pocket and leaned forward to hack away at Julia’s restraints. His partner stayed by the door, just outside, mostly watching Harry, but flicking his eyes onto Duffy every now and then. He seemed agitated. They both did.

Julia’s game plan played out remarkably quickly, and remarkably poorly. As soon as the knife cut through her plastic ties she shrieked out a fierce kiai and raked at Oleg’s face with her claws.

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.