Chapter 90

Marek took two weeks to nail down what exactly we wanted to do. He also didn’t want to tip off anyone, so the meeting with Santiago was set to be the week after. The fake meeting was put into his calendar. We were supposed to meet Kamilia and Damir across the city for lunch. That was the cover. It made sense to use the tunnel with the place we were going.

Juri wasn’t happy about the plan. He wanted to bolster up. Have us take a caravan of bratva soldiers. Take them out with the combined power. They attacked the Baranov Bratva and they should feel the full force of it. An entire week was dedicated to Marek trying to talk Juri into our plan.

Plus, as much as they attacked the bratva, it really wasn’t about them. Not really. So, begrudgingly, Juri only provided us with one of the most tricked out SUV I’d ever seen. That included the vehicles my father drove around. His paranoia meant that safety while driving was his highest priority. Juri beat him by a mile.

Mostly because it wasn’t just built to be secure and take on fire. It was built to be a weapon all on its own. As Rick, one of Juri’s right-hand men, showed us the ins and outs, I could only watch stunned. The car itself had to be a thousand pounds worth of guns alone. Then maybe another two thousand in armor hidden every where.

Right now, I had a bulletproof vest on with some leg armor having knives tucked into the front pockets of them. Everything else was pretty normal. Though I swapped my Converse for some black combat boots. They ran up my calves over my jeans. I was also wearing a black hoodie under my vest. Marek had removed his usual jacket but his button-up was obscured by the bullet proof vest. Same as Lec, who was currently in the drivers seat, and Keenan next to him.

What normally had two way traffic was now completely empty. We sat parked in the middle of road, staring down the group of mercenaries. Ahead of us, three trucks had blocked off the exit to Lincoln tunnel. Behind us there were two more trucks. The ones in front of us had lined the full side of their cars up, men poised with guns aiming at our SUV. Behind us the two other trucks had their doors open, guns out of every window and moonroof.

It worked. Our plan worked and I unbuckled my seatbelt, moving to the back and pulled up the seat to reveal the first of many stashes of guns. Handing them out, I strapped two pistols, looped an AK15 around my chest and tucked in a few smoke bombs for fun.

“What are the chances they have a rocket launcher?” Lec asked, chuckling as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Unlikely. They would have just used that on the car rather than blowing the tires and trying to flip it the old fashioned way.” Marek added, unbuckling as well.

I chuckled, passing Keenan an AK before passing a pistols to both him and Lec.

“The question is, do we have a rocket launcher?” Keenan asked, looking around the back. “Didn’t Vor say he pulled out the big guns?”

Marek ginned like a school-boy. “He did.”

Leaning over, Marek grabbed a hook on the floor and the panel lifted up to reveal a perfectly build compartment for the huge gun. I’d seen it when we were doing the walkthrough but there hadn’t been a gun in it at the time.

“I’m sorry, is that…is that an M99 sniper rifle? Just…laying in the floor?” I looked up at Marek who chuckled.

“It’s not my favorite but it will do in a pinch.” Reaching down, he pulled out the gun and the extra case of bullets. “It’s a single shot but I can get it reloaded pretty quickly. Just know there is still a few seconds that I need to reload.”

I shook my head as I pulled up the extra armor over the side windows. “So, what’s the plan?”

Marek opened his mouth but we were interrupted but the screeching sound of a megaphone. We all moved to look out the front windshield. One of there mercenaries had stepped up into the bed of the truck and was holding a megaphone to his mouth.

“Look, all we want is the girl. No one else has to die. No one else should die. We just need the girl and you guys can go on about your business as usual.”

My eyebrow rose. “Even after we killed one of theirs?”

Lec snorted. “They have to know you’re Marek’s wife. I mean, that’s the whole reason why Anastasia would have had you killed. Did they think we would just hand over someone that close to us? What are they? Idiots?”

I shrugged. “I mean, the last one was. It would be safe to assume they all are. They walk the thin line but they haven’t dipping into our world. They don’t understand.”

Just as I finished, two shots hit the back window. It was blacked out and the shots made the glass spider but didn’t break. I knew the whole car was covered in bullet proof glass but it didn’t stop me from ducking for a second. After the two shots, it went quiet again but you could almost still hear the echoing down the tunnel.

The fact that they pulled off closing one section of the tunnel meant I had been right in my original assessment. That not only had an in at the police but also the manpower to be able to shut it down. These guys, for all their stupidity, were professionals. Not to our standards, but still professionals.

“So…the plan?” Keenan turned around in his seat to look at Marek and I. “Guns blazing? Kill everyone?”

“Ria and I will take the front trucks.” Marek was putting together the last bits of the M99 as took over the middle of the SUV. “Keenan and Lec, I want you on the back two trucks. Don’t even bother trying to keep everyone alive. It’s not worth it. Lec, before you head back, can you unlatch the top of the windshield?”

“Sure thing, pakkun.”

Lec leaned up and undid a latch at the top of the window. He leaned over the barrel of the gun and latched the other one. It was getting held now but suction but if pushed the windshield would fall onto the hood and out of the way of Marek’s gun.

When the doors opened, there was a latch that slammed a piece of armor down to the ground from inside the door. It ensured that no one would be able to shoot at our feet. Once Keenan and Lec got out, they would open the back doors, which actually opened the opposite way of the front doors. With the armor coming down on those, it created a wider and more secure space between them. As demonstrated by Rick.

Keenan finished setting up a table that took up the space between the two front seats, allowing a platform for Marek to rest the sniper on.

“I kind of would have liked to have one of those rocket launchers.”

I shook my head a Keenan. “We would have taken the tunnel down with us.”

He groaned. “Mrs. Baranov, why must you make sense?”

Chuckling, I double checked every safety on the guns I had attached to me. Marek leaned over and pulled me by my vest. His lips were warm but he kissed me with a ferocity that I nearly let my legs turn jelly.

“Ty so mnoy, zhena?” [Are you with me, wife?]

I nodded. "Vsegda, muzh. YA tebya lyublyu.” [Always, husband. I love you.]

“YA tebya lyublyu.” Marek looked at each of us and nodded. “On the count of three, we all go. Remember, Keenan and Lec you’re headed to the back. Cover each other. Pull out the extra armor over the wheels and get down. Take out as many as you can before you storm the trucks.”

Marek brushed my cheek. “Once you’re out the side, try to take as many as you can before I take a shot. The moment I take it, they will all duck down. That will be your moment to move. Keep down and let me get a few shots off. Then head to the right side. You’ll have a better angle if you can get to the back of that truck and start taking them out from behind their own line.”

I nodded and the guys replied back ‘yes sir’. We took stock of each other and I quickly pulled my hair up into a high ponytail. Marek flicked the safety off his gun, settling himself into position.

“Remember, these assholes are the ones who killed Aleksei. They were the ones who blew up the car. That flipped it in the first place. Don’t leave a single one alive.”

Marek’s words resounded in me and I felt the red start to fill my vision. This was the revenge we wanted. They’d come out to us, wrapped in a neat, no-cop zone. Juri was still on standby for cleanup but this was on us. We’d make Aleksei proud. Though I don’t think any of us would celebrate after with a bunch of woman but he’d have to suck it up.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the AK in my hands, ready to move.

“Odin…dva…try!” Marek shouted and suddenly the only thing you could hear with glass shattering and shots firing.