The Soviet Comeback Jamie Smith (ebook reader online free txt) 📖

interest in reading my suggestions for how to avoid being shot there. Of course, there was every chance I was wrong, and even more chance he would not go along with it, but I thank you for being so predictable.”

“Then why chase me?”

“Some of us still follow orders; some of us have not become traitors.”

Brishnov spat. “You would lecture me on Soviet loyalty?” He jumped, shaking the arm of the crane as he landed, causing Sarah to slip further. “We were great, and the likes of you and that fat oaf Petrenko are destroying sixty years of Soviet dominance. I only ever served my country faithfully,” he said, his face falling into sorrow before hardening once more and looking at Nikita with eyes full of hate. “What is more important to you, I wonder? Your kill order on me, or saving this Asian mongrel?” He shrugged and without blinking, swung his boot and kicked Sarah hard in the side. She whimpered but clung on as tightly as she could. Nikita fired another shot, but he felt dizzy from the height and it clipped off the crane behind Brishnov. He began sidling along as hastily as possible, trying to shift his leaden legs and block out the swaying of the crane and the rushing of water below. The noise of it felt like it was inside his head. Brishnov kicked her again and this time she screamed and slipped off.

She was hanging by one arm now and Nikita’s heart was pounding in his chest as Brishnov scampered lightly along the frame towards the crane’s cabin.

Nikita looked at him longingly, caught between two imperatives. The mission. His training. His nemesis. Or Sarah.

He reached the edge of the crane as Sarah’s screams became a wail, her strength beginning to fail. She was trying to reach with her other hand to even the burden on her arms but couldn’t lift herself enough to get a purchase.

Suddenly they were all distracted by the sound of a muted explosion in the distance, and despite his training to never look away from his target, Nikita couldn’t help but gaze into the distance as a plume of black smoke rose into the air, obscuring the Capitol Building. Or possibly what had once been the Capitol Building.

Brishnov was smiling. “Look how the American empire crumbles! I could not have done it without you, comrade,” he said, laughing openly. “The vice president was an order I was happy to carry out, but there is so much more happening than you know.”

Nikita’s vision swirled as he made the mistake of looking down at the gap between the two crane arms, and he nearly blacked out. His fingernails were drawing blood, so tightly were his broad hands fixed around the boxed end of the crane.

“Jake! Please help me!” cried Sarah as she looked with horror at him frozen in place, snapping his attention back to her. “If you let me die, I’ll kill you,” she said, coming back to herself for one brief moment, which brought him back to himself. Her eyes screwed up in pain. “I can’t hold on any longer.” She wept. “Please Jake, jump. Jump. JUMP!” she shouted as he roared and flung himself forward. But the impact of his landing shook the frame violently and with a scream Sarah lost her grip and fell.

Nikita’s hand caught nothing more than her fingers which immediately began to slide through his grip. He flattened his body against the crane and swung his other arm down, flailing blindly with his face buried in the lattice metalwork of the crane, only able to see patches of Sarah’s body. He felt his hand close on her wrist and with a sigh of relief began to pull her up.

As he felt her take some of her own weight, he pushed himself up. Sitting now, he hooked a hand under her armpit and helped pull her up.

They both lay panting on the arm of the crane, both holding on tight.

“Thank you for saving my life,” Sarah spluttered, pushing herself up while clinging on grimly to the crane. “But who the hell are you?” she asked, colour returning to her face and anger flitting across it.

At that moment the world seemed to grind into slow motion for Nikita as he heard the crack of the gun shot. Sarah’s face froze into a look of shock as blood immediately began to spread from her left breast. Her eyes closed, and she fell backwards onto the crane.

Nikita’s head snapped up and he saw Brishnov hanging from the doorway of the cabin, one arm and leg holding him in place while his right arm was extended from the fatal shot he had just aimed at Sarah.

Nikita cupped her face in his hands. “Sarah!” he cried.

Her eyes opened in terror. “Jake, please,” she gasped. “I’m afraid to die; please don’t let me die,” she sobbed, her slim body trembling. “Don’t let me die!”

Nikita didn’t need to check the wound to know that it was fatal and he felt a cold pain clutch his heart. “Sarah, I’m so sorry; this is all my fault,” he said, choking on the words and working to keep hold of his American accent, living a lie right to the end.

She shook her head and with great effort put a hand gently to his cheek. “You have a good heart; I’ve seen it,” she said. They were the last words Sarah Chang ever said to him. The spark suddenly faded from her eyes and her hand fell down, as with a sigh the air left her lungs.

Nikita roared with agony as the pain split him down the middle, and with no longer any care for himself or his fears, leapt to his feet and began to charge towards the cabin. Brishnov swung back inside it and Nikita could see him manning the controls. The whole contraption