Chapter 31

There were twelve people in the room. Within five minutes, nine of them would be unconscious and one of them would be dead.

The man at the center of the room was Nikolai Avilov. Avilov was a short, stubby man with greasy hair and eyes that were so narrow he always looked like he was squinting. Standing in front of him, shaking his hand, was Dimitri Nikitin.

“Dimitri, my old friend. What brings you all of the way to my humble abode?”

The two men stood in a small reception area in Avilov’s mansion, which was located approximately one hour north of Guadalajara, Mexico. The place was impressive, to say the least, with balconies and terraces and a huge pool with a waterfall to one side. It sat on a rise of land that looked out over the surrounding countryside, which included numerous neighborhoods and what appeared to be a large church with a broad, tiled roof.

“Pavel wanted me to check in on you. To see why you didn’t make your most recent payment. And to see why you are not following his advice and making arrangements to relocate to his compound.”

Avilov and Voronov had known one another for a long time. They had originally been soldiers in the Soviet military and later had been business partners on the arms market. The payment Dimitri had referred to was in reference to one of their most recent transactions in which Avilov had purchased numerous items (mostly cruise missiles) from Voronov.

“Tell Pavel he will get his money. Like always, he has nothing to worry about.”

“The payment was due a week ago.”

Avilov smiled. “I have had some complications recently. But reassure Pavel his check is in the mail.”

“He wants it now.”

“He will get it.”

There was a tense moment as each man stared directly into the other’s eyes. Finally, Dimitri nodded. “What shall I tell him about your relocation? He wants you in Costa Rica as soon as possible.”

Avilov chuckled. “I have no desire to relocate to Costa Rica, Dimitri.”

Dimitri’s response was immediate. “Nikolai, you must come. Pavel wants you there and it is the only place you will be safe. Once Apocalypse begins -”

Avilov rolled his eyes. “Dimitri, don’t tell me you believe this Operation Apocalypse nonsense of Pavel’s is going to work. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Surely Pavel has lost his mind.”

“I assure you, he has not. And the pieces are already beginning to fall into place. Dr. Zander has joined us at the compound and he has begun his research. It is only a matter of time before he completes it. And once he does you will not be safe here. Not for long.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Dimitri sighed. “I had hoped you would not say that, Nikolai. Pavel has given me explicit instructions. I am to bring you to Costa Rica or I am to shoot you.”

Avilov was both shocked and appalled. “Why would Pavel say that? After all we’ve been through? We were fellow soldiers back in the old days and we have been friends and business partners ever since. It’s ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.”

“You know Pavel. He sees things in black and white. Either you are with him or you are against him.”

“What about you, Dimitri? Do you think this foolhardy plan of his is really going to work? And even if it does, what will he gain? Revenge on his rivals back in Moscow? It’s asinine, Dimitri. I can see it. Surely you can, too.”

“It is not my place to question my superiors.”

Avilov smiled. “True to your nature, like always. And spoken like a true Soviet soldier. Unfortunately, the army you serve, and the one Pavel reveres so much, died countless years ago. It’s time for the two of you to give it up and move along.”

He turned to a nearby table and poured himself a shot of tequila. He offered one to Dimitri, but Dimitri, who was not fond of alcohol, declined it.

“What are you going to do if I refuse to come with you to Costa Rica?” Avilov asked.

“What I was ordered. I will shoot you in the head.”

Avilov sighed. Clearly, he did not like what he had heard. But then again, who would?

“And how are you going to do that, Dimitri? Right now, as I see it, there are twelve people in this room, nine of which are loyal to me. At the same time, there is only one person here who is loyal to you. As such, I would advise against doing anything rash. The odds are against you.”

The tenseness in the room had increased dramatically. The nine people he had referred to, who were his personal assistants and bodyguards, moved closer in anticipation of Dimitri’s response. In the meantime, however, Dimitri remained unaffected and he smiled briefly at the young woman who was standing at his side. Her name was Olivia Livingston. She was a freelance agent so Dimitri didn’t know too much about her, but even so he had enormous faith in her abilities. Over the past few months, she had completed numerous assignments for him, some quite challenging, and she had done an excellent job each time.

“What do you think, Ms. Livingston?” he asked. “Are the odds against us?”

“Not at all,” she replied.

It was over before it began. As fast as lightning, Dimitri turned on the guards who were nearest him. He took the first down with a punch to the throat, then took two more down by grabbing them by the hair and smashing their foreheads together. Two more put up a bit of a fight and one even pulled a knife and slashed it at Dimitri, but a second after the knife was revealed it was knocked to the side and its wielder was lying face down on the floor at Dimitri’s feet.

In the meantime, Olivia dispatched the remaining four guards and she did it nearly as fast and nearly as easily as Dimitri had done. A kick to the chest took down the first, a knee to the stomach took down the second, and a punch to the face took down the third. The only one who put up any semblance of a fight was the fourth. He charged straight at Olivia but received nothing good for his efforts. She grabbed him by an arm, dropped straight backward onto the floor behind her, and launched him across the room. He bounced off of the far wall and fell flat onto his stomach. He was clearly winded by the fall but he tried to climb back to his feet anyway. His effort was futile. Olivia, who had jumped back to her feet the minute she had thrown him, darted straight past him, ran up the nearest wall, then went across the ceiling directly above him. She only made it a step or two before gravity caught up to her and pulled her down but she had timed her move perfectly. She came down feet first right on top of him. He was knocked unconscious immediately upon impact.

Seeing the battle was over, Dimitri turned to Avilov.

“I regret doing this, Nikolai, but you give me no choice.”

He pulled his pistol from his jacket, aimed it at Avilov’s forehead, and squeezed the trigger.