Ekaterina’s Story
Ekaterina Romanova glanced at the bodies of Novak’s friends. He had howled a moment ago. A grim and terrifying wail that felt louder than the gunfire. Now he was silent, hunched over an old man’s frame.
She turned to Colonel Maksim Bulatov. ‘All right. I’ll get the book for you.’
Novak raised his head and shouted, ‘No! She’s seen what you’re capable of, Bulatov! If she steps foot in that vault, she’ll just hole up and you’ll never get the Romanov Code!’
‘She can only hide for so long. She understands that. Don’t you, Miss Romanova?’
‘It’s a simple business transaction. You get what you want, Colonel, and you leave me to mop up the mess here.’
He nodded. ‘Quite so.’
Ekaterina stepped over the body of Stacey Smith, careful not to get any blood on her Miu Miu slingbacks. She unlocked, then opened the doors behind the five fallen friends to reveal a huge, metal arched door.
She said, ‘This is the shield door. Immediately beyond it is a chamber. And beyond that is the vault containing the Romanov Code. If I could ask you all to stand back . . .’
Novak didn’t move, but Bulatov and his men retreated a couple of paces.
Ekaterina placed her hands under a ledge in the door and felt the keypad. The covering meant that even if her body hadn’t been blocking their line of vision, the sequence of numbers she entered would be impossible to see from any angle in the basement.
She pressed the tenth and final number and spoke three words aloud. ‘Verification: Ekaterina Romanova.’
Click-click-click!
As the door swung towards her, she stood to one side. Looked back at Novak and the impatient Colonel Bulatov, a foolish man, she reflected, so eager for his prize to take back to the Kremlin that he was blind to the obvious truth, even after it had been spelt out to him. She would step inside the outer vault, close the door and, at that point, and in that place, she would be safe. She would wait.
She nodded. ‘I’ll be right back. You have my word.’
Novak yelled, ‘You’ll never see her again! But it doesn’t matter. You’re a dead man, Bulatov! I promise you that.’
Ekaterina gave the Colonel a pantomime grimace. ‘Awkward!’ Novak called her name and she paused. ‘Yes?’
‘Was any of it true? About the real you?’
She looked at him. Gave a sad smile. ‘The postboxes.’ She pushed her shoulders back. Businesslike again. Ekaterina Romanova walked into the vault’s outer chamber and entered another sequence of numbers into a panel to the left of the doorway.
Bulatov called across, ‘Don’t let me down!’
‘You can trust me!’
The door shut. Ekaterina was alone. She pulled out and switched on a PC built into the vault wall and confirmed all systems were running correctly. No problems.
‘This place is invulnerable!’
She switched on a monitor that was intended to relay a visual feed of what was happening on the other side of the shield door, in the basement.
On the screen, Ekaterina saw the Colonel ushering out all the men who had shot the five people moments earlier. And now, finally, she allowed herself a deep sigh of relief. She could watch and wait. Days if necessary. In the storage section of the vault, she’d placed water and tinned food in case of such an emergency.
She peered at the screen. Novak was getting to his feet. She saw him shout something to the last of the guards as the line of soldiers trudged from the room. Bizarre! He was approaching the young man. Embracing him. Ekaterina furrowed her brow. Why on earth—
She saw the move. Slick and quick. Novak slipped the soldier’s Makarov from his side holster. Slid it into the back of his trousers. He turned away and the guard hurried off to join the other men. Ekaterina wished she’d thought to have an audio feed installed, because she wanted to know what Bulatov was saying to Novak. It was clear he hadn’t seen him take the pistol, but she wanted to hear the words they were exchanging.
Novak seemed calm again. In control. The Colonel appeared flustered. He pointed at the other man and—
Ekaterina’s eyes widened.
Novak pulled the Makarov from his belt and aimed it at Bulatov’s face.
Ekaterina moved closer to the screen.
Novak said a few words to Bulatov. Pulled the trigger. It would have been near-impossible to have missed from that distance. Ekaterina saw the Colonel’s skull explode, spraying Novak with blood. The near-headless body wobbled for a ludicrous moment before toppling to the ground. Novak tossed the pistol aside, spoke a few words to the bodies of his friends, and walked from the basement.