Free Out Of The Night by Geri Foster Page A

and let Archuletta leave a free man.
    “Let me go up there and bring him down for a little talk.” Petr chuckled. “I can make the pig squeal.”
    “No, I think we will wait and see what the idiot does. I want this building watched.” Viktor straightened the fur ushanka on his head. “Put a tail on Gurov. If he so much as takes a shit, I want to know what it smells like.”
    “That won’t be a problem.” Petr shrugged his coat tighter around his shoulder s. “Where do you think Archuletta is?”
    Hands in his pocket, Viktor kicked the concrete sidewalk with the toe of his shoe. “Hell if I know. The police have not come up with a thing I can use.” Defeat gnawed at his gut , and his eyes burned like hot coals. “He could be safely in America for all we know.” After years of trying to capture the Falcon agent, his escape from the most notorious prison in the world shredded Viktor’s dignity.
    Petr’s phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. After a short conversation , he looked at Viktor.
    “What?”
    “There were two policemen found with minor wounds outside of Proletarsky. They claim the couple who did it matched the description we sent out, except the woman has blonde hair.”
    Viktor’s heart pumped loudly. “A wig.” He looked up at the apartment again. “Proletarsky? What the fuck would they be doing there?”
    “I don’t know, but I’m notifying the police to be on the look-out.”
    “Yes, you do that. In the meantime, I think I’ll have another conversation with Ivan Gromyko.”
    “You think he knows something he didn’t mention earlier?”
    “I think he’s a greedy bastard who would sell his own daughter if the price was right.”
    “Okay, let’s head back to Lubyanka. But what should we do about the policeman’s report?”
    “We’ll get to that.” Viktor folded his large frame into the car and they drove away.
    Once they neared Red Square , he turned to Petr. “Before we check out the lead in Proletarsky, I want to speak with Dr. Wargo. I need to know if he’s improved the serum.” A chill made Viktor shiver, so he turned on the heater. “There is no need for us to chase Archuletta all over the country if we don’t have the goddamn formula we need.”
    “ Da. But I also think that doctor is more of a mad scientist than a man of medicine. It’s his fault all this happened.”
    “I agree. The doctor was over zealous and gave our guinea pig too large a dose. But we can’t blame him , not if we plan to use him and his truth serum again.”
     
    Proletarsky
    Tony woke on a comfortable bed without the usual headache and bitter taste in his mouth. He opened his eyes and looked around.
    Mac sat in a chair next to the bed. “You feeling any better ?”
    With a grunt, he lifted his shoulders to rest against the headboard. He decided to wait a few minutes before trying to sit up completely. Whatever medicine the doctor gave him last night remained in his body. The dizziness didn’t bother him, but his mouth tasted dry as a stone. “Anything to drink?”
    “Yeah.” Mac stood and walked into the kitchen only to return with an opened bottle of water. “I guessed you’d be thirsty.” He nodded toward a sleeping Abby lying next to him. “She’s going to feel the same way.”
    Relief flowed over Tony’s body. For a second he’d forgotten his location, and that Abby was still with him. “She and I had a thing going at one time, didn’t we?”
    “Few years back.” Mac shifted nervously. “I didn’t know much until you ended it. You went through hell.”
    “Any idea why we called it quits?”
    Mac shrugged then sat in the chair he’d vacated earlier. “You mentioned something about a career collision.”
    If he was everything they claimed, then his line of work could easily send a woman packing. He gazed into her peaceful face. Sorrow filled his chest when he took in her beauty. Something inside him hurt, yet he had no idea why.
    “I guess it was for the best.”