Chapter 8 #2
"You're going to have to fill in more blanks because that name doesn't ring a bell." Taylor tried to keep the bite out of her voice. Kam blew out a slow breath.
"She's a Rusalka." Taylor sucked in a sharp breath. "Spartak would use her services when they needed to keep themselves off of FSB radar."
"So you're telling me that Katarina Sidorov is Rusalka, the freelance mercenary who will kill, steal, kidnap, or destroy just about anything for a price?"
"You know the story of Black Widow?"
"The orphan girl who was trained to be a spy from a young age?"
Kam nodded. "Sidorov has a similar story."
How was this still a thing? Taylor shook her head. "How do you know this?"
Kam sighed. "When I saw her leaving the Volkov estate one day, I followed her. She's an instructor now at the same school she went to. I saw her graduation class picture hanging on the wall before the principal threatened to sever my head and ship it back home to my family."
"Sounds like a lovely woman. I thought these practices were things of the Cold War era."
"There is a lot of money and power in that line of work. The government might not directly run it anymore, but they still exist," Kam said darkly.
Katarina parked at Delaney Park close to the veterans' memorial. Kam drove a bit further and parked near the Old 556 Engine.
"Would like you to go for a walk?" Kam asked as he got out of the truck. The question seemed so normal given everything she just learned about who exactly they were chasing.
Even here in the city, Taylor could feel the bite of fall trying to push away the warmth of summer. She glanced at the phone one last time before handing it back to Kam.
"It looks like the Russians want to meet with our friend too."
Kam wove his fingers in hers. "I had a feeling this would happen. When they lost the drive, the FSB would do just about anything to get it back. Even make a deal with a rusalka."
"Wait." Taylor pulled them to a stop. “The woman I fought was FSB?"
Kam nodded. "I finally remembered where I'd seen her before. She had tried to take out one of Spartak's gulags. Unfortunately for her, Ian learned of their raid and moved everything. I was left behind to make sure that they didn't find anything."
Taylor's heart panged. The things he had seen or been forced to do the last three years sent a chill down her spine. How she wished she tried harder to find him.
Kam nudged her shoulder. "There was no way you would have found me. In fact, it was only God's doing that brought us together right now."
Taylor's heart jumped at that. "How do you know?"
The crunching of gravel under their feet and sound of children playing on the playground filled the silence between them.
"Every day I prayed that God would keep you safe and if He saw fit, to give me a second chance to be with you.
" Kam huffed. "I know it seems trivial given the end of the world, evil doing terrible things, and innocents falling victim to them types of stuff I got a front row seat to watch and try to stop, but knowing that one day I might see the light that shines so bright within you kept me from losing it.
God gave me you before this all happened because He knew that I wouldn't survive the darkness without the memory of your light to keep me going. "
Kam's confession hung on her like a weighed blanket. Heavy, yet oddly comforting. It made all those doubt filled nights worth it.
Kam slowed them down. "FSB incoming."
Taylor scanned the grassy area in front of them. This part of the park was a large open space where they held carnivals and other events during the summer. Right now a few kids played some soccer on the far end, blissfully unaware of the events unfolding just feet away from them.
Taylor watched as the two foreign agents made quick, smooth movements toward the bench that Sidorov sat facing away from them.
"We need to get closer." Taylor sped up and Kam fell into step beside her.
They entered the crosswalk beside the memorial when two black SUVs stopped in front of them. Hollands emerged from the first one with a stormy expression on his face.
"Taylor Ertz, you are under arrest for acts of espionage on American soil, stealing state secrets, and the murder of Wyatt Nixon."
Taylor looked over to the clandestine meeting spot only to see Sidorov gone and the two FSB agents with smirks on their faces.
"What?" Kam roared and stepped in front of her. "Don't. Touch. Her."
Taylor put her hand on Kam's shoulder. "It's okay, Kam." She held his gaze. "Don't stop looking."
One of the other agents grabbed Kam, knocking him to the ground. "You are also are under arrest for aiding and abetting a felon and obstruction of justice."
Kam's shoulders tightened, but he didn't fight back when they put him in handcuffs. She felt another agent pull her arms behind her back. How were they going to get out of this? God, we could use you right now.
"Are the cuffs really necessary?" She stared down Hollands.
Hollands waved off the agent then stepped toward her. "Run, and we won't be able to help you."
Hope and fear swirled inside of her chest. Every nerve ending in her wanted to run. Wanted to take her chances in clearing her own name, but one look at Kam whose cuffs they refused to remove and she knew she didn't have a choice.
The agent behind her shoved her forward and Kam rushed toward her. Before words could emerge from him, Taylor felt herself flying backwards as the sonic boom shook her whole body. The heat whooshed past her a moment before someone landed on her.
Taylor blinked her eyes trying to get the world to come back in focus. She pushed the weight off of her only to have lifeless eyes stare at her. One of Hollands' men had shielded her from most of the force and debris. She tried to sit up but the world tilted as she fell back down.
Through half opened eyes she saw Sidorov dragging an unconscienced Kam away. "No," she croaked. She had to stop her. If Sidorov took Kam back to Russia, she'd lose him for real this time.
Her limbs betrayed her, trembling uselessly as she struggled to rise. It was of no use, her strength was gone. As her eyes fluttered shut, she caught a final glimpse of Sidorov shoving Kam into the back of the other SUV.
Darkness engulfed her, and she felt herself lifted, weightless, as if untethered from the earth. Was this what dying felt like? Peace filled her at the thought of meeting Jesus. She stopped resisting and allowed herself to slip away.