Chapter 34
What they were doing was insane, and yet Maks knew they didn’t really have a choice.
Eden was right. They couldn’t have stayed in that house for very long before the Saints arrived and killed them.
At least with this plan, they stood a chance.
It wasn’t much of one, but it was better than the other options.
That was his thought before they left the safety of the guest house. Once they were outside, he wasn’t so sure he’d made the right decision. But the look on Eden’s face said she wasn’t going back—only forward.
The night helped to shield them from prying eyes.
Yet, there were more people out than he liked.
And he knew most of them were probably Saints.
While he and Eden zigzagged their way through the streets and houses, he saw several policemen in uniforms. His trained eyes spotted even more in plain clothes.
However, there were still others like Eden and him, who were just trying to make it through another day.
Maks took her hand and led her toward the river that split the city.
There was a direct route, but he took his time picking out which direction they would go to avoid running into anyone.
It wasn’t just because he didn’t want the Saints to catch him, he was also doing his best to keep them away from anyone who might be infected.
The likelihood that the virus was airborne was high, so it wouldn’t matter about keeping their distance, but he was still being cautious.
They kept low, running from one spot to another and avoiding the lights from the lamps above. The shadows were many, and he used them to their advantage.
Maks glanced to make sure no one was coming.
He squeezed Eden’s hand to let her know they were about to make a run for it to the next shadow cluster.
Just as he was taking the first step out, he heard a voice near him.
His arms quickly reached out and grabbed Eden, yanking her against his chest as he held her still and melded them both into the shadows.
Two men, one in a policeman’s uniform, strolled past, sharing a cigarette. Neither he nor Eden moved until the men were long gone. Maks lowered his arms and retook her hand. Then they were off. The rest of their trek to the river happened without incident.
“Now what?” Eden asked when they arrived.
They were hunkered down behind some cars, looking at the river. Maks rose up enough to peer over the hood of the car to see the boats tied up. Some were houseboats where he saw lights within and people moving about. Others were smaller vessels that looked empty, bobbing softly in the water.
“Stay here,” he told her. “I’m going to find us a boat.”
She nodded, determination in her gaze.
He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before he made his way down to the water.
There was little movement on the docks. That didn’t mean there weren’t people in the buildings nearby looking down at him, though.
He went to the first small boat that looked like it had seen its fair share of years.
Despite the age, it had been well maintained.
Maks slipped aboard and took a quick look around.
He didn’t find any keys, but then he hadn’t expected to.
Maks then motioned with his hands for Eden to join him.
She followed his path exactly, keeping low and remaining in the shadows.
Once she was on board, he untied the boat and pushed away from the dock to drift out into the river.
He went to the helm, turning the wheel to point the bow in the direction he was headed, which just happened to be downriver.
“Stay low,” he told her.
Eden sat on the floor of the boat. Her eyes blinked up at him.
She was scared, but she was strong. He knew finding her had been a godsend.
Without her skills, he wouldn’t have the information on the Saints and who was running it.
They were a long way from taking the organization down, but they were headed in the right direction.
Maks let the vessel drift farther from the city.
No one shouted anything about seeing a boat, so he hoped that meant that no one had noticed them.
It was why he hadn’t started the engine.
He didn’t want the noise. Luckily, the direction he was headed was downriver.
The current was taking them there. All he needed to do was steer the boat to keep it from going ashore.
Everything was going fine until he hit some rough currents that wanted to yank the vessel straight into shore.
They were getting to the outskirts of Oradea, but weren’t far enough away yet for him to start the engine.
He fought the current as long as he could before he had no choice but to hotwire the engine to keep them from crashing. The moment the motor roared to life, he throttled the boat on low and maneuvered them safely into the center of the river.
A few minutes later, he passed a boat going toward the city. He saw a family of five—three young children huddled with their mother as the father steered—clearly fearful and nervously looking his way. Maks gave them a nod and kept going. That was just the first of many vehicles on the water.
He glanced at Eden. “Lots more people out here than I thought.”
“They’re trying to get away. The river seems like a good idea.”
Maks shrugged. “I’m not sure there is anywhere they can go that’s safe. But the river at least allows you to see people coming. As long as you’re moving. It’s when you stop that you have to worry.”
“And they’ll need to stop for provisions eventually.”
“Yep. We would’ve been better off up on that mountain in the cave.”
“Don’t tease me,” she said with a laugh. “You know I’m fond of that place.”
He chuckled and looked at her. “It’s just getting there and getting back that’s the problem.”
“Cold weather and I don’t mix.”
“You’ve lived in Vienna for how long?”
“Three years.”
He shook his head. “And you never got used to the cold?”
“No, you can’t use Vienna like that. The weather gets chilly, yes, but I was able to get warm quickly. That’s vastly different from being up on a mountain in ten feet of snow.”
“It wasn’t ten feet,” he said, unable to hold back his smile.
She nodded. “You’re right. It was twenty.”
At this, he laughed, holding in the sound so it didn’t carry on the water. “It was more like three feet.”
“Perception is reality, and my reality was that it was twenty feet,” she said, a smile on her face. Then she sobered. “Where are we going?”
He drew in a breath and looked forward. “There’s an old Nazi bunker about five miles downriver.”
“A what?” she asked in shock.
“Someone unearthed it a few years back. They’re being found all over Europe. Most don’t even make headlines now. This one didn’t.”
“Then how did you find out about it?”
He paused for a moment. “I overheard some people talking about it.”
“You mean those in the FSB? Or the Saints?”
“I believe they were Saints.”
“Do you know if the Saints will be there for sure?”
Maks shrugged as he glanced at her. “I assume they will be. They were there the last time I visited the bunker.”
“You’ve been there before?” she asked as she shifted to get more comfortable.
“Several times. I was curious about it. They’ve not excavated all of it. I found another way in and explored different parts of it.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Two months. I doubt they got the section I was in. I stashed supplies in the bunker as well as outside of it. I also took the opportunity and made some upgrades.”
She made a sound in the back of her throat. “Are you telling me you actually knew you’d be coming here?”
“I always prepare. I’ve got stashes like this all over the world. Especially in places I know I can get to easily. The bunker sounded like a great place for me to lay low if I ever needed it.”
“Then why didn’t we come here first?”
“Because I suspected there would be Saints there. I wanted us to slip into Oradea quietly and unnoticed. We couldn’t have done that in the bunker.”
Eden shoved her hair out of her face. “I’m not sure I see how going there now is any different than going there when we first arrived. If any Saints are there, then we’ll have to fight them. Right?”
“If we had chosen that as our base when we got here, then I would’ve had to clear out everyone so they didn’t discover us when you were on the internet.”
“Good point. Except I’m going to be on the internet again.”
He steered farther away from an oncoming vessel. “We don’t need a whole lot of time now. It’s just getting it out to the world.”
“Which may take some time. Not as long as it took to gather all the intel, though.”
“The bunker will allow me to hold the Saints off for several hours. Maybe even a day if we get to the right spot.”
Eden looked up at the night sky. “That will work. I don’t see me needing anything longer than a handful of hours.”
“You need to accept there will be opposition. The Saints will do everything they can to stop you.”
“I’ve been thinking of that. Callie can help.”
“And she’ll be more than happy to do it. What are you thinking?”
Eden smiled as she turned her head to him. “I’m thinking that she hacks into all the news outlets around the world that she can, and we distribute what we have.”
Maks jerked his head to her. “That’s a bold move. If it can be done, it’ll accomplish exactly what we want.”
“A lot of it will be on Callie’s shoulders. Even if we can only get to a couple of countries, once it’s out there, it’s out there.”
“The Saints will move quickly to have it removed.”
Eden laughed softly. “Do you have any idea how many conspiracy theorists are out there?”
“Obviously more than I realize.”
“They look for shit like this. If they get a hold of it, and we’ll make sure they do, then they’ll help us spread it.”
Maks nodded as he began to smile. “Get it out to as many as possible globally. The Saints will try to take it down, and they’ll succeed. But then the conspiracy theorists will keep it alive because it’ll look suspicious. That’s rather brilliant.”
“I have my moments,” she said with a little shrug.
“I wouldn’t have thought of that. I definitely tip my hat to you.”
“We make a good team,” she said and reached over to touch his leg.
He lowered his hand and let his fingers brush her hair. “We’re getting close.”
They went silent then. He throttled down the motor until it was barely running.
When they got as close as he dared, he turned the boat toward shore.
Maks motioned for Eden to take the wheel while he went to the front of the boat and grabbed the line.
When they got close enough, he readied himself and jumped onto land, pulling the boat with the rope as he did.
Eden turned off the engine as Maks tied the vessel to a tall tree to keep it there just in case they needed a getaway vehicle.
He held out his hands as Eden tossed him first his pack, then hers.
Maks set them on the ground beside him and reached for her.
Eden leapt from the boat, landing against him so he could steady her.
“We’ll hike the rest of the way,” he said in a whisper as they put on their packs. “It’s about two klicks. Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she said with a wink.
His smile died as he faced away from her. He had no idea what awaited them at the bunker. All he could do was hope that he hadn’t led them into a worse situation.