“You may find this hard to believe, but I am sorry.” Martin’s standing over me as I come around. He grabs my chin and forces open one of my eyes. “C’mon Nash, you and I both know the tranquilizer wore off five minutes ago.”

“I’ll wait for Popov.”

“Really, no why Martin why, or at least maybe a Martin how could you?”

“I know why.”

“You do, do you?”

“Because you’re weak.”

“I’m weak? Fuck you. I didn’t want this, I didn’t want any of it.”

“But here we are, Martin. I’m tied to this chair like a mark and you put me here, old friend.” I don’t really give a flying fuck what he has to say, but I’m trying to keep him talking and stall until I can get my bearings and hopefully find a way out. It looks like we’re in some old garage or barn and I can smell the salt air of the ocean nearby.

“He got me early on, just after the academy. An old friend, with some shady connections reached out asking me to step in on a petty misdemeanor. I was so busy trying to show off as the big bad FBI man.” Martin can’t help but tell me his story. “I made a call without even looking into it. I didn’t know it was for Popov, hell I’d never even heard of him, until he showed up one day asking for information. It was just a little to begin with and he paid so well for so little, but it didn’t last. Every time he came the ask got bigger, until I found myself...” Martin stops talking and runs a hand nervously through his hair.

“It was you in the safe house that night.” Clarity abruptly hits me, and anger burns like flames in my chest. He tried to kill Zoe and I.

“By then it was too late - he owned me. But then he left the country and I figured I was free. Even after everything I’d done I was getting another chance, a fresh start...” He stops talking again.

“Until Popov resurfaced.” I finish for him.

“Last week.” His answer is barely audible. “I came home, and he was sitting at my kitchen table, smoking a cigarette. That was when I knew.”

“Knew what?” I prompt him to continue.

“That it’s over for me. I’ll never be free, unless I see this through to the end.” His bleak expression is encouraging, and I think I hear some remorse in his voice.

“Martin listen to me, it’s not too late. Untie me and we’ll take Popov together, the two of us. Listen to me. We take him down and you’re free.”

“You and me.” Martin’s eyes widen. He’s wavering, I can see it.

The gunshot comes from behind me and hits Martin dead center of his forehead, dropping him where he stands. I tighten my body against the restraints, helpless to defend myself as I stare down at his lifeless body.

Marius Popov walks slowly through the gun smoke still hanging in the air all around me and stands over Martin. “I never liked this man.” He keeps his back to me and takes a drag on his cigarette. “But then I think, look at who he has brought to me.” He turns toward me with an evil smile cutting into his worn and haggard face. “Now I think, I do like this man.”

Popov stalks over, reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a straight razor. “And now for the man I hate above all others.” He straddles my legs and leans in close, passing the blade in front of my eyes, taunting me. “You didn’t think I came all this way for just the girl, did you?”

Popov places the edge of the blade against the top of my right cheek and quickly swipes down the length of my face. The fire hot pain is excruciating.

Someone behind me reaches over my shoulder and hands him a liquor bottle filled with what I’m going to assume is Russian vodka. Popov confirms it when he takes a long pull for himself and then pours a healthy amount of the alcohol directly into the fresh wound. I cry out from the pain as he laughs and repeats the process on the left side of my face.

“Now I have your attention, no? I’ve been dreaming of this moment for six years now. I knew you’d want to protect the girl again - pathetic.” Popov spits on me. “I want you to know after I’m done with you I’ll be paying our little Zoe a visit. I want you to know nothing will stop me from having her… and then killing her. You have failed, and she will suffer for your failure.” He spends the next few minutes punching me in the face, until the knuckles on both of his hands are bloody and swollen.

I’m barely conscious and struggling to stay that way when he pulls out the straight razor again. “Oh no my friend, you stay with me now. No rest for you.” Popov runs the razor diagonally down my chest, taking his time and making sure I feel every bit of flesh being sliced open through my shirt. “You took everything from me.” He shouts as he slides the blade across my stomach. He reaches up and forces my head back, pressing the razor’s blade against my Adam’s apple. This is it, there is no escape, no way out. This is the moment of my death. I close my eyes and think of Zoe.

I hear a gunshot in the distance, and then another and another. Popov hears them as well.

“One of you find out what the fuck is happening out there, now.”

Within seconds the air is filled with the sounds of multiple weapons firing.

“Go.” Popov orders the two men who are left to join the others. Before they can comply and react one of them is gunned down as I catch sight of someone jumping through a window opening on the far side of the building. It’s hard to make out who it is as he shoulder rolls behind some debris and quickly pops up on the other side, firing another shot and ghosting the second guard. By the time I focus back on Popov he’s gone, again.

“Hi, I’m with the Girl Scouts would you like to buy some cookies?” Zoe quips, appearing by my side and loosening my restraints.

“Zoe? Wait. That was you?” I’m stunned.

A bullet ricochets off the metal beam next to us, right beside her head, as another of Popov’s men comes back inside. Zoe quickly drops down and fires off three rounds, striking him with all three in the face, head and chest. “He’s got a goddamn army out there.” She states as she gets back to freeing me.

“Are you... alone?” I’m still confused. My head is foggy from the punches.

“Don’t be crazy, of course I’m not alone.” She smirks. “Karyn and Georgia are outside.”

As if on cue, Karyn and Georgia both leap through the same window opening as Zoe, scrambling for cover amidst a hail of bullets.

“Nash.” Karyn slides up next to me. “Good to see you’re still in one piece.”

“They’re setting up a perimeter and surrounding us.” Georgia stays by the window and fires off a couple rounds in their direction. “Hey Nash, looking good bud.”

“Where are we? How did you find me? Is it just the three of you?” I still can’t believe what I’m seeing. Are these three actually taking on an army of Popov’s men without backup?

“We’re on the South Coast, about an hour out of the city. Martin’s cousin left this place to him several years back. We were checking for locations through Ruslan, but Zoe was adamant we were going about it the wrong way. She insisted Martin was the key,” Karyn explains. “And yes, there are only three of us. We tried to call in support, but Popov must have some kind of signal jamming in place.”

“Good to go,” Zoe calls out after finishing with my restraints.

“You make four.” Karyn hands me a gun.

I can barely stand from the pain and I’m pretty sure I’ll be passing out from the blood loss soon, but I take the gun, chamber a round and let out a few quick short breaths. “Good to go.”

“There is no escape from here, not for any of you,” Popov shouts to us. “I do promise if you send out Garrison and the girl I will kill you others quickly. Otherwise, my men will take turns on all three of you and believe me, then you’ll be wishing you’d accepted my offer. I’ll give you ten seconds to answer.”

“Jesus, where the fuck did they all come from?” Karyn checks outside through another window looking for a way out. “This is bad.”

“Ten, ” Popov calls out.

“What’s the extraction plan?” I ask.

“Nine.”

“I’m all ears,” Karyn answers.

“Eight.”

“I may have an opening here,” Georgia calls over from the back of the building.

“Seven.”

“Never mind,” she calls out again. “They’ve got it covered. They’re everywhere.”

“Six.”

Popov stops counting and his men begin shouting. The unmistakable sound of automatic gunfire suddenly fills the air.

“Popov’s men are dropping like flies out there,” Georgia shouts. “We’ve got backup.” She leaps back through the window and disappears into the exchange.

“Who is it?” Karyn hollers after Georgia, but she’s gone.

“C’mon, we’ve got to be ready.” Zoe wraps one of my arms across her shoulders and helps me to the window. I can see men coming out from the woods around us. They’re all carrying short barrel, HK416s and shooting everything in sight.

In my periphery I see Georgia as she crosses the property, unsure of who they are but eager to join the fight. She’s almost in the clear when a bullet hits her in the back, spinning her around and dropping her to the ground, right in the middle of the gunfight. One of Popov’s men steps over and stands above her. Zoe and I fire in vain as he points his gun directly down at her head, looking to finish her off.

In the blink of an eye he’s down from a bullet to the temple and out of nowhere Belfast is standing over Georgia, shielding her from the battle. He calls out to his men and gives orders as they lay waste to all that remains of Popov’s men.

“Who is this guy?” Zoe sounds stunned.

“He’s a criminal,” Karyn answers on her way out the door to help Georgia.

“And a friend,” I add as Zoe and I do the same.

Belfast is kneeling over Georgia when we reach them. “Are ya’ ok love?” She’s been shot in the back but thankfully she’s wearing body armor. She’s in pain and will have some ugly bruising, but she’ll be fine.

“I’m... yeah, I think so.” Georgia looks confused and from what I can tell, a bit taken with Belfast. “You saved my life. Thank you,” she stammers.

“I couldn’t have my future wife dying before the wedding day.” Belfast smiles, bends down and gently helps her up.

“What are you doing here?” I’m still stunned at his arrival.

“My friends overheard your squirrelly friend talking on his cell phone the other day outside the back of my shop. He was whining about having to snatch someone up and how difficult it was going to be. He seemed like an easy mark, so I decided to keep an eye on him, thought maybe we could step in and make some easy cash. In fact, we were watching you while you were watching her.” He points to Zoe. “And then you took off when my girl went for coffee so we followed you here.”

“You’ve been here the whole time?” Karyn sounds angry.

“Aye, the whole time. Didn’t think much of it until the Russian showed up.” Belfast sounds completely indifferent. “Then you lovelies arrived, and all hell broke loose. By the way, very impressive I must say. You three ladies are quite the force to be reckoned with.” He winks at Georgia. “Especially you love.”

“If you’ve been here all along why did you wait to help us?” Zoe asks.

“Didn’t seem like any of my business, lass.” He looks back and smiles at Georgia. “Until my girl here put herself in harm’s way.” Georgia smiles back.

One of Belfast’s men reemerges from the tree line with Popov walking in front of him, his arms raised high above his head.

“I believe this one is yours, my friend.” Belfast grabs Popov by the back of the neck, kicks one of his legs out and forces him to his knees at my feet. “Piss off,” he shouts, ordering his men away. They quietly return into the woods and out of sight, without hesitation.

Everything goes silent and nobody speaks. We all try to shake our heads clear and process what we’ve been through, unsure of what comes next and waiting for another to speak.