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  Today Nazran is populated mostly by the predators, prostitutes and derelicts that roam freely and openly on the public streets. There are still several factories and warehouses that sit in boarded abandonment along the outskirts of the downtown area, but simple demolition was too expensive and the buildings were far too dilapidated to be of any actual use in future developmental proposals. As a result, each brick or cinderblock edifice stands, like an enormous tombstone in some gargantuan cemetery, marking this portion of the city to be as dead as its former commercial enterprises.

  If there were a focal point to Nazran’s physical, mental and emotional decrepitude, then it would likely center on the former police station. Some said the men and women who worked there were the last of those in governmental service to be unblemished by the failing political climate. With most of their officers having been born and raised in Nazran, they had been determined to see the salvation of the city. That final hope was destroyed in 2009 by a “suicide bomber” who drove a van full of high-explosives through the front door of the police station. Twenty-five people were immediately killed, and over 140 were wounded.

  Outside of the city’s limits, the greenery of the pastures had returned, as if completely ignorant of the decay that was happening in such close proximity. Farming and the raising of livestock was the main vocation in the rural areas outside the city, while the beauty of the hillsides and the ruins of ancient churches had begun to attract a multitude of photographers interested in booking photo tours of the region. Still, the tourists were repeatedly warned to stay with their groups and never enter the city, which was now considered to be one of the most dangerous of all the Russian Republic cities.

  Much of the transportation outside the city was still done by horse and cart, but every now and then the headlights of cars, trucks or vans could be seen undulating over the dirt roads. One such vehicle, a white unmarked van, veered off the main road and onto a private drive leading to a farm and a collection of warehouses at the driveway’s culmination. The vehicle pulled up to one of the dark warehouse’s loading doors and the driver blared the vehicle’s horn twice. Within moments the roll-up door began to rise, eventually allowing the van to pull inside. Instantly, the barely audible sound of muffled cries, previously drowned out by the engine’s noise, reverberated from inside the cargo section of the van.

  The driver could clearly hear the pleas for help from the people begging to be let out of van, but he totally ignored them as he casually exited the vehicle. The driver then moved around to the passenger’s door and opened it for an immaculately dressed older man who’s appearance was completely out of place in the dark, dank warehouse. Scanning the area the older man moved a few steps away from the van with a swagger about his step and a precision in his demeanor, giving him away as having been in the military at some time and used to giving commands.

  Several darkened forms moved in the shadows as they carefully approached the van, but stayed back and well hidden from most of the ambient light.

  “Dimitri!” a voice called out to him in greeting from the shadows.

  The old man returned the greeting with a wave of his hand, and turning to the driver said, “Bring the woman and the child, but leave the rest in the van.” The authority in Dimitri’s voice sent the driver, currently standing at attention, to give a quick nod of his head in almost a near salute, to step in front of the van’s cargo door and, with a grunt of effort, slide the partially-rusted door open.

  Dimitri had only walked a couple steps away from the van when an enormous silhouette appeared in the distance, seeming to flow out of the darkness.

  “I see you have been productive,” a deep voice spoke from the silhouette.

  “Yes, but I am afraid I have some discouraging news as well,” Dimitri said with only the merest trace of urgency in his voice.

  “Oh?” There was a slight shift in the voice and the silhouette seemed to turn as Dimitri’s driver brought the two bound figures to stop and stand just behind him. The silhouette considered the child, her wrists bound with simple twine behind her back and whose eyes seemed to simply have glazed over numbly in shock from the horror of her situation. Without a word the silhouette stepped into the light. Nicholas “The Hunter” Nickolaevich, former Grand Duke of Russia and sometimes referred to as Nicholas the Tall, towered over Dimitri in the same manner he had over his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.

  “So this little thing is what will keep your, what did you call it, ‘Ultimate Weapon,’ from turning against you?”

  Dimitri scowled at the enormous man, but said nothing as Nicholas’ attention turned to the other woman. She was filthy, her clothes were in tatters and she was bound in chains that both encircled her waist and entrapped her wrists before looping up and around her neck in such a way that if she tried to move her arms she would end up choking herself. Her mouth was bound by a gag that was stained pink with blood, and much of the rest of her face was covered by a knotted tangle of her long black hair. Despite all of this the woman was absolutely striking. Her body was the stuff that made artists and poets weep, while the mess of her hair and her generally grungy appearance added a kind of wild appeal to her persona that enhanced her appearance, instead of detracting from her looks. The moment she was pushed, stumbling, into the light it seemed as though she commanded all the attention in the warehouse.

  Nicholas turned to study her, and his brow furled in concern and confusion, “This one is like us, why is she in chains?”

  Dimitri grew angry, “She is not part of our family! She is the American whore I told you about.”

  Nicholas looked up from the woman, “Ah, I believe you said her name was Lei?” Nicholas stepped close and cupped one large hand over her cheek while using his thumb to wipe away some of the grime that had accumulated on her face.

  Lei’s eyes burned with murderous intent as she glared up at the large man, who only smiled in response before grabbing a handful of her hair and jerking her head back to expose her neck.

  “Wait!” Dimitri called out in warning as Nicholas drew a Shashka sword from where it was fastened at his side.

  “We need her as well,” Dimitri said while desperately trying to stay calm.

  Nicholas smiled and turned back to Lei, looking directly into eyes that had not softened at all from the halted attack,

  “Who said I was planning on killing her? After all,” Nicholas pulled her hair back even further, running his free hand over Lei’s breasts “it would be a terrible waste of an enjoyable toy.”

  Dimitri sighed, “Let her go and get serious, we have a problem.”

  Nicholas rolled his eyes, but when he saw the look on Dimitri’s face his own expression sobered, “What has happened?”

  Dimitri looked uneasy, “My informants have notified me that the Romanov has been seen entering the country.”

  No sound came from Nicholas for a long moment, and then, “Has he found me?”

  More shadows flowed to life as other voices began to moan, interrupting him from the darkness surrounding them.

  “Release them!” Raspy words from the darkness of the warehouse demanded. “Let them out!”

  Dimitri let out an exasperated sigh at the interruption, “Amazing how some people have no patience. You should have better control over them.”

  “They know their place,” Nicholas reassured, but then grew angry, “has he found me?”

  “We do not believe so, but he disappeared after passing through customs.” Dimitri was genuinely surprised at how upset Nicholas had become, but he maintained a nonchalant attitude, “No matter, arrangements have already been made,” Dimitri then inclined his head toward the van, “meanwhile, you and your people are in need.”

  Dimitri’s words seemed to permeate the fog of anger that surrounded Nicholas and his face softened as he nodded his agreement. Without a word Dimitri raised one hand, signaling his driver to step away from the van’s cargo door.

  Dimitri looked to Nicholas,
who seemed uninterested in the van’s cargo, “What about you?”

  Nicholas gave Dimitri a sideways glance, demonstrating that his anger hadn’t completely diminished, “I can wait a little longer.”

  “Such control,” Dimitri smiled as he lifted the van’s remote control and pushed a button causing the van to beep once before the sliding cargo door on the passenger side of the vehicle opened to reveal five young adults, all of whom looked like they might have been college students, cowering inside the cargo compartment.

  Dimitri turned to his driver, “Secure the two prisoners in the van once the others are out and it is empty.” The driver nodded and pulled Lei by her chains to stand next to the girl.

  Dimitri turned to the people in the van and yelled, “Go on! Get out of here before I change my mind!”

  The promise of booze, partying and general debauchery that many of Dimitri’s businesses in Nazran advertised to the surrounding cities always managed to lure more than a fair share of foolish young adults to his doors. Most were given the time of their lives and would return to their homes with wild tales to tell, but there were also a small number that would simply vanish, to never return home or to be heard from again.

  This time there were five victims, three women and two men, all in their early twenties and dressed as if they had been out for a night of adventure on the dark side of town. Now their pale faces, which were sweaty and tear-streaked from the stress of a night having gone terribly wrong, cautiously looked out of the open door of the van. No one in the van moved at first, but eventually, one of the males cautiously crawled forward, climbed out and stood extending a hand to help the others get out. Two of the women came next, and after leaving the van, clung tightly to the young man, who again extended his hand inside the van.

  Nicholas looked back at Dimitri with a questioning gaze.

  “They are for you and yours,” Dimitri smiled as he said, “my driver and I already ate.”

  Just as the second man regained his footing the shadows once again sprang to life, terrifying the people who hadn’t seen the macabre sight until now, and one of the girls bolted for the warehouse’s man door. Dimitri and Nicholas watched as a shadow began moving in pursuit until it coalesced into the figure of a man who seemed to materialize out of the darkness. It took mere moments for the man to tackle the girl from behind and roughly drag her to the ground. The girl screamed and tried to keep moving, but the man’s weight was on her and she was slowly pushed completely down onto her stomach. The other young people watched in horror as the girl clawed with her fingers into the unyielding concrete floor in a desperate attempt to keep moving toward the exit and freedom. The man on top of her, now exposed in the ambient light of the warehouse, was a horror to behold. His face was covered in weeping lesions, his eyes were bulging, his lips torn and what teeth remained in his mouth were yellowed and in various states of decay. He was clad head to toe in black clothes that were otherwise unremarkable, and despite the state he appeared to be in, he was still physically imposing enough to overpower the girl. He grabbed the girl’s left arm and held it behind her back and placed his chest on top of the arm, keeping it pinned while freeing up both his hands. He then grabbed a handful of the girl’s hair with his left hand and slowly pulled her head up and to the side while using his right to pin her free hand to the floor.

  The girl let out a deep moan that sounded like an animal caught in the clutches of a predator, as the man bent his head down and licked the side of the girl’s throat.

  Another of the male passengers had seen enough, and probably intended to help the girl as he ran toward the display, but he didn’t travel more than a couple of yards before he was hit from two different directions at once, and taken down onto his back. Immediately his wrists were pinned by two or more different sets of hands, which were also grabbing at his hair and his right ear. The doomed man saw the flash of another ruined face shoot down to his throat, followed by a tremendous pinching sensation on his Adam’s apple that grew into a crushing and tearing pain causing far more agony than he had ever before experienced or even imagined. He tried to scream, but it only came out as a loud wet gurgle as a spray of arterial blood burst forth, choking him as it flowed up and into his mouth and nose. The young man didn’t really notice the second rending of his flesh at the bicep area, as the suffocating pain at his throat was too intense to ignore. He tried to twist his head away from the pain, but muscles he had always taken for granted failed to respond as more figures ran from the shadows and attached themselves to his body. The young man's cries started to ebb as the pain fell into a dull memory and mercifully, his entire world went black.

  The sounds coming from the dying man caused two more of the passengers, apparently a young couple, to abandon the last girl still inside the vehicle as they quickly ran away from their helpless friends, leaving them to their fate. The woman turned back for a final look and saw the man lying on top of the first girl almost gingerly placing his mouth over the neck of his helpless victim in what looked very much like a lover’s kiss. That was, until the girl let out a scream and the man drove his mouth even harder into the girl’s neck before shaking his head back and forth with incredible ferocity. Blood erupted like a fountain, which seemed to act as a signal for at least a dozen more figures who ran out of the shadows to latch on to her as well.

  The pair had almost made it to an emergency exit when the man was hit and lifted off his feet by another dark figure, forcing him to release his grip on her hand. As he landed the impact caused the man’s head to strike the cement floor, knocking him into unconsciousness. The woman began screaming at the sight of the figure who had tackled the man and watched as it rose slowly from the ground and regarded her. This time it was a sickly looking woman who faced her but, turning away from her with disinterest, instead began dragging the unconscious man away and into the shadows.

  The girl backed away in horror as more shadows came to life all around her and charged past her into the shadows where her lover had been taken. Somehow, despite the panic that threatened to overwhelm her, the girl somehow found the strength to keep moving toward the exit. She reached for the door’s handle, turned it until it released and swung it open to the emptiness of the night and supposed freedom beyond. She was about to bolt through when the figure of a woman suddenly appeared in the doorway blocking her path. So close to freedom, the girl tried to barrel her way through the woman in the doorway, but to no avail. The woman easily caught her with one arm and casually dragged her back inside the warehouse before closing the emergency exit door behind her with a free hand.

  Nicholas smiled at the scene, his rage momentarily forgotten as he watched his people consume their victims until the last of the human livestock had grown quiet in unconsciousness or death. Then Nicholas turned to look back into the van and the final human inside. Casually he began to walk toward the van with Dimitri at his side.

  Nicholas spoke first, “He must be found.”

  Dimitri let out a deep sigh. “I understand the urgency and have every resource on the hunt.”

  Nicholas and Dimitri had reached the van where the last passenger, a girl, was cringing in a far corner with her knees pressed into her chest. She had a crazed expression of terror on her face and she was rapidly repeating in Russian, “I want to wake up…I want to wake up…I want to wake up.”

  Nicholas placed one foot on the sidestep of the van and was about to enter the cargo area when he stopped and looked back at Dimitri, “When he is found, do not hesitate. Tell you people to be ready and kill him before he can react.”

  Dimitri frowned, “Of course, but don’t you want me to question him first?”

  Nicholas shook his head, “We need no information from this man. What we need,” Nicholas shot Dimitri a look that brooked no counter, “is him dead.”

  With that Nicholas hunched his massive frame over and entered the van. The girl began chanting her mantra faster and louder as Nicholas moved into the vehicle’s interior, and the
van rocked on its suspension with every step the giant took. Nicholas grabbed the sliding door handle and pulled it closed, cutting off all sound just as the girl began to scream.

  Chapter 5

  Bangkok, Thailand

  I suppose I should have gotten more rest and food before choosing to speak with our “guest” but the need for answers after the debacle that our attack on Pollard had become was overwhelming.

  “Is our guest in a mood to receive visitors?” I asked Larson.

  The man only shrugged his shoulders, “Does it matter?”

  “Not even a little,” I said angrily and held my hand open to Larson. The major frowned, but placed the keys to the door for the makeshift “holding area” we were using into my hand. “Are you in control?” Larson asked quietly.

  I glared at the man, but managed a nod. Larson returned the gesture, but added, “Take the rookie with you, just to be safe.”

  The “rookie” was the name Larson had given Chris ever since our time together in Thailand. I turned to look at Chris holding the icepack to his knee, “That isn't necessary.”

  Larson's gaze never wavered, “That man in there is the only lead we have. If something happens to him...”