The Spy Who Came for Christmas (31 page)

^{"The kitchen's on fire!" Kagan shouted back.}

^{Their voices overlapped as Ted yelled, "Someone's in the master bedroom! I heard something falling!"}

^{Eyes watering from the smoke, Kagan crouched next to the archway that opened into the living room. He wiped his sleeve across his eyes and aimed along the corridor that led to the other end of the house.}

^{Behind him, the flames grew. Now the smoke reflected it, the illumination making him feel exposed.}

^{Air brushed past his head.}

^Again.

^Again.

^{Bullets. Someone was shooting from the end of the corridor, the noise barely audible. The gunman's sound suppressor hid the muzzle flashes, too, making it difficult for Kagan to judge exactly where to aim.}

^{He squeezed off two quick shots toward the master bedroom. He hated to use the ammunition on a target he couldn't see, but he needed to make the gunman stay in the bedroom.}

^{"Ted, you'll soon hear another explosion! When it happens, don't hesitate! Run into the kitchen and try to put out the fire!"}

^{Ted didn't answer.}

^{"Ted!" Kagan shouted.}

^{"He heard what you told me to do! He'll wait for me to run! He'll shoot when he sees me in the light from the fire!"}

^{"Just trust me! Do what I say!"}

^{Again, Ted didn't answer.}

^{The only sound was the crackle of the flames growing on the cupboard door.}

^{Kagan tried desperately not to cough. He felt another streak of air sweep past him and shot toward the end of the corridor.}

^{Simultaneously, three bullets shattered more glass in the living room window. Someone--probably Andrei--was shooting from the front.}

^{The baby wailed.}

^{"Ted!" Kagan yelled. "The only way Meredith and the baby can leave the laundry room is through the kitchen! You've got to put out the fire before they're trapped!"}

^{"I promised I'll do whatever you want! Just tell me when!"}

^{"Get ready!"}

^{Kagan squeezed the trigger again and again. His bullets were directed toward the floor at the end of the hallway, toward the pressurized cans of hair spray and shaving soap he'd placed there. They were thirty yards away, difficult targets even in daylight. As the fire grew behind him, all he could do was keep shooting.}

^{He assumed that the gunman, having been warned, would duck back from the master bedroom's doorway and take cover. That--along with the bursting cans--should provide Ted the protection he needed to get into the kitchen, Kagan hoped.}

^{Taking one more shot, he flinched as a sharp
bang
assaulted his ears. A can exploded, spraying the end of the hallway with chunks of metal and pressurized liquid.}

^{"Now, Ted! Now!"}

^{But Ted was already in motion, racing past him into the kitchen. He stumbled over Yakov's corpse, grabbed the kitchen table to catch his balance, and veered toward the sink. The force of his movement parted the smoke and brightened the flames that wavered up the cupboard next to the kitchen door.}

^{Almost out of ammunition,
Kagan thought.}

^{He heard water running in the sink, the clatter of a saucepan, water splashing into it. Steam hissed as Ted hurled the water against the burning cupboard.}

^{The light from the flames diminished.}

^{Again, water splashed into the saucepan. Again, Ted hurled it against the cupboard.}

^{"It's out!" he yelled.}

^{The thickening shadows told Kagan the same thing.}

^{Yakov's gun,
he thought.
If I can reach
it ...}

^{He risked switching his gaze from the hallway and focused on the corpse next to him. But the bright flames had hurt his night vision, and he couldn't adapt to the dark again to see the gun.}

^{More bullets snapped past him, but this time they were directed behind him, toward the floor. Kagan realized that the flames must have illuminated the pressurized cans he'd placed next to the kitchen door. The gunman was imitating his tactic.}

^{"Ted, get over by the sink!"}

^{The sharp
bang
with which one of the cans exploded felt like hands slapping Kagan's ears.}

^{In agony, Kagan tried to recover from the shock. Aiming along the hallway, he saw a figure lunge from the master bedroom.}

^{He knows I'm down to my last few rounds!}

^{The gunman had Mikhail's bulky silhouette. He must have put in a fresh magazine, Kagan realized, because he kept shooting as if he had an endless supply of ammunition.}

^{Having been warned about the drawers that lay on the floor, Mikhail veered this way and that. The zigzag movement confused Kagan's aim as Mikhail kept shooting.}

^{Kagan fired once, twice, but then his gun was useless, its slide locking back, its magazine empty. Certain that he was about to die, he rolled frantically toward Yakov's body next to him, searching for the gun. But his wounded arm was so stiff that it restricted his movement.}

^{Doubly certain that he would die, he felt a bullet strike the brick floor, spraying fragments over him.}

^{He kept pawing for Yakov's gun but couldn't find it.}

^{Without warning, Mikhail stumbled, sprawling face-down onto a drawer. Something about the way he fell struck Kagan as strange, but there wasn't time to think about it as he un- clipped the knife from his pocket and surged up.}

^{The hook on the back of the knife levered against his pocket and pulled the blade open.}

^{Charging, he saw Mikhail's shadowy figure peer up from the floor and raise his pistol. Kagan slashed the back of Mikhail's wrist, causing him to drop the gun. But as Kagan slashed again, Mikhail used his uninjured hand to grab his ankle and yank him off balance.}

^{Kagan fell heavily.}

^{When he hit the floor, he crunched across broken glass, managing to come to his feet at the same moment that Mikhail rose and dove forward. Despite their injured arms, they grappled viciously, sliding on the shards of glass. Kagan fought to stab his opponent, while Mikhail struggled to get the knife away from him.}

^{Kagan's heart sped so wildly that the precise movements necessary for martial-arts combat became impossible. He and Mikhail were like two large animals, colliding with each other.}

^{Mikhail was heavier, able to make his weight a weapon. He used his uninjured hand to squeeze Kagan's knife wrist, spinning him. Then he curled his blood-slick arm around Kagan's neck, strangling him from behind. Kagan felt increasing pressure against his larynx.}

^{Something crashed.}

^{Andrei's breaking through the front window!
Kagan thought.}

^{But the crash was accompanied by a blow from behind that sent Mikhail lurching forward.}

^{Ted hit him with something!}

^{In a frenzy, Kagan squirmed free of Mikhail's grip. He tried to slice with the blade, but again Mikhail grabbed that wrist. The force of their struggle knocked Kagan against the back wall of the corridor. His head smashed the glass of a picture hanging there.}

^{Dizzy from the impact, he tried to knee Mikhail in the groin but succeeded only in striking a thigh. As the Russian pinned him against the wall, straining to get the knife away from him, Kagan stomped down hard on a foot and heard a groan. To the right, he sensed the open door to Ted's office and used all his strength to pivot with Mikhail, thrusting him through the doorway.}

^{The trip cord caught behind Mikhail's ankles. Kagan added to the Russian's backward momentum by shoving. When they hit the floor, Kagan was on top, his impact knocking the air from Mikhail's lungs. The Russian's grip loosened enough for Kagan to yank his knife hand free.}

^{Screaming with fury, he plunged the blade into Mikhail's throat, all the way to the handle, and felt the Russian thrash. He worked the knife back and forth, widening the hole, grating against bone, feeling the hot blood gush over his fingers. Mikhail's mouth gaped in a desperate effort to breathe.}

^{His arms fought to push Kagan away. He gasped, the blood causing a rattle in his throat. His arms lost strength. Kagan kept twisting the knife. At last, Mikhail's hands fell away, trembled, and lay still.}

^{Only then did Kagan let go of the knife.
Andrei!
he thought frantically.}

^{Dizzy from his frenzied breathing, he scrambled toward where Mikhail had dropped his pistol. He grabbed the gun, hurried into the living room, crouched, and aimed toward the bullet holes in the front window. Huge chunks of glass had fallen into the room. The snow was drifting in.}

^{Where was Andrei?}

^{Kagan's ears rang painfully. From the laundry room, the baby kept crying, its wail seeming to come through cotton batting.}

^{But Kagan noticed something odd--inexplicably, the window was broken only at the top half. Every bullet had been directed upward, where the least possible harm would result.}

^{What
the. ..?}

^{"Look out!" Ted shouted behind him.}

^{Spinning, Kagan saw a dark figure lurch from the office. Mikhail's throat gaped, wheezing, spewing blood. The knife was no longer embedded there. It was in his hand, and as he thrust the blade toward Kagan, Ted surged from the kitchen, crashing into him. The impact sent Ted and Mikhail toppling onto the floor. Raging, Mikhail swung the knife at Ted, who kicked and fought to squirm away.}

^{The knife grazed Ted's cheek, making him groan. But he was far enough away that Kagan could shoot without fear of hitting him. He put two bullets behind Mikhail's right ear, and when the Russian collapsed, this time Kagan had no doubt that he was dead.}