Too Many Traitors (12 page)

"You ARE MY prisoners," Vladimir declared, a satisfied smile on his face.

"What do you need us for?" Joe asked. He stepped between Donner and Vladimir. "You've got the name you wanted; we've got the Network's man. That was the deal."

"Silence," Vladimir said. "The exchange never took place. I am not bound by that bargain." He snapped his fingers, and two Russians shoved Konstantin into the semicircle of light. The blond man curled his lip in rage, but Vladimir laughed.

"You have given me much more than a name," Vladimir continued, staring Joe in the eye. "For the capture of this one," — like a circus barker, he swept his arm extravagantly, motioning at Konstantin — "I will become a hero of the state, with pay to match." His eyes flashed with anger. "But you annoy me, young man. You disrupt my plans, destroy my car, invade my house. You are too dangerous, you and your brother. I must be rid of you."

Vladimir pointed at Donner and Elena. "lake them." Two Russians stepped into the circle of light and grabbed them, forcing them to Konstantin's side. "They have further uses." He grinned at the Hardys. "But these two — "

"I'm surprised you managed to get out of the disco in one piece," Frank said. "You must be better than I thought to get away from Melendez."

"Yes." Vladimir glared at him icily. "Escape was a simple matter." He patted his coat pocket. "And I now have the tape. I have Konstantin. I have all I need.

"I do not need you." Two Russians appeared on either side of Vladimir. "Take them somewhere and dispose of them."

Two shots rang out, and the headlights of the car Vladimir stood next to spat glass and went dark. Desperate to stay out of the line of fire, Vladimir threw himself to the ground.

"No one goes anywhere," the Gray Man said from the darkness. His voice seemed to come from all directions at once. Frank and Joe could see no sign of him. "Didn't you think I'd follow you, Vlad? Let Donner, the Hardys, and the girl go.

"You are forgetting," Vladimir said. "My men have the Hardys in their sights. Show yourself or they will kill the boys."

"I have you in my sights," the still-invisible Gray Man said. "This is a Sterling assault rifle. I could put three bullets in you before you finish telling your men to shoot them. Is that the way you want to play it?"

Vladimir licked his lips thoughtfully. He waved his men back. "And if I give you these four," he called to the Gray Man, "I keep Konstantin?"

"Sounds fair."

"Wait!" Konstantin suddenly called out. He shook himself free of his captors. "Gray Man! I wish to defect!"

Vladimir sputtered, unable to find words to voice his anger. From the darkness the Gray Man said, "You killed Martin, right?"

"Of course," Konstantin casually admitted. "You would have done the same in my place. I wish to defect."

"You make a big mistake, Konstantin. You and I aren't alike at all," the Gray Man retorted. "I don't like moles, and I don't like killers. If I had my way, I'd send you back to your KGB masters and let them deal with you." There was a long pause. "But you can tell us a lot about both Chinese and Russian espionage, and I can't overlook that. All right, I'll help you defect, but you try anything and you'll be sorry."

"No!" Vladimir shouted, and he lunged forward, grabbing Frank. "Konstantin stays here! If I were to lose him, I would suffer in his place." A spring-operated knife popped out of his sleeve and into his hand. He pressed it against Frank's throat as they backed toward the wall. "Shoot now if you choose, Gray Man. You will hit your friend, not me. And my men will gun down your other friends. Give up."

"Seems to me like you have a stalemate," Frank said, feeling the cool sharp touch of steel on his throat. He reached into his pocket and came out with a small black book. "Maybe this can break it."

Vladimir stared, then inhaled sharply as he recognized what Frank held. "My bankbooks." Enraged, he prodded Frank under the chin with the point of the knife. "Where did you get this?"

"Same place as all the others," Frank replied. "There were a lot of them, and they all seemed to refer to bank accounts. Lots of bank accounts. Skimming funds from the KGB, Vladimir?"

Vladimir said nothing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Frank said. "That's why the KGB's London man reported you, isn't it? Your own private retirement fund, at KGB' expense."

Vladimir's arm fell away from Frank.

"Let us go, and I'll tell you where the other bankbooks are."

The knife slid from Vladimir's fingers and clattered on the ground. "Let them go," Vladimir ordered wearily. He was a beaten man, Frank knew. "Let them all go."

"Uh-oh," Joe said. "Frank, I think you overplayed our hand." Beyond the semicircle of light the other Russian agents moved forward. Two roughly shoved Elena and Donner at Vladimir and the Hardys, and a second later Konstantin joined them.

"You are traitors," a Russian outside the circle said to Konstantin and Vladimir as the others took aim. To everyone in the light he said, "You are all enemies of the state. Ready—aim—"

An arc of light ripped through the night, exposing and blinding the Gray Man and the Russians. "This is the police," came a deep Spanish-accented voice over a bullhorn. "Drop your weapons and put your hands up."

Two Russians spun and trained their weapons on the voice. Two shots exploded from the night, and the Russians jerked back, flopping to the ground. When the other Russians and the Gray Man had let their guns fall, a tall, burly man with dark hair walked into the light.

"Inspector Melendez," Joe cried. "I never thought I'd say this, but am I glad to see you."

"You are all," the inspector replied, "under arrest."