Page 51 of How Much For a Life of Lies?

With each maneuver, I maintained a careful balance between speed and control, my senses attuned to every nuance of the aircraft’s movement, and we skimmed the terrain. Flying at a low altitude, below the radar horizon, might help minimize the risk of detection by ground-based radar systems, but we needed to keep close to the trees to avoid airborne radar. This made us vulnerable to obstacles, as well as limited visibility and maneuvering space, but fuck, my heart raced, and pushing the limits, I was in my element.

Unlike Yuri, who, I swear, if there was an oh-fuck handle, he’d be gripping it with both hands.

“Stealth mode engaged,” I deadpanned. “You okay over there, Yurinator? See what I did there, Yuri, Nator… I’m so funny.”

“Eyes front,” Yuri said, then cursed. This time, he didn’t even look at me as he issued a stream of Russian. Man, it was fun making him curse. We reached our destination in under an hour and hovered over the coordinates. I peered down, furrowing my brows as I scanned the landscape below, then threw a puzzled glance at Yuri.

“Wait,” he instructed, and I scowled at him. This was yet more shit I wasn’t being told. Hell, there was no obvious landing place in sight, just a vast expanse of rugged terrain and trees stretching as far as the eye could see under moonlight, which wasn’t a hell of a lot. But then, as if by magic, a ring of soft lighting appeared, illuminating a near-perfect circle on the ground.

“There,” Yuri instructed. “You land.”

I guided the helicopter towards the illuminated landing zone. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, the circle of light standing out in the darkness of the surrounding landscape. As we descended, I could see a flat, open area that seemed custom-made for our landing. And more trees—a hell of a lot of trees. I wished it was daylight so I could get a better lay of the land, but for now, I maneuvered the helicopter towards the light, feeling a sense of relief wash over me as we touched down on the designated landing spot. The lights bathed the cockpit warmly as I powered down the engines and prepared to disembark.

Yuri gripped my arm to stop me. “We wait.”

“For what?”

The cockpit door swung open with a creak, and my heart skipped a beat as the barrel of a gun appeared in the doorway, gleaming in the dim light of the helicopter’s interior. My muscles tensed, every nerve on edge, as I braced myself for whatever was about to happen.

“Out,” the man holding the gun barked, no accent, his voice sharp and commanding. “Both of you.”

I exchanged a quick glance with Yuri, who didn’t seem at all fazed by the action. Without a word, we both complied, moving slowly and deliberately to avoid provoking any sudden movements from the armed intruder. A couple of other guys patted us down, and yet again I was separated from my gun.

This shit was getting old.

“You unload,” the man ordered, gesturing at Yuri with his weapon. Yuri moved to obey, overseeing the removal of whatever product we’d ferried over. When the ’korsky was empty, and the cargo had vanished into the trees on small wagons, the guard who’d frisked me handed me back my weapon, but not before ejecting the bullets and giving me those separately.

Asshole.

“Back inside,” guy-with-a-gun ordered, and Yuri gestured for me to get in first.

“Now what?” I asked as soon as the cockpit door shut behind us, every person in the clearing gone.

“We go back,” Yuri replied, his expression unreadable as he settled into his seat.

“This is gonna get boring quickly,” I said. “You with me, Yurinator?” No response, but then, I hadn’t been expecting one. “How many times do we do this? Nightly? Once a week?” Again, no response to the question, but he growled and shot me a glance filled with irritation. Okay, so it was a no on questions then.

“Fly,” he ordered.

“You’re not the boss of me, Yurinator,” I deadpanned, and yep, there was that growl again.

The nav computer flicked back to the mine. I started the engines, and the familiar roar filled the cockpit as we lifted off the ground and into the night sky.

I kept the helicopter at a low altitude as I guided it through the darkness, on high alert for any signs of trouble—I might joke about boredom, but when I was at the controls of a baby like this, I was one hundred and ten percent focused. The minutes ticked by slowly, each feeling like an eternity as we returned to base.

We’d reached our destination in fifty-two minutes, which was a useful stat for Zach to draw loci for locations to the north. I’d already memorized the coordinates for the zone, but Zach would need more because I bet the location moved.

Yuri remained stiff and silent beside me, his demeanor tense and withdrawn. He exuded an air of icy detachment, his expression unreadable as he ignored my attempts at conversation. He wasn’t one to engage in idle chatter, his focus on the task at hand, and it made me want to talk more. His broad shoulders and steely gaze were enough to intimidate me, but I couldn’t help but feel an anticipatory shiver run down my spine as I imagined crossing paths with him in a dark alley. How long would it take for me to knock him out, and just how much fun could I have until that happened?

As we neared the mines, I was about ready to break the silence with idle chatter. “So, Yuri, before we get back, what’s your favorite kind of music?” I asked, hoping to lighten the mood with some casual conversation. I glanced at him, but he remained silent, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance. “Well, if you don’t answer, I’ll just have to talk to myself,” I said with a chuckle, turning back to the controls.

“So,” I began, adopting a Russian accent as I pretended to converse with myself. “What kind of music do you like?”

I paused for a moment, considering the question before continuing. “Hmm, let’s see. I’d say I’m a fan of classic rock. You know, bands like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, that kind of thing.” I shook my head, amused by the absurdity of the situation. “But then again, I also enjoy some electronic music from time to time. Nothing like a good techno beat to get the adrenalin pumping, right? Are you with me, Yurinator?”

Nothing. So I switched back to the fake accent. “I like good red-state Russian hymns.” I chuckled to myself as Yuri ignored my one-sided conversation, then nodding as if he had thoughts on my pretend conversation.

“Russian hymns, eh? Well, hey, everyone’s got their own taste in music, right?”

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