Page 90 of Power's Fall

By the time they broke free, his entire body was trembling with exertion and panic.

“We made it,” Vadisk said, an echo following his words.

Montana swept the beam of Vadisk’s flashlight around. He’d led them into what looked like a cavern. The rock walls stretched taller here, the ceiling perhaps ten or twelve feet high, and the air smelled clear, with a hint of the sea. There must have been fissures that let in fresh air.

“We’ll stop here for a few minutes,” Vadisk said, shrugging off his backpack and opening it. He took the flashlight from Montana and set it down so it was standing on its end, then switched it to lantern mode, the handle now illuminated. It wasn’t all that bright, but Dahlia relaxed a little. She must be able to see at least something. Vadisk pulled out a thin blanket that he placed on the floor, encouraging them to sit on it with him. Then he rummaged through his pack again, pulling out three nutrition bars.

“I’m curious what else you’ve packed in that bag,” Dahlia said with a slight smile. “Any wine? Cheese and crackers?”

Vadisk chuckled. “Sorry. I’ll add those to my list of essentials the next time I’m packing a survival kit. We don’t have long because if we know about these caves, you can be certain Sinaver and his militia do.”

Montana hadn’t had his wits about him enough to consider that. “So what’s to stop Sinaver from posting men at every exit to arrest us as soon as we walk out?” He wished that question hadn’t sent his heart racing again. He rubbed his hands on his thighs, fighting against the numbness setting in at the thought of something other than a cave-in keeping them trapped here.

“Nothing. However, the passage we’re now in isn’t on any map of the caves we could find.” He passed over a piece of folded paper. It was a simple map with a logo in the corner of what looked like a cave exploration company. An addition had been added in red pen, showing a long, curving path that led from one of the smaller lines on the root-like map to a small beach. “It was discovered by a Turkish spelunker who was on holiday here a few years ago. He also happens to be a security officer for the Ottoman territory. He kept the passage a secret but shared its existence with his admiral.”

“Why did he keep it a secret?” Dahlia asked.

He shrugged. “Ottoman members are shady fuckers and paranoid to boot. I’m not sure I even believe the guy was spelunking.”

Vadisk had dropped a few similarly disparaging comments about the Ottoman territory in conversation over the past few days. When Montana had asked him what his problem was with Ottoman, he’d told them about a decades-long dispute over some land, Hungary insisting it should be part of their territory. Apparently, Ottoman refused to give it up, which pissed off Nikolett. Vadisk, of course, sided with his admiral.

“So no one knows about the exit we’re taking?” Montana clarified, praying that was true. Because impending arrest or not, he wasn’t staying in here much longer.

“As far as we know, it’s secure.”

That reassurance wasn’t as comforting as Montana might have hoped.

“Alright. Let’s discuss our next step,” Vadisk said, clearly ready to get down to business.

Dahlia was studying the map that Montana had passed her. She had it inches away from her face and had taken the clip flashlight off her belt to shine it on the paper. “Once we get to this beach, is there another boat?”

“No.” Vadisk sighed. “The rest of plan B involves us waiting at the tiny mouth of the cave until someone can arrange for a fishing boat to pass by. We swim out to the fishing boat, they take us as far out as they can, and then we use an inflatable power boat—that they give us—to reach the rendezvous in international waters.”

Montana shook his head. “Sinaver will have people combing the coastline to look for us.”

“Yeah, plan B was about getting us out if something happened to the boat—like it was stolen or the anchor failed. It wasn’t designed to help us evade capture.”

Dahlia looked up. “Is there a plan that helps us evade capture?”

Vadisk scrubbed his face with his hands. “Not one that we can implement right now.”

“What if we get away from the coast and steal a car?” Montana suggested. “We drive to Ukraine.”

“We’d never make it that far. He’ll have people watching for us, and they’ll stop us before we ever get to the border itself.”

“Stow away in someone else’s vehicle?” Dahlia asked.

Vadisk shook his head. “Too risky. Normally I’d say we fly out, but given the fact Crimea is restricted air space at the moment, I can’t hijack a helicopter.”

“You can fly a helicopter?” Montana asked, momentarily distracted from the cave-in survey he’d continued to maintain as they spoke. “I thought you were ground forces in the military.”

“I was. Got my pilot’s license right after joining the Masters’ Admiralty. Offered me options for transporting Nik in and out of risky places.”

Montana’s gaze slipped to Dahlia’s face. While Vadisk hadn’t noticed it, Montana had picked up on the way she looked uneasy every time their husband mentioned his admiral. As he’d anticipated, Dahlia frowned, her brow creasing as she bit her lower lip. They’d tabled the discussion on future living arrangements until they left Crimea. Given Vadisk’s intense loyalty to Nikolett, Montana worried he’d choose to remain in Ukraine, which could possibly mean a long-distance relationship until Montana finished his dissertation.

He closed his eyes wearily. That was tomorrow’s problem.

“So we can’t drive, fly, or take a boat? What the hell else is there?” Dahlia was quiet for a moment. “Is our only option to turn ourselves in?” She sounded resigned but not afraid.

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