Page 65 of Beautiful Agony

I force myself back to the present moment and the drone feed showing Dr. Chen's trembling figure. The rain intensifies, obscuring the drone feed for a moment.

A few minutes later, a black Lincoln Town Car glides into view, its headlights cutting through the mist.

"Eyes on," I murmur into my comm.

Through my rifle scope, I watch Olga emerge first, her silver-streaked hair unmistakable even in this light. A teenage girl follows. Three men in dark suits flank them, hands hovering near concealed weapons.

Even from this distance, I can see Dr. Chen body language shift as she recognizes her daughter.

"Gotovi?" Ready?

My men respond with clicks through their comms

"Execute," I order, centering my crosshairs on the guard nearest to Olga.

I squeeze the trigger. The first guard's head snaps back in a spray of red. Before his body hits the ground, my men open fire. The second guard reaches for his weapon but falls with a shot through the throat.

The third barely manages to draw his piece before a bullet finds his heart.

Through my scope, I see Olga's eyes widen in terror. She bolts for the Town Car with surprising speed. The driver guns it before she's fully inside, tires squealing on wet pavement.

More shots ring out, but they do nothing to slow the car.

"Get to Dr. Chen and her daughter," I bark, already running for my waiting vehicle. "Keep them safe."

I slam the car—an inconspicuous Toyota—into drive as my drone operator's calm voice crackles through: "Vehicle westbound on Spokane, Vadim Petrovich."

The engine roars as I accelerate after them. Rain hammers against the windshield. The Town Car's taillights flash red in the distance as they turn onto the main road.

"They're taking the bridge into West Seattle," the drone operator updates.

I floor it, but the gap between us keeps growing. I grip the wheel tighter, wishing that I was in my Ferrari as I watch those red taillights grow smaller and smaller through the curtain of rain.

"Crash the fucking drone!" I snarl into my comm. "Into their windshield. Now!"

The little DJI Mavic overhead speeds up in front of the Town Car, and suddenly dive down like a missile. Brake lights flare as the drone bounces off the windshield.

The car swerves violently, scraping against the Jersey barrier. Then the front crumples just enough.

The entire car flips.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Metal screams against concrete, sparks flying in the rain like a shower of angry stars, before the wreck finally skids to a stop on its side with a sickening crunch of twisted steel and shattered glass.

I pull up next to it, and step, my shoes splashing in puddles as I walk toward the wreckage. The driver is still alive, moaning and trying to crawl through his shattered window.

I put two rounds in his head without breaking stride and wrench open Olga's door. She hangs suspended by her seatbelt, blood streaming from a gash in her forehead and lips. Her eyes flutter open and lock onto mine.

"Hello bastard," she whispers, her voice wet with blood.

I level my gun at her face. My finger tightens on the trigger.

"For a moment, I really thought Dr. Chen succeeded," Olga groans. "I dared to believe your little whore's belly was really split open, and your spawn dead inside."

My finger tightens on the trigger. Rain soaks my hair, but it does nothing to soothe the fury burning behind my eyes.

"Did it feel good?" I keep my voice steady despite the rage coursing through me. "Forcing a mother to kill someone else's child?"

---