CHAPTER 25

Aleara’s POV.

Holy fucking hell.

“Get the electrical box,” he had ordered his men as they sank back into the darkness of the cell, rummaging around in the back corner for some 1950’s torture shit.

“What are you doing?” My voice came out panicked and terrified. This was not exactly what I wanted to be doing on a Sunday morning, even spending a holiday with the devil himself would have been better then this situation.

“Well little American, we’re going to have some fun here,” Victor smirked before turning to his men, the two buff and zombie-like guys behind me, nodding towards them.

Both looped their hands around my arms, my feet slid out from under me as more and more anxiety and dread pooled in the bottom of my stomach. I let out an almighty squeal that echoed across the walls and back to my head. Victor laughed sinisterly at my feverish attempt to save myself.

“That’s not going to work,” he chuckled more to himself then to me.

I was forced down into a chair, it was old, and I was half convinced it might snap beneath me. From the back, buckles and belts were drawn before clamming around my chest, waist, and ankles. My heart pounded against my chest a million miles an hour, throbbing, and demanding in its own way that I be sent back to Italy.

Victor’s other goons came back into my sight, wheeling a tray table with a voltage box full of leads and cables into my view as my heart began to race again. I tried as hard as I could to mentally prepare myself for the pain I was about to be in.

I couldn’t spill anything against Atlas, if I did, then even if I got out of here in some kind of miracle way, then I would be dead back in Italy as soon as I stepped foot across the boarder.

“Do you have anything you want to tell me American, heh?” He pried, smirking, and talking in that upbeat and rather annoying Russian voice.

I nodded up at him, I was so over this shit, he looked surprised but raised his eyebrows urging me to continue.

“Burn in hell you fuckwit!” I sneered up at his unshaven and ugly face. He growled and pulled a red and black cable from the tray table.

“Get ready you whore,” he burst out into laugher before walking closer to me with the cables, hitting them together and causing sparks, this guy watched to much drama.

For someone who hated America, he sure was well into Hollywood movies.

With one small jerk, he shoved the cables against my skin, I let out another unmatched squeal, my vocal cords threatening to snap and quit on me as a wave of buzzing was sent through my body, striking me like a million needles. From my brain to my toes, everything pulsed and blurred as my screams became muffled in my own mind.

Then it stopped.

“Are you ready to talk or should we try ten volts next?”

All I could do was twitch and wither in pain.

….

Atlas’ POV.

Jay finished up on the phone and I looked back at him impatiently as I waited for some kind of information regarding the whereabouts of Kozlov.

“And?” I demanded hastily, my mind was buzzing, pacing itself around in circles doing a million laps a minute.

“Russia Atlas. They’re back in the cold and dull Russia. That’s all they could find out, nothing more, these men aren’t stupid. They’re the second ranked most dangerous mafia in the world, to us of course, but if there’s one thing we know about Victor-” Jay spoke before I interrupted.

“Is his keen interest in the Soviet Union,” I finished for him. Jay nodded.

“And we all know who the greatest leader of the commie gang was,” I got up and began to pace around the plane again, taking a brief stop at the bar to grab myself a drink.

“They’re at Stalingrad Jay, where there’s also a base we know exactly how to find, located in the only building left with a jail made from Soviet times,”

“Holy shit boss, we’re going to Russia,” Jay shook his head, getting a drink also, clinking his glass against my own and smiling at his feet.

If anyone else were to undergo this mission, well, they wouldn’t survive what we were about to gamble our lives on.

“Call the compound, I was a squad of fifty men to go in there, if we play our cards right, no one should die. I’ll be going as well,” I order hurriedly before turning to look out the window, we were almost ready to land, I could see the Italian coastline.

“On it,” Jay nodded, going back to his phone. This poor guy wasn’t doing anything else on the plane other then ringing and hanging up before repeating.

“Yes, that’s correct. As soon as we land we take off again, no. not in the jet, in the carrier, we can’t make too much of an entrance. And bring the guns, all of the guns,” Jay hung up for about the millionth time.

“Are you ready?” I asked as he opened his leather jacket, revealing several guns and knives.

“Is that even a question?”

….

Aleara’s POV.

Three fucking hours.

I was beginning to see sparkles and shiny back dots from the corner of my eyes as they threatened to claim my consciousness for the hundredth time today. Ten volts was bad enough, twelve was almost killing me. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take.

“Who is Drakov cutting his deals with, how are the Italian mafia in such a good position in weaponry and drugs?!” He demanded as I panted and sighed, hanging my head to catch my breath after the last series of gut-wrenching shocks.

“I told you before, or do you have some kind of a hearing problem? Go. To. Hell,” my eyes went to roll back in my head again, but I managed to catch myself before I could pass out.

“Should we go to fourteen then?” he turned the dial up a notch as I shook my head slowly, unable to do much else, between the muscle spasms and the aching and excruciating pain, I was practically helpless.

“How about we take a few photos to send to dear old Atlas ay?” he laughed as the electricity coiled through every vein and nerve in my body sending me into a seizure like frenzy. My squeals and screams rang again off the walls and back into the centre of the room, practically bursting the ear drums of anyone who was close enough.

….

Atlas’ POV.

We hailed fire, our bullets backfiring off the walls, it was loud, and I didn’t care, I had one mission and one goal. To save Aleara. We had arrived and in good fashion too. Preparing for Russian weather isn’t easy, there’s no place on earth like it, and so, we had come dressed for the occasion.

“Jay, downstairs with me now! I want twenty men to follow, the rest keep up here and cover for our backs!” I ordered before descending the stairs, gun in hand and side eying the corners. We were so far underground that no one would have heard our commotion up top.

Victor Kozlov wasn’t in a position to make a calculated and well thought out plan, he didn’t have the money or the time for that. No, this was ruthless, he was desperate.

Suddenly, my heart stopped as from further below the ground, I caught ear of an ear shattering scream. Aleara. My guardian angel was somewhere down there dying.

My mind instantly flew into panic mode, and I darted around each corner, not even thinking about whether or not I would get my head blown in by a sniper. I had to reach her.

As I gained speed and distance, I approached a door, my men running behind me. I could hear the statics of electrical currents, dread and anger flooded through me. I took a run up and belted down the door, my world froze.

Aleara sat, strapped to a chair, spasming and wrenching as Kozlov held electrical wires to her body. This fucker was laughing. from behind me, Jay stormed past, going straight to Victor, he finally looked up.

“Hey fucker,” Jay drew his hand back and with one swift movement put a fist threw his jaw, knocking him the hell out.

“Sorry Atlas, you can kill him, I just wanted to pleasure of doing that. I hate these Russian scum,” I nodded, I couldn’t argue with him.

My men opened fire on the rest of the Russian goons, gunning them down in no time at all as I made my way across the room to Aleara whose head slumped forward, nearly unconscious. I knelt down on one knee and cupped her face in both of my hands. Her eyes lifted slightly to mine as I let out a relieved smile.

“Atlas?” her lips moved as the crackle that was her voice uttered my name.

“Yes, yes we’ve come to get you out of here,” I half whispered back as bullets flew around me. I didn’t care though. I had found her. I had really found her.

“Oh, thank God,” her eyelids fluttered shut before she forced them open again.

My fingers hurried to the restraint buckles as I forced them undone. She flopped forwards into my arms as I gripped her under her shoulders, attempting to help her up.

“Can you stand?” I asked as she gave a slight nod. I looped an arm around her waist as she half collapsed into my side.

From the ground, Kozlov sat up, blood from his nose dripped and covered his chin as he let out a sickening smile and laughed.

“Atlas Drakov come for your girl? You’ve gotten soft there,” he mocked me. I sneered and went to pull my gun from my pocket but realised it wasn’t there.

“I told you; you are going to die for this,” Aleara held my 9-millimeter pistol in a shaking hand, pointing it directly at the head of Victor Kozlov.

“and you’re going to be the one to kill me little American, I don’t think so, just like your boyfriend here, your soft,” he laughed, he wasn’t scared and personally I didn’t know if she would pull the trigger either.

“well, you were wrong,” She gripped the gun and in a swift movement with precise aim, she shot Kozlov through the middle of the head. He slumped forward, dead, she lowered the gun and just stared at his body.

“oh my god,” she muttered to herself. I pulled her into a hug, dragging her view away from the body. She began to cry, a mix of shock, pain, and pure exhaustion.

“Come on, let’s go home,” I muttered as I rested my chin onto the top of her head. She gave a brief nod before I helped her out of the room and up the stairs, gifting her my jacket as we entered the freezing air of the Russian night before getting on the plane.

We huddled onto the carrier, her still wrapped in my jacket, shivering, and shaking, as we sat down, I wrapped my arms around her.

“Thank you,” she whispered softly, closing her eyes, and laying her head on my shoulder.

“Just get some sleep,” I told her, secretly savouring this moment of her appreciation, I wanted this mutual peace to last longer then the plane ride back to the compound.