Burning Angels

Jaeger felt his teeth grinding against each other. His jaw locked solid. His muscles were taut with tension as he fought against the blind urge to lash out; to strike back. He knew where it would get him. His hands had been bound with duct tape again, and he could feel the thugs’ eyes upon him, willing him to make the first move.

He had to await his chance. Sooner or later they would make a mistake and then he would strike.

The grey man spread his hands invitingly. ‘So, Mr Jaeger, in an effort to help your family, please tell me: when will your friends be arriving? Who exactly are we to expect? And how are we to recognise them?’

Jaeger felt a war explode within his head. He was being torn in opposite directions. Was he to sell out his closest friends? Betray his fellow warriors? Or lose the only chance he had of seeing Ruth and Luke again?

Screw it, he told himself. Narov had betrayed him. She was supposedly on the side of the angels, but it had all been an act. She had sold him out as no one ever had before.

Who was there left that he could trust?

Jaeger’s mouth opened. At the last moment, he choked back the words. If he let them break him, he was betraying his loved ones.

He would never betray his wife and child.

He had to hold firm.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

The grey man raised both eyebrows. It was the nearest that Jaeger had seen him come to any kind of spontaneous reaction. Clearly he was surprised.

‘I am a reasonable, patient man,’ he breathed. ‘I will give you another chance. I will offer your family another chance.’ A pause. ‘Tell me, when will your friends be arriving? Who exactly are we to expect? And how are we to recognise them?’

‘I cannot answer—’

‘Look, if you will not cooperate, things will become very difficult for you. For your family. So it is very simple. Give me the answers. When will your friends arrive? Who exactly are they? How will we know them?’

‘I cannot—’

The grey man cut Jaeger off with a snap of the fingers. He glanced in the direction of his thugs. ‘Enough. It is over. Take him away.’

The black bag was whipped over Jaeger’s head; he felt his chin slammed on to his chest and his arms jammed together.

An instant later he was on his feet, being dragged from the room like a broken rag doll.

20

Behind the glass partition, Narov shuddered. She watched in horrified fascination as Jaeger’s hooded form was dragged from the room. The two-way mirror offered her a perfect view of proceedings.

‘You are not enjoying this, I think?’ a voice ventured.

It was Peter Miles, the elderly man whom Jaeger had presumed had been shot dead in the woods.

‘I am not,’ Narov muttered. ‘I thought it was necessary, but… Does it have to go on? To the bitter end?’

The old man spread his hands. ‘You are the one who told us he needed to be tested. This blockage he has over his wife and child… this utter desperation; this guilt. It can drive a man to contemplate what he would never normally do. Love is a powerful emotion; love of a child perhaps the most powerful of all.’

Narov slumped lower in her seat.

‘It is not for too much longer,’ Peter Miles offered. ‘The biggest test — he is surely through it. If he had failed that, he would not be joining us.’

Narov nodded morosely, her mind lost in a swirl of dark thoughts.

There was a knock at the door. A much older, wizened figure entered. He planted his walking stick firmly inside the doorway, concern etched in his gaze. He looked to be in his nineties, but under his thick, bushy brows his eyes remained beady and alert.

‘You are done here, I think?’

Peter Miles massaged his forehead exhaustedly. ‘Almost. Thank God. Just a short while and we will know for certain.’

‘But was this all really necessary?’ the old man queried. ‘I mean, remember who his grandfather was.’

Miles glanced at Narov. ‘Irina seemed to believe it was. Remember, she has served with him in high-stress situations — in the heat of combat — and has witnessed how his nerve can sometimes appear to falter.’

A flash of anger blazed through the old man’s eyes. ‘He has been through so much! He may falter, but he’ll never break. Never! He is my nephew, and a Jaeger.’

‘I know,’ Miles conceded. ‘But I think you understand my meaning.’

The old man shook his head. ‘No man should have to suffer what he has been put through these past few years.’

‘And we’re unsure what effect that has had upon him long-term. Hence Narov’s concerns. Hence the present… procedures.’

The old man glanced at Narov. Surprisingly, there was a kindly look in his eyes. ‘My dear — cheer yourself. What will be will be.’

‘I’m sorry, Uncle Joe,’ she murmured. ‘Perhaps my fears are misplaced. Unfounded.’

The old man’s face softened. ‘He comes from good stock, my dear.’

Narov glanced at the silvery-haired man. ‘He has not placed a foot wrong, Uncle. He has not let anyone down, all through the testing. I fear I was mistaken.’

‘What will be will be,’ the old man echoed. ‘And perhaps Peter is right. It is perhaps best we are absolutely certain.’