Black Operator: The Russian Assassin

By Eric Meyer

Taken meets The Terminator in an epic shortread novella from bestselling author Eric Meyer.

Firebrand speaker Maria Tereshkova is an enemy of the Russian state. An ardent reformer with an anti-corruption message, she has millions of loyal followers, and the Kremlin will stop at nothing until she is dead. Maria arrives in Chicago and into the crosshairs of a gunman sent by Moscow to kill her. The assassin is former elite soldier, mentally crippled and cruelly scarred. Yet despite his mental and physical wounds, he is immensely strong, and skilled with a wide range of weapons. A man without a soul, lacking the remotest compassion for men, women or children. An expert marksman hunter, and he never fails.

By chance, a burnt out former DEA agent, Cris Rhodes, finds her first on the streets of Chicago. He drags her to safety, but the gunman is right behind them. The killer leaves behind a trail of bodies and will stop at nothing to make the kill. Cris Rhodes is equally determined to protect her. The story is a breathless, rollercoaster ride. One man battling an awesome Russian killing machine. At stake is the life of a woman who is the sole hope for a suffering nation.

The author, Eric Meyer, has written many other thrillers, including the popular SEAL Team Bravo titles, the Raider series, as well as Echo Six and the Devil's Guard series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Swordworks Books
• Release date: Mar 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781911092728

Eric Meyer

An internationally recognized expert on the subjects of HTML, CSS, and Web standards, Eric has been working on the web since late 1993. He is the founder of Complex Spiral Consulting, a co-founder of the microformats movement, and co-founder (with Jeffrey Zeldman) of An Event Apart, the design conference series for people who make web sites. Beginning in early 1994, Eric was the campus Web coordinator for Case Western Reserve University, where he authored a widely acclaimed series of three HTML tutorials and was project lead for the online version of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History combined with the Dictionary of Cleveland Biography, the first example of an encyclopedia of urban history being fully and freely published on the Web.

Book preview

BLACK OPERATOR: THE RUSSIAN ASSASSIN

By Eric Meyer

Copyright 2017 by Eric Meyer

Published by Swordworks Books

www.facebook.com/ericmeyerfiction

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Prologue

The bitter northeast wind blew hard and cruel across the ancient cobblestones of Red Square, Moscow, Russian Federation; the focus of absolute power since the days of the Czars, and overlooked by the forbidding face of the Kremlin. They said the square always felt cold, no matter what the season. Red Square, the public face of the dark and bitter years of the Soviet era, before everything changed.

A new democracy dawned, and people looked for the end of their suffering under Communist rule. At first, the Russian Federation was the new hope for Eastern Europe and for much of the world. That hope died when the hard-faced men in the Kremlin took back the reins of power in their iron grasp. Yet more than half the population refused to accept the new reality, declaring they would not be bullied into silence. These were the women of the new Russian dictatorship, and they’d taken enough.

She climbed onto the rostrum, and the shouted chants increased in volume.

Ma-Ri-A. Ma-Ri-A!

Slim, erect, and determined, she waited for the tumult to die down. This was a woman of the new era, tough and proud, an inner core of sprung steel, thinly veiled by the attractive, dark-haired public face. Her classic high cheekbones and oval face could only belong to a modern Russian woman. She surveyed the many thousands of people who’d come to listen to her words. Most were women, but many men were also in the crowd. Waiting to hear their lives were about to change for the better.

She held up her hands for silence. Slowly, the chants died down, broken by the faint, distant wailing of sirens as the Moscow Militia answered emergency calls, or stopped vehicles to shake down the drivers. Or maybe on the way to Red Square. They would come, sooner or later. They always did.

After a pause, she spoke into a microphone, and her voice echoed off the gray stones of the Kremlin wall.

Women and men of Russia, I address my words to all of you. All who value freedom and equality. To those who suffer the beatings and brutality, whether delivered by partners or those policemen paid to protect us. Those who despise corruption at all levels of our society, from the bottom to the very top. To those who believe the darkest days of the Czars and the Soviet Empire are already upon us. The madness must stop. We must take back the nation in a bold, new revolution to strip the abusers and bullies of their powers!

The shouts began again. Revolution! Revolution! Ma-Ri-A! Ma-Ri-A!

She held up her hands, and silence fell again. You may have heard those in government who say I am not a Russian citizen, and therefore have no right to interfere in politics.

She smiled and held up a passport that everyone recognized as Russian. Here is the proof, and if you want more, there is this. She held up another document, and those nearest to her could it was a birth certificate. Also Russian. I was born less than ten kilometers from Red Square, and I will post these documents on my website, in case anyone has been misinformed.

At this point, she smiled. Especially those government officials who are determined to ignore the truth.

They laughed then, and the noise was a susurration, rolling and swirling in the air. They chanted, Ma-Ri-A. Ma-Ri-A.

She began speaking again. I have decided to stand for President of the Russian Republic. Cheers and shouts of acclaim greeted her announcement. The man who presently occupies that post is determined to stop me, and he will use every means, both legal and illegal to prevent my standing for election. They tell me speaking publicly in this place is illegal, and I should have first obtained a police permit. She paused, In my own country!

She waited, and they laughed at the absurdity. She doubted they’d laugh if they knew the truth. That she was a short step from arrest, a severe beating, and long imprisonment for some trumped up charge. She’d go the way of so many of the President’s opponents, and at worst, would disappear forever. The isolated, frozen wastes of Siberia were still a long, long way from Moscow.

Her chief bodyguard, Yuri Golovin, tapped her on the shoulder in a discreet gesture, and she turned her head a fraction.

We don’t have much time, Maria. The cops are starting to assemble on the far side of the Square. Another few minutes, and you know what’ll happen. A baton charge, and if they’re in a bad mood, they could even open fire on the crowd. They’ll do anything to stop you.

She stared at him in dismay. You think they’ll start shooting?

They’re scared, and frightened people do stupid things. We must get you away from here.

Her face was rigid. Impossible. I must finish saying what I’ve come to say. These people have come here to listen, and I won’t let them down.

He frowned. Five minutes, no more. Any more and I’ll carry you away.

I’ll be quick, Yuri.

She continued addressing the crowd, and now her message was more hurried. She talked of the abuses she’d suffered in her campaign for justice and equality. Of harassment, and endless official corruption trying to force her to stop. She didn’t stop, for Maria Tereshkova had much to say, and her strident voice carried to the furthest corners of the square. She was almost shouting, consumed by passion for her cause, her ideas to sweep away the dark cloud hovering over present-day Russia.

As the minutes ticked by, her bodyguards grew increasingly nervous. Searching for signs of a growing threat to the woman they guarded, and waiting for the inevitable attack. She glanced aside as Yuri took a firm hold of her arm.

They’re moving into the square. Maria, we must leave. Now!

I’m nearly finished, she murmured. Just another few minutes.

He was dragging her away. We’re out of time, he snapped, looking at the other bodyguards hovering anxiously around her. Get her out of here!

They moved in, and Maria felt her body grabbed by one man, her arms and legs by two others, and they were bundling her away. They jogged the platform steps, but they didn’t head for the armored BMW Seven series she’d used after several previous assassination attempts. Instead, they entered the crowd.

People panicked after her hurried departure, milling around in confusion. Tereshkova felt the knocks and bumps as they carried her through tightknit knots of people, and then she heard it begin. What they’d all feared, the blast of whistles, shouted orders, and screams of terrified people. The Moscow Militia had arrived, attacking the crowd, forcing their way in, trying to reach her.

The bodyguards kept pushing through the almost impenetrable mass of people. They’d had no choice, using the car would have given the Militia a chance to ambush her with a simple roadblock. So they used the tens of thousands of supporters as a smokescreen and a barrier between her and the Militia.

The screams became louder, and a single shot cracked out. Then another, and a noise like exploding firecrackers erupted in the square. Assault rifles firing on full auto, and the shouts of panic became screams of the wounded and dying. The Militia was fighting hard to reach her, and when they failed to part the crowd, they used extreme force. Gunfire, and innocents were dying.

She wanted it to stop, wanted to try reasoning with the Militia. Even if it meant her arrest, with all the consequent cruelties the State could muster. She shouted and pleaded with Yuri to slow down, to allow her to intervene. He was deaf to her entreaties, squeezing and pushing their way through the terrified stampede. They