trade
A biting wind howled through the V-shaped valleys of the Alps, whipping up loose snow that stung their faces like knives. Keegan knelt in the snow, carefully applying pressure bandages from a torn first-aid kit to Elaine's leg—a deep, exposed-bone wound inflicted by metal. He moved as gently as possible, but each touch sent Elaine gasping in pain, her face turning ashen.
The plane crash they had just experienced, the life-or-death rescue, and that unexpected yet incredibly powerful confession filled the air between them with a complex mix of emotions—a feeling of relief and indescribable sorrow. Keegan's arm was in excruciating pain from the fracture and overexertion, but he endured it, focusing all his attention on Elaine's injury.
“We must…we must find Hesh as soon as possible. Logan needs emergency care…” Elaine said weakly, her teeth chattering from the cold and pain. She looked at Logan, who was still unconscious behind a rock not far away, her eyes filled with worry.
Keegan had just nodded and was about to try calling again with his emergency communicator, which was severely damaged in the crash and had intermittent signal, when a voice, as mocking and cold as the Alpine wind, came like a venomous snake from the edge of the cliff about ten meters above them: "Wow, wow... Look who this is? The famous Keegan Russ, instead of reaping souls on the battlefield, he's gone to play the hero in the fairytale snowscape of the Alps? How... touching."
Keegan's body tensed instantly, his reaction incredibly fast! Almost at the same moment the sound rang out, he had already pulled Elaine behind him, completely shielding her with his body. At the same time, his right hand flashed out of the holster on his thigh, cocked the pistol with a click, and raised his arm as steady as a rock. His sharp, hawk-like eyes were fixed on the source of the sound—even as a piercing pain shot through his left arm, the entire sequence of movements was completed in an instant, without any hesitation.
On the edge of the cliff, a lean figure, almost perfectly blending into the environment in top-tier snow camouflage, sat leisurely on a protruding rock, legs dangling in the air. The newcomer wore his signature smile, a mixture of contempt, mockery, and a touch of cruel amusement—it was Kruger. He casually tossed a uniquely shaped small throwing knife in his hand, its blade reflecting a cold, eerie gleam in the pale moonlight.
“Relax, old friend.” Kruger chuckled, his gaze sweeping with interest over the disheveled two below, the unconscious Logan, and the still-smoking wreckage of the plane in the distance. “Looks like your airline’s service isn’t great. Need a reliable driver for a ride?”
“Kruger.” Keegan’s voice was colder than the glacier, his gun barrel remaining perfectly still. “What are you doing here?”
“Me?” Kruger shrugged dramatically, leaping lightly off the rock and landing on the slope. He glided gracefully like a snow leopard to a position closer to them, completely ignoring the gun pointed at him. “Just passing by… enjoying skiing. And seeing if there are any… abandoned ‘high-value items’ to salvage. Looks like I’ve hit the jackpot today.” His gaze, like a viper’s tongue, swept over Elaine, who was tightly protected behind Keegan, with a pointed implication.
Elaine's heart pounded. She gripped Keegan's combat suit tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. Kruger's appearance was no accident; his gaze sent chills down her spine.
"Enough with the nonsense," Keegan interrupted him, his tone devoid of any warmth. "What do you want?"
“Direct! That’s what I admire about you!” Kruger grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth. “I heard you guys found some… very interesting ‘souvenirs’ in the data junkyard the other day. Some… less-than-honorable little secrets between some of our well-dressed ‘big shots’ and that arms dealer, Mr. Makarov.” He slowly took two more steps forward, lowering his voice, which was filled with a devilish allure and a chilling threat: “Hand me that… complete, beautiful chain of evidence about a certain NATO bigwig’ and Makarov’s friendly ‘handshake.’ In exchange, I guarantee the three of you—oh, if that big guy Hesh is still alive, four—will leave this picturesque snow-capped mountain alive and well. Even…” He paused, his smile deepening, “and I can also throw in some inside information about who’s so kind as to insist on giving you a one-way ticket to the crash site. A fair deal, isn’t it?”
Keegan's pupils contracted slightly. Kruger not only knew they had obtained the evidence, but seemed to know its nature and content perfectly! This meant either the internal leaks had reached alarming levels, or the intelligence network behind Kruger was unfathomably deep.
"Impossible." Keegan's answer was firm and left no room for negotiation.
"Is that so?" Kruger scoffed dismissively, his gaze deliberately sweeping over Elaine's blood-soaked trousers before glancing at the silent Logan in the distance. "Do you really think that, in your current half-crippled state, you can carry a seriously injured, unconscious burden and a lady who can barely stand, and get out alive before rescue arrives—if any fool would even bother looking for you in this godforsaken place? Look at the sky, the temperature is still plummeting, and a blizzard might just be popping up to add to the excitement. Or do you think those guys who didn't kill you on the first hit will just pack up and go home to sleep, without sending any professionals for 'after-sales service' to ensure the job is done perfectly?" His words, like needles chilled to the bone, pierced precisely into Keegan's deepest anxieties.
Elaine could feel the tension in Keegan's back muscles, and she understood that Kruger was depicting a cold, ruthless reality.
Keegan was caught in a terrible dilemma. Handing over the evidence would be tantamount to handing over a game-changing trump card to this unscrupulous, profit-driven mercenary, with no way of predicting the chain reaction that would follow. But if he didn't hand it over, all four of them might quietly freeze to death or bleed to death in this desolate wilderness, and the evidence would ultimately fall into enemy hands or even be completely destroyed.
Just then, Elaine's icy fingers gently squeezed Keegan's wrist, her voice weak yet exceptionally clear: "Keegan... survive... so you can continue fighting." She looked up at his tense profile, her eyes filled with trust and absolute confidence: the core data model and key solutions were in her mind; as long as he was alive, there was still hope.
Keegan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, all hesitation had vanished, leaving only a cold resolve and the awareness of bearing a heavy price. He looked at Kruger, his voice hoarse but firm: "I can give you the evidence. But you must immediately provide effective medical assistance to ensure that all of us, including finding Hesh, are safely evacuated to the designated location. And tell me who is behind this."
"Deal! It's so satisfying to do business with savvy people!" Kruger snapped his fingers readily, a satisfied smile spreading across his face, as if he had just completed a routine transaction. He raised his hand and whispered something into the microphone at his collar.
Almost the instant he finished speaking, several well-equipped and agile mercenaries appeared silently above the cliff. They quickly threw down rappelling ropes and slid down like ghosts, beginning their work efficiently: two quickly checked Logan's vital signs and immobilized and kept him warm, while the other carried a professional medical kit toward Elaine.
Keegan retrieved a small, inconspicuous, dark encrypted storage device, slightly larger than a fingernail, from a highly concealed, waterproof pocket inside his combat suit. He gripped it tightly; the small metal block felt incredibly heavy. Finally, he tossed it to Kruger.
Kruger caught it precisely, toyed with it between his fingertips, and a smug smile spread across his face, like someone who had just caught their prey. "Pleasure doing business with you." He waved his hand, and his men became even busier.
While the others were frantically trying to rescue him, Kruger strolled leisurely over to Keegan and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "As a bonus, since we had a pleasant deal, the pilot who wanted to crash you into the mountain had a sum of money deposited into his overseas account three days ago from a shell company in the Virgin Islands. Following that company, the trail seems to lead to a distant cousin of one of the lowly managers in your 'Eagle's Nest' who's in charge of scheduling flights. Don't forget to dust the corners when you're cleaning the house." He finished speaking, patted Keegan's uninjured shoulder, gave him a meaningful, cold laugh, and retreated into the shadows, coldly observing everything.
Keegan didn't respond; his gaze was fixed on Elaine, who was being professionally bandaged. They had survived, but at the cost of evidence that could change the course of events and a pact with the devil. He watched the efficient yet cold figures of Kruger's men, feeling no relief, only an even heavier pressure.
At the foot of the Alps, the frigid air was thick with the smell of snow and diesel exhaust. Kruger's men moved with astonishing efficiency, but also with a chill as intense as the polar climate. The unconscious Logan and Elaine, severely wounded in the leg and delirious from blood loss and excruciating pain, were quickly and professionally secured to military stretchers and safely transported to the top of the cliff using multiple rappelling systems sculpted along the steep rock face.
Despite the excruciating pain from the fracture in his left arm, Keegan refused any help and, with astonishing willpower and his intact right arm, climbed up after him. His sharp eyes constantly monitored every subtle movement of Kruger and his men, ensuring that they did not overstep the bounds of the deal.
Fortunately, the search of the surrounding area quickly yielded results. Hesh was found in a deep snow ditch a few hundred meters from the main wreckage. He had been thrown from the cockpit by the powerful centrifugal force during the crash and landed on the thick snow. Miraculously, he only suffered some bruises from the impact and a mild concussion, and remained conscious. This was undoubtedly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Kruger appeared to strictly adhere to the terms of the "deal," providing necessary emergency medical care—injecting Logan with vital signs-maintaining medication, performing professional hemostasis, debridement, and temporary immobilization on Elaine's leg injury, and providing frostbite relief and body temperature-raising measures for everyone.
The group then traveled in unmarked snowmobiles provided by Kruger, quietly arriving under the cover of night at a seemingly ordinary private clinic on the outskirts of a remote town at the foot of the mountain. The clinic was surprisingly well-equipped, clearly more than it appeared. There, the four underwent a more thorough examination and wound stabilization treatment.
Throughout the entire process, Kruger acted like a detached bystander. After confirming the transaction was completed—the encrypted storage device handed over by Keegan was initially verified on the spot by his technical experts—he and his ghostly mercenaries, just as they had come, disappeared into the night without uttering a word, leaving behind only four survivors in the clinic, their emotions complex.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
