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them another ten minutes to clear the upper floor. Kurtz moved like a machine. Devoid of emotion, he executed a wounded man and shot another down as he ran. It was clear he had no intention of leaving any of them alive.
    A small group of gunmen had holed up in the barn behind the manor. They were firing randomly, peppering the building with gunfire. The PRIMAL operatives had surveyed them from the top floor, standing well back in the rooms to avoid any chance of being spotted. Exiting through the front door of the residence, they hugged the building, working around to the flank.
    “We could set fire to the barn…that would sort them out,” suggested Aleks as they crouched in the darkness.
    “No,” Kurtz snapped. “There’s probably a girl in there. Aurelia had been looking after one who was bitten by a dog.”
    “Then we need to get her out. We could use one of those cars…”
    A line of vehicles was parked alongside the manor, a battered old Mercedes and two four-wheel drives. They snuck up to a four-wheel drive, its shot-out windows confirming it was the one used to abduct Aurelia. Aleks tried the door. Locked. He reached in through the shattered window and unlocked it. A single suppressed pistol round ensured the interior light wouldn’t come on as he opened it.
    Another burst of AK fire slammed into the upper story of the manor as the remaining criminals fired at shadows. Kurtz lobbed a distraction onto the roof. It bounced on the slate tiles and exploded, drawing even more fire.
    Aleks tore the wiring out of the Toyota SUV and jury-rigged an ignition circuit. It started with a cough, the diesel engine running rough in the cold air. He reached in, placed one hand on the brake, and dropped it into reverse. Then he gave the accelerator a jab and jumped back from the vehicle. The truck reversed slowly toward the barn, gaining more speed on the slight decline. Aleks and Kurtz jogged behind it, using the car as cover.
    One of the criminals spotted the vehicle and shouted a warning to his comrades. They opened up with their guns, punching the rear of the car full of holes as it rolled toward them. It crunched through the double doors and smashed into a row of dormitory-style beds, finally grinding to a stop in the debris pile it created.
    The PRIMAL operatives peeled out from either side of the vehicle and unleashed a savage volley of suppressed gunfire on the remaining hostiles.
    Alert for any others, they cleared the main dormitory room.
    “Lots of beds here, Kurtz. At least twenty girls at a time.” Aleks strode deeper into the barn.
    “Imagine how many girls these Schweine have sold into slavery.” Kurtz moved through a door at the back into a short hallway with small rooms on either side. It was the remnants of the stalls where the horses had once lived, the spaces still containing discarded equestrian equipment. Kurtz checked them one by one.
    “We need to get out of here. If we stay longer, the police will be on us.” Aleks was waiting in the dorm, alert for any more of Guszt á v’s men.
    “ Ja , one more room.” Kurtz swung the door inward and found a small stretcher covered in tattered blankets. He had turned to leave when he heard a faint moan coming from the pile of rags. He pulled back a blanket and exposed the deathly white face of a beautiful young woman.
    “Aleks, I’ve found her.”
    She moaned in pain as he checked the bandages on her arm and leg. Aurelia had done a good job dressing the wounds but the smell of dead flesh told him they were infected.
    “It’s going to be OK,” Kurtz whispered. The girl moaned as Kurtz wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up.
    “Aleks, we need transport and we need it yesterday.”
    “We’ll take her with us, da ?”
    Kurtz carried her into the dormitory, where Aleks was waiting. “She needs antibiotics badly. I need to clean and close her wounds.”
    “Then let’s go. We should be able to use that old Merc.” Aleks took the lead, his 417 in his