Hetman Read Online Free PDF Page B

your wrists.”
    “Because your own are limp?”
    Brovchenko frowned the true meaning of the idiom did not translate from English to Russian. “No, I need to put handcuffs on you.”
    Without warning Klyuyvets lunged at Snow, swinging his arm. Snow adjusted his stance and stepped aside. The fat man’s face contorted with rage and he reached for his baton. Without hesitation Snow grabbed the officer’s arm turned his wrist and using a pressure hold pinned him to the floor. Klyuyvets grunted and struggled. Brovchenko gawped and then reached for his pistol. Snow sprang up and with one hand pushed the trigger arm sideways whilst the other landed a punch on his jaw. The thin officer stumbled backwards and then collapsed. His head hit the floor with a heavy thud rendering him unconscious. Snow turned the older man was now on his knees.
    “You piece of shit!” Klyuyvets swung his baton at Snow, who stepped out of the way and kicked the officer in the head which snapped back rendering him too unconscious.  
    “Aidan, what have you done?” Katya put her hands on her head.
    He ignored Katya’s question and checked both men were still breathing and that their skulls were not fractured before cuffing them with own cuffs. “At least we now know what they wanted. Check their ID.”
    Still in a mild state of shock she did as she was told. “Ah, that’s why they refused to speak Ukrainian.” She pointed to a driving licence. “They are from Donetsk.”
    “Makes sense, new faces come in and want their share of the ‘cake’.”
    Katya nodded and started to rant. “Since that goat became president he’s been replacing everyone with his own people. My friend’s an estate agent and she says that most of the companies renovating flats are from the East, especially the Donbas region. On the roads there are more and more cars with number plates starting with ‘AN’ – Donetsk and can you believe this even the supermarkets are using Eastern Ukrainian suppliers! The country is going down the toilet!”
    Snow knew all of this, but did not interrupt her, she needed to talk, to vent - it would help lessen her shock. Most of Russian speaking population of Ukraine wanted closer ties with Russian now that their man had become President and the last vestige of the Orange Revolution had been swept away. ‘Party’ men from the East had come to the capital and started what was at first called a ‘quiet coup’. Now however more and more noise was being made as they continued to gain control of public and private bodies.
    Katya continued. “That’s why we are going to move. I’ve been offered a job in London.   My bank’s re-launching its Eastern European venture capital unit. They want me to be part of the team dealing with Ukraine and Russia.”
    “So you’ll be speaking Russian and dealing with the ‘Bandits from Donetsk’.”
    “Oh shit.” Her focus turned again to the two recumbent officers. “Oh shit Aidan, what have you done?”
    “I saw red, I hate bullies.” Snow realised he had made a mistake but it had felt good to slap the two men silly.
    “But they’ll be missed, we’ll get arrested!”
    Snow looked at his phone. “Maybe not, we’ve got some leverage. Tell me about your neighbours?”
    “But why…”
    “Please.”
    She frowned. “That side,” she pointed to the left, “is owned by an old woman. She never speaks to me. She’s half deaf, keeps herself to herself.”
    “So she probably wouldn’t have heard anything.”
    “And the flat across from us is owned by an alcoholic.”
    “A fiend of Brian’s?”
    “Ha ha. No. He’s very loud when he’s pissed.”
    “So we can assume that if anyone did hear anything they may think it was the bloke across the hall?”
    “Ok, I get it. But what happens when the Militia come looking for them?”
    “Hopefully we won’t need to keep hold of them for that long.”
    “Aidan, I don’t like any of this. This is my home and now I’ve got two bound up