Stanski swore and struggled free, theengine still running. "Damn!" He switched off the engine and went tohelp her.

"Are you all right?"

She took his outstretched hand and hepulled her out of the ditch. "I ... I think so ... I don't know." TheBMW's headlight was still working and Stanski saw that there was a deep cut onher forehead. Her clothes were covered in slush and bramble, and her hands werescratched. He wiped her face with her headscarf and then tied it around herbloodied forehead.

"It'll have to do for now, I'mafraid."

"What about the motorbike?"

"I'll have a look."

As he went to retrieve the bike he lookedback and saw a blaze of headlights approaching at speed behind them on theroad.

"The militia must have followed usor alerted another patrol."

He quickly righted the BMW and checked itas best he could. There didn't appear to be any real damage but the front wheelwas tangled with grass and bramble.

He went to work frantically, tearing itaway, and then he mounted the machine and kicked the starter arm. The enginemade a sputtering sound and died. "Christ ... !"

"Try it again!"

He did. It sounded the same. They bothlooked back. The headlights were coming closer, moving rapidly. Stanski tookout his pistol and handed it to Anna.

"if they get close enough, try toshoot out their headlights."

He tried to start the BMW once more butthe engine died again.

"Damn it to hell!"

Suddenly Anna pointed and cried,"Look!"

Coming in the other direction along theroad Stanski saw a convoy of lights, perhaps three vehicles in all, maybe akilometer away or less. He turned back frantically, sweat on his face.

Across the road up ahead, twenty metersaway, was a gate leading into a field covered in snow. It led down a long slopeinto darkness.

He pointed to the gate and shouted toAnna, "Open it!"

,,What?"

"The gate-open it---quickly Anna ranacross the road and went to push the gate open. It refused to budge. She triedagain. It was stuck hard.

Stanski ran over to her and kicked at thegate, hammering at it madly until it burst open. He said to her, "Staythere!"

He ran back to the BMW, climbed on, andwith all his weight kicked the starter arm with terrific force and the enginethundered at last.

The convoy was almost on top of them butat that moment they heard the roar of an engine from the other direction, as acovered jeep came around the corner at speed, skidding to a halt.

Stanski drove toward Anna at the gate asthey were both caught in the sudden glare of the jeep's headlights. Suddenlyfrom both directions there were blasts of gunfire, bullets kicking up snow andstitching across the road, as voices barked orders and vehicles screeched to ahalt, men jumping out of cars and trucks.

Stanski grabbed Anna's arm and pulled heronto the bike, revved the engine, and they tore through the open gate into thefield and down the slope, as bursts of rifle and machine-gun fire crackledbehind them.

Lukin's heart was pounding.

The wail of the siren screamed into thenight as the Zil ate up the road, the driver working hard to keep the big carfrom skidding.

They had already covered thirtykilometers in twenty minutes, the two militia motorbike riders in helmets andgoggles on either side of the car racing ahead every now and then to cleartraffic in the way. As they sped through a country village the radio crackledand Lukin picked up the hand mike.

"Lukin."

The adjutant's voice came back."Base here, sir. We ran into them again. The same country road six kilometerseast."

"What happened?" Lukin saidurgently.

"They're still on the motorbike.When the patrols caught up with them they drove into a field anddisappeared."

"Don't lose them!" Lukin roaredinto the mike. "Cut them off! Cut them off!"

"We're doing that, sir. The patrolshave gone after them on foot. According to one of the militia, the field runsdown to a valley and a stretch of forest. Four minor dirt roads leading in andout. I'm having them all covered as we speak."

"Whatever you do, don't let them escape!I'm on my way." Lukin dropped the mike and said to the driver, "Youheard him. The same road. And keep your foot down. We haven't got allday"'

The BMW roared down the slope and whenthey came to the bottom Stanski braked. There was a narrow frozen stream, adark forest beyond it.

Anna looked back over her shoulder andsaw lights. Figures were running down the incline after them, bullets crackinginto the trees on either side.

Stanski shouted back ' "Hold on astight as you can. This is where it's going to get rough."

Once across the frozen stream theheadlight illuminated a rugged track through cavernous woods.

The tires crunched and bumped over thetrack, the smell of pine in the forest almost overwhelming. Minutes later theycut out onto a broader, heavily rutted road that had obviously been used byforestry vehicles. There were banks of freshly felled trees stacked nearby andStanski said to Anna, "Have we been followed?"

"I haven't seen anyone. Not since weleft the field."

He stopped the bike and pulled up hisgoggles, his face covered in dirt.

"Give me the map."

Anna removed it from her blouse andStanski lit a match and tried to read it in the spluttering light.

"Where are we?"

"A place called Bear Valley Forest,by the looks of it. But how we get out of it, God only knows. There are noroads marked on the map."

Stanski looked around at her face. It waspale and frozen and he could see the terrible strain and fear. "Anna, ifwe get into trouble, keep your pill ready, you understand?"

"I thought we were in troublealready."

He smiled grimly. "Then let's hopeit doesn't get any worse. OK, let's see if we can find a way out of here."

He revved the throttle and turned rightonto the forest road.

Lukin's car halted and he saw theheadlights and activity up ahead, half a dozen vehicles cramming the narrowroad, uniformed men milling about.

He climbed out of the car and ran up to acaptain who looked in charge.

He flashed his ID. "Major Lukin, KGBMoscow. I authorized this pursuit. What's going on here?"

The captain saluted. "They got away,sir. The crazy bastards drove into a forest down below. I've sent a dozen mendown after them but we haven't got suitable transport to pursue."

Lukin noticed that a gate into a fieldwas open, a single tire mark cutting down the starched white field. He sawfigures at the bottom of the slope with flashlights. Loud voices reached himfrom the darkness below.

He turned back to the captain urgently."Get on your radio and make sure all roads leading out of there areblocked off. I want every available man ringing those woods. Do it, man!"

"It's already been done, sir..."

"Then get on the radio again andmake sure it is. I'm holding you personally responsible. And inform any patrolsgoing into the area I'm on my way down." Lukin looked around frantically,already knowing what he had to do. He saw a sergeant with a Kalashnikov andsaid to the captain, "I want that man's weapon."

"Sir?"

"The Kalashnikov, bring ithere."

As the captain scurried over to thesergeant, Lukin ran back to the two motorcycle riders who had dismounted. Hegrabbed one of the machines, climbed on and kicked it into life.

As the startled rider began to protest,Lukin roared, "Out of my way!"