Ganglands: Russia: Russia by Ross Kemp Page A

you, brothers.Do not disappoint us.’
    Although his words echoed sonorously around the deserted complex, Alexei noticed that Viktor had made no moves to put on fatigues himself.Instead the leader of the Eagles took a seat alongside Nadia, allowing Pavel to step forward.
    ‘You will all complete one full lap of the terrain with a rucksack on your back,’ the ex-soldier said briskly.‘I will lead the way.Fifty press-ups for anyone who fails to keep up.There is no room for passengers in the 88s.’
    Trooping over to pick up a rucksack, Alexei was astonished by how heavy it was.He unzipped it, only to see that the sack had been filled with bricks.
    ‘What the hell –?’
    There was an unpleasant laugh next to him.‘You’re with men now,’ growled Medved, slipping his rucksack on to his back as though it was filled with feathers.‘Try and keep up.’
    Gritting his teeth, Alexei pulled on the rucksack.There was no way he was going to let Medved get a cheap laughat his expense.The Eagles fell in line behind the diminutive form of Pavel, who turned and began jogging along the rooftop.Alexei took up a position close behind Medved at the back of the formation, trying to ignore the bricks scraping against his back as he kept pace with the giant skinhead.The air rumbled with the sound of boots clumping across the concrete.
    The Eagles jogged down a set of steps running around the outside of the complex to the ground, before abruptly turning into a basement.Temporarily blinded by the plunge from sunlight to complete darkness, Alexei cried out as he felt his feet go out from under him and he tumbled into a pool of water.It was collected snowmelt – so cold that the air was buffeted from Alexei’s lungs, and his heart pounded in protest.Weighed down by his rucksack, he desperately searched out a footing on the rocky floor, breaking back through the surface of the water.As Alexei wiped his eyes, gasping for breath, he saw the burly figure of Medved wading past him.The Eagle had completely ignored him.Alexei splashed angrily after him, and dragged himself out of the snowmelt on to dry land.
    He soon realized that he was probably safer in the freezing pool.The basement was a pitch-black deathtrap of missing steps, holes in the floor, and reinforcement rods sticking treacherously out of the ground.It may have only been a training day, but there was real risk of serious injury here.The Eagles’ pace slowed as they stopped to warn one another about the upcoming hazards.Still shivering from his plunge into the snowmelt, Alexei dropped to the back of the line.
    As the basement exit finally came into view, there was a howl of pain in the gloom ahead of him.Peering through the darkness, Alexei saw that Medved had trapped his foot in one of the treacherous potholes, and was clutching his ankle in pain.Trying to suppress a grin of triumph, Alexei made to jog past him – only to stop in his tracks.Medved may have been a loathsome individual, but that didn’t mean Alexei had to be too.He turned back and held out his hand.The large man looked up at him suspiciously, then grasped Alexei’s hand and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet.
    ‘You all right?’ Alexei asked.
    Medved gave him a furious look, checking Alexei’s face for any sign of mockery.Eventually the large man nodded.‘Better get a move on,’ he growled.‘Unless you like press-ups.’
    Alexei didn’t need the encouragement.As he burst out of the cellar back into the sunlight, leaving the hobbling Medved far behind, Alexei’s competitive nature took over.He drove onwards through the vegetation and then back up through the levels of the hospital, taking pleasure every time he overtook a panting skinhead.The Eagles might have done this exercise before, but Alexei had been in intensive training of his own for years, and was nearing his physical peak.
    By the time he had completed a circuit of the complex, only five of the Eagles had finished ahead of him.Alexei threw