Blood Diamonds Tallinn Chapter 8

Miko

Emma woke to the sound of voices, muffled but sharp, drifting through the thin wall of the concrete room. Her head throbbed, her cheek burning where the man had hit her. The air tasted of dust and copper—her own blood, dried at the corner of her mouth. For a heartbeat she didn’t remember where she was, only Liina’s face, her pink scarf, the spray of red across the back door. Then it all crashed back: the woods, the factory, the diamonds, the rope biting into her wrists.​

She blinked, eyes adjusting to the dim light of the bare bulb. The chair she was tied to felt colder now, the concrete floor seeping chill through her sneakers. Her stomach growled, hollow and insistent, but fear drowned out hunger. She strained to hear the voices again.

“…Margus,” someone said, the name cutting through the fog in her mind. “You want the girl, you pay more.” It was her abductor’s voice, low and rough, speaking in heavily accented English, then slipping into Russian.​

Emma froze. Margus. The name echoed, unfamiliar yet charged with something she couldn’t place. Then, clearer, the other voice came through—calm, measured, almost familiar.

“Payment is fine,” the second voice said. “But I need confirmation. The diamonds, the girl. You have them both?”​

“Yes,” the abductor snapped. “American girl. Emma. She has diamonds. More than I thought. We split, you get your share, I get mine. You tell your friend in the States his daughter is alive… for now.”​

Emma’s breath hitched. Her father. Alex. The word landed like a punch. Why was this stranger talking about her dad? And why was he on the phone with someone named Margus? Her mind spun—images of Liina’s flat, the shooting, Miko vanishing into the woods, the diamonds hidden in her innerwear. None of it fit. None of it made sense.​

The abductor’s footsteps approached the door. Emma squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to be unconscious, heart hammering so hard she was sure he would hear it through the wall. The door creaked open, hinges groaning. A shadow fell across the floor.

“Wake up,” he said, his voice flat. “We’re not done.”​

Emma forced her eyes open slowly, blinking as if dazed. The man loomed over her, broad‑shouldered, his face half‑shadowed. He wore a dark jacket, his hands calloused and stained. In one hand he held a mobile phone, screen still glowing.​

“You heard,” he said, not asking. “You heard my conversation.”​

Emma swallowed, throat dry. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered, voice trembling.​

He stepped closer, the phone clutched in his hand. “Don’t lie,” he said. “You heard your name. You heard your father’s name.”​

Emma’s stomach dropped. “My dad?” she asked, confusion cutting through the fear. “What about him?”​

The man’s lips curled into a humorless smile. “Your father is a friend of Margus,” he said. “Old friends. NATO days. You know nothing, yes?”

Emma’s mind reeled. NATO? Alex had never mentioned any Estonian friends. He’d served overseas, sure, but always in vague terms—“military stuff,” he’d say, changing the subject. Now this stranger was claiming her father was connected to someone named Margus, and that they were talking about her, about the diamonds, about payment.​

“Why… why are you doing this?” Emma asked, tears welling. “Please… just let me go. I don’t have any more diamonds. I gave you what I had.”​

The man’s expression hardened. “You gave me some,” he corrected, stepping closer. “But not all. You hid them. You think I’m stupid?”​

Emma shook her head, panic rising. “No… I swear… I don’t have any more. Miko has the rest. We got separated. I don’t know where he is.”​

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Miko,” he repeated, the name rolling off his tongue like a curse. “The boy who ran with you. The boy who knows where the rest of the diamonds are.”​

Emma’s heart pounded. “I don’t know where he is,” she said, her voice breaking. “We got separated in the woods. I was running… I don’t know where he went.”​

The man’s hand shot out, grabbing her by the throat. Emma gasped, clawing at his fingers, her vision blurring. “You lie,” he snarled in Russian. “You lie to me, you die.”​

He released her, shoving her head back against the chair. “Where are the rest of the diamonds?” he demanded, his voice rising. “Tell me now, or I call Margus and tell him you’re not cooperating. You think he’ll care about his friend’s daughter then?”​

Emma’s mind raced, questions piling on top of each other. Why is Margus involved? Why is he talking about my dad? What do they want from me? The diamonds felt like a curse, a weight dragging her down. She’d hidden them in her innerwear, thinking it was the safest place, but now it felt like the worst decision she’d ever made.​

“I don’t have any more,” she sobbed. “I swear… I don’t have any more. Miko has them. I don’t know where he is.”​

The man’s hand came down again, this time across her face. The impact sent stars exploding behind her eyes, pain radiating through her cheek. “You lie!” he shouted in Russian, his voice booming. “You lie to me, you die!”​

Emma’s vision blurred, tears mixing with blood. She tried to focus, to think, but the room spun, the concrete walls closing in. The man grabbed her by the hair, dragging her head back. “Where are the rest of the diamonds?” he demanded, his voice low and menacing.​

“I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I don’t know where Miko is. I don’t know where the diamonds are.”​

The man’s eyes narrowed, his grip tightening. “You think I’m stupid?” he snarled. “You think I don’t know you’re lying?”​

He raised his hand again, the blow coming down with a sickening crack. Emma’s head snapped back, her vision going black. The last thing she heard was the man’s voice, distant and cold, saying something in Russian she couldn’t understand. Then everything went silent.​

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Miko stumbled through the woods, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The trees loomed like sentinels, their bare branches clawing at the sky. Snow crunched under his boots, the sound impossibly loud in the silence. He’d been walking for hours, his mind racing, his heart pounding.​

He’d lost Emma in the chaos, the woods swallowing her whole. He’d called her name, his voice hoarse, but there was no answer. Just the wind, the rustle of leaves, the distant howl of a dog. He’d tried to retrace their steps, but the woods were a maze, the paths indistinguishable.​

He’d thought about going back to the factory, to the men who’d tried to grab the diamonds, but fear had stopped him. They’d been too many, too violent. He’d thought about going to the police, but the thought of explaining everything—the robbery, the shooting, the diamonds—had made his stomach twist. He’d thought about finding Margus, the friend who’d promised to help, but he didn’t know where he was.

He’d been walking for hours, his legs burning, his lungs screaming. The woods were endless, the darkness closing in. He’d thought about giving up, about lying down in the snow and letting it take him, but something had kept him going. A spark of determination, maybe. Or maybe just the thought of Emma, her face, her voice, her tears.

Then, faint but unmistakable, a voice cut through the rustle of branches.

“Miko.”

His name. Spoken low, urgent.

He froze, heart slamming against his ribs. The sound came from somewhere ahead and to the left, swallowed almost instantly by the wind. He turned slowly, squinting into the black.

“Miko,” it came again, closer this time.

He swallowed hard. “Who’s there?” His voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.

A figure stepped out from behind a tree, tall and broad, silhouetted against the faint glow of distant city lights. Miko’s breath caught. The man held a pistol at his side, barrel pointed down but finger near the trigger.

“Margus?” Miko croaked, recognizing the outline, the way the man carried himself.

Margus stepped closer, boots crunching on frozen leaves. His face was half‑shadowed, eyes sharp, unreadable. “You’re hard to find,” he said in Estonian, voice low and controlled. “Been looking for you since dawn.”

Miko’s hands shook. “I… I was hiding. The woods… the shooting… Liina…” His voice cracked on her name.

Margus’s expression didn’t soften. “Where is she?” he asked. “The American girl.”

Miko flinched. “Emma? I don’t know. We got separated last night. In the woods. I tried to call her, but…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I don’t know where she is.”

Margus studied him for a long moment, then lifted the gun slightly, the barrel now aimed at Miko’s chest. “Don’t lie to me,” he said. “I know you ran with her. I know you had the diamonds.”

Miko’s stomach dropped. “I did,” he admitted quickly. “But I gave them to you. When you called. I put them in the drop box near the old factory. Like you said.”

Margus’s jaw tightened. “That wasn’t all of them.”

Miko’s eyes widened. “Yes, it was! Everything I had. The rest… I don’t know. Emma had some, maybe. Or Liina hid them. I swear, I don’t know.”

The gun didn’t waver. “You’re telling me,” Margus said slowly, “that you lost the girl and the rest of the diamonds in one night?”

Miko swallowed, throat dry. “I didn’t lose her,” he whispered. “We got separated. I was trying to find her when you called. I thought you were helping.”

Margus’s gaze flicked past him, scanning the trees, then back to Miko’s face. “Your friend Alex is here,” he said. “American father. He’s looking for his daughter. He thinks I can help.”

Miko’s pulse spiked. “Then help him,” he said, desperation edging into his voice. “Help me. I don’t want to be part of this. I just wanted to get Emma out. Liina… she’s dead. Karl’s dead. Joonas is dead. I don’t want to die too.”

Margus stepped closer, close enough that Miko could smell the faint scent of tobacco and cold metal. “You’re already part of it,” he said quietly. “You ran with stolen diamonds. You were in that flat when they shot up the place. The police will tear this city apart for you.”

Miko’s breath came faster. “Then let me go,” he pleaded. “Let me help Alex find Emma. You have the diamonds. You have the money. You don’t need me.”

Margus’s eyes narrowed. “I need you to tell me where the rest of the diamonds are.”

Miko shook his head violently. “I don’t know! I swear! Liina never told me where she hid them. Emma didn’t tell me. I only know what I had. That’s it.”

For a heartbeat, silence stretched between them, broken only by the wind in the trees. Then Margus shifted his grip on the gun, raising it fully, the barrel now pointed directly at Miko’s forehead.

Miko’s vision tunneled. His knees threatened to buckle. “Please,” he whispered, tears spilling over. “Don’t… don’t kill me. I’ll help you. I’ll do anything. Just don’t…”

Margus’s finger tightened on the trigger.

Miko closed his eyes.

Tears ran down his face, cold against his skin, dripping off his chin into the snow. His breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, his body trembling so hard he thought his knees might give out. The barrel pressed against his forehead, cold and unyielding. He could feel the weight of it, the finality.

Somewhere far away, a dog barked. The wind howled through the trees. His heart hammered in his chest, each beat louder than the last, drowning out everything else.

He thought of Emma’s face, her tears, her voice calling his name. He thought of Liina’s laughter, Karl’s smirk, Joonas’s jokes. He thought of the diamonds, the blood, the shooting, the woods.

He thought of never seeing any of it again.

His lips moved, forming a silent plea.

Then…