Anton escapes from Zabulon's Shahab's Lash

Anton Gorodetsky's escape from Zabulon's Shahab's Lash is the desperate climax of a chase that exposes the Day Watch's intent to kill rather than capture him, and it is a civilian's impulsive rescue that momentarily restores his faith in the ordinary people he serves.

The Chase and the Lash

After Anton, inhabiting Olga's body, dashes out of the Maharajah restaurant to escape the Day Watch, he runs down Pokrovka Street toward Zemlyanoi Val Street, his purse bouncing hard against his back. He is grateful not to be wearing high heels. The urban survival course he took was short, but he now relies on it. A streak of crimson flame—Shahab's Lash—comes hurtling down the street, coiling and twisting as it passes him, then tries to stop and turn back, but its inertia is too great; the charge crashes into the wall of a building, momentarily turning the stones white-hot. Anton trips and falls, glancing back to see Zabulon recharging his battle staff, moving very slowly, as if something is hindering him. Anton realizes Zabulon is shooting to kill: there would not have been even a handful of dust left of him if he had been caught by Shahab's Lash. The boss was wrong after all—the Day Watch does not want what is inside Anton's head; they want to eliminate him completely.

The Civilian Rescue

The Dark Ones run after Anton. Zabulon aims his weapon. The boss restrains Svetlana as she struggles to break out of his grasp. Anton jumps up and starts running again, already knowing there is no way he can escape. At least there is nobody around: instinctive, subconscious fear has swept everybody off the street the moment the confrontation began. Nobody else will get hurt. He hears a squeal of brakes and looks around just in time to see the Day Watch agents jump out of the way of a car careering wildly along the street. The driver stops for a moment, evidently thinking he has driven into the middle of a gangland shootout, then picks up speed again. Anton considers stopping the car but knows it is not allowed. He jumps up onto the sidewalk and squats down, hiding from Zabulon behind an old Volga, letting the stray driver past. A silver Toyota hurtles past him and then screeches to a halt with a smell of burning brakes. The door on the driver's side opens and a hand beckons him. Anton thinks that heroes only get rescued by passing cars in cheap action movies, but he opens the back door and throws himself inside.

The Aftermath and a Renewed Faith

"Get us out of here!" shouts the woman Anton finds himself next to. The driver does not need any encouragement; they are already moving. A flash of fire streaks behind them, and the driver swerves out of its path. The woman begins wailing. Anton wonders how they see what is happening—as automatic gunfire, salvoes of rockets, a blast from a flamethrower? The woman asks the driver why he came back, trying to lean forward to hit him in the back. Anton is all set to grab her arm, but before he can, the car jerks forward and tosses the woman back against the seat. "Don't," Anton says gently. The woman glares at him indignantly; she has every right to be upset that her husband stopped and risked his life for an attractive, disheveled female stranger. The immediate danger passes as they come out onto Zemlyanoi Val Street and drive on in a solid stream of traffic, leaving both Anton's friends and his enemies far behind. Anton thanks the driver, who asks if he got hit. When Anton says no, thanks to him, and asks why he stopped, the driver replies calmly that he is not an idiot. Anton blurts out that the men wanted to rape him, a story that fits the scene. He asks to be dropped at the metro, and the driver does not argue. As Anton gets out, the woman snorts and jerks away, slamming the door shut. Anton thinks that things like that still prove that his work makes some kind of sense after all.