[Quinn 01] - The Cleaner

'You were there,' Orlando said, accusing Quinn not only with her words but also with the anger radiating from every inch of her. 'You should have protected him. Now my son will never know his father.'

It was unnecessary, really. Though Quinn knew there was little he could have done to keep his old mentor alive, he had already judged himself guilty of playing a large part in Durrie's death.

Still, he tried to talk to her, to make her understand he felt as bad as she did. But she didn't want to listen. She wouldn't even take the urn from him.

'Leave me alone,' she had said. 'I don't ever want to talk to you again.'

And because she was the only one in his whole life he found it difficult to say no to, he'd said, 'Okay.'

She shut the door. He stood there for several minutes hoping she'd return. Finally, he set the urn on the doorstep and walked away. Numb and hollow.

Chapter 12

Quinn and Nate met in the lobby again at noon. 'You look like shit,' Quinn said as soon as Nate arrived. 'Didn't you sleep?'

Dark bags hung under Nate's eyes. And while he had shaved, there were definitely a couple of spots he'd missed.

'I did what you told me,' Nate said. 'Stayed awake as long as I could. But by eight I was done. Then at midnight, my eyes popped open and I couldn't get back to sleep until seven this morning. Of course, that only lasted until you called me.' He eyed Quinn. 'Thanks.'

'No problem.'

Neither said anything for several seconds.

'I thought you said something about getting lunch,' Nate said. 'I did.' 'Is someone going to bring it to us here?' Nate

grinned.

Quinn rolled his eyes, then turned his attention to the front entrance. He watched as people came and went from the hotel. Vietnamese, Europeans, Americans, men, women, even a few children. When Orlando entered, Quinn looked at Nate.

'Time to go,' he said. He started walking toward the exit.

Nate, who had also been watching the door, seemed caught off guard by Quinn's sudden movement. He was still two steps behind when Quinn stopped next to Orlando.

'So this is the albatross,' Orlando said, looking

at Nate. 'This is him,' Quinn confirmed. 'What the hell does that mean?' Nate asked. Orlando held out her hand. 'Nice to meet you, Al.' 'It's Nate, actually,' Nate said as they shook. 'Whatever,' she said. Nate looked at Quinn, then back to Orlando.

'And you are. . . . ?' 'This is Orlando,' Quinn said. 'She's an old friend.' He started walking toward the door, Orlando in step beside him. 'Wait.' Nate rushed to catch up, then, smiling, he added, 'I didn't know you had any friends.' Quinn led them through the front entrance to

the sidewalk outside, ignoring Nate's comment. 'So,' Orlando said. 'Where to?' 'Thought we'd find someplace close by,' Quinn

replied. 'Um . . . I know a place,' Nate said. Quinn shot him a look. 'Really?' Orlando said. 'Where?'

* * *

121

The taxi ride to Mai 99 only took a few minutes.

The same woman who had greeted Quinn and Nate the previous evening was there again. She smiled broadly, obviously recognizing them, then showed all three to a table. She set menus in front of them before returning to her place near the door.

'So, you come here often, do you?' Orlando asked.

Nate smiled.

A few minutes later, Ann approached their table.

'Welcome back,' she said to Quinn, then to Nate, 'Hello, Raymond.' 'Hi, Anh,' Nate said. Her smile grew after he said her name. 'Do you

need some more time, or would you like to order now?' she asked.

'I think we're ready,' Quinn said, his voice flat.

They gave her their orders.

'It's good to see you again,' Anh said, smiling. 'I will be back with your drinks in a moment.'

As she walked away, Orlando said, 'Pretty. Is she why we're here?'

'Something you want to tell me?' Quinn said to Nate.

'You told me to stay awake, so I came back here for dinner,' Nate said. 'What? At least I didn't use my real name.'

Quinn started to open his mouth, then closed it, saying nothing. A few moments later, Anh brought them their drinks, beers for the men and a bottle of water for Orlando.

After taking a sip, Quinn looked over at Orlando. 'Update?'

'It's not much,' she said. 'The Office is shut tight. Deleon, Collins, Markewicz, Costello, Holton, Dyke. As far as I can tell, they're all dead.'

'Damn,' Nate muttered.

Quinn couldn't help sharing Nate's surprise. Orlando had just named the six top ops agents at the Office.

'Those were the only names I could confirm, but they weren't the only ones.'

'Durrie once said that no matter how you got into the business,' Quinn said, 'there are only a couple ways out. Death is just the most likely.'

He frowned. It was worse than he'd thought. 'What about the disruption?' he finally asked. 'Any claims of responsibility?'

'Not yet.' Orlando looked at him, then added, 'Maybe you should just let it go. You can stay here for a couple of weeks. By then it should be okay to go home.'

'Someone wants me dead,' he said. He took in a deep breath, then blew it out. 'I need to find out who.'