[Quinn 01] - The Cleaner

It was the other tidbit Duke had dropped that had clicked for him. Campobello. It had been the city listed on Robert Taggert's driver's license. Campobello, Nevada. Still, its ultimate meaning eluded him.

Then again, maybe none of it mattered, he thought. Did he really care what Borko was up to? Was there any reason he needed to know?

Only if it helped him find Orlando and Nate, he decided. Otherwise he didn't care.

Once night had fallen, Quinn caught a taxi and returned to Neukölln. He told his driver he couldn't remember the exact address of the building he needed to go to, but that he knew it was on Wildenbruchstrasse somewhere east of Sonnenalle.

As they drove through the city, Quinn closed his eyes to focus on the job ahead. He tried to go over his plan step-by-step, but instead his mind filled with images of Orlando and Nate dead, their bodies dumped in some dark corner of the city. When he opened his eyes again, they were in Neukölln. He leaned forward and instructed the cabby to drive slowly so that they wouldn't miss his destination.

As the taxi passed the south end of Schandauer Strasse, Quinn checked the street for surveillance. He easily picked out the spotters at each end of the block. One was sitting in the back of an Audi at the curb. The other one was hiding in the shadows of the entrance to an apartment building.

Quinn assumed there were more. Borko wouldn't take chances, especially not with Quinn still loose. There had to be at least one camera, maybe two. And probably one more guy on the street near the entrance to the water plant. Approaching the building unnoticed from the front would be all but impossible.

Quinn kept up the charade for two more blocks. Just beyond the canal, he picked out a random building and had the taxi driver drop him off.

The mission for tonight was simple: reenter the water plant, look for signs of Orlando and Nate, set up surveillance so he could keep tabs on what was going on inside, and get out.

Prior to leaving for the plant, Quinn had checked the signals from the original cameras he had put in place the previous night, the night of the trap. All he got was static. Borko's men had undoubtedly removed the equipment not long after Quinn had made his escape. But the locations those cameras had been in were no longer as critical to Quinn. Where he wanted to put the cameras now was in the two locations he hadn't been able to that first night. In the basement, and in the sphere. These were the focal points of Borko's operation, the most likely spots from which Quinn could learn anything useful.

The storm from the night before had moved on and had been replaced by a mass of frigid air. Quinn pulled the collar of his jacket up around his neck, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the cold.

He made his way back across the bridge spanning the canal, then turned right on Weigandufer. On one side of the street was the man-made river, and on the other side a row of apartment buildings, each between six and eight stories high. Quinn walked down the sidewalk, casually scanning the buildings. Near the middle of the block, he found what he was looking for.

The entrance to the mustard yellow building was up a short flight of steps. It was a way in, but a bit more public than he wanted. All he really needed to do was get to the other side.

The better option was to the left of the entrance, at street level. It was a tunnel through the structure, an opening built to allow cars to drive through to a parking lot in the back. There were two large wooden doors attached to either side of the opening. Since it was still early in the evening, the doors were open, allowing residents easier access in and out.

Quinn walked through the opening as if he belonged. He stopped at the back end of the tunnel and surveyed the parking lot. It was not large, just room enough for ten cars and a few motorcycles. There were two floodlights mounted at either end of the lot. The bulb in the one at the far back corner was flickering, and would need to be replaced soon. At the rear of the property, behind the lot, was a row of trees. Beyond the trees was an open field. And at the other end of the field, the water plant.

Quinn stepped out from the shadows of the tunnel, intent on crossing the lot and reaching the cover of the trees. But he only got a few feet when he heard the groan of rusted hinges. A door was opening to his right. He glanced over and saw a man stepping out of the building into the parking lot.

Quinn ducked down behind one of the cars. Carefully, he peeked through the car's windows. The guy looked to be in his late fifties, tired and overweight. Quinn watched as the man held the door open, and a medium-sized dog, a mutt, ran outside.

The man shut the door, then lit a cigarette.