[Quinn 04] - The Silenced

She shook her head. “None. We were going to have two. A boy and a girl. That’s what we talked about. But the Ghost took them from me before they could even be conceived. Someone in our building overheard Andrei saying something they took to be subversive and turned him in. What, I never knew.”

Once more, silence descended on the car.

After nearly a minute, Quinn said, “I think we’ve waited long enough.”

He called the number Annabel had given him, and almost immediately Fedor answered.

“Is he ready to talk to me now?” Quinn asked.

“How did you get this number?” Fedor stammered.

“Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about? Do you know what I do for a living? Put your boss on.”

The line went silent for half a minute, then Palavin came on. “Mr. Quinn?”

“Yes.”

“You have a problem talking to my assistant?”

“I don’t have a problem talking to him,” Quinn said. “I just don’t have any reason to. This business is between you and me.”

“You have something for me?”

“If you mean do I have the body you sent me after, yeah, I have Trevor Robb right here.”

Palavin’s response was quick and casual. “Robb? Is that supposed to mean something to me? Because, Mr. Quinn, it doesn’t.”

“That’s interesting,” Quinn said. “It’s the name I found on the ID tucked under the sole of his shoe.”

“His shoe?”

“Yes. Looks like he put it there in case something happened to him. Guess it’s a good thing he did.”

Neither of them said a thing for several seconds.

“What is it you want?” Palavin said.

Quinn smiled at Orlando and nodded.

“I assume you still want his body,” Quinn said. “If you don’t, I’m pretty sure I can think of some alternate places to leave it. Only, I’d probably have to leave an explanation, too.”

“Do I have to remind you about your sister?”

Despite himself, Quinn tensed. But he refrained from responding.

“This is completely unnecessary,” Palavin said, trying to sound conciliatory. “We were calling you with the drop-off location.”

“No.”

“No?”

“That’s not the way it’s going to work.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We’re doing this my way,” Quinn said. “Step one. You’re allowed one car. One. And in that car will be one of your men, my sister, and you. No more.”

“You can’t be serious. I might as well kill her now.”

“And I’ll turn over Trevor Robb to someone who will be more than happy to find out the backstory on this guy.”

“You mean you’d risk your sister’s life on some unknown interest in this dead person?”

“No,” Quinn said. “You’re not seeing this clearly. You’re the one taking the risk. As long as I have the body, you won’t do anything to my sister.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because according to my sources in British intelligence, Trevor Robb is still alive and well. And around your age.”

Silence.

“This can go very simply,” Quinn said. “What you have for what I have. No problems. Be in your car with my sister in ten minutes. I will call you back.”

He hung up.

“Are your people in position?” Quinn asked Mikhail.

“Yes.”

“Tell them it won’t be long now.” He looked at Orlando. “How about you? All ready?”

“Absolutely.”

He turned to Petra. “Time to lose the tail just long enough to drop Orlando off.”

Five minutes after Orlando had left the van, Quinn called the Ghost back.

“Are you in your car?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“Is my sister with you?”

“She’s here.”

“Let me talk to her.”

“No,” the Ghost said. “You can’t talk to her until our business is done.”

It was an empty threat, and they both knew it. “Put her on or our business is already done.”

“Jake?” Liz said a moment later.

“Liz. It’s going to be all right. It’ll all be over very soon. Tell me, how many people in the car, including you?”

She paused. “Four.”

“Four including you?”

“Yes.”

Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “Just stay strong and I’ll make sure everything is all right.”

“I’ll try,” she said.

Palavin came back on. “That’s enough. So where do you want us to go?”

“My instructions were one man, my sister, and you. No more.”

“Well, that’s just too bad, isn’t it?”

Quinn was silent for several moments. “Fine,” he said. “Should I assume, then, that you have other cars following behind somewhere? Ready to move in if necessary?”

The Ghost said, “Of course not. Just my two men and me. I want this over.”

“That makes two of us. Waterloo Station. Fifteen minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes is not enough—”

“Fifteen minutes,” Quinn repeated, then turned his phone completely off.

•   •   •

They headed first south across the Thames River, then west toward Waterloo Station, the sound of raindrops thumping against the roof of the van. Per Quinn’s instructions, Petra made sure not to shake their tail. He knew as long as the person behind them had them in sight, the Ghost would still think he had the upper hand.

“Anything?” he asked Mikhail.

“Not yet,” the Russian said, his phone held firmly to his ear.

“Does your friend speak English?”

“Of course.”

“Put him on speaker.”

Mikhail said something in Russian into the phone, then pushed a button and lowered it into his lap. “Can you hear me?” he said in English.