[Quinn 04] - The Silenced

“Da,” a voice said on the other end. “A little noisy but I can hear you.”

“Nova, right?” Quinn said.

“Yes,” Nova said.

“This is Quinn. I appreciate your assistance.”

“Not necessary. The Ghost is no friend of mine.”

“He should be arriving soon,” Quinn said.

Nova was in a car near Waterloo. “Good. I have men all around the station. The moment they see him, I’ll know.”

“It’s important that he doesn’t realize he’s been spotted.”

“We understand,” Nova said.

“We’ll keep you on speaker. Let us know the moment there’s a change.”

“I will.”

Quinn pushed himself off the floor and shuffled into the front passenger seat. The rain was steady, but not hard, the windshield wipers more than a match for the storm so far. Quinn looked at the GPS device mounted on the dash, but it only showed a closeup of the road they were on. “Our friends?”

She glanced into her side-view mirror. “Still there.”

“Okay. Let’s do a little zigzagging.”

“Zigzag?”

“Take a few turns. Left-right?”

“Ah, yes. No problem.”

“But don’t lose them. Just make it look like we’re being cautious, and keep our basic direction the same. We want them to still think we’re headed for Waterloo.”

“Hold on,” she said, grinning.

Quinn grabbed the dash as Petra took the next turn, then leaned over enough so he could see the side mirror out her window. Nothing for several seconds, then a set of headlights made the turn behind them.

“Palavin’s men?” Quinn asked.

Petra gave the mirror a quick glance. “Yes.”

“Okay. Take the next turn. My guess is once we do, they’ll start to wonder if we know they’re there, and they’ll halve the distance between us.”

She turned again, and just as Quinn predicted, they were only a half block down when the trailing car showed up again.

“Keep it straight for a few blocks,” he said.

After several seconds of silence, Quinn looked over at Petra. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

He paused. “For Andrei.”

They sat in silence, both watching the road ahead. Suddenly Nova’s voice echoed over the speakerphone.

Quinn looked back at Mikhail. “What did he say?”

“Possible sighting,” Mikhail said.

Quinn glanced at the GPS unit. Waterloo Station was only a few blocks away now.

“Make it like you’re heading toward the station, but keep a block or two between it and us. If you have to, go all the way around. When I give you the word, break off and head toward point two.”

She nodded.

Quinn then made his way back to Mikhail, but remained in a standing crouch.

“Nova?” he said.

“I’m here,” Nova replied.

“Tell me exactly what your people saw.”

“A dark blue Mercedes. S600. Very nice.”

“How many inside?”

“Windows are tinted, so could only see the driver and a man in the passenger seat.”

“What makes you think it’s them?” Quinn asked.

“They circled the station once, then pulled off onto Spur Road and parked at the curb. No one’s gotten out.”

“Any following cars?”

“Yes,” Nova said. “Two so far. A black Audi and a silver Mercedes. Four people in each.”

Counting the car behind the van and the Ghost’s sedan, the total rose to fifteen people.

“There could be more, but two cars sounds about right,” Quinn said. Then in a voice loud enough for the whole van to hear, he said, “Time for the next phase. Is everyone ready?”

“Yes,” Petra said.

“Give my people two minutes to get to their cars,” Nova said.

“All right,” Quinn told them. “Two minutes and I make the call.”

“LET ME SPEAK TO MY SISTER,” QUINN SAID.

“Where are you?” the Ghost asked.

“Let me speak to my sister.”

“You already spoke to her.”

“And you could have dumped her since then. Let me speak to her, or we abort.”

The phone exchanged hands.

“I’m here,” she said, strain still in her voice, but a little calmer than the last time.

“Still okay?”

“Yes.”

“Good. It won’t be long.”

“All right,” she said. “Jake, what about Nate? Is he—”

Quinn could hear the phone moving again.

“I’m at Waterloo,” the Ghost said. “Bring me the package now and you can have her back. Then we can both move on.”

Quinn’s phone vibrated, indicating a text, but he ignored it for the moment.

“Step two,” he told the Ghost. “Head toward Victoria Station. I’ll call you in five minutes with further instructions.”

“That is unaccep—”

Quinn disconnected the call, then looked at the screen. The text was from Orlando.

Arrived point 3. All clear.

Quinn sent her a quick message back.

Did you check on Nate?

While he waited for her reply, he leaned toward Mikhail’s phone. “Anything?”

“The Mercedes is moving,” Nova reported. “Hold on.”

Quinn heard Nova speaking in Russian. There was a muffled reply that sounded like it was coming over another phone. When he came back on, he said, “It’s heading west toward Westminster Bridge.”

“That’s him,” Quinn said.

Nova said something in Russian again. Quinn looked at Mikhail, his eyebrows raised.

“He’s checking on the backup cars,” Mikhail said.

Good. That was going to be Quinn’s next question.