[Quinn 04] - The Silenced

“Quinn hears all this and realizes the cover is falling apart. He races the rest of the way up the stairs. As for me, I am desperately trying to keep everyone in the room. But the cook has had enough and heads back for the kitchen. I yell after him, trying to stop him, but no. So I run as fast as I can and reach the door just before he does. ‘So you’re the one who took my phone,’ I say. He calls me a fool and a liar. ‘Your phone is in your pocket. We all heard it,’ he says. ‘Now get out of my way!’ Then he tries to push past me. But I am not so easy to push, I think. His friends, they come over and everyone is tugging and pushing. Finally someone comes in the front door and shouts, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ ” Julien laughs. “It’s Quinn, of course. He looks at me and says, ‘Come on. We’ve got to go.’ Like he’s my friend and has been looking for me. Well, I guess that was true, huh?” Julien clapped Quinn on the back. “Thank God it was a clean kill. Broken neck, no blood. Otherwise it would have been messy, no?”

Quinn started to shake his head in resignation when he noticed a woman cross the street and approach the entrance to the apartment building.

“There she is,” he said.

Both Nate and Julien turned to look.

“Come on. Do either of you have any training at all?” Quinn asked.

But Liz hadn’t noticed the attention. Her eyes were on her purse as she dug around inside. Draped over her other shoulder was a computer bag.

Once she disappeared inside, Julien let out an appreciative breath. “How does someone like you get a good-looking sister like that?”

“I never said she was my sister,” Quinn said.

“True.”

“Look,” Quinn said. “Seems to me you have a decision to make.”

Julien looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Your client is expecting you to report back.”

“Ah,” Julien said. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell them I found nothing. Basically that’s true.”

“They’re going to ask you if you were at least able to confirm that she lives here, and were able to get a photo.”

“What would you like me to say?”

“You’d lie?”

“For you, yes. I don’t spy on my … friend’s friend’s families. That’s not right.”

Quinn couldn’t help but smile. Thirty minutes ago he was punching the man in the face, and now Julien was offering to lie for him. “You’re a good man.”

“I am only good to people who are good to me.”

Quinn was silent for a moment. “All right. Tell them that as far as you can tell, it’s her apartment, but it appears like she might be out of town.”

“And the photo?”

“Tell them there wasn’t any.”

“D’accord,” Julien said.

“They’re going to ask you to keep an eye on the building,” Quinn said.

“And I’ll tell them I’m not available.”

“No,” Quinn said. “Tell them you’ll do it.”

Julien raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Think of it as free money.”

“I like the sound of free money.”

“Then you’ll like the sound of double pay even more,” Quinn said.

Julien smiled. “What do you have in mind?”

“While they will think you’re working for them, in reality, you’ll be working for me.”

    They left Julien at the café and checked in to a small hotel near the Seine River. They took only one room. If things didn’t go well at Liz’s, they could get a second one later.

They each took a shower, and changed their clothes before returning to the café. Julien was sitting at the same table. He had a newspaper now, and there was a plate with the remains of a sandwich in front of him.

“I could go for something to eat,” Nate said.

“Later,” Quinn told him. To Julien, he said, “Status?”

“Unless she snuck out the back, she’s still inside,” the Frenchman told him.

Quinn shook his head. “No reason for her to do that. And no reason for us to waste any more time. Julien, check in with your client. Nate, you’re with me.”

“That will take me only a few minutes,” Julien said. “What after that?”

Quinn gave him the once-over. “Get a haircut and a shave.”

Julien grinned. “Now you ask the impossible.”

“Then maybe you can get us some hardware,” Quinn said. “You know what I like. Nate’ll take yours. So you’ll need to replace that.”

“Why don’t I bring you both nice new pieces? Nate will be happier.”

“My plan is better.”

Julien frowned. “You want me to just pass it across the table?”

Nate picked up his backpack and handed it to him. Julien gave Nate a smirk, then unzipped the top. Once the gun was safely inside, he returned it to Nate.

“Yours I should have in an hour,” he said to Quinn.

“Good. You can take two. Is Shywawa still in business?”

“Of course.”

“Then that’s where we’ll meet.”

Julien pushed himself up from the table and thumped Nate on the back.

“Make sure you don’t shoot Quinn’s relative.” With a laugh, he took off down the street.

As Nate started to rise, Quinn reached out and touched his arm, stopping him.

“I can’t have you screwing this up,” Quinn said.

“I’m not going to screw this up.”

Quinn closed his eyes for a second to focus his thoughts. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”