The Upside of Death

The new orders. Part 13

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How did this come to be, Vronsky thought as they drove down 55th. The morning rush hour had stalled the cars going in the opposite direction, but their own progress was fast enough to flush out an obvious tail. How did the boyfriend find the girl? Was he alone? Where was the backup team? Were they watching now, waiting for his men to break cover? The whole idea of it made no sense and his neck and shoulders ached from tensing, from expecting a bullet to come smashing through the rear window into the back of his head.

He pulled out the boyfriend's personal items from his jacket. Made sure the cell was switched to defeat any GPS tracker. Inspected the set of keys. "We have his apartment key, looks like," he said. Dragged cards out of the wallet. "And his address," he added, studying the driver's license. Swiveled around and peered out the rear window. It was pointless. If professionals were following them he wouldn't know it.

"If it's not fake, I want to go over and wait for him to come home," Semyon said from the front of the car. He pulled a wad of tissue from a nostril and inspected it.

"What are you looking at it for?" Yuri asked. "It's got blood on it, like you expected."

Semyon didn't answer but held a clean tissue to his nose for a few seconds before inspecting that as well. Ran his fingers carefully along the bridge, searching for swelling. Found none. Turned the sunshade down and peered at his nose in the makeup mirror. A laceration scarred the tip, its course marked by dried blood. More blood speckled his upper lip and chin. He rubbed the traces away.

"Don't annoy him, Yuri," Vronsky said. "He recognized the boyfriend's car from two nights ago and saved us from what trouble we can't imagine."

"You're lucky I didn't shoot through the door when you pounded on it," Yuri said. "It wasn't the knock signal we agreed on. Good thing you called out."

"There was no time, I didn't know where the boyfriend was going, who was with him. We had to collect the girl and move fast."

"He knew to stop at the fourth floor," Semyon said. "How'd he know that?"

"Everything about this is very peculiar, that's for sure," Vronsky said. "But it worked out fine for us. When he tried the fire door I heard it and we grabbed the bastard."

"And I got no breakfast," Yuri complained. He changed lanes, staying with the flow of traffic.

"We needed to check on the boyfriend, Yuri," Vronsky said. "Drive for half an hour, and then stop at a mall. You'll have your breakfast then." How did the KGB hire such a woman?

"And after that?"

"After that I'll have new instructions." Just what instructions, Vronsky couldn't guess. There was no time to discuss this strange development before they bundled Keera out of the motel and left the area.

Even now they could be under surveillance. Maybe they'd been under surveillance for days.

"You see the same car behind us for a while?" he asked Yuri.

"If I did I would say," Yuri replied irritably but checked the mirror again. Shifted his irritation to Semyon. "I still don't understand how you have blood all over and the boyfriend was unmarked."

"He was quick," Vronsky said.

"He had tradesmen's tools, and you a gun, Semyon?" Yuri said. "And you lost? He must have had special powers."

"I didn't lose," Semyon growled. "I caught him, I showed him consequences."

"The boyfriend got a lucky hit in," Vronsky said. "It wasn't a place to open fire." He turned to Keera, hands on lap, eyes closed. The Valium would keep her docile for a few more hours. "What is your boyfriend's occupation?" he asked in English.