Dead Drop Gorgeous

4. Andrey, Katja

"Get up and get dressed," Katja whispered as she shook Andrey awake. "Peter said he'll pick you up".

Andrey sighed. He couldn't stand travelling with Peter, or to be more precise, X1, for he was one of the chiefs, simply because he never shut up. The whole way he'd sit and talk about his life, his mother, his plants, on and on and on he would ramble and on and on and on Andrey would stroke the handle of his dagger, his hand excited to go to work on Peter right there. Andrey had to admit, though, there were times when he did enjoy Peter's company, but usually he'd be sleeping before he had the chance.

"I know you don't like him, but he's had others exposed and deported for less than a few angry words, you know. He has friends in nearly every company". It was as if Katja could read his mind. "A book arrived this morning, I'll be looking over it while you're away."

"But... last night..." Andrey began.

"We'll talk about it when you get back." And with that, she left him to get dressed. He lifted up the all-in-one and looked at it. It was something a painter would wear and now it looked as if it could fall apart at any moment. Scuff marks here, paint splotches there, but it made people think he was a simple decorator. He stood by the back window and stared down into the back parking lot.

A white van pulled in and parked in the 5th space on the right, the usual spot. It had a picture of a paintbrush and can on the side along with the name "SEANs Decorative Services". There was no company in the North-End called that, so very few would know what the van really stood for. Andrey hurried down the stairs only to see the mole's apartment and the floor outside it closed off with police tape - he had to take the lift. He hated lifts more than Peter, but it would have to do.

"Hey, Steven!" Peter said cheerfully as Andrey sat down in the passenger seat.

"Peter," came the reply.

"Aw, what's wrong? Don't let that thing last night get you down, he wouldn't feel the same way had it been the other way round." That wasn't why Andrey felt sad, but whatever.

Katja settled herself onto the sofa and opened the wrapping on the book. Along with the book, a pencil and a note slid out, too. Picking up the note, she read:

"Hi Vera, thanks for contacting me a few weeks ago. Here's that book you lent me, sorry I had it away for so long. I believe the pencil is yours too, take a look at it, if it isn't right send it back. Take care!" It wasn't signed, it just ended with "Take care!". She picked up the pencil and inspected it. Near the top there was an inscription. It read "Batch No.: 57-L:3-5". She continued staring at the items and then it hit her. Page 57, lines 3 to 5! She flicked through the pages in the book, the title had been hastily scratched out. She lay back on the sofa and drew a line from the start of line 3 to the end of line 5.

"Having arrived back at the warehouse after the rain, Sarah noticed that she had left the lights on all night. The chalk was still on the boxes that she'd marked for shipping, and her friend's handbag sat on the chair."

Katja let out a huge groan. Not another one of these. She could hardly do them right, almost got herself caught last time. She knew it had to be her, too, she would be watched on the way in and the way out, both by friendly and enemy eyes. The enemy wouldn't know who was supposed to go but her allies would think it was an enemy if they saw someone else go in her place. She knew that "after the rain" meant she'd have to be careful on the way there, and "all night" was probably the amount of time Katja would have to stay there. A walk into the hallway meant she heard the police discussing the murder on the floor below.

"He had some papers lying on his desk. We haven't moved them yet, but we'll come back and inspect them later," one of them said.

"All right, lock up then and we'll head off," another replied.