Undercover (24 page)

Alex handed her the binoculars and pointed towards a little shop. “That’s the address for the delivery. This is the highest building in the vicinity, and there are no people on the other roofs, or in the windows.”

His words meant absolutely nothing to her. “So…”

“So, now we wait. This, my love, is a stakeout. See, these lenses have been prepared so they won’t catch the sun and give us away.”

Jenny forced herself to look into the binoculars again, reluctant to let him know how afraid she really was. Then, to her surprise, she saw something, and hurried to give the equipment back. “Someone’s come to open the shop.”

He looked and turned serious. “That’s interesting…”

For a second, her curiosity grew bigger than her fear of falling down. “Do you know him?”

“Oh yes. He used to work for the FSB. That’s sort of… the Soviet counterpart to your CIA. I wonder what he is up to.”

Nothing more happened, and they sat there in silence for quite some time. Jenny tried not to look down, but Alex kept his full attention fixed on the store far below them. “I see a coffee shop down there. Any chance my sweetie would go get me a cup?”

Her eyes wandered to the edge, perilously close. “Sure.” Her voice didn’t hold much enthusiasm. She didn’t move; she was sure any attempt to stand would make her fall down. Alex looked at her quizzically for a moment, and then understanding came to his face. “I’m so sorry, my love. I’ve just never seen you afraid of anything before.”

Just turning her eyes away from the abyss in front of them to meet his was a struggle, and she sounded much less cheeky than she intended when she replied, “I’m not afraid. Just… cautious. It’s prudent to be cautious.”

“My dear, sweet, wonderful girl.”

She didn’t feel like any of those things. On the bright side, she was so preoccupied with being scared of the height that the parcel and the Russians didn’t worry her at all. Alex took both her hands and pulled her up, and she suffered an attack of vertigo. He wrapped an arm around her, and he supported her much more than her legs did when they walked over to the door. Once there, she leaned against the wall and dared to breathe.

“There you are, safe and sound. Off you go, my sweet. I love you.”

Jenny pouted. “You’re gonna tease me about this for years, aren’t you?”

“No. If you had reason enough you wouldn’t just be dancing along the edge; you would jump off to the next building without even thinking about it.”

“Maybe, but please don’t try to give me a reason just to see if I’ll do it.”

Alex grinned. “Shocking accusations. I would
never
do a thing like that.”

There was a lot of sarcasm in her voice when she answered, “Of course not.”

When she returned to the rooftop a few minutes later, Alex sat hunched perilously close to the edge, looking down with great interest. Jenny stayed by the door. “Hi, lover.”

He got up to meet her and sat down with her in the stair leading into the building. He probably realized he wouldn’t get her over to the edge once more.

The sunshine was hot and her clothes were much too thick and tight, but the weather didn’t seem to bother him at all.

“That store is a good cover, but just a cover. I’ve seen several people I know walk in there…” He fell silent, and she wondered what it all meant. Alex seemed to reach a decision. “Alright, my love. We have a change of plans. It will be dangerous.”

Jenny muttered with some self-irony. “I’m not afraid of dangerous, just of falling down from a roof.”

She knew he wasn’t paying attention when he muttered, “Good. That’s good. Can I see the scarf?”

He tied the scarf around her hair so very little of it showed, put her glasses on, and smiled the peculiar smile that never reached his eyes. “It’s not much of a disguise, but people won’t recognize you at once. If someone were to describe you like this, they would see a woman with glasses and a blue scarf. We are going back down to the street now. You will turn to the right and walk for about five minutes, then you come back in this direction and go to the store. Ask for Yuri, and tell him you’re making a delivery.”

Jenny nodded obediently, but she wasn’t sure  how much her overwhelmed mind would remember.

“Give Yuri the parcel and hurry out of there. Don’t worry if they won’t let you go, I won’t be far away.”

She wanted to say, “Yes,” but her mouth babbled, “We’re still almost an hour early.”

Her husband nodded. “I know. That is how much time we have to get this done.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jenny wondered what Alex would be doing. It sounded like he planned to be nearby and that was comforting, but she was still scared. Not up-on-the-rooftop terrified, but scared. Maybe they should have gotten rid of the package. No, Alex knew best. If there was an alternative to her walking into a room filled with gangsters carrying a possible bomb, he would have found it.

She told herself to stop being a wuss and think of their daughter. He always did whatever was necessary to protect them, and so should she. The old man’s threats regarding Lindsay were still just threats, but she didn’t doubt something
could
happen to the girl, just to make sure her parents behaved in the future.

She walked down the street for about five minutes, pretending to be window shopping, crossed the street, and headed back. Surely, whatever waited in the store would be less scary than sitting close to the edge of a roof. The inside was dark and filled with antiquities, it smelled dusty and old, and she had to fight an urge to sneeze, but she still did her best to look like an enthralled tourist.

A young man dressed in black pants and immaculate white shirt approached and asked something in Italian. It sounded polite, but she didn’t understand a word. “I’m sorry, do you speak English?”

He flashed her a smile, showing off perfect teeth, so white they almost shone. “Of course I do. I was just asking if you require some assistance.”

Jenny smiled back. “Yes, I do. Some of these pieces are absolutely gorgeous, but I need to speak to Yuri.”

The white teeth disappeared and the man seemed taken aback. “There’s no one here with that name.”

Arranging her face into a suitably concerned expression wasn’t difficult; it was close enough to fear to seem authentic. “There must be. I was supposed to meet him here today, to give him something.”

He looked her over from top to toe and seemed to evaluate her. Did she come out too light on the scale? “Wait here.”

The young man disappeared, and she wandered around the shop. One vase was particularly appealing to her, and she wondered if it was as old as it looked. She wanted to touch it, just brush her fingers over the surface, but decided against it. The way this day was going, she’d probably end up knocking an entire row of priceless objects down. She folded her hands together, just to be sure they didn’t cause an accident.

“Are you the one looking for Yuri?”

She glanced over her shoulder and saw a short and balding man. The store was empty except for her. Who else would it be? It was impossible not to be sarcastic. “Not very many people in here, are there?”

Both men stared at her, and the older one asked, “So, what do you intend to do when you find him?”

“Nothing. I’m supposed to deliver something, and I have to do it in person. Can I assume you are Yuri?”

The man kept his eyes fixed at her, and his gaze made her want to squirm. “Won’t you come into my office?”

That didn’t sound good. “No thank you. I like the store just fine.”

Another man came out from the back, and Jenny’s heart leaped into her throat when he pulled out a very large gun and pointed it at her. The muzzle was at least as big as a train tunnel, and very dark. “Well now, if it isn’t Mrs. Roshenko. You did marry, didn’t you? This is an unexpected visit, and I take it your worse half can’t be too far away? Now, do as the nice man told you and come back here.”

Not obeying wasn’t an option.

Jenny walked through a dark corridor, patrolled by very big men with large weapons, and if she was afraid before entering, that feeling seemed like a sunshiny beach compared to the new churning in her stomach. They all had hard eyes and hard faces, and she might have seen her family for the last time. She hoped Alex would be able to leave the country alive, so there’d be someone left to take care of their daughter.

The walk lasted a lifetime that was probably only a couple of minutes, and ended in a small conference room with six men seated around an oblong table. It was made of dark wood, polished until it shone. It probably cost as much as her car. An uncomfortably large number of eyes stared at her.

Yuri took a seat by the table, and the other man held his gun aimed steadily at her head.

She didn’t think she’d be able to utter a word. Surely any sound coming out would be a mouse’s squeak at best, but she made an effort to sound merry and unfazed. “Hi there. I’m just delivering a little parcel, won’t take long. Don’t mind me.”

The man with the gun asked, “What is it?”

Careful not to make a too big of a gesture, she shrugged. “I have no idea what’s in it, but I’d be happy to show you. If you’ll let me open my purse without shooting me.”

Yuri answered, in a tone of voice that might make lava freeze, “Just take it easy.”

She took it easy. Very easy. She no longer had any big hopes of getting out of there, but that didn’t mean she wanted to experience close contact with a bullet any sooner than she had to. She pulled the little parcel out of her purse and tossed it on the table in front of Yuri. He seemed a little curious when he asked, “Are you really Alexei Roshenko’s wife?”

Jenny nodded, and the man with the gun asked, “And where is your husband? I find it hard to believe he would let you walk in here all by yourself.”

It was difficult to keep her voice unemotional; she wanted to break down and beg for mercy, or maybe scream for Alex to come rescue her. “Same answer. I don’t know.”

It was true. She had no idea.

One of the other men asked, in very broken English, “Where did you get this… delivery?”

She shrugged. “You have it now and you know just as much as I do. Do what you want with it. I’d really like to go now.”

Yuri glanced around the table. “What should we do with her?”

One of the others answered with a shrug, “Kill her and dump the body.”

The man pointing the gun at her said thoughtfully, “Yes, but she’s not the one we need to worry about…”

Jenny almost sobbed with relief when she heard Alex’s voice. It was deceptively mild as he commented in Russian, “You’re right. You should worry about me, and I think killing her is a very bad idea, so let’s not. Now, lower that gun and toss it on the floor in front of her. Carefully.”

At least all those hours of trying to learn Russian paid off. Now when she needed it, she could understand him. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him press the muzzle of a large pistol against her captor’s neck. One of the men seated at the table exclaimed, “But that’s impossible. The guards…”

Alex finished the sentence for him, “The guards were incompetent and couldn’t protect a bottle of milk. Sweetie, why don’t you pick that gun up with a napkin and go into the corridor.”

She did what he asked her to without questions.

“Please keep an eye on the stairs.”

One of the other men asked, sounding offended, “You’ve been gone for years. What do you want?”

She could almost see him shrug, even though she wasn’t looking. “Nothing really. I just want to stop you from killing my wife and get out of here, but I have the strangest notion you aren’t going to make it that easy.” He paused. “What time is it, my darling?”

Jenny fumbled her phone up and looked, and was stunned when she realized almost the entire hour passed. She was supposed to deliver the package within five minutes. “It’s a quarter past eleven.”

“We should be going then, we don’t want to be late for our next appointment.”

A commotion came from the store, and Jenny heard loud voices shouting in Italian and Russian. Her husband said, “There is a back door further down in this corridor.”

She could see it. “Yes…”

He didn’t change his tone of voice; he still sounded as if they were having a pleasant dinner conversation, “Run.”

She obeyed. The corridor seemed endless, but she finally reached the door, and expected it to be locked. It opened obediently and she stumbled out into the dazzling Italian sunshine. Walking backwards over the yard, she saw Alex back out into the corridor and follow her. She expected the men from the room to come rushing out after him, but they didn’t. Perhaps he shot them, and she was too stunned to even hear it. She didn’t think so, but her mind could be unpredictable.

“Women. Did I not tell you to run?”

He took her by the hand and dragged her through backyards suspiciously empty of people. When they reached a large garbage container, he sounded almost merry, “Give me the gun, sweetheart. You can’t walk around like that.”

She had forgotten she was carrying it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

After disposing of the weapons, his jacket, Jenny’s glasses, and her scarf in the dumpster, Alex rolled the sleeves up on his shirt, put his sunglasses on, and kissed her on the cheek. They strolled hand in hand down a street looking like two very innocent tourists.

They didn’t get far; there was a loud explosion and a wave of hot air battered them. Jenny staggered and Alex let go of her hand. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pushing her forward. “My love, I think it’s time for us to leave Italy.”

She didn’t answer, and he grimaced. He had suspected what would happen, and had been pathetically unable to find a way out of it.

Once they got out on a main street, traffic was complete chaos with police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. Some people ran towards the area, and others away from it. He stopped a taxi and almost had to push Jenny in. The driver didn’t know a lot of English, but he had the radio on, and insisted on translating as much as he could, talking as much with his hands as he did with his mouth in eager attempts to be understood. A terrorist attack on that nice Russian antiquities shop, in this beautiful city…