Markow had to lean in close to his mouth to pick up Yakov’s muttered reply. ‘He went to the city.’
Markow slapped him. ‘When is he due back?’
The response was slow in coming. ‘Morning.’
Markow hit him again. ‘What did he take with him?’ There was a prolonged pause, and Markow leant in to catch the answer.
‘Briefcase.’
Petrovich’s frame shuddered. Clearly he had given them all he could.
Outside in the gardens, Desny stopped and bent forward, holding his hands just above his knees. He took several deep breaths. If he wasn’t careful, Urilenko would bring down the whole team. Desny resolved to send him back at the first opportunity.
He straightened and began to admire the extensive garden. In Russia grounds like these were for the privileged class only. Even so, Desny thought very few would compare with the beautiful setting that lay before him. He didn’t know the names of many of the plants, but he became enchanted with the palette of colours and the use of greenery to provide a lush backdrop to the borders.
He walked round the lawns in an anticlockwise direction and arrived at the back of the grounds. A gate, set in a stone wall, led to a field beyond. Nearby in the border a miniature mausoleum rose from thick bushes. Desny assumed the six feet tall structure housed the graves of the family’s pets. Perhaps it was one of those English follies he had read about. Desny was amazed the owner had so much wealth he could afford to build the thing. Desny fingered the new padlock. Perhaps Yakov’s pet dog had died recently? The rest of the family were due to follow soon afterwards, he imagined.
Eventually he came out onto the gravel drive. A taxi drew up opposite the gates and he saw Khostov alight. He began walking towards him.
‘Who are you?’ Khostov shouted through the closed gates.
‘Some friends of Yakov and his wife’, responded Desny as he continued to approach.
Khostov turned back to the taxi, and Desny overheard him asking the driver to wait. Desny stopped, aware he might frighten him off.
‘Yakov told us to expect you.’ Though Desny tried to be reassuring, something in the tone of his voice must have alerted Khostov and he climbed back into the taxi.
Desny whipped out his handgun and loosed off a careful shot through the gates. The back window shattered, but Khostov didn’t appear to be hit. The taxi accelerated away. Desny fired again, and the round went wild; the car was out of range.
Desny scribbled the number plate down on a pad and ran back down the drive to the house, shouting to his colleagues as he approached. Inside, they quickly collected everything, packing it into a large bag. Desny ordered Markow to bring Petrovich up to the bedroom where the wife’s body lay, and to finish him off. Desny brought the car from around from the back.
They piled in and Markow took over driving duties. ‘Turn right when you reach the main road.’ Desny pointed, ‘he went off in that direction.’
Five minutes later they realised they had lost the man they were hunting. Markow pulled into a lay-by and slapped the wheel in frustration.
‘Don’t worry’ Desny told Markow in a steady voice. ‘I noted the licence number. The driver should be easy to trace.’
‘Then I suggest we give him a call and find out where he’s taken Khostov’ replied Markow, a smile gradually lighting up his face.
Sean pushed the door and walked through, impatient to get the debrief over.
Abbott glanced up at the interruption and sighed. ‘I hear you had a chat with Zlotnik.’
‘I’d hardly call it a chat.’
‘What did you talk about?’
Sean frowned. ‘Not much. He asked if we had Khostov. And he gave me a warning.’
‘Oh?’
‘He told me I was on his patch, though I’m not sure why he said that. We were on our way back to the airport.’
‘Anything else?’
‘Mm. This might be nothing, but I got the distinct impression he wished to retire.’
Abbott appeared interested.
‘Was he wanting to defect, do you think?’
‘I don’t know, Chris. He spoke about us being on opposite sides of the fence. He also made a pointed reference to the length of time we’ve both been working for the security services. He said he couldn’t leave, even if he wanted to.’
Abbott shrugged. ‘Maybe he was having a bad day.’ He picked up the Tyler file. ‘Thoughts about Mr Tyler?’
‘The general feeling in Moscow is that Tyler committed suicide. But it was a very long winded way to do it. There was no suicide note, and the car he used hasn’t been found. It all points to an execution.’
‘Meanwhile Khostov has definitely gone missing.’ He faced Sean. ‘We need to find him.’
‘You promised me some leave as soon as I returned from Moscow.’
‘I did, but while Khostov is on the loose we can’t afford to stop looking.’
‘Bloody hell, Abbott. Can’t I even trust you to keep a promise?’ Sean got up and walked towards the window. He regarded the pigeons resting outside on the ledge.
Abbott waited a few moments before responding. ‘We’re still interested in why the Russians are covering up Tyler’s death. Intelligence suspect there’s a link between Tyler and Khostov’s disappearance. He was working with Tyler until Tyler died.’
‘What about the assurance you made before I left? Does that mean nothing to you?’
Abbott sighed for the second time. ‘Look Sean, you understand how things are in the department. If I could spare you, I would — you deserve a break. However, right now we are in a pickle.’ He opened a file. ‘We would offer you an Executive for this phase of the mission.’
Sean scowled. ‘I’m not interested.’
‘Lomax is available.’
Sean laughed bitterly. ‘I’m definitely not interested!’
‘I understand you two had a falling out on your last assignment. Regardless of that, he’s proving to be a top Executive.’
Sean remained silent.
‘You must try to bring a more professional approach, Sean. You should be able to work with anyone.’ Abbott waited several moments, but Sean refused to respond to the bait.
Abbott picked up another file. ‘There is one other possibility for you. He’s a new guy. Very bright. Name of Finch, Alan Finch. Have you heard of him?’
‘Nope.’
‘Well, I’ve received excellent reports. He’s an ideal candidate.’
Sean rounded on Abbott. ‘Listen Chris, you are not giving me the right vibes on this mission. First you offer someone you know I can’t work with, and then you propose somebody else who is still wet behind the ears. He’ll get himself killed, or seriously jeopardise the operation. What the hell is this department coming to? Employ monkeys and they’ll shit on you from the tree tops.’
Abbott calmly laid down the file and waited for Sean’s temper to dissipate.
Then the penny clicked. The bastard had provoked him into losing his rag. Now Abbott had him hooked, attempting to rescue a failing mission. ‘Jesus Abbott. Don’t do that again!’
Abbott smiled innocently. ‘What did I do?’
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sean pressed the bell again, and examined the first floor window. It was one o’clock in the afternoon and the curtains were still closed. After a minute Sean caught the sound of footsteps. The door opened a fraction, and a baleful eye glared out through a crack in the door.
‘Who is it?’ The voice sounded jaded, as if the owner had been in a smoky club all night.
He probably had, thought Sean. The door opened wider, and he recognised his colleague Daniel, about ten years younger than himself.