“Not a problem. I can’t imagine working for that guy. I don’t know what I did but I really rub that guy the wrong way.”
“It’s because you’re you.” We were walking toward the elevators now.
“I don’t know how to be anyone else.”
“No, I mean you’re sort of snaky, in a neat way, sometimes, I would guess. But he can’t come up with a box to put you in.”
“You mean like a coffin?”
“Not exactly but I’m sure that’s crossing his mind right about now. No, I mean he prepped all of us on your being here. One of the problems when dealing with the locals, unable to see the big picture, blah, blah, blah. We’ve heard it all before. He basically said the same thing about the team in Chicago, so don’t feel like the Lone Ranger. Then you come in and in about two minutes not only do you confirm Sergie Alekseeva’s death, from two sources, you use two sources we’ve wasted months trying to get close to. Maybe you don’t know it, but you blew him right out of the water.”
“I really didn’t mean to. I just thought it might help to work with current information.”
“You actually slept with Karina Vucavitch?”
“We didn’t sleep much,” I said as the elevator door opened. She shot me a quick glance but didn’t respond. We continued talking as we walked across the small ground-floor lobby and out the door. I carried the Power Point case to her car.
“Thanks for your help,” she said when we got to her car. She popped open the trunk and I laid the case I was carrying inside.
“My pleasure,” I said. “Hey, you wouldn’t have time for dinner, would you?”
“Oh gee, thanks, but I don’t think under the circumstances that would be the best career move for me. But wait, here.” She opened her briefcase, gave me the two handouts.
“Disobeying orders?” I asked.
“Orders were not to give you the handouts at the meeting. We’re in the parking lot. I’d classify that as still obeying orders.”
“It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Agent Dziedzic.”
Chapter 51
I went home to study the handouts. I drove around my block three or four times in different directions just to be sure no one was lurking in the dark. I parked on the next street over, then stuck a business card in the steering wheel reminding me to check the engine before I turned on the ignition in the morning. Then I cut through the backyard of the house directly behind mine and went in my back door. I left the lights off and quietly went through the house. Thankfully it was empty. I placed a trunk in front of the kitchen door and an upholstered chair against my front door just in case someone decided to forego sneaky and just kicked the door in during the middle of the night.
I pulled the shades before I turned on a light, then fired up my computer and Googled Russian mafia. Two hours of reading and watching five-minute videos later, I knew more than I wanted to, none of which was good. Reviewing Peters’ handouts I learned absolutely nothing about Kerri Vucavitch or Nikki Mathias. I learned even less about Braco the Whacko. But Agent Dziedzic had managed to slip her card in there and I placed it in my wallet. Her first name was Valentina.
I phoned Aaron the next morning, left my daily message.
“Just checking in, anything I can help with, just let me know.”
I phoned the Spot next, Linda answered after a half dozen rings.
“Spot Bar and we’re open.”
“Linda.”
“Yes,” she said cautiously.
“Dev Haskell, just checking in. Anyone been looking for me?”
“Are you kidding, who needs to ruin things this early in the day?”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“Wow, I don’t know if it’s a wife or girlfriend this time but they really got you spooked.”
“Just trying to be careful is all. Don’t want anyone to get hurt, especially me.”
“No one’s been asking. You wanna describe the guy to me? Maybe if I see him I could give you a call?”
“Not sure who it’d be. They might have an accent, maybe a muscular guy or a good-looking blond woman.”
“Now you’re dreaming, an accent, like what in Fargo or something?”
“No, more like Russian.”
“Yeah right,” she said but didn’t elaborate. “I’ll give you a jingle if anything comes up. Look, I gotta run. We got a breakfast special, shot and a beer with a second shot for free,” then hung up.
I decided to drive over to the world’s most depressing parking lot and see who came in and out of the Moscow Deli. Not because it was necessarily a good idea but because I didn’t know what else to do.
Chapter 52
It was raining the following morning, not hard, but a steady drizzle. A flat gray sky that gave all the indication the rain would continue for at least the next month. I left the chair pushed up against the front door and ducked out the back, cut through my neighbors backyard to my car parked on the street. My card was stuck in the steering wheel, reminding me to check the engine. I debated for a moment, looked at the drizzle, debated a moment longer. Water dripped slowly but steadily through the bullet hole in my windshield. It had pooled up on the dash before it dripped into one of the defrost vents. I decided my luck had not been the best of late, climbed out of the car back into the rain and popped the hood.
Other than filling the gas tank and bringing my car somewhere to have the oil changed on a quasi-regular basis I know nothing about cars. I do know enough that a plastic bag with what I assumed might be C-4 explosive wrapped around a series of wires with black electrical tape was not part of some manufacturer’s upgrade.
I called Aaron, twice, just so he’d know it was urgent. Left the hood up and climbed back inside out of the rain. Aaron phoned back shortly.
“What?”
“I’ve got a situation,” I said.
“What kind of situation?” Aaron asked calmly. He rarely, if ever, showed strain in his voice.
“A bag of what looks like C-4 is wrapped around what I’m guessing is the starter coil of my car.”
“Where are you now?”
“In the car,” realizing as I said it how dumb that sounded.
“Take the key out of the ignition and get the fuck out of the car.”
“The key isn’t in the ignition,” I said climbing out from behind the wheel.
“Get out of the car, Dev, and get far away from it, now. Move!”
“Will you dial down, I didn’t…”
“Don’t argue, just get the hell away from there.”
“I don’t think the thing is gonna blow, Aaron, I haven’t started the engine. I’ll probably…”
“Get away from that car, fast. That device could be on a timer, or a mercury switch activated by your weight behind the wheel or maybe there’s someone watching with a remote-control device.”
I glanced around as I began to walk away, didn’t see anyone watching, figured Aaron’s hyper cop rant wasn’t really helping just now.
“Look, how about you have the bomb-disposal guys quietly come out and…”
The explosion was so loud I didn’t hear it. The force of the blast bounced me off the back of a parked van. I probably walked about thirty feet down the street as I was talking to Aaron before the bomb detonated. I was in shock, dazed, and had no recollection of anything until after the surgery.
Chapter 53
I woke, sort of. I was groggy, confused and in a beige recovery room. There was a blue curtain drawn around me, and I was on my stomach lying on pillows or something that seemed to lift my entire backside up in the air. I had IV’s taped to my right hand. I could move my head but it hurt to do so.
“Can you hear me?”
I attempted to look up. I moved my head to the right and there was a vicious stabbing pain from the back of my head. I heard a groan I didn’t recognize then slowly realized it was coming from me.