“Mikhail on the one side, his four-man team on the other?”
“It would explain why the team’s remained static. Mikhail wants Number 1 to know that if keeps hold of the crown jewel, he’ll hunt him down and put a bullet in his head.”
Will considered this. “You’re thinking that he’s trying to force a sale? And the team is there to pay and take delivery?”
“Yes. Aggressive leverage. The team isn’t a benign bunch of business-cover spooks.” Peter folded his arms. “They’re hard bastards, men who are waiting for Mikhail to drive Number 1 toward them so they can confront him with a bag of cash to buy back the paper, or failing that put a shitload of bullets into Number 1’s body.”
Will nodded. “It’s a good theory, but wrong.”
Peter frowned. “You’re sure?”
Will said, “I think the team are shooters, but there’s no pincer movement to be had.”
“Look, we are conjecturing, but this has to make sense because. .”
“No!” Will put a finger against one of Peter’s questions.
Why can’t it be copied and its value therefore diluted?
“Damn.”
“Yes, damn.” Will removed his finger. “There can’t be a sale.”
“Because a buyer would need to know that he or she’s in possession of something unique.”
“And anything on a piece of paper can be copied.”
“None of this makes sense.” Peter sounded exasperated. “How can this paper retain any value?”
“Its value is to the man who orchestrated its theft. He’s not looking to sell it, and the Russians have no intention of trying to buy it back.” He repeated, “There’s no pincer movement.”
“Then what?”
Will said quietly, “What if the Russians have sent a spycatcher? Their best. Mikhail is warning Number 1 that Mikhail’s that man. And the team is there to support him while he does what he excels in.”
“But if that’s the case, why’s the team still holed up in the hotel?”
“Perhaps because Number 1’s hiding in a location that’s known to Mikhail. No doubt it’s an armed camp, too heavily defended for Mikhail and his men to go in there, but the moment Number 1 steps out then Mikhail will activate his team and go for him.”
“A standoff?”
“It’s possible.”
“It would also suggest that Mikhail’s got other assets in situ who are helping him watch Number 1’s place.”
Will agreed. Recalling what the injured Polish AW operative had said to him in Gdansk, he frowned. “Mikhail actively encouraged the Poles to stop Number 1’s men leaving Poland, and by implication he wasn’t concerned if the Poles took possession of the paper. Now we have a standoff between Number 1 and Mikhail, and that would suggest that the paper and Number 1 himself are no threat while they’re locked down in their current location.” He rubbed his face. “I suspect the Russians know that the paper’s useless to anyone except Number 1; and that it’s useless to Number 1 unless he has freedom of movement.”
“But how does Mikhail know the location of Number 1?”
Will shrugged. “Someone close to Number 1 tipped him off, or maybe he’s had him under observation for several weeks.”
“Neither makes sense. An insider would have also tipped him off that the paper was about to be stolen. The Russians would have shot Yevtushenko the moment he tried to get near it.”
“Maybe the insider wasn’t privy to that information.” Will shook his head. “No, you’re right. An insider would have tipped off Mikhail about Number 1’s location because that location had a precise value to the SVR. The value being that a highly valuable SVR paper was about to transit from Moscow to the location.”
Peter nodded. “The same logic would apply to the need to have Number 1 under SVR observation prior to the theft.”
“I agree.” Will was deep in thought. Speaking to himself, he muttered, “Come on. Think, think.”
Peter was silent.
Will frowned. Speaking slowly and deliberately, he said, “I think Mikhail already knew the location of Number 1, maybe had known for years, but had no specific concerns about him. But when the paper was stolen, Mikhail knew the only place it was headed was Number 1’s hands. The Russian tried to stop that happening in Gdansk, but failed. So he then raced to Number 1’s location and has been close to the place ever since.”
“He should have the shooters with him.”
“Yes, he should. Unless. .” His voice trailed as new thoughts entered his mind. “Unless. .” One thought stuck. “Movement remains the key. Suppose Mikhail knows that Number 1 has to take the paper to a place that crosses the path of the SVR team.”
“Gives the Berlin boys a head start?”
“Yes, though before you ask, I haven’t got a clue as to where that location is or why the paper needs to be moved.”
“But you do have an idea as to what message Mikhail was relaying to Number 1.”
Will moved right up to the board and drew a line between the last two questions:
Why did he tell Alina that his name was Mikhail?
Who is Number 1?
Will looked at Peter, then wrote three sentences alongside the line connecting these two questions:
My name is Mikhail. Your new Russian friend will tell you what I’m capable of. If you do anything with the paper, I’ll kill you.
Fourteen
Will waited in a side alley close to the Grand Hyatt. He wondered how Adam was faring doing his circuits of the hotel, as it was cold and wet and still very dark.
Roger and Mark walked quickly toward him; Roger was dressed in an expensive suit and overcoat, meaning he’d done the lobby shift; Mark was wearing clothes that were designed to keep him dry and warm, and allow him to move quickly if need be.
They stopped, their faces barely visible in the poor light, and formed a circle with Will.
Will asked, “Is there any pattern to the team’s activities in the hotel?”
Mark shook his head. “None, beyond that the team rarely shows itself.”
“What’s its setup?”
Roger answered, “The men have got four adjacent rooms on the fifth floor.”
“Are the rooms cleaned daily?”
“Yeah, but the men stay in their rooms when that happens.”
“Can we get a universal swipe key off one of the maids or another member of staff?”
“Should be easy, but it ain’t going to be any use while the rooms are always occupied.”
“Not always occupied.”
“True, but the men have appeared in the lobby on their own for no more than sixty seconds before they’ve disappeared back to the elevator.”
“Shit!”
“What would you hope to find in their rooms?”
“Anything that might tell us the whereabouts of their leader.”
Roger shook his head. “We have to assume they’re a professional unit. There just might be something on one of their cell phones, but I doubt it, and I doubt they’ll have anything compromising in their rooms. Plus, when they leave their rooms, they’ll have their cells with them.”
Mark suggested, “We could grab one of the men. Try to make him talk.”
Will looked in the direction of the hotel. “We can’t afford to show our hand. Not yet. Plus, we might actually need the Russian team.” He told them about Mikhail and the possibilities of what was happening.
Roger said, “If true, that means there’s a lot riding on this Mikhail guy. It’s all fine if he alerts his team that Number 1’s on the move. Then we tool up and follow the team. But what happens if Number 1 slips the net before either team gets to him?”
“I think Mikhail knows exactly what he’s doing.” Will looked at both operatives. “If the Russians move at short notice, can you guarantee you can get everyone on them?”
“Without a doubt. Whichever of us is back at Auguststrasse can be with us in ten minutes max with all our kit. We’ve timed it during peak and off-peak hours. And we can do rolling pickups, on foot or public transport surveillance, plus if the Russian team’s heading to the airport, we reckon we can get there twenty minutes quicker than a taxi driver.”