Crossing the Line (37 page)

“Crying?”

“I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.

“We deserve each other.”

He slid straight into her and Katya wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Don’t cry,” he said.

Tell him the truth and they were doomed. Don’t tell him anything, and they were doomed. There was no choice. Too many people might get hurt if she spoke out. She shouldn’t waste this moment with Aleksei because it might be their last. He leaned over for another kiss as he thrust gently inside her. It was his gentleness than undid her. She shook beneath him as he made love to her. That was what he was doing. Not fucking her. When he lifted his head, his eyes were heavy with desire. His smile broke her heart.

Aleksei groaned at the wet heat of her. He sent a silent message to his balls, begging them not to explode too soon. But he didn’t know why she was crying and it worried him. Because he’d asked that question about children?

She stared at him as if she could see a different man, not the one he was, but the one he wanted to be. He wished he could rewind everything from the moment he’d seen and heard her play in The Sturgeon, but he couldn’t. The path he was on, she travelled too and he’d do all he could to keep her alive.

Katya moaned and clutched at him, bucking up into his thrusts and the clench of her muscles made his cock roar with need. His hips jerked faster and faster. He didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to lose the way she felt. Her breath quickened and she cried out as she came, calling his name which was enough to flip him into orgasm. The ripples of her contractions milked his shaft and he exploded inside her, his whole body caught up in the sensation.

When he could move, he rolled so she lay on top of him, her head against his chest, and he held her tight.

“I want to leave Florida,” he whispered. “Move to another state, somewhere with proper seasons, somewhere it snows. We’ll choose a house together, have kids. I’ll do a job that doesn’t involve breaking the law. You can teach violin, play in the town orchestra, do whatever you want. Teach our children to play the violin. Maybe even me.”

He could feel her tears falling onto his chest and her hold on him tightened.

“I want a new life with you,” he whispered. “Do you want one with me?”

“Yes.”

He smiled into her hair. All he had to do was live long enough to be able to share those dreams with her.

Katya clutched Aleksei’s hand as they walked into the lobby of the Mandarin Hotel. His damp palm betrayed his anxiety and made her anxious too. She’d pleaded with him not to go until he’d silenced her with a kiss. “Trust me,” he said. “You just have to trust me.”

She could feel any chance of happiness with him trickling through her fingers. Two men slipped to their sides like shadows. One tall and thin, the other short and solid.

“Kusmin?” asked the tall man.

“Yes.”

“Who’s this?” the same man asked.

“A friend.”

“You were supposed to be alone.”

“Clearly I’m not.”

“This way.”

The four of them walked to the elevators. Katya didn’t recognize the accent. The men were dark skinned, and wore light colored suits with white shirts. Once they were in the elevator the short one used a card and pressed the button for the top floor. As the doors closed the other man moved in front of Aleksei and carefully patted him down. Katya stood motionless when he slid his hands up the outside of her dress. As he moved a hand to her breasts, Aleksei caught his wrist. “No.”

The guy smiled.

They turned left out of the elevator and walked to a door at the corridor’s end. One of their escorts knocked and it opened. As they entered the room a man working on a laptop looked up. He had a long, pointed face and a short grey beard. The image of a wolf filled Katya’s head.

“This room is not acceptable,” Aleksei said.

“I assure you it’s secure,” said the man who opened the door.

“I’d like to talk in a different room.”

“Use the phone, ask what is available,” said the man with the computer.

Several minutes later they were in an identical room at the other end of the corridor.

“Satisfied now?” the wolf asked.

Aleksei nodded.

“Well, I’m not. Take off your clothes. Her too,” said the man who’d opened the door.

“What?” Aleksei glared.

“You suspect the hotel room was bugged. How do I know you aren’t wearing recording devices? Carrying hidden cameras?”

“Then you strip as well,” Aleksei said. “We should have met on Haulover Beach. They have a clothes optional section.”

“That’s enough,” the wolf said. “No need for anyone to take off their clothes. There is only one person worth seeing naked.” He looked straight at Katya and she cringed against Aleksei.

The man held out his hand. “Omar Latif.”

“Aleksei Kusmin. This is Katya.”

“And she is with you because?”

“She’s a chemist.”

“Is that right? What can you tell me about uranium, Katya?”

“The first element found to be fissile. If it’s bombarded with slow neutrons its 235U isotope becomes 236U which then divides into two smaller nuclei. This frees more energy and neutrons and if those neutrons are absorbed by other 235U nuclei, there’s a chain reaction and when no more 235U nuclei are available to absorb neutrons and slow the reaction, there’s an explosion.” She took a breath. “Nuclear fission.”

“Did you learn that or do you understand it?”

“I had a job with Minatom.” She just hadn’t taken it. She could stretch the truth too.

Omar nodded. “I’m impressed. Delighted to meet you, Katya. Please call me Omar.”

The next forty minutes passed in a whirl of quiet negotiation. She listened and said nothing. There was a long discussion about how Aleksei could prove he had the uranium and how Omar could prove he could pay for it. The price changed so much she was bewildered. Percentages were to be paid at certain times in particular ways. Conditions were introduced and overruled and reinstated. There were also long periods of silence while the two men sat watching each other and the other three men watched them and Katya. Each time she uncrossed and crossed her legs she felt their eyes on her. The meeting was like some intricate martial arts contest where weapons never clashed, just came perilously near to inflicting fatal blows. Each side waited for the other to step too near their line and suffer the consequence.

By the time Omar turned to her, she wasn’t sure if anything had been agreed.

“Is there anything you’d like to say?” Omar asked.

Katya hesitated.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be adding another bruise to your face.”

She wanted to know where he’d build the bomb, when he’d use it, what target. Questions he wouldn’t answer. “You realize this material is tricky to handle. Those who carry it will be in danger. Although it can’t be absorbed by unbroken skin, it can be inhaled or ingested. It could cause kidney damage at the very least.”

Aleksei shot her a warning glance.

The wolf inclined his head. “There are plenty of people willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Exposure to radiation is not a concern.”

“You also need a lot more than the amount you’re talking about to make a nuclear weapon. You’d be limited to a radiological dispersal device.”

“Yes, I know.” His eyes darkened.

“Do you understand what a dirty bomb will do?” she asked. “It’s not a weapon of mass destruction.”

“One would almost think you were trying to put me off.” Omar smiled. “Yes, I understand. It would cause massive contamination and panic. Not a conventional view of mass destruction but I think it fits the bill, isn’t that the expression? You will be very rich. We will be rich in other ways. You can buy a big boat and sail off to somewhere safe.”

“Do you have children?” Katya asked.

He looked at her quizzically. “Two boys. Why?”

“I think you should make sure they study history as well as science.”

“Explain.”

“Science can teach them how to make weapons that will bring misery. History should teach them not to.”

There was silence for a moment and then Omar laughed. Katya thought it was an unpleasant sound, the sort she’d expect an animal to make before it bit off her head.

“How much for her?” he asked Aleksei.

“I’m not for sale,” she said.

“Everything is for sale.”

“Not her,” Aleksei said.

Omar looked at him. “Name your price. One night.”

“She is beyond price. We already have a deal,” Aleksei said.

Omar sighed. “Are you a gambling man, Aleksei?”

“No.”

“A pity. Very well. You will go back and report our discussions with your superiors?”

Aleksei tensed but his face didn’t change. “Of course. We’ll be in touch.”

* * * * *

Ethan had followed Aleksei and Katya to the hotel and found a place in the general parking lot with a clear view of the main entrance. He lowered his windows before he switched off his engine.

As he leaned back in his seat, a gun pressed against his temple. “Don’t move.”

A CIA badge appeared in front of his face. Ethan didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. At least he wasn’t going to get shot in his new car by Kusmin or Petrenko.

“Are you armed?”

“Yes. Ankle.”

“You see that stretch limo on your right?”

Ethan turned his head slightly. “Yes.”

“Get out of the car slowly, take out your gun and put it on the ground. Then walk to the limo and get in the back.”

“Why?”

“We want to talk to you.”

“I have someone under observation,” Ethan said.

“So do we. Now move it.”

“Look—”

“Stop fucking arguing and get out the car.”

Ethan fretted about leaving his post and Katya unprotected but he did as he’d been told. If the CIA were here too, this was beyond big. The car door opened as he reached it and he got inside.

“Good morning, Mr. Roberts. Matthew Kelso, CIA.”

There were three men inside and it wasn’t a normal stretch limo. It was full of electronic equipment. Ethan’s stomach lurched. “Special Agent Roberts. FBI.”

Kelso sighed. “It’s our understanding you’re not on active duty. Suspended because you couldn’t keep your dick in your shorts. Or do we have that wrong?”

Ethan stayed silent.

The guy leaned closer. “You’re interfering in our operation. What the fuck do you think you’re up to?”

“I guess you just told me—interfering with your operation.”

“You’ve been suspended. This has nothing to do with you.”

“You’re watching Aleksei Kusmin and Katya Mazarov?”

“Give the dog a bone.”

Ethan glanced around the interior of the vehicle. One guy listened on headphones.

“We should be sharing information, not working against each other,” Ethan said.

A door opened and another man put his head in. “The car’s here.”

“Let’s go for a drive,” Kelso said.

Ethan and Kelso got out of the limo and into the back of the new car which immediately pulled away.

“Who’s wearing the wire?” Ethan asked.

“No comment.”

“How did you know about this meeting?”

“Again, no comment.”

“Are you aware of the meeting at two in the Vizcaya Museum?”

“No.” Kelso glanced at him.

“It’s a set-up. I just wondered if you were part of it. Who do you have wired?”

“We have a room wired. What were you doing in the parking lot?” Kelso asked.

“Following Katya.”

“Why? You’re off the case.”

“I’m worried about her.”

“Why?”

“She’s my CI. I feel responsible for her safety.”

“You develop a conscience after you fucked her or did you have it before?”

Shit.
“I’m worried she’s going to get hurt.”

“Why didn’t you pull her out?”

“What’s going on?”

Kelso stayed silent.

Ethan took a deep breath. “I’m beginning to wonder if we aren’t all being set up here. Katya heard Kusmin and Petrenko talking about enriched uranium but maybe it doesn’t exist. Do you have someone pretending to be a buyer?”

“Kusmin is ours.”

Ethan’s jaw dropped. “He’s working for you?”

“He’s been offered immunity from prosecution in return for information. I’m telling you this because I need you to back off. Leave Katya Mazarov alone.”

Ethan’s cell phone rang in his pocket.

“Answer it,” Kelso said.

Ethan took it out. “Hi, Tom.”

“Do you want the good news or the I-really-don’t-want-to-hear-that news?”

“I’ll have the good first.”

“I brought Luisa in to talk to Frank and she’s dropped all allegations. She’s out and you’re in. She’s in custody. Frank says you can collect your gun and shield anytime.”

Ethan had so much else to worry about he hardly felt relieved.

“The bad news is you were right to be suspicious of Revnik. I’ve just been talking to your friend Eric Ford in Moscow. He says that Revnik’s family is in St Petersburg and under the protection of the
Pecherskaya
.”

The weight slammed back on Ethan’s shoulders. He knew the gang. He’d had dealings with them before.

“Did he say whether that was voluntary or not?”

“Eric didn’t know. He’s still working on it.”

Ethan went quiet.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, I’ll call you later.” He ended the call.

Kelso glanced at him.

“I have my shield back.”

“Good for you.”

Ethan glared. “Now you can turn around and drive me to the hotel because I have as much right to be in that parking lot as you.” Anxiety made his head pound.

“We’re already tripping over each other. I don’t want you around Kusmin.”

“You can have the case but I want Katya out now.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“She’s in danger.”

Kelso gave a short laugh. “Right. From who?”

“Petr Revnik, an FSB Colonel who’s on a placement here.” He ran through what Revnik told him only a few hours before, and what Tom had just said.

“He’s working for Petrenko?” Kelso asked.

“No.”

It was the first time the CIA man looked surprised.

“The
Pecherskaya
are not Petrenko’s gang. Petrenko was part of the
Derzhimordovskaya
while he was in Moscow. We’re not sure of his connection with them now. It could have continued in which case he’s arranging this uranium deal with their blessing and help or he could be trying to do it alone. The
Pecherskaya
are a rival gang, competing in neighboring suburbs. If Revnik’s family is under their protection, it means one of two things. Either he’s working for them against Petrenko voluntarily or he’s working for them because if he doesn’t his wife and kids will be killed.”