Last Chance to Die

14



Vail had gotten in about four hours earlier, after a long session with the Oakton police. He’d called them to the scene and, as soon as they arrived, had explained that he was the one who’d shot Petriv. As he walked them through the shoot-out, they found cartridges at every location where Vail said he’d received fire. The bullet holes in his car matched the caliber of the casings recovered. When asked who the victim was, Vail said that Petriv had been a person of interest in a Bureau investigation, a man he was trying to locate, and that he had finally found him at this house.

The detective asked him more than once to clarify “person of interest,” to which he answered that it was a classified matter. Finally Vail had them call Kate at home and have her verify that it was a sensitive investigation. She asked to speak to the chief and eventually convinced him that it was a matter of national security and that as soon as it was resolved, he would receive full details. After a few more hours of interviews by different combinations of officers, detectives, and even the chief, Vail was allowed to leave.

Vail woke up abruptly, thinking he’d heard Kate calling his name. “Steve, we’re coming up.” It was her. He jumped out of bed and pulled on a robe.

Vail went to the top of the stairs and was surprised to see Langston and Kalix with her. “I wonder what this could be about,” Vail said to himself quietly. And then, “Great, now I’m being sarcastic to myself.”

They all went into the workroom, and Langston immediately noticed the wall where all the photos and documents were displayed. For a moment he tried to comprehend how they had translated into the identification of three spies, but he didn’t want Vail to think he was there to admire his work.

Vail said, “Anyone want coffee?” and started for the kitchen.

Langston finally sat down on the sofa and called in to Vail, “I’ve briefed the director about last night, and of course he knew about the murder of Charles Pollock. Needless to say, he’s not happy. Two suspected spies, both dead. Both, it appears, were tortured and killed. Both times you’re right in the middle of it.”

Vail came out of the kitchen. “That shows you how misguided I am. I would think it was a good thing for the Bureau to be right in the middle of things.”

“And you had to go out there by yourself to do this. Was that to embarrass me?”

“I went by myself so your rules wouldn’t get in the way. Embarrassing you was just a bonus.”

“Apparently you don’t understand what a potential nightmare this could be if the media gets hold of it.”

“That’s exactly why the Russians did it,” Kate offered.

Langston said, “I’m well aware of that, but who’s going to believe us?”

Vail sat down in a chair. Kalix, in an attempt to reduce the tension, said, “I think the big question here is why would the Russians kill Pollock and Petriv? That’s never been their style.”

Kate said, “Maybe this is a small group of loose Russian cannons inside the SVR who are trying too hard to please their superiors—or, more likely, not wind up in gulags. When you have an asset exposed, it makes you look incompetent. You’ve got to hand it to them. They’ve found a way to turn their losing a spy into a black eye for the Bureau.”

“That’s a reasonable explanation, Kate,” Langston said. “Do you or Steve have any idea how they knew we were onto Petriv?”

Vail said, “The only thing I can think of is Calculus giving up his list. If he did, the Russians would be watching those individuals. Maybe even asking them that if anything unusual happens to contact the embassy immediately. In Pollock’s case they probably knew we were coming because of the break-in at the safe house and the missing DVD. With Petriv, he knew we were onto the bank because he tried to get more money through the ATM when he had much more in his safe-deposit box. Somehow he knew we had been to the bank and probably assumed we were staking it out. Or maybe someone let the cat out of the bag at NSA after you contacted them the day before. You know how there are no secrets inside the Bureau. You have to assume NSA has the same rumor mill. And since we found the false passports, the Russians had probably told him that they would get him out of the country should anything happen. If so, his next step would be to call his handler.”

“That also makes sense. All the more reason to bring Dellasanti in as soon as possible,” Langston said. “So let’s get focused on today. Surveillance is already on the drop at the park. There’s no activity yet. We’ve also got two crews on Dellasanti—who, by the way, works for the State Department.”

“I assume we’re going to arrest him as soon as he makes the pickup,” Kate said.

“Uh . . .” Langston glanced at Vail.

She, too, looked over at Vail, who had a small, cynical grin on his face.

“What the assistant director doesn’t want to tell you,” he said, “is that I will not be making the trip to Maryland.”

“Since you figured that out, Steve, I assume you understand why,” Langston said.

“I’m oh for two bringing in spies alive, and because I’m a very temporary employee, someone might interpret those deaths as the reason I was brought into this case.”

“Is that true?” Kate asked Langston.

“Obviously it makes enough sense that he figured it out.”

“You do realize that we’ve gotten this far only because of Steve,” she said.

“It’s okay, Kate,” Vail told her. “They’re right. The Russians are playing this beautifully.” He turned to Langston. “Maybe it’s time for me to bow out permanently.”

Langston said, “Absolutely not. The director was vehement about that. No, we just want some space between you and Dellasanti. And I think you understand that ultimately, by using this tack, you’ll be protecting yourself.”

“Yes, that’s always been my favorite thing about the Bureau, how they look out for me,” Vail said.

Langston’s cell phone rang. “Assistant Director Langston.” He listened for a moment and then hung up. “Dellasanti has just left his home. It looks like he’s heading to work.”

“Is the drop on his way?” Kate asked.

“No. Not in the direction he’s heading. We’ve got time.”

Vail stood up. After his call to Kate in the middle of the night and her efforts to get him cleared of the Petriv shooting, he felt that maybe he had judged her too quickly after he was excluded from the Petriv case. There was one way to find out where she really stood. “It appears I’ve got the day off. Since Kate hasn’t knifed or shot anyone, I assume she’s going with you.”

“Yes.”

Vail stared at her for a second too long, hoping it would remind her of their deal that he was supposed to get a first look at the documents from the impending dead drop. “Don’t forget you promised to call that guy Ariadne,” he said to her.

Vail sat alongside Luke Bursaw’s desk, scanning the mountain of information printed out from the missing analyst’s work computer. “I’m never using a computer again. There isn’t a keystroke that isn’t permanently recorded.”

“It would take a year to analyze all this,” Bursaw said.

“What about her personal laptop?” Vail asked.

“That—what did you call it?—Shadow Copy stuff? They’re working on it now.”

“Good. Have you heard anything from your girlfriend Denise?”

“Nothing. You know the attention span of a hooker. It’s only about as long as their tricks.”

“All this wheel spinning is making me hungry. How about I let you buy me some lunch.”

“The way you eat, it’d be cheaper for me to get you a hooker.”

“Sounds like somebody’s been getting the law-enforcement discount.”

Bursaw and Vail sat in a booth eating corned beef sandwiches at a deli two blocks from the Washington Field Office. “Does your supervisor know you’re putting all this time in looking for Sundra?”

“We’re all a little surprised when he actually finds his way to the office every day. The word is he’s got much greater ambitions. All indications are that he’s saving himself so when he gets back to headquarters he can screw up cases Bureau-wide.”

“So what do you want to do with Sundra next?”

“Me? You’re the idea guy. Why do you think I’m buying lunch?”

“You feed me salted meat and expect my A stuff? There better be a promise of pie attached to your next request.”

“I wish I could get up off of this, but I can’t. It’s waking me in the middle of the night. No matter what I’m doing, I start drifting away thinking about it. I mean, Christ, I didn’t even know her. Not really. I guess it’s become personal because of my cousin.”

Vail took the last bite of his sandwich and pushed the plate away. “You know she was a good person. If we don’t give them a little extra, who do we do it for?” Vail took a drink. “I’d never say dump it. Nobody else is looking for her, so you have to. It’s part of the idiot agent’s code. Running in the wrong direction is our life. When we’re done here, let’s go back to the office and go through the file again.”

“That’s your great insight? Go through the file again? I could have done that.”

“You’re mixing up cause and effect. The insight comes when I find something in the file. If that isn’t good enough, next time ask a psychic to lunch.”

“Okay, okay. You ready to go?”

“What’s the magic word?”

Bursaw signaled the waitress over to their booth. “Pie, please.”