The Book of Spies

56

PRESTON RECOGNIZED Robin Miller's gait, the one aspect of the body most people forgot to disguise. He had noticed her as she had rushed down Dionysiou Areopagitou a half block from where she had ended her last cell call, but her hair and clothing had almost fooled him. Then as she passed, he had clearly seen her walk, the rhythmic shifts of her body, the short stride, the way she put weight on the outside of her soles.
He signaled Magus and Jerome, and all three ran after her.
Preston grabbed her arm. "We've missed you, Robin."
Terror filled her eyes. "Let me go." She tried to wrench free.
"Magus," Preston said.
Magus took her other arm, and they moved her to the side of the pedestrian boulevard. She started to struggle.
"Stop it," he ordered. "All we want is The Book of Spies. That isn't so hard now, is it?"
"And then you'll kill me."
"For what reason? There's nothing you can do to hurt us. You don't know where the library is. In fact, you know very little, do you?"
Her eyebrows lifted. She seemed to understand what he really meant. "You're right. I don't know anything about the library. Who works there, who owns it."
"Good girl."
He told Jerome to stand lookout at the beginning of a drive between two apartment buildings.
"Why do we have to go in here?" She gazed worriedly back over her shoulder as they took her down the drive.
Ahead was a parking lot, well lit, but empty of people. There was no one at the windows above.
"You don't want to be seen with us," he said. "That way there'll be no questions by anyone. You're on your own now. No more baggage from the past, right?"
She looked up at him, seemingly confused by his being understanding.
"Where's the book?" He put warmth into his tone. "Tell us, and we'll leave you here. There's only one other thing you have to do--give us a five-minute head start and go that way." He nodded to a walk that skirted the rear of the buildings.
"You're actually not planning to shoot me?"
"I'm sure you've figured out by now I'm a practical man. We're in the middle of Athens. Dead bodies mean police questions. You'll notice I haven't unholstered my weapon."
"You'll try to find me later."
"Why bother if I have the book?"
She peered at him a long time, then nodded agreement. "It's in the Acropolis Metro station. I have the key to the locker." She shook her arm, and he released it. As she slid a hand into her shirt pocket, a look of shock crossed her face.
Controlling his impatience, he said, "Maybe you put it into another pocket."
Magus freed her other arm, and she frantically searched her trousers and then her other shirt pocket.
"It's gone," she said. "My billfold and cell phone are gone, too. I don't see how all of them could've fallen out--"
"What else happened?" he asked instantly.
"Maybe Eva Blake or Judd Ryder took them somehow." She looked away. "I met them. But I didn't tell them anything. They don't know the book is in a locker in the Acropolis station."
With effort, he kept his voice calm, reassuring. "That's good. You made a mistake, and then you corrected it by not giving more information. Where are they staying, and where are they going next?"
"I don't know. I ran away from them."
"That was smart, but then I've always admired your intelligence. I'll bet you remember the locker number."
"Of course." She gave it to him.
"You're certain that's correct?"
"Of course I am."
"As a reward, I have a little gift for you." He smiled as her eyes widened. He took out a small blue bottle, flipped off the lid, and pressed the nozzle, spraying directly into her face.
She gasped and stepped away. Too late. He let her continue to walk, watching as she slowed and her knees buckled. He surveyed the parking lot and then the windows above. No one was in sight.
A fist against her chest, she sank to the ground, her oversize shirt billowing around her. Her legs spasmed. A quiet, unobtrusive death was one of the great advantages of the Rauwolfia serpentina derivative.
Glancing down the drive to Jerome, who nodded that all was well, Preston knelt over her, searching her clothes. He found a thick envelope inside her waistband and handed it up to Magus.
"Tell me what's inside." He continued to hunt but found nothing more.
Magus let out a low whistle. "She's got one pack load of euros in here."
Preston stood and took the envelope. "We've got to move fast. Watch for Judd Ryder and Eva Blake."
THE ACROPOLIS Metro station was on Makrigianni Street, across from lively cafes and snack bars and next to the Acropolis Study Center. Scanning everywhere, Preston and his men rushed inside the sleek station and ran down an escalator. At the base, they hurried past casts of the Parthenon friezes and stopped at the electronic ticketing machines. Two more escalators down, and they found the lockers.
As a Metro train whined to a stop, Preston ran along the lockers, alternately studying the boarding passengers and reading locker numbers until he found the correct one. His men converged to stand on either side, blocking anyone from being able to see as he took out his knife and quickly jimmied the tall door open.
And stared inside. There was no black backpack. No Book of Spies. On the bottom was Robin's roll-aboard, and on the shelf above lay her cell phone--open and turned on. Furious, he realized Ryder must have figured out they would use the cell to locate them. Ryder had The Book of Spies and was taunting him.
Preston grabbed the phone, slammed shut the locker, and turned. A bell rang, signaling the train's doors were about to close.
"Run," he ordered.
He and his men raced to different doors and leaped inside. Since they were underground, he could not call the other men he had brought to Athens and order them to watch the next stops. As the train pulled out, he noted his car was a little more than half full. Quickly he walked down the aisle, but he did not see Ryder or Blake. He spotted two backpacks--one was brown and the other green.
He checked Robin's cell, hoping for Judd Ryder's phone number. And swore. Ryder had wiped it clean. Blood pulsing with anger, he pushed through the door and entered the next car, determined to find them.