Quinn then made his way back to Mikhail, but remained in a standing crouch.
“Nova?” he said.
“I’m here,” Nova replied.
“Tell me exactly what your people saw.”
“A dark blue Mercedes. S600. Very nice.”
“How many inside?”
“Windows are tinted, so could only see the driver and a man in the passenger seat.”
“What makes you think it’s them?” Quinn asked.
“They circled the station once, then pulled off onto Spur Road and parked at the curb. No one’s gotten out.”
“Any following cars?”
“Yes,” Nova said. “Two so far. A black Audi and a silver Mercedes. Four people in each.”
Counting the car behind the van and the Ghost’s sedan, the total rose to fifteen people.
“There could be more, but two cars sounds about right,” Quinn said. Then in a voice loud enough for the whole van to hear, he said, “Time for the next phase. Is everyone ready?”
“Yes,” Petra said.
“Give my people two minutes to get to their cars,” Nova said.
“All right,” Quinn told them. “Two minutes and I make the call.”
“LET ME SPEAK TO MY SISTER,” QUINN SAID.
“Where are you?” the Ghost asked.
“Let me speak to my sister.”
“You already spoke to her.”
“And you could have dumped her since then. Let me speak to her, or we abort.”
The phone exchanged hands.
“I’m here,” she said, strain still in her voice, but a little calmer than the last time.
“Still okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good. It won’t be long.”
“All right,” she said. “Jake, what about Nate? Is he—”
Quinn could hear the phone moving again.
“I’m at Waterloo,” the Ghost said. “Bring me the package now and you can have her back. Then we can both move on.”
Quinn’s phone vibrated, indicating a text, but he ignored it for the moment.
“Step two,” he told the Ghost. “Head toward Victoria Station. I’ll call you in five minutes with further instructions.”
“That is unaccep—”
Quinn disconnected the call, then looked at the screen. The text was from Orlando.
Arrived point 3. All clear.
Quinn sent her a quick message back.
Did you check on Nate?
While he waited for her reply, he leaned toward Mikhail’s phone. “Anything?”
“The Mercedes is moving,” Nova reported. “Hold on.”
Quinn heard Nova speaking in Russian. There was a muffled reply that sounded like it was coming over another phone. When he came back on, he said, “It’s heading west toward Westminster Bridge.”
“That’s him,” Quinn said.
Nova said something in Russian again. Quinn looked at Mikhail, his eyebrows raised.
“He’s checking on the backup cars,” Mikhail said.
Good. That was going to be Quinn’s next question.
Fifteen seconds of nothing, then Nova said, “Have positions on the Audi and the other Mercedes, too. The Audi looks like it’s hanging back to cover the Ghost’s car, while the Mercedes is racing ahead.”
“Any sign of anyone else?” Quinn asked.
