her middle-aged com anion, who chuckled and led the wa over to the
silent manNa , mein Siisser, ' Eva flirted in a husky voice. 'All alone
up here tonight?'
Taken aback by her directness, the Russian stared back in silence.
She's at least fifty, he thought, much too old for my taste. But you're
something else altogether he thought, hungrily eyeing the younger
woman's cleavage. With a flash of surprise, he realized that she was
the demure blonde he had seen enter apartment 43 twenty minutes earlier.
He barely recognized her beneath the heavy makeup and wig, She can't be
more than twenty-five, he guessed, and breasts like a Georgian goddess .
..
'Guten Abend, Frdulein,' he said to the younger woman.
I think you looked much better before.'
Ilse felt her throat tighten.
'I think he's set on you, Helga,' Eva said, laughing. She patted the
Russian on his rear. 'Too bad, dearie,'Iittle Helga's booked for
tonight. But you're in luck. I know a dozen tricks this child's never
even heard of. What do you say?' .
Abashed by the old tart's boldness, the Russian went temporarily blank.
'Oh, forget it,' Eva said, pulling Ilse down the hall. 'If you don't
know what you want, we don't have time to wait.'
Kosov's young agent watched the middle-aged redhead follow her shapely
companion into the elevator cage. Eva yanked the lever that started the
slow descent and then, still holding eye contact with the guard, pumped
her fist lewdly up and down the iron rod. When the Russian colored in
embarrassment, she hiked her bright skirt over a well-preserved thigh
and burst into laughter.
As soon as the cage sank below the line of the floor, Eva cut her voice
to a whisper. 'Here comes the hard part. We were lucky that time. The
odds just went-'down.'
Ilse clutched her friend's arm. 'You shouldn't have come with me!'
'You'd never have made it by yourself, darling.' 'But you're in danger
too!'
Eva plucked a gob of mascara out of her eye. 'I'm glad to do it.
If I hadn't had you to talk to for the last three years, I'd have gone
mad in that tiny apartment.'
'But all your men friends-' 146 n le in isgust. 'Don't even mention
those bums. Don't act like you don't know what I do.
You and Hans have always known, and you've never treated me any
different than family. So shut up and take some help. We're not out of
this yet.'
The elevator screeched to an uncertain stop. Eva yanked open the screen
and stormed through the lobby, cursing the elevator and every other
mechanical device ever invented.
With Ilse struggling along behind on a pair of Eva's four-inch heels, the
old barmaid clacked past the two Russians at the building's entrance as
if they did not exist.
'Halt!' yelled one of Kosov's men as Ilse hurried past.
Ilse's heart thudded in her chest.
The Russian caught hold of her elbow. 'Hey, Frdulein,' he said, leaning
close to her. 'Why the hurry?'
Eva paused impatiently at the curb. She looked up and down the street,
then walked back to the door. 'Next time, sweetie,' she snapped,
stepping protectively in front of Ilse.
'We've got a party to go to.'
'It can wait,' said the young man, leering at his companion.
'Stay here and keep us warm for a while. It's cold out.'
'Colder by the minute, Arschloch,' Eva spat. 'If we don't get out of
this wind in thirty seconds our tits will snap off.'
The Russian shed his smile like a snakeskin. His eyes glazed with a
reptilian sheen. He took a step toward Eva.
'Forget it, Misha,' urged his companion. 'They're just whores.'
'Fucking filth,' the Russian muttered.
'Misha, ' said his partner anxiously. 'Remember Colonel Kosov.'
Misha took a long look at Eva as if to mark her for future
retribution, then snorted and walked into the lobby. When he next
looked outside, the two women were already across the street and halfway
down the block, moving toward Colonel Kosov's BMW.
Kosov had just lifted the microphone from the dash when he spied two
prostitutes walking quickly up the Liitzenstrasse.
'Report, One,' he said, half-watching them.
'Lobby still clear.'
'Two?'
'No movement inside the apartment.'
'Damn. Three and Four?'
r
'All clear here. No sign of him.'
The prostitutes reached the hood of the BMW, passed it.
'All positions,' said Kosov, 'I have two women passing me from your
direction. Anyone see where they entered the street?'
The radio squawked as three signals competed for reproduction.
'Four here, sir. They came from the apartment building. Looked like
two whores to us.'
Kosov felt a tic in his cheek. He turned away as the headlights of a
passing car shone through the BMW. When he looked again he saw one of
the women raise an arm and flag the car to a stop. That's odd, he
thought, a taxi here at this hour And picking up a couple of
streetwalkers ...
'Two here,' crackled the radio. 'Those prostitutes came from number
forty-three, this floor. Opposite my position.
One of them even propositioned me.'
Kosov struck the dash with his fist. 'One of them is the wife!
Misha, to the car! Two, enter number forty and proceed!' Kosov looked
frantically for an alley in which to turn the BMW around. With cars
parked both sides of the street he had no room to make a U.
Inside the taxi, Eva spoke rapidly. 'Perfect timing, Ernst darling. Now
zoom around the corner and stop as fast as you can.' She looked back
over her shoulder. 'Ilse, when he stops, you jump right out and get
into the alley there. If they keep after me, you've made it. If they
