'True, but I'll have to tread carefully,' Samantha said. 'I'm risking exposure here, and I don't want to be taken out of the game.'
'You feel that you have to make this meeting?' Kate asked.
'Without question,' Samantha said.
'All right. While you're doing that, I'm going to see if I can get some help inside Moscow.'
'Do you have someone there?'
'Of course I do,' Kate said. 'I have someone everywhere. For all its nonexistence, Room 59 is big. Stay in touch.'
* * *
'I see you, love. Don't get your knickers in a twist.'
Even though she had chosen the meeting place, Ajza felt incredibly vulnerable. Mothers and nannies took children to the park. A few of them held brightly colored balloons that bobbed in the gentle wind. Sunlight slanted through the trees and cast moving rectangles across the green grass and winding walking paths.
'I'm fine,' she said. Trevor waited at the other end of the phone connection. Ajza's hair hid the earpiece she wore. She was fine. She reminded herself of that.
But she knew she'd feel better if she had a pistol on her. Despite taking the one last night, she hadn't brought it to the park. She was already in trouble if MI-6 was watching her meet with someone she didn't know — for reasons she couldn't quite fathom herself, other than to try to keep her family safe.
Maybe if Ilyas hadn't gotten killed, or if MI-6 had been more forthcoming about his death, she wouldn't have been so concerned. However, MI-6 had lied to her parents, had lied to her and had blackmailed her into continuing that lie to her parents.
She owed them nothing regarding her personal life.
However, getting caught with a weapon by a passing policeman who thought she looked suspicious — and she was certain she
'Have you cut into the video feeds?' Ajza resisted the impulse to look at the cameras hidden around the park. With the terrorist-threat level high, covert video equipment had blossomed everywhere.
'I'm in, love. You don't have to worry about me.' Trevor sounded calm and collected. 'I see more now than you do. I'm everywhere.'
Ajza glanced around the park again, suddenly aware of how much her aloneness made her stand out. Everyone else was there with someone. Parents played with their children or talked to each other. Young lovers walked hand in hand. A handful of young men threw a Frisbee.
Quietly Ajza cursed. She didn't know why she was looking. She didn't know who she was supposed to meet. In fact, she didn't even know if she was going to meet a man or a woman.
She focused on the need to keep her parents safe, and she told herself she was clever enough to get away no matter what happened. Ilyas's smiling face filled her thoughts, even though she didn't want it to. He'd always been so confident of everything he'd done, always worked to stay one step ahead of everyone.
What got you caught, Ilyas? What got you killed? Those questions cycled constantly through her mind. At the moment, they almost consumed her.
'Hey.' Trevor's voice held a note of concern.
'What?' Ajza looked around, then took a few steps toward the street, ready to get out of the area. She headed out of the open space into the trees.
'Somebody's spoofed the blinking camera.'
'How?' Ajza put more muscle into her stride. Her heart hammered within her, urging her to run.
'Don't know, love, but whoever did it, he's cherry, he is. I'm looking at the screen, but it's showing the same footage over and over. Techs monitoring this at the desk, they're not gonna notice it.'
A trapped feeling filled Ajza.
'Do you want me to call the…'
The earpiece went dead in Ajza's ear. She pulled it out and pocketed it so that her hearing was sharper.
'Ms. Manaev, over here.'
The woman's voice surprised Ajza. It was quiet, totally controlled. Like someone who was meeting an acquaintance.
Ajza tracked the voice back to the lone figure standing under a nearby tree. The woman stood with her hands, fingers spread out, at her sides. The stance wasn't natural, and Ajza knew of several weapons that could be hidden or quickly retrieved.
'We cut your friend out from the cameras and your phone connection,' the woman said. 'I do want to talk to you. Please don't panic.'
Don't panic? Ajza seized the anger that floated up inside her. She used it to fuel her movement.
'Perhaps we should both be feeling a little panicked at the moment,' Ajza said.
The woman smiled. 'If it's any consolation to you, I'm not exactly at ease either.'
But you have friends that shut my friend out, don't you? As Ajza closed in on the woman, she watched the frees through her peripheral vision. She expected the woman's bodyguards to close in on them, but no one appeared to take any special interest.
'Who are you?' Ajza demanded as she stopped in front of the woman.
'I'm afraid I can't tell you that at this point.'
'Then this conversation is going to be one of the shorter ones you've had.' Ajza stared into the other woman's eyes. 'Don't come looking for me again. Next time won't be as pleasant.' She turned and started away.
'You showed a lot of finesse back in Istanbul, Ms. Manaev. Ditching the weapons like that was quick thinking.'
Ajza refused to be played. She didn't know how the woman knew about the Istanbul mission or what she'd done there. She made herself keep walking. There was obviously a leak somewhere. Evidently someone had chosen her as the weak link. That was a mistake on their part.
'What are you going to do, Ms. Manaev?' the woman asked. 'Talk to your superiors about the conversation you've had with me? Do you think they'll understand why you didn't talk to them sooner?'
Keep walking, Ajza told herself. Stay in the frees. Make use of cover in case they don't want to let you just walk away from this. She felt eyes on her, but she couldn't pick out where the watchers were located.
* * *
I'm not going to lose her, Samantha thought. She wants to know what I know. She needs this meeting more than I do. But that thought only made Samantha feel guilty because she knew she was about to exploit Ajza.
'You want to talk to me, Ms. Manaev.' Samantha didn't move. 'Don't you want to know what happened to Ilyas?'
Samantha steeled herself, reminding herself again who she was, who she worked for, and that she would do whatever it took — use anyone she had to — in order to accomplish her goals. That wasn't, she knew, a sterling trait in a person. But in the espionage game, it was a necessary trait.
Ajza's measured stride faltered. She kept walking, but Samantha saw the effort it took.
Samantha watched Ajza continue walking and restrained herself from moving or speaking. The bait was there. Ajza had to choose.
Ajza managed another three steps. Then she stopped. With her fists jammed into her jacket, she took a deep breath and looked out at the people around them.
Samantha knew that Ajza hadn't spotted the Room 59 team keeping watch. None of them were close enough. In the end, Ajza's choice of meeting places had trapped her. Samantha had only used it.
The park was a family place. Ajza had thought she'd be safe there, away from harm. However, the park — as Samantha had known — served only to remind her how incomplete her own family was since her brother's death.
Ajza spoke without turning around. 'Do you mean it? About Ilyas?'
'I don't know who killed him,' Samantha admitted. 'But I know where he was killed. I know what he was involved with.'
