[Quinn 01] - The Cleaner

'Still Route C.'

'Any sign of other escorts?'

'Just the sedan.'

'All right. Give me a five-minute heads-up before you reach the rendezvous point.' 'That won't be long,' Orlando said. Quinn drove cautiously, trying not to attract

attention. By the time he was in position, he still hadn't heard back from Orlando. He found an open spot at the curb and parked, leaving the engine running.

His phone finally rang a minute later.

'Five-minute warning,' Orlando said.

'Status?'

'Everything's the same.'

'They haven't spotted you?'

'No,' Orlando said. 'For someone who can barely move, Nate's pretty good.' 'Don't hang up,' Quinn said. Quinn pulled his backpack onto his lap. He

extracted his SIG Sauer, checked to be sure the magazine was in place, then set the pistol on the passenger seat.

The extra mags were in the backpack. Quinn extracted two of them, slipping them into his pocket. He then set the backpack on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

'Two minutes,' Orlando said. 'They're four blocks away.'

Quinn glanced in the direction from where the shipment would be approaching. Nothing yet. Without looking, he reached back behind his seat and grabbed the Uzi he'd taken from Nate's captors off the floor. He only had the one magazine for the weapon, but its intimidation value would make up for his lack of ammunition.

'Wait a minute,' Orlando said.

'What?'

'They're turning.'

'Which way?' Quinn asked.

'Left,' Orlando said, some of her calm slipping. 'They're going left!' As Quinn pulled out from the curb, he could

hear Nate cursing in the background.

'What is it?' Quinn asked.

'We're blocked off,' Orlando said.

'You've been spotted?'

'No,' she said. 'Just too much traffic'

'Can you still see them?'

'Hold on.' There was a pause. 'No. They must have turned again. I don't know where they are. Quinn, we've got to find them. We have to get those boxes.' Her voice was emphatic, desperate.

Quinn raced down the road. When he was only a block from where Nate and Orlando had lost the truck, he turned down a side street. His eyes flicked back and forth at every cross street looking for the cargo van. But it wasn't there.

A sense of impending disaster began to creep into his mind, but he quickly pushed it down. They had to get the shipment. There was no choice.

'Scratch the ambush,' Quinn said. 'We have to go to Charlottenburg. To the delivery point.'

'Got it,' Orlando said, then relayed the instructions to Nate.

Quinn made a quick adjustment to his route and was soon heading west toward Charlottenburg.

He tried to stay calm. They could still do this. They had to do this.

It was the last possible chance they'd have.

Chapter 38

Quinn retraced his route back to the conference staging building in Charlottenburg, the whole time keeping a lookout for the van. But he never caught sight of it.

'Orlando, where are you?' Quinn asked. There was a bit of static, then, 'About a mile and a half away.' With city traffic, that put them several minutes behind Quinn.

'I'm almost there,' Quinn said.

'Are you going to wait for us?'

'No,' Quinn said, without hesitation. 'Just get here fast.'

Ahead was the Einstein Coffee Shop he had been sitting in earlier. As he turned the final corner, his mouth