the right side of the T, dragging Quinn with him. As he did, he tried to struggle out of his coat, but it slowed him enough so Quinn could pull out his gun and jam it into the other man's back.
'Stop it,' Quinn said.
'Go fuck yourself.' Tucker continued to struggle.
'Stop!'
Tucker's jacket slipped off his shoulder. It was everything Quinn could do to not pull the trigger. Just as Tucker was about to free himself, Quinn slapped the back of the Aussie's head with the barrel of the gun. Tucker stumbled sideways against the wall, then fell onto his knees. Dazed, but conscious.
Quinn quickly patted him down. Tucker, obviously not wanting to set off the metal detectors, was unarmed. Quinn grabbed Tucker's chin roughly and raised the man's face.
'Where's Garrett?' It took a moment for Tucker to refocus his eyes. 'Fuck off.'
Steps approached from around the corner, back toward the checkpoint. Quinn took a step away from Tucker and positioned himself so that he could cover both the hallway and the Aussie.
Orlando raced around the corner, sweeping the area in front of her with the gun in her hand. She lowered it slightly when she saw Quinn.
'Are you all right?' she asked. 'I'm fine,' he said. In truth, his leg throbbed
mercilessly. 'The boxes?' 'Secured. Nate's with them.' 'What about the other officer?' 'He'll live,' she said. 'We've got to get out of
here.' Quinn looked down at Tucker. 'You're coming
with us.' 'The hell I am.' 'Fine,' Quinn said. He raised his gun. 'You wouldn't shoot that in here.' 'Actually, I would.' Quinn moved his finger over
the trigger. 'All right, all right,' Tucker said. 'I'll tell you where the boy is. But only if you get me out of here and let me go.'
They found Nate back at the checkpoint. He was keeping watch over both the boxes and the terrified hotel supervisor who'd gotten caught in the action. The guard who remained there was slumped against the wall, unconscious.
'Time to go,' Quinn said.
He ordered the supervisor to push the cart. The man's reluctance soon disappeared when Quinn showed him his gun. Since Orlando was the most fit, she had Tucker duty. That left Quinn to lead and Nate to bring up the rear.
They wound their way back into the bowels of the hotel, this time the supervisor advising them on the quickest route to the parking garage. Even Tucker behaved, mostly because every time he took even a slight misstep, Orlando was right there to remind him which way to go.
When they reached the garage, Quinn told the supervisor and Tucker to load the boxes into the back seat of Nate's BMW. When they were through, he had Nate get in the car and pop the trunk.
The two cops were still there, both conscious and looking pissed as hell. Tucker and the hotel employee helped them out as Quinn and Orlando kept their guns trained on them.
'Start it up,' Quinn called out to Nate. As the engine roared to life, he turned to Orlando. 'You and Tucker squeeze into the back seat.'
A few seconds later he was alone with the supervisor and the two handcuffed cops. 'This has been a pretty shitty day. But you're going to have to trust me that it could have been a lot worse.' Quinn walked over to the front passenger door of the BMW and opened it. 'I don't want to see you move until we're out of here. After that I don't care what you do.'
Surprisingly, they did exactly as he said.
Quinn directed Nate back into Tiergarten, approaching the Grosser Stern monument this time from the southeast. Before they reached the traffic circle, Quinn told Nate to pull over.
Outside, the park was covered in snow. There were a few people walking down the sidewalks, but most of the activity was limited to the traffic on the streets.
'We separate here,' Quinn said.
'What?' Nate asked, surprised.
Quinn looked his apprentice in the eyes. 'I need you to get rid of the boxes. Take them to the U.S. embassy. Tell them what's inside. Tell them everything. They're not going to believe you. Not at first. You'll probably be locked in a cell. But at least they'll quarantine the boxes. It may take a day or two, but I'll get you out.'
Quinn expected his apprentice to give him one of his smart-ass remarks, but instead Nate said, 'Okay.'
Quinn put out his hand and the two men shook. 'You've done good. Better than I could have ever expected.'
'Does that mean I get a raise?'
Quinn smiled. 'Doubtful.'
Quinn got out of the car first. Then the back door opened and Orlando emerged, pulling Tucker behind her. But before she closed the door, she leaned down and said to Nate, 'I'm glad we found you.'
Quinn, Orlando, and Tucker walked northwest on Hofjageralle, the Aussie in the middle.
'Where is he?' Quinn asked.
'You'll let me go?' Tucker asked.
