[Quinn 01] - The Cleaner

'Only staff members, ' Quinn said, more to himself than to Peter.

'You were probably thrown into this by mistake, ' Peter said. 'It doesn't matter. You're not marked anymore.'

Neither of them spoke for a moment, then Peter said, 'Call me when you get there. '

Quinn spent most of Saturday familiarizing Nate with Berlin. The city had an excellent public transportation network, the jewels of which were the U-bahn and S-bahn train systems. In effect, the U-bahn was the subway, while the S-bahn was an aboveground service. Of course, there were times when the U-bahn traveled aboveground and the S-bahn below. Aparently even the great German planners weren't always perfect.

They rode the trains for hours, getting off on occasion to check out some of Quinn's old hangouts. They never went inside anywhere Quinn thought he might be recognized, but it was good to see that most of his former 'safe' locations were still intact. He almost passed checking on Der Goldene Krug, but in the end they made the stop, albeit only looking at it from across the street. Quinn was tempted more than he had been at any other location to go in for a drink. But in the end, he led Nate back to the U-bahn station.

Temptation was one thing, but stupidity was something else entirely.

'Please tell me you're kidding, ' Nate said.

'I told you to dress warm, ' Quinn told him.

'I did. '

They were standing in a darkened alcove that served as an entrance to an old stone office building. It was about half a block away and across the street from Amirit, where Quinn was to meet with Orlando. The air was particularly cold that evening. The forecast had called for temperatures dipping as low as minus five degrees centigrade. Nate was wearing a long London Fog jacket over a bulky sweater. On his head was a dark stocking cap. He held a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, while the other was jammed into a jacket pocket. 'We shouldn't be more than an hour and a half, '

Quinn said. 'If you see anything suspicious, I mean anything, you text me 911 immediately. ' Nate pulled his hand out of his pocket. He was holding a cell phone. 'I just have to hit Send. '

'All right then. ' Quinn started to turn away, then looked back. 'Stomp around every once in a while. Quietly. It'll slow down the frostbite. '

When Quinn entered Amirit, he found Orlando already waiting for him at a table across the room against the wall. She had chosen the chair that allowed her a direct view of the front door. Quinn walked over and sat in the empty seat across from her. Almost immediately, the waiter approached. Quinn ordered a Hefeweizen while Orlando said she wasn't sure yet. Nearly as quickly, the man was gone.

'Pleasant trip?' Quinn asked.

'As far as I know, ' she said. 'I slept the whole way. '

'Where's your stuff?'

Quinn heard a dull thud from under the table. Glancing down, he saw a brown duffel bag between Orlando's feet.

'I'm traveling light, ' she said.

'Anybody follow you?'

She stared at him. 'Yeah, ' she said. 'He's sitting at the table behind you. Would you like me to introduce you?'

Quinn smiled. 'A simple no would have been fine. '

'Do you really think I'd be here if someone had tailed me?'

'So you did check, then, ' he said.

'You can be really annoying sometimes, you know that?' she said. 'Where's Nate?'

'Keeping watch. '

'You left him outside?'

Quinn shrugged. 'It's good for him. '

The waiter returned with Quinn's beer before either of them could say anything else. 'Would you like to order now?' he asked. Orlando chose the lamb curry and a glass of

cabernet sauvignon. Quinn ordered the chicken Madras and some garlic naan. By unspoken agreement, they engaged in small talk until the food arrived.

Their meals were served in copper-colored bowls, the aroma of curry, lamb, and garlic preceding the delivery by several seconds. Once the food was on the table, Quinn pushed the one containing the chicken Madras toward Orlando.

'Try it, ' he said.

She took a spoonful and put it over some of the rice on her plate, then took a bite. The look of satisfaction on her face said it all. They ate in silence for several minutes.

'Anything new I need to know about?' Orlando finally asked.

'Not from Duke, ' Quinn said. He took a sip of beer. 'But I did talk to Peter last night. Apparently Duke's onto some sort of meeting. Peter wants us to bug it and check it out. '

Quinn broke off a piece of naan and dipped it in his sauce before popping it in his mouth. 'What do you think?' Orlando asked. 'Are these the guys?' 'I don't know. It could be nothing. ' Quinn reached for another piece of naan.