second!' Duke's voice rose in frus
tration. 'It was 'I' something. ICME . . . ICUT
No, not IC. IO . . . IOMP. That's it. IOMR'
'What's that mean?' Quinn asked.
'How should I know?'
'You're lying,' Quinn said, knowing Duke was holding something back. 'What does it mean?'
'I don't know.'
'Then what do you know?'
The fat man looked down but didn't answer.
'What?' Quinn demanded.
'Just a name. I've never heard it before.'
'What was it?'
'Campobello.'
Quinn's eyes narrowed, the connection immediately made in his own mind. 'There has to be more,' he said.
'No,' Duke said. 'Nothing.' Quinn moved the knife a fraction of an inch. 'I swear,' Duke said. 'It's all I heard.'
'You're a lot of help, aren't you?'
'I'm telling you everything I know.'
'I doubt that,' Quinn said. 'Where can I find Borko?'
'I've never met him in the same place twice,' Duke said. 'He calls. We meet. A restaurant. A bar. Whatever. I don't have a clue where he might be staying. Your best bet is the water plant. He must go there sometime.'
Quinn had already thought of that. He stared at Duke until the fat man looked away. 'Just one more thing. How much did they pay you to set us up?'
Duke stammered. 'I . . . I didn't. . . they . . .'
'How much? Ten thousand a head? Twenty? I hope you were getting at least twenty-five K for me. That's what they offered Gibson.'
Duke's lips were pressed tightly together.
'Where's my team?'
Duke shook his head. 'I don't know.'
'You're lying.'
'I'm
'I don't believe you,' Quinn said. He pulled Duke's pistol out of his pocket. 'What are you going to do with that?' Duke asked.
'The same thing you tried to do to us.'
Quinn aimed the gun at Duke's forehead and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 24
Quinn made several stops that afternoon, purchasing tools he needed for the task ahead. He also checked the handrail in Ku'damm, but it was still devoid of any sign of Nate or Orlando. He knew he should assume the worst, but he wasn't ready to do it yet. Eventually he found a cafe just south of Tiergarten where he ate an early dinner and waited for the sun to go down.
As he sat nursing a cup of coffee, Quinn thought about his conversation with Duke. IOMP. Maybe it was nothing. Duke might have made it up on the spot to keep Quinn from killing him. If so, it was just another example of Duke's bad judgment. But if it meant something, Quinn couldn't afford to ignore it. He searched his memories for any kind of connection, but couldn't come up with one.
It was the other tidbit Duke had dropped that had clicked for him.
Then again, maybe none of it mattered, he thought. Did he really care what Borko was up to? Was there any reason he needed to know?
Only if it helped him find Orlando and Nate, he decided. Otherwise he didn't care.
Once night had fallen, Quinn caught a taxi and returned to Neukolln. He told his driver he couldn't remember the exact address of the building he needed to go to, but that he knew it was on Wildenbruchstrasse somewhere east of Sonnenalle.
As they drove through the city, Quinn closed his eyes to focus on the job ahead. He tried to go over his plan step-by-step, but instead his mind filled with images of Orlando and Nate dead, their bodies dumped in some dark corner of the city. When he opened his eyes again, they were in Neukolln. He leaned forward and instructed the cabby to drive slowly so that they wouldn't miss his destination.
