back at Leon, eyes fixed on the page, maybe willing them there. The paper went up again.
“Now what?” Alexei said.
Leon sat down, keeping his voice low. “The man behind, with the newspaper. He knows us.”
“Us?”
“He made your passport. He had your picture. His place isn’t far from here. Maybe a coincidence. Just a bath.”
Alexei took this in, then nodded. “Change your clothes. Now. The big street below? There was a cafe on the corner. Wait there fifteen, twenty minutes. If I don’t come, then go the rest of the way down the hill. There was a mosque. I’ll find you there.” In control, as if he were reading from some map in his head.
“He may not be-”
“Go change. Now.”
Alexei got up, heading for the toilet, not looking behind.
Leon sat for a second more, glancing at the row of men in towels. What if there were others? Or none? Why not just walk back to Enver and say hello, get a reaction. But the only way to really know would be to see if he followed. Either of them. Go change. Orders.
Outside the air felt cold after the warm bathhouse. He started down. A cafe he’d never even noticed, but already on Alexei’s escape route, like the stairs to the roof in Laleli. He ordered tea and sat with his back to the wall looking out the window. Not as many people out now, just a few heading down to the trams, and never the same one twice. He ran his fingers nervously over the tulip glass. What if Alexei didn’t come, snatched at the door? A few days ago Leon had wanted him to disappear, the easy solution. Now there was no end to it without him, nothing anyone would believe. The room was quiet, just the click of dominoes, a smoker’s cough. He should be here by now. Leon imagined a gang of men leaping out of the shadows at Enver’s nod.
And then there he was, stopping for a second at the window to make sure Leon had seen, then heading down toward the Bosphorus. Leon threw some change on the saucer.
“It’s all right,” Alexei said on the street, but still moving quickly, Leon catching up. “If they’re out here, they have to wait for him. They won’t know which one I am.”
“But if he’s right behind you-”
“No. He slipped in the toilet. You have to be careful there. The wet floor.”
A second before this registered.
“Slipped-”
“If he’s still inside, then so am I. They’ll wait. We’re all right.”
“You killed him?” Leon said, a tightening in his chest. “You don’t know if-”
“I don’t believe in concidences.”
“And if he was? And they find him?”
“We have a head start. It’s all you can ask for sometimes. A little time,” he said, his voice cool, discussing logistics.
Leon stopped, taking a breath. “You killed him?” An echo.
“You can get another forger. Anyway, I knew. When he followed me to the toilet.”
“You knew,” Leon said, almost spitting. “How could you know? You didn’t know.”
“But I’m safe. So are you, by the way.” He took a minute. “He knew my face.”
Leon glared at him, still not moving.
“Don’t worry,” Alexei said. “They’ll think it’s a fall. It’s easy to twist your neck. If you fall that way. No marks.” The only thing that concerned him.
“It’s murder,” Leon said.
“Well, self-defense.” He looked at Leon. “Like your Mr. King.”
A cold streak, like real ice, ran down Leon’s back.
“And meanwhile we’re standing here in the street. By this time, someone else uses the toilet and everyone’s shouting. And you want to talk about it? This is what we do. Where now?”
“The tram,” Leon said, a vacant sound.
“Again public?”
“A taxi might remember. A tram won’t. Keep your head down.”
They got a seat in the back. Leon expected a rush of police cars and sirens heading toward the
“I’ve been thinking,” Alexei said. “What if you had been alone back there.”
Leon turned to him.
“You know Washington?”
“To visit,” Leon said, not sure what was being asked.
“I’ve been thinking,” Alexei said again. “After it’s over, the talks. I could be useful. Somebody has to train people. It’s dangerous, amateurs. Before, it was something new to you. And Donovan was a crazy man-dropping people in, no one comes back, and then the civilians pay too. But now-”
“They’re closing it down. A few people to State, that’s it. War’s over.”
Alexei shook his head. “The turtle goes back in the shell? No. Not now. Why do they want to talk to me? And somebody will have to train you.”
“To be like you? Twist heads?”
Alexei caught the edge in his voice and looked at him, slightly puzzled.
“What do you think this is?”
Past Yildiz, then the cluster of lighted streets in Ortakoy.
“Get off here,” Leon said. “We have to eat something.”
“There’s no food later?”
“No,” Leon said, seeing the hollow faces on the
They bought kebabs from one of the outdoor stalls and ate them in the square on the water, pulling up their collars against the breeze.
“A drink would be nice,” Alexei said.
“Better keep moving. We still have a while. Anyway, a walk would do us good. It’ll be cramped on the boat.”
“We’re going by boat?” Alexei said, jerking his head up. “Why a boat?”
Leon looked at him, surprised.
“I don’t like boats.”
“This one’ll get you out.”
Alexei looked away, toward the water. “Another boat. At least a better night this time.”
Sharp and clear, with enough moon to see the road after they left the town. A stretch now without a quay, just a shoulder, no other pedestrians, but cars seemed to stream past without noticing them. Then they were in Arnavutkoy, a line of waterside
“Do you have a sense for it now?” Leon said, curious. “When anybody’s tailing you?”
“No. I use my eyes. We’re all right. How much longer?”
Leon checked his watch. “We’re still early.” He looked up. “One quick stop.”
They kept to village streets, then circled back to the shore promenade, empty except for a few night fishermen, too late now for couples. In Bebek, they turned off just before the khedive’s palace, familiar streets, the back way to the clinic. No one behind. They went in through the garden gate.
“What is this place?”
Leon raised his hand, a signal to be quiet. They went off the path, stopping at the tree outside Anna’s room. Just the usual night-light, like a hovering ghost. Leon started for the French windows, then stopped. No need to go
