complimentary hotel notepad on her nightstand and handed both to him, then stepped back, watching. Riess unfolded the map and quickly marked four locations, then, using the pen, pointed each out to her in turn. She was pleased to see that he’d only circled the locations, making no other notation.
“Ruslan lives here, on Uzbekiston Street, number fourteen.” Riess moved the pen. “Sevara’s house is here, on Glinka; it overlooks Babur Park. She shares it with her husband, Denis Ganiev—Ganiev is the DPM in charge of the Interior Ministry. The marriage is for show, she’s rarely there.” He moved the pen again. “Mostly, you can find her here, on Sulaymonova—she’s got the penthouse suite.” He moved the pen a final time. “And Zahidov has an apartment here, on Chimkent, but as I understand it, he’s
“Why not?”
“He’s screwing Sevara, so mostly you can find him at the suite on Sulaymonova. Either that or at the Interior Ministry, where Zahidov seems to do his best work.”
“He’s NSS?”
Riess set down the pen. “Yeah, inasmuch as he uses his position at the NSS to support Sevara. It’s one of the things that’s made her so powerful. She’s got the secret police on her side.”
Chace nodded, picked up the map from the desk, studying the locations.
“There’s something else you should know,” Riess said.
“Hmm?”
“Malikov’s dying.”
Chace lowered the map. “What?”
“He had what appears to be a stroke before dawn this morning. He’s in the hospital, and the prognosis isn’t looking good.”
“A stroke? Is that likely?”
“I’d have thought a heart attack, but a stroke seems reasonable.”
“What was he doing when he had the stroke, do you know?”
Riess shook his head, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Was he alone?” Chace asked.
“There’s a rumor that he was with one of his mistresses.”
“He’s sixty-seven?”
“Sixty-eight, officially. Maybe as old as seventy-two.”
“There you go.” Chace refolded the map, dropping it back onto the desk. “It was an assassination attempt. Someone upped his Viagra dose, tried to give him another heart attack. Got a stroke instead. Messy.”
“And difficult to prove, if you’re right.”
Chace shrugged, turning back to the bed and sitting on the edge. The fatigue of the trip returned, sliding down her shoulders like oil.
Riess was looking at her, trying his best to not appear curious.
“I’m going to need weapons,” Chace told him.
The curiosity vanished into something close to mild panic. “That’s not my thing, I’m sorry—”
“No, not from you,” she interrupted, annoyed. “I’ll get them myself. Just tell me where I can make the buy.”
She watched his eyes widen slightly with understanding. His eyes were green.
“There’s a place west of here, about one hundred and fifty kilometers, north of Lake Aidarkul.” Riess hesitated, whether because he was uncertain or simply trying to recall, Chace couldn’t tell. “You go north from there, there’s a little village just south of the border with Kazakhstan. It’s all frontier, there’s nothing out there. I was out that way about three months ago, before the
“The
Riess grinned, apologetic. “Uzbekistan doesn’t get that much weather, but in the winter, there’s about six weeks of fucking cold, called the
“Ah.”
“Yeah, sorry. Anyway, this market, it was anything goes. Weapons, drugs, livestock. Other things.”
“Sounds ideal.”
Riess grimaced, showing his teeth. “I don’t know. Western woman heading out there alone, they may try to put you up for sale.”
“They might.” Chace gave him her best smile. “Last question, Charles. Where can I get a car?”
“Rentals are hard to come by. You could go back out to the airport—”
“No. I’ll need to buy it.”
“Yeah? Huh. Best bet, then, I’d find a car you like on the street and ask the owner how much he wants for it. You’ve got cash, I assume?”
“Enough to cover expenses.”
“That’s what I’d do. That way, you’d be sure to get one that runs.”
“Very well.”
Riess opened his mouth to add something, then closed it, then opened it once more. “Is that all?”
“For now.”
“I’m not sure meeting a second time would be that wise.”
“No?”
“The NSS has been watching me.”
Chace stared at him.
“Not tonight, I made a point of losing them tonight,” Riess added quickly.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“How’d you come here tonight?”
“Metro.”
“How many times did you change trains?”
“Six. Why do you think it took me two hours to get here?”
“You’re State Department?”
Riess hesitated, then nodded.
“You’ve had basic tradecraft, then?”
“I’m not supposed to talk about that.”
Chace looked at him, for a moment unable to believe what she’d just heard. “I’m sorry?”
“We’re not supposed to talk about that kind of thing.”
“You know who I am?”
“Well, I know why you’re here, if that’s what you mean, yes.”
She shook her head, amused, then looked him over a second time, reappraising. He was charming, in a way, and reasonably handsome.
“I don’t know if you’re naive or cute or both,” Chace said.
“With those choices, I’d rather cute, if you don’t mind.”
Chace stared at him a moment longer, recognizing a desire she hadn’t felt in what seemed like a very long time. She hadn’t had sex since she had been with Tom, and thinking of it, it seemed both ages ago and only yesterday.
She got up from the bed, crossed over to where he was sitting, and took his chin in her hand. She kissed him, and after he recovered from his surprise, he returned it.
She broke it off.
“I’m going down to the gift shop,” Chace said, “where I hope they will sell me a package of condoms. If you like the sound of that, be in the bed when I get back.”
She took her key and headed out of the room, riding the elevator down to the lobby. The gift shop was still open. After she made her purchase, she stepped back into the lobby, then crossed it to the restaurant, a small cafe called the Brasserie. She ordered a glass of beer, drank it sitting alone at a table, watching the lobby, and by the time she’d emptied the glass, she was as certain as she could be that Charles Riess had not been followed to the Hotel InterContinental.
