“The only reason the lift happened was because of me.” He didn’t tilt his head in a playful way, instead he leaned slightly toward me in a show of aggression. He was serious.
It took all my courage to stay rooted to the spot. Nervous energy caused me to raise an eyebrow and laugh. To cover it up, I said, “You got me there. I guess you’ll be the one to sell it, huh?” He was good. He must be a lower level leader of some sort, that or he was mimicking what he’d seen the bosses do.
He nodded.
“I hate to have to wait that long, but I guess I don’t have a choice.” Trying to seem casual and still feeling nervous, I swung my arms out in a happy, awkward gesture and then clasped my hands together at my chest.
He raised his eyebrows and then snorted while he opened the wallet and pulled out what must have been a couple hundred US dollars.
I moved close. “And how much of that do I get?”
He handed me eighty dollars. I jumped up and down. “I’m rich! I’m rich!”
“You see, you pick the right wallets with the right protection, and the payoff can be superb.” I wondered what his history was. Kamal was not your ordinary street urchin who fell into pickpocketing because of desperation. I could tell by the way he spoke, he was educated.
“Listen,” he said. “I’ll be in touch later about a possible job with the crew. There are no guarantees, understand?” He smiled and backed away a few steps before turning around and disappearing down a dark alley.
He hadn’t truly disappeared; he was watching me. I could feel him. I knew he wasn’t going to just let me go my way and take my “application” to his boss. He had to know I was who I said I was. Perfect. It was generally a strict no-no to let anyone know where you lived when on a mission. But I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t call Division to set up a decoy apartment, and I didn’t know anyone to use for cover. I’d have to make it work. For once, I was glad my apartment was nothing special, and in a shady part of town. It would fit with my Eva alias as well as it had fit Gabrielle’s. Interns were also poor. I jumped the turnstile at the metro and took the train home.
One of the good things about my training as a spy was learning how to be still. I could still myself from the inside out and be hyper aware of my surroundings. That allowed me to feel for potential threats, including being followed, without changing what I was doing. I couldn’t tell right away where he was, but I knew I was being followed. Kamal was pretty good at this.
I kept one part of my mind focused on Kamal’s presence, then let the rest of my mind mull over what I’d learned. Kamal had a guy he sold the drives to, and that guy was out of town for another week. So, Kamal most likely had the drives in his possession, but where? I’d have to find his apartment, sneak in, and see if they were there. Sneaking into Kamal’s apartment would be much easier if I had Division’s blessing and their gadgets.
I texted Ace. Drive still in play. Getting close.
I was itching to turn the tail back on to Kamal after he saw me go into my apartment and get to bed, turning out all the lights, but I couldn’t risk it. Not yet. If he was good, he’d wait somewhere outside my place all night. I’d lie low tonight, but I couldn’t wait too long because his buyer would be back in a week. If the drives weren’t in Kamal’s apartment, I needed some time to figure out where else he might keep them.
Chapter 7
I dressed as Eva the next morning, certain Kamal would be tailing me all day. I picked up some croissants at a boulangerie in the morning, not even bothering to act like I was happy. I ate a normal one and then indulged in a pain au chocolat. A croissant filled with chocolate? Yes, please.
I started lifting a few things from people as I walked along the sidewalk, tucking them into my shoulder bag as I went. I had to block off my nagging conscience with the knowledge that this was for the greater good. This would give me the opportunity to get the drive. Not for the first time, I wished we knew what information Dufor had had. Whatever it was, it had caused Dufor to risk his life. I thought of the doodles I’d found in his office. Something about them nagged at me. Henri deserved better, he’d written. For Henri, I must. Was he really just talking about himself in the third person? I wished I understood him better. I pulled out my phone and sent a coded message to Ace.
Can you do some digging on Dufor? Find out about his hobbies, his life, his family. I don’t know how it will help, but it might.
A moment later, I got the reply. I’m on it.
I nodded, satisfied. I could trust Ace to come through for me. It might not mean anything in the end, but I couldn’t ignore any possible source of a lead. It had already been four days since the drive had been stolen. Too long.
I made sure to send out feelers for anyone other than Kamal watching me. Now that I was actually picking, I would hate to catch the ire of some competing gang. I picked my way to Mad Dogs, where I got a turkey crepe for lunch. My bag was getting heavy, so I headed back to the apartment, hoping Kamal had seen enough.
Walking out of the metro, I
