At that moment, Cam’s voice was in their ears. “Ladies, we have a problem.”
Stefanie turned to look back at Fredrick and was startled at the look in his eyes. Before she could reach for her gun, he leapt up, tightened his arm around her neck, and pointed a gun at her temple. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to have a little talk with your sister. I lost some of my best people, thanks to her, and we have some catching up to do. It was nice of her to join us.” He’d spoken directly into her earpiece.
She gasped. Under the makeup he wore to hide his appearance was the man the team had warned her about. And if Cam and Joey came down the stairs, Dmitri would kill her before they could stop him. A million thoughts rushed through her brain. She spat out the word, “gun” before Dmitri’s arm tightened around her neck. She prayed it was enough to keep her team from storming down the stairs.
Quinn’s hand made only the slightest motion towards her waist and Dmitri pointed the gun at Quinn. “No! None of that or you both die.” His voice was deadly, almost hollow. All traces of his claimed illness were gone. He pointed the gun back at her but didn’t stop looking at Quinn.
Stefanie’s pulse pounded and she forced herself into calm. She’d practiced this. But if she flipped him over her back, he might pull the trigger and one of them could get killed.
“Dmitri. Look at me. Dmitri.” Stefanie looked up to see that Quinn’s face had gone white.
Dmitri tensed behind her. The full pressure of his arm pressed against her neck made her feel more suffocated, but Quinn’s distraction caused him to lower his weapon, just slightly. His voice came out confused. “How do you know my name?”
“It’s me, your assistant. Katarina!” Quinn smiled broadly as if recognizing an old friend. “You think you are the only one who can wear a disguise? I have been working during this time under the name Ree Ryland. Tony and I have been talking. Did he not tell you?”
Dmitri looked between them, his eyes wild. Stefanie couldn’t compute the meaning and it was likely Dmitri couldn’t either. Hopefully, he believed Quinn’s bluff. In her earpiece, she heard Joey. “Stay calm. I’m on my way.”
“Tony knows nothing other than that he is delivering a package.” Dmitri’s grip loosened, but his arm was still around her neck.
Quinn smiled. “Ah, good. You are closer to this than I realized. Then you know Cole recruited me right away to help with your project.”
“That’s impossible. Cole is weak. He barely got our test equipment deployed before quitting. He couldn’t have spoken to you.” Dmitri tightened his grip.
Quinn leaned in as if talking to a small child. “Dmitri. Of course, he only knows part of the information. That’s why I am here, making sure he doesn’t fumble your plan. You look foolish, pointing a gun at my associate. Please put that down before you hurt someone who has been very useful to me. Stefanie is an asset of mine. Why else would she let me pretend to be her sister? Why do you think that she’s dropping off your present? Truly you don’t think she is stupid enough not to check your equipment.” At this point, Quinn flipped to Russian and Stefanie didn’t understand another word.
Quinn continued speaking in Russian and Dmitri’s arm relaxed, just slightly. Quinn switched to English. “For Stefanie’s benefit, let me explain.” She looked at Stefanie, the strain just showing behind her eyes. “Stefanie, darling. I’m sorry for you to meet our ally in this way. This nice gentleman is just trying to help. The world we live in is complicated and we’re allies, of sorts. Dmitri, don’t shoot her. She is on our side.”
Finally, mercifully, Dmitri lowered his arm. “Are you on my side? How can I trust you?”
Stefanie answered honestly, her voice quivering. “I’m on Katarina’s side. Whatever side she has chosen. But more importantly, I’m in favor of a…a more peaceful world.” Her heart thudded, hoping she’d remembered the name Quinn had used correctly. Her life would depend on it.
Stefanie could almost see Dmitri thinking. His smile was slow but gentle. The dangerous man who had grabbed her roughly had disappeared. In his place, a friendly face. Had the change not happened before her very eyes, she might not have believed it possible. “I think Katarina is right. We could use someone like you. Someone with an eye for numbers and strategy.”
When he looked at her, she realized it was showtime. “So, we will plant your devices, and then ask a local fisherman to discover them? It’d be a shame to have nuclear waste discovered off the coastline. I already found your test device. Had I not pointed it out to Cole, you would have had a large security hole in your operation.”
“She’s very clever.” Dmitri looked over her shoulder at Quinn.
Quinn nodded. “See? We’re just here to take orders.”
Dmitri smiled. “You were much smarter than you let on in my office, Katarina.” Malice laced the end of his sentence. Quinn might think she was in control, but Dmitri was a madman clothed in the reasonable diplomacy of a statesman. His hand began to move again.
Quinn scratched her ear. It was Morse code. Too bad Stefanie didn’t know Morse code. Joey’s voice filled in the blanks. “In three, two, one.”
A door burst open and Cam
