Borya grimaced as another scream reverberated. He hadn’t intended for Olezka to blame Keal. Borya hadn’t thought Olezka would find out at all. There were so many packages. He thought it would be impossible for Olezka to account for them all. Borya had obviously underestimated the Vor v Zakone.
With an unsteady hand, Borya tapped out the old tobacco from the pipe and began to repack it. His hands shook as he pressed the leaves into the bowl with his thumb.
“It’s a messy business,” came a guttural voice from the doorway. Borya fumbled with the pipe and tobacco scattered to the concrete. Olezka crossed the yard.
“That man, though.” Olezka pointed back towards the building. “He has to know something. It’s the only way. I’ve no idea how long he’s been doing it for. Ublyudok.”
Borya lifted the pipe with both hands, clenched it firmly between his teeth, and rummaged through his coat pockets for a lighter.
“You need a light? Let me.” Olezka took a lighter from the pocket of his jacket. He still wore his gloves.
“Thanks,” Borya said. There was a bloody stain on the lighter’s glinting surface.
“No, not this. Please no. Noooo!” echoed across the yard. Olezka didn’t react at all. Borya took a deep drag on the pipe.
“If he knows anything,” Olezka said, “Semion will get it out of him.”
Borya nodded. He hoped never to know what Semion did to people. He had seen grown men turn into babies after two hours with Semion.
“I didn’t want to do this, you understand.” Olezka turned to face Borya.
Borya nodded and felt the impact of Olezka’s dark stare.
“I am sad to see it happen. You and Keal have been like sons to me. I just can’t have people stealing from me.”
“I understand, Dedushka Olezka,” Borya said. He took another drag on the pipe. “Anyone would do the same.”
The older man nodded. “Hey Borya, you don’t look so good. Are you feeling alright?” Olezka’s voice lightened.
“Anything, I’ll do anything! No!” The pitiful begging resonated through the empty rooms of the derelict building.
“Yes, I’m alright,” Borya replied. “Just tired. A lot of work lately.”
“I understand.” Olezka put a gloved hand on Borya’s forearm. “You go home and get some rest now. You don’t need to be here. I’ll come and see you later.”
“Thank you, I will,” Borya said.
Olezka turned and walked back towards the building.
Borya looked down at the place where Olezka’s gloved hand had rested. A deep red stain was now soaking into the fabric.
16
Willing herself to wake up, Allissa closed her eyes tight until the colours danced. She opened them again slowly and looked through the window of the train. Outside, the darkened countryside of West Sussex rolled past beneath the milky glow of the pre-dawn sky.
The previous night had been a late one. They’d stayed up to book flights, trains, and read all the information they could find on Minty and his supposed death. They’d received the police report from Charles which, with the help of an online translator, detailed that at 5 am, a man who was later identified as Minty Rolleston was killed in an incident at Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station. The police were not treating the death as suspicious or unusual. The event had not even been mentioned in the local press. Maybe the death of a British ex-patriot was not particularly newsworthy.
In a few minutes, Leo would be getting off the train at Gatwick Airport, from where he would fly alone to Berlin. Allissa was continuing on to London, where she’d get a connecting train to Reading for the party this evening. Allissa blinked again. She hadn’t needed to get up this early, but something had made her want to travel with Leo. It felt like being involved.
“Go straight to the train station where it happened,” Allissa said, suppressing a yawn, “Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn.”
“That’s what I plan to do,” Leo replied without looking up from his phone.
“Then maybe to the shop. If anything looks dangerous —”
“Yes, I know,” Leo said, grinning, “I’ll wait for you. Honestly, it’s going to be fine. I’m just going to get a load of the boring groundwork done. You won’t miss any of the fun, I promise.”
Allissa forced a smile. She didn’t like the thought of Leo going on his own. She knew first-hand that their line of work was dangerous. Anything could happen in the next twenty-four hours.
Allissa tensed as a computerised voice reminded them that London Gatwick was the next stop. Sure, she wanted to reconnect with her family, but over the last few months she and Leo had done everything together. Good, bad and dangerous — they’d faced it all, side by side.
“I could just come with you now,” she blurted out. “Don’t worry about the party. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“No,” Leo said evenly. “You’re going to the party. You need to see your family. I’ll be fine.”
“But what if —”
“I told you, nothing’s going to happen. I’ll just be doing the boring stuff until you get there.” Leo slid his hand across the table and placed it over hers. “It’s going to be fine.”
Allissa nodded against her swelling discomfort.
The computerised voice confirmed they were now approaching London Gatwick. Leo rose to his feet.
“Remember you need to keep me updated,” Allissa said. “I want to know everything.”
“I will,” Leo said, slinging his bag across his shoulder. “Remember you can watch my progress on that new app thingy too.”
They’d installed a new app on both their phones which allowed them to see each other’s location. Leo hadn’t been sure about it at first, but Allissa insisted.
As Allissa nodded, her stomach tightened further.
“I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon,” Allissa said. “I’ve got the address of the hotel, but I imagine you’ll be out by then so let me know where to meet you.”
“Don’t worry.” Leo rested his hand on Allissa’s shoulder. “I’ll get the boring stuff done today. Don’t worry about me. You need to enjoy this party.”
“I will,” Allissa lied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then,
