“What do you think?”
What did he think? Leo couldn’t explain it but found himself grinning. With the noise of the train fading into the whispering tunnel, Leo looked up.
What did he think? Allissa was a beautiful woman. She looked great. His frown dissolved, and he wished he was there just to see her like that.
Dejected, Leo looked down at the tracks.
She just looked, just... How could he…
Then, through the mist of his thoughts, Leo saw something on the rails where a young man was supposed to have ended his life.
24
Borya’s eyes shot open as the sound of a car approached on the road outside. That was surely Olezka coming with his men. Borya would soon be the one tied to the chair in an abandoned building. As the rumble of the car’s engine passed and faded back into the city, Borya felt himself breathe again.
Maybe Keal had forgotten all about him that day in the shop. It was only a fleeting greeting from someone he knew. Maybe he hadn’t even considered it unusual. Maybe he’d forgotten about it entirely.
Borya propped himself up in the bed and looked around the room. He lived in a fashionable apartment in the Kreuzberg district. It was just a few blocks away from Minty’s shop in fact. The dark wooden floors, bright white walls and luxurious furnishings of the apartment brought him no pleasure today though. All Borya could think about was Olezka, Semion and that chair in the abandoned building.
The city looked bright beyond the undrawn curtains.
Was it really so wrong that he was taking a little bit for himself and Minty?
The city was changing. Olezka wouldn’t be around forever, and Borya needed to make sure he was protected. It was just looking after Number One — no one could blame him for that.
The electronic grunt of the door entry system snapped Borya from his thoughts. Who was that? With his heart in his throat, Borya rose from the bed and padded through the apartment. He picked up the entry system’s receiver. The black and white screen flickered into life.
Borya held onto the door frame for support. He felt dizzy. Bile raged in his stomach. The screen showed Olezka waiting outside.
“Borya.” The phone strained with the low rumble of the boss’s voice. “How are you feeling?”
“Yes, better,” Borya replied.
Had he been rumbled? He can’t have been. If the boss knew, he would come silently in the middle of the night. He wouldn’t be ringing the doorbell. This was just a social call.
His heart thronging in his ears, Borya pressed the door release button and watched the screen as Olezka stepped inside.
“It’s just all this stuff this morning has got me thinking. I need more people I can trust. I’ve been doing this too long.”
Olezka and Borya stood in the kitchen. Borya had offered drinks, but the boss had declined.
“Things are changing, and we need to keep up.” Olezka’s dark eyes locked on Borya. “Maybe I’m too old to notice these things anymore. There must have been signs that this was going on.”
“I didn’t notice anything,” Borya said, jamming his hands in his pockets to stop them moving with nervous energy.
“It’s my job to notice things like that. But maybe I’ve been doing this too long. Borya, I want you to step up and take over some of the operations for me.”
25
Scanning the rails, Leo saw a flash of light. A spark of something reflective. It may just be a mirror or a piece of glass lying on the oil-stained gravel. But perhaps it was something more important than that. Leo needed to get a better look.
Leo looked around. Suddenly, he felt conscious that someone might be watching him. Footsteps echoed from the stairs as the final passengers headed towards the street. The platform was empty.
Leo walked to the platform’s edge and stared down at the rails. He narrowed his eyes. Whatever it was, it was almost indistinguishable from the gravel. He could only see it when it reflected in the bleak overhead lights. Leo stepped from side to side and watched to see if it would catch the light again. He hoped no one was looking at him — this would definitely make him appear unhinged.
There it was again, a flash from the dark gravel.
Leo dropped into a squat on the platform’s edge and the thing flashed again. Leo leant forward, trying to make out the shape. If it was a piece of glass or some reflective rubbish, then he could move on.
It flashed again. This time it was clear. Leo was sure of what he saw now. On the oil-saturated gravel, its screen cracked and dulled, lay a phone.
Of course, it could be anyone’s phone. There was nothing to suggest it was Minty’s. But it was a coincidence, and Leo knew that coincidences needed to be looked at very carefully.
Hearing the distant rumble of another approaching train, Leo took a step backwards. There was a phone on the tracks where Minty had supposedly fallen. The feeling Leo had tamed as he entered the station grew. Something here wasn’t right.
A woman carrying a small dog descended the stairs and watched Leo curiously. He didn’t even notice as he stood deep in thought.
Leo unlocked his phone as he heard the rumble of an approaching train. He needed to hear the recording again, just to be sure he was in the right place.
Minimising the picture of Allissa in the dress, Leo selected the audio player and waited. He would reply to Allissa later. Right now, he needed to focus on this. His thumb hovered above the play button. Leo watched the dark mouth of the tunnel as it began to lighten. First, the single pinprick of light. Then the reflection on the sweeping rails. Then, as the train’s yellow front filled the tunnel’s opening, Leo pressed play. Minty’s voice came through the earpiece. The roaring engines. Whining brakes. The thunder of steel on steel. Leo
