Page 99 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

“Moi?”

36

Teddy arrived in Berlin disguisedas an unassuming, gray-haired retiree. From the airport, he took the S-Bahn into the city, then the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz. By the time he’d exited the station at street level, the sun had started to set.

He sent a text.

I’m here

Less than a minute later, Vesna appeared from around the corner of a building, carrying two cups of coffee.

When she reached him, she looked him up and down and said, “That is not a flattering look for you.”

“I feel as if I should take offense, but since that’s what I was going for, thank you for the compliment.”

“You are welcome.”

“Is one of those for me?” he asked, eyeing the coffee.

She lifted the cups. “Caffe latte or Americano?”

“Americano, if you don’t mind.”

She handed him one of the cups. “Has your hacker friend had any luck yet?”

Teddy checked his email and shook his head. “Still nothing.”

“Good. That means we finally get to do something fun.”

“We do.”

Vesna led him on a circuitous route to the rear entrance of a mixed-use building, several blocks away, then up the service elevator to an apartment on the seventh floor.

“Just so you know,” Vesna said. “My friend can be a little prickly.”

“As long as he knows what he’s doing,” Teddy said.

“That, he does.”

She knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice more.

The dead bolt clicked and the door swung open, revealing a wiry man with thin brown hair. He gave Vesna a nod, then walked back into the apartment without a word.

“I see what you mean,” Teddy said.

He and Vesna entered.

“Is there somewhere I can stow this?” Teddy asked, tapping the handle of his suitcase.

“Since you’re paying the bills,” Vesna said, “I am giving you the master bedroom, at the end of the hall. You are welcome.”

“Your generosity knows no bounds.”

“It is one of my best traits, don’t you think?”

Teddy put his bag away and returned to the living room.

Vesna was standing near the window where three chairs and a portable table had been set up. The man who’d answered the door was in the chair next to the table, working on a laptop. On the floor around him were several other electronic devices.

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