Page 71 of The Devil's Ransom

The three other men looked left and right, like it was the first time they realized he was missing. Din said, “He ran past us when we tried to enter the room.”

Ghulam said, “He escaped.”

Shakor saw the crowds staring and said, “Let’s go. Get back to the main area.”

They returned to the intersection by the clock and Shakor held up, searching behind them. Nobody was coming for them. He said, “Okay, Drago’s trying to get out of the city. He’s our last link to Branko.”

“But what about that room? He might be in it.”

“He’s not. There were only two like him in that room, both captured. One I’d shot before and another I haven’t seen. Branko wasn’t there. Let’s go back to the courtyard with the cathedral at the south gate. By the way he led us in, he’s not familiar with this city, and he’ll return to an area he knows.”

They began jogging that way, their heads on a swivel, when Ghulam said, “What about the other men upstairs? They might be the killers from Zagreb. Maybe we need to focus on them.”

“No, not unless they want a fight. They still don’t know who we are. If they did, they would have killed us in the stairwell. They chose not to shoot because they’re in that room on other business, and they don’t want trouble any more than we do. They’re not after the treasure. Our priority is to find Drago. He is the key because he knows all the safehouses Branko will run to.”

They threaded through the cobblestones, searching left and right for any sign of their quarry, but eventually reached the stairwell leading down to the south gate having seen no sign of Drago. Shakor wasn’t surprised. The entire city was a rat maze of alleys and he could have been hiding in a dumpster right next to them, waiting to slink out after darkness fell, but Shakor didn’t think so. The guy was panicking, which meant he wouldn’t be thinking two steps ahead. Shakor was sure he was trying to escape the gates of the old town as fast as his treasonous legs could take him.

They went down the stairs to the merchants underground, milling through the tourists, but didn’t see him. Maybe they’dbeat him to the gate. Or maybe he’d simply run blindly until he found another gate, which meant he was long gone.

He was mulling over options when Din pointed first left, then right, saying, “Cellar tours. Apparently they filmed thatGame of Thronesshow here as well. It’s a hidden maze of rooms underneath the city.”

Shakor said, “Why on earth would he run into those when the gate is right here?”

“Because he thinks we’re on the street outside, where the vehicles are allowed to run.”

“Then why come here at all? He could have hidden in any number of alleys.”

“Because he wants to be close to the gate. Maybe he’s just going to kill off time until he feels safe.”

Shakor said, “That’s just stupid. He’d have to be an idiot to do that.”

Ghulam said, “He is, in fact, an idiot. And it can’t hurt to look. We have nothing else.”

Shakor thought,Maybehe did. Maybe he’s watching us right now. Ghulam’s right. Can’t hurt to try to flush him out.

He saw an entrance on the left and an exit on the right, the dungeon making a circle for the tourists underneath the city itself. He said, “Okay, Ghulam and I will buy two tickets. Din and Karim stay out here, one at the entrance, and one at the exit.”

They nodded and split up. Ghulam came back with the tickets and a map, and Shakor led the way, walking past the tourists into a deep underground room that smelled of time and mold. Shakor looked at the map and saw it was but one room of many, the cellar sprawling out underneath the old town above.He motioned to Ghulam and began exploring one chamber after another.

He was surprised to find that there really wasn’t anything to see other than the rooms themselves, stone floors damp with seawater and unadorned walls. They made quick work of each area, not spending the normal time tourists did reading the plaques and iconography in the chambers. All they did was study the people. They’d made it about two-thirds through when he saw sunlight to his right—something different than the moldy, wet rooms they’d searched before.

He followed the light, crouching down and walking through a small portal in the stone, finding himself in a courtyard right next to the walls of the city, the roof of this section long gone, and the original exits blocked by iron doors with signs saying “no farther” in about fourteen languages. He looked up and saw Drago hanging from a layer of brick, desperately trying to get over the wall to the modern city beyond.

He smiled and said, “Watch the entrance to this courtyard. Don’t let anyone come in.” Ghulam nodded and went to the small portal with his pistol, then saw an orange cone with a sign in Croatian. He placed it in front of the portal, assuming it said, “Closed.” Or “Cleaning in progress.” Or something that meantdo not enter.

Shakor went below the wall Drago was on and said, “Come down here.”

Drago saw him for the first time and began to panic, scrabbling up the bars of a window to get over the top. Shakor fired one round next to his fist, causing it to release. He hung by a single hand wrapped in the bars and Shakor said, “Next one will be in your body.”

Drago let go, dropping in a heap at Shakor’s feet. He rubbed his elbow, shook his head, then looked up, resigned to his fate. He said, “I suppose you’ll kill me now.”

“Oh, no. You have much more information to give me. This safehouse didn’t work out, but there are others. Where would Branko go if not here?”

Chapter41

The room was vividly quiet, the front door still open. Veep said, “What the hell just happened?” I looked at Knuckles and Brett in the doorway, still with their pistols out, and they were just as confused as I was. I said, “Anyone hit? Everyone okay?”

I got an okay from the team, then Jennifer said, “Pushka’s down.” Brett, our medic, ran to him. I said, “Close the door. Veep, get on Rodavan. He moves, drop him. Knuckles, stay on the front.”

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