Page 125 of The New Girl

“And where would I go? Back to England?” Rebecca frowned. “I appreciate the heartfelt advice, but I think I’ll take my chances in Russia.” She reached for her phone. “Shall we finish this?”

Gabriel picked up his phone, typed a brief message, and hitsend. The reply arrived ten seconds later. “Dragunov’s plane has just been cleared for departure. He’ll be out of British airspace in about forty-five minutes.”

Rebecca dialed a number. She spoke a few words in Russian, then severed the connection. “There’s a large square in the middle of Renesse with a church in the center. Very busy, lots of people. We’ll drop her outside the pizzeria exactly one hour from now.” She glanced at her father’s old wristwatch, as if marking the time. Then she dropped the phone into her bag and looked toward the table where Mikhail and Keller were sitting. “The very pale one looks familiar to me. Was he in that Starbucks in Washington where you trapped me into betraying myself?”

Gabriel hesitated, then nodded.

“And the other one?”

“He’s the one you shot on that little street in Georgetown.”

“What a pity. I was sure I’d killed him.” Rebecca Manning rose abruptly. “To be continued,” she said, and went out.

79

Renesse, the Netherlands

The church was brick, austere, and ringed by a cobbled traffic circle. Gabriel and Eli Lavon were parked in front of a small hotel. Mikhail and Keller had found a spot outside a seafood restaurant called Vischmarkt Renesse. Behind them was the pizzeria where Rebecca Manning had promised to drop Sarah at 11:43 a.m. exactly.

It was 11:39. Mikhail was watching the pizzeria in the rearview mirror; Keller, in the side-view. He was chain-smoking Marlboros. Mikhail lowered his window a few inches and scanned the square.

“You realize we’re sitting ducks.” Mikhail paused, then added, “And so is the director-general of my service.”

“We have a deal.”

“So did Khalid.” Mikhail watched as Keller crushed out his cigarette and immediately lit another. “You really need to stop that, you know.”

“Why?”

“Because Sarah hates it.”

Keller smoked in silence, eyes on the mirror.

“Don’t you think we should talk about it?”

“About what?”

“Your obvious feelings for Sarah.”

Keller gave Mikhail a sidelong glance. “What is it with you people?”

“You people?”

“You and Gabriel. Have you nothing better to do than meddle in the personal lives of others?”

“Like it or not, you’re one of us now, Christopher. And that means we reserve the right to poke our noses into your love life whenever we feel like it.” After a brief silence, Mikhail added quietly, “Especially when it involves my ex-fiancé.”

“Nothing happened in that hotel, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“I’m not.”

“And I’m not in love with her.”

“If you say so.” Mikhail checked the time. It was 11:41. “I don’t want it to be awkward, that’s all.”

“What’s that?”

“Our relationship.”

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