slammed the door shut on the misty night, and sat quietly for an instant as the vehicle raced away. In front of him in the front passenger seat, Inna Sorokina turned his way. “What happened?”
He winced with pain as he touched his rib cage where he’d been hit after diving out of the hotel. “You have ears, don’t you? There was a gunfight.”
“Between who?”
Maksim shrugged. “I saw Zakharova right as I arrived at Gentry’s location. I didn’t see Gentry, so I decided to wait for them to come back to the car. And then . . . and then it went to hell.”
“Who was shooting?”
“I have no idea. I heard eight, ten guns in the fight. I found cover behind her vehicle. A minute later a man appeared, I thought it was Gentry. Shot him twice, he went down. Then I saw it was someone else.” Akulov slammed his fist into the seatback in front of him, jostling Sorokina with the act. “What the fuck is going on? You’re the intelligence officer! You can’t lead me into a ten-man gunfight! What’s wrong with you?”
Inna seemed to have trouble controlling her anger, but finally, after spending several seconds in silence, she said, “We aren’t getting intel from Moscow or from St. Petersburg. It’s just us out here, fending for ourselves. You wanted Gentry, Anya tracked his Audi here from his apartment in Spandau. The only thing we knew about that factory was that Gentry was there. I told you that before you left the car.”
Akulov slammed his head back against the headrest now, then touched his rib cage again, once more grimacing from the pain.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Gentry’s vehicle. Is it still stationary?”
“It is. With all the sirens, we have to assume that if he is still alive, then he has left the scene. Maybe he left with Zakharova in her vehicle.”
The Russian assassin looked out the window as police cars raced by towards the lake behind him. Finally he just nodded to himself.
“We know where to find him.”
“His apartment?” Inna asked.
“No. If Sem were here, I’d try it. But Gentry will have all sorts of defenses at his safe house. We need to surprise him at the other location. Let’s just hope when he is there, he thinks to bring Zakharova with him.”
The dark gray Toyota turned onto the highway to the south, heading in the direction of Berlin.
SIXTY-FIVE
Zack, Zoya, Court, and Annika made it back to the Spandau safe house at four thirty in the morning, exhausted still from the fight, the stress, and the late hour, with Court having the additional weight of his improving but continuing infection to deal with.
Court brewed a full pot of coffee as soon as they arrived, because he knew they had to get to work on Dittenhofer immediately and there would be no time for rest.
He had originally planned on a rough approach—or, more accurately, he had planned on turning her over to Hightower for him to work his magic on her psyche to get her to talk—but upon seeing that she was about to be murdered by the men working for the SIA at the abandoned factory, he determined there was a better way to get what he needed.
Zack treated Annika’s superficial wound to her calf, and then Zoya helped her into the bathroom to clean up. When they came out, the German woman was teary eyed, drying her face with toilet paper. Zoya led her back into the barren living room and helped her down to the wicker sofa. She hadn’t been tied or cuffed, but she’d seen what the three people in front of her were capable of, and it was obvious she wasn’t going to pose any sort of a threat.
Annika now said, “You said back there that I work for terrorists. I have been doing exactly the opposite. Conducting surveillance on Iranian intelligence operatives and sleeper agents.”
Court entered the room and passed mugs of coffee to Zoya and Annika. “I hope you guys like it black.” Annika sipped it, then put it down on the floor in front of her.
Zoya began with the interrogation while Zack poured himself a cup in the kitchen. “Why were you at the abandoned factory tonight?”
She didn’t speak at first. After a few seconds of silence, Zack Hightower entered. “Say the word, Six, and I’ll go to work on her.”
Court held his hand up to Zack, and Annika responded. “I will tell you what I know . . . but .