Agent X - Boyd Noah - Страница 57

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All of a sudden, ahead of him, around the end of the concrete wall, he heard a man’s voice. “Call me back in five minutes, Tanner. . . . I’m not going to wait much longer. . . . Where else would I be?” Rellick walked around the corner and into view as he ended the call. Vail pointed the automatic at him. “That’s it, Rellick, FBI. Right there.”

The CIA agent raised his hands, still holding the phone. Glancing up at the lighted screen, Rellick pushed a couple of buttons and placed his finger on another, ready to press it. “Unless you want that list of European informants to be e-mailed to the Russian embassy, you’d better drop the gun.” He lowered his hands slowly but confidently.

“How do I know you’ve actually got it on your phone?” Vail asked.

“By now you know I’ve downloaded the list. And I would need a quick way to send it from anywhere, even here, if I got in a tight spot. So I put it on speed dial. I thought it would be better than a gun. Was I wrong?”

Vail knew by Rellick’s confidence that the list had to be on the phone. He dropped his gun on the ground. As soon as he did, Rellick drew a small revolver. “Now walk over here.”

Suddenly Vail felt his cell phone vibrate. It was probably Kate, ready to tell him that Rellick and his cell phone were under the bridge. Vail kept walking slowly, hoping to get close enough to make some kind of move. But when he was five feet away, Rellick said, “That’s close enough, on your knees. And put your hands in your pockets.” Vail did as he was told and wrapped his hand around his knife. But he knew that even if he could get it out in time and open it, Rellick would still be too far away. Rellick carefully cleared the screen on his phone and put it in his overcoat pocket.

“Meeting your handler here?” Vail asked.

“My handler?” Rellick burst out laughing. “My handler offered to get me to Moscow, where I’d be a hero. I’d rather live in a federal prison than in Russia. So I told him I wanted a million dollars for the list. With that much money, I can live fairly comfortably in South America.”

“So he says he’s bringing you a million dollars here? Tonight?”

“You sound skeptical.”

“The banks are closed, and I seriously doubt they keep that kind of cash at the embassy. I hope you didn’t tell him where the list was.” Rellick didn’t answer. “You did. Myles, I think Moscow and federal prison aren’t your only options. I’d consider the possibility of death. And not in that order.”

“Shut up,” Rellick said. “I’ve got to get out of here. That leaves only one option for you, and it isn’t Moscow or federal prison. Unless you can come up with a fourth option.” He raised his revolver. “No. Then death it is.” Vail took his hands halfway out of his pockets and got ready to charge him; he had nothing to lose.

A gun exploded, and it took an instant for Vail to realize that the shot had come from behind him. The CIA agent looked surprised, even indignant, that a bullet had wound up piercing his chest instead of Vail’s. Suddenly the hand holding his gun went limp, and the weapon dropped to the ground. He looked past Vail and tilted his head in confusion at the black man moving quickly toward him, ready to fire a second shot. Then he looked around as if wondering where he was and fell forward heavily, landing on his face. Bursaw snapped on his flashlight and moved past Vail, keeping his gun trained on Rellick in case another shot was needed.

It was then that Vail realized that his vibrating phone call with Rellick’s location had gone to Bursaw first.

“Do you think you waited long enough, Luke?”

Bursaw’s smile verged on laughter. “Remember that time you left me out in the cold and I got really sick?” He rolled over the body and holstered his weapon.

“Again with that. You know, at a certain point the need for revenge can become very unflattering.”

“Not when it’s you on your knees.”

“I hope we’re finally even.” Vail took Rellick’s cell phone out and made sure it was still on. Then he slipped it into his pocket. “No one needs to know that I’ve got this.”

“Because . . . ?”

“If we give it back to the CIA today, it’ll be worth a very nice thank-you. Give it back in a week and it will be . . .”

“Priceless,” Bursaw finished.

“Maybe that Ivy League education wasn’t wasted.” Vail called Kate on his phone. “Rellick’s dead.”

“Both you guys okay?”

“We’re fine.”

“Should I ask?”

“Actually, it was Luke who shot him. Can you call Metro Homicide or the Park Police, whoever’s jurisdiction this is?”

“Sure. Then I’m coming there.”

“I appreciate it, but we’re probably not going to be here very long. And you’re not out of the woods yet, so let’s not push it. When I find out where we’re going, I’ll let you know.”

“You’re sure?”

“Call Kalix and fill him in about what’s going on.” Vail hung up.

Bursaw was searching the body. He pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills, held them up for Vail to see, and then stuffed them back in the dead agent’s pocket. “He doesn’t have ID on him.”

Rellick’s phone rang. Vail took it out. “Excuse me a minute, I’ve got to talk to this Russian,” Vail said. He pushed the Talk button. “Yeah.”

The voice on the other end immediately became suspicious. “What is your name?” Vail knew the caller was asking for Rellick’s code name.

“Rumpelstiltskin.” The line went dead. Vail put the phone back in his pocket.

“You didn’t really think you were going to fool him, did you?”

“I wanted two things: to see if he had a Russian accent, which he did, and for his call to go through, so his number would be in the phone company’s computer.” Vail checked his watch and noted the time of the call.

Vail and Bursaw explained to the responding Park Police what had taken place on Roosevelt Island so that the crime-scene examination could be conducted. Then they followed a couple of their detectives to their investigative offices in southeast D.C. Once there, the two agents were taken to separate interview rooms. When Vail finished, it was a little after four in the morning. He found Kate waiting in the reception area. “Everything all right?” she asked after hugging him.

“I don’t think they handle as many homicides as Metro does, so their process was a little slower.”

“What did you tell them?”

“The truth—the other guy did it.” And then, without mentioning Rellick’s cell phone, Vail explained about how the rogue CIA agent had gotten the drop on him and Bursaw had shot him to save Vail’s life.

Just then Bursaw walked out. Kate gave him a hug, too. “They’re not keeping you?” she said, an impish grin pulling at the corners of her mouth.

He laughed. “Careful, I could tell them who you really are.” They left the building and started walking to the car. Bursaw said, “How about you, what’s your status? I see you’re out in public without a disguise.”

“As soon as I got hold of the Park Police, I called John. He had just met with the United States Attorney. He picked me up at your sister’s place and brought me here.”

“I hope you’re going to tell me we’re all off the hook,” Bursaw said.

“As far as I know, they never figured out who you were.”

“Thank God.”

Vail said, “How come you black guys are always complaining about how we all think you look alike until there’s a lineup?”

“Kate, did I ever tell you about the dead guy we found wearing a negligee in the doghouse and what Vail had to do to get a confession from his wife?”

Vail waved his hand back and forth. “I don’t think that’s pre-breakfast conversation.”

“I’m begging you, Luke, tell me,” Kate said. “What—”

Vail interrupted. “I believe you were about to tell us how we’re no longer in fugitive status.”

“Okay—for now. To answer your question, Luke, everyone is off the hook. John said he was a little worried when he went to see the United States Attorney. Remember, he played Assistant Director William A. Langston on the phone when he called him to spring me. But I guess he disguised his voice enough that the USA didn’t catch on. Anyway, John explained everything we found out about Rellick and his subsequent flight and how he tried to kill an agent. John said he huffed and puffed for a while but then decided that the evidence the CIA had gathered was convincing enough to drop the charges against me.”

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