Matthew Dunn - Slingshot

They walked past shops and parkland before moving into residential streets. “I’m not sure I can be of any further help to you.”

Will gingerly stepped onto a sidewalk and replied, “You may be right.”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me that you know I’m hiding something from you?”

“I’d be relieved if you were; it would mean this trip hasn’t been a waste of time.”

“I’m going to disappoint you.”

Maria seemed to be waking up. She was emitting small sounds and starting to move. Will held her close to his chest, hoping that his coat was keeping her warm and that she didn’t try to wriggle out of her wrappings.

When they reached Alina’s apartment building, snow was starting to fall. Will placed his big arms farther around his care. Alina tapped numbers into a security pad while cursing and shaking.

The warmth was immediate as they entered the building. Thirty seconds later, they were inside Alina’s apartment. Alina took Maria, placed her in a high chair, and disappeared into the kitchen. As Will dumped his coat over the sofa, he could hear Alina putting a kettle on to boil and rummaging through cupboards. When she returned to the living room, she was holding a small plastic bowl containing a spoon and baby food. Placing the food in front of Maria, she looked at Will and frowned. “You’ve got Maria’s dribble on your suit. Start feeding her; I’ll get a sponge.”

Will grabbed a chair and positioned it in front of the child. Sitting, he looked at Maria, saw the child bang her fists expectantly on the high chair’s tray, and tentatively raised the spoon to her mouth. Maria swallowed the food, banged her fists again, and beamed.

Alina reentered the room holding two mugs of tea. After placing one of them next to Will, she crouched down beside him and smoothed a damp sponge over his jacket’s lapel. “It should be fine.”

“I don’t mind.” Will placed another spoonful into Maria’s mouth.

“You have children?”

Will shook his head.

“Your wife is one of those busy career woman types?”

Will smiled. “I don’t have one of them either. I live alone.”

She stood and glanced at her baby. “Well, you’re not doing a bad job. Sometimes it takes me an hour to get her to take her first mouthful. The cold must have built up her appetite.” She sat on the sofa and took a gulp of her tea. Keeping her eyes fixed on him, she asked, “Have you come back because you’re suspicious of me?”

Will laughed gently. “I have to be suspicious of people.”

“Is that why you don’t have a wife? You have trust issues?”

Will’s smile faded.

“Must be an occupational hazard, I guess.”

Will scooped the spoon through more baby food. “From what you’ve said, Lenka was different.”

“Was?”

“Is.”

She was silent for a moment before saying, “He’s always been an academically intelligent man, but not smart. Does that make sense?”

“I know what you mean.” He gave Maria more food.

“His flaw, and I’ve always loved him for it, is that he’s too trusting of people. He should never have joined the SVR.” She gripped her mug, allowing its warmth to soothe her cold hands. “You’re obviously different.”

Will held the spoon in midair, feeling a moment of sadness. “Yes.” He placed the spoon into Maria’s mouth.

“What suspicions do you have about me?”

Will scraped the last of the food onto a spoon and said, “I had to consider whether you were a Belarusian security service or SVR officer planted here to meet whoever came knocking on the door after Lenka disappeared, or a freelance agent for one of those services, maybe that you aren’t Alina Petrova. So I checked up on you. While I can’t discount the possibility that you’re an agent, I do know for certain that your identity checks out and that you’re not an intelligence officer.” He placed the spoon into the empty bowl and turned toward her. “But I don’t think you’re an agent or have previously had any kind of relationship with intelligence services. The relationship that matters to you is the one you have with Lenka. I think that if anyone had approached you and asked you to spy on your lover, you’d have told them to go to hell.”

Alina nodded.

“But I could be wrong.”

She was motionless.

“Though I hope not.”

Quietly, she said, “I’m not a spy.”

“Many spies say that.” Will grabbed his tea and nodded toward Maria. The girl was now playing with different-colored plastic shapes that were looped on a wire attached to her chair. “Has she had enough food?”

“Yes. Thank you, I. .” Her voiced trailed and she lowered her head. “I too have to deal with possibilities right now.” She looked at him. “You can’t deny that it’s possible Lenka’s dead.”

“Or that he’s alive.”

Alina shook her head. “He stole a piece of paper and delivered it to someone. What use is he to that person now?”

Will knew that she was right, but he could also see that she was becoming tearful. “Killing a man is not an easy thing to do.” He pictured the armor-clad private contractors attempting to slaughter anything that moved in the Gdansk port. “We don’t know if we’re dealing with a killer.”

Alina looked desperate. “Should I send him another message? Should you send him a message?”

“Saying what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you sent him any messages aside from the one about the contents of the note?”

She hesitated. “I sent him one right after Mikhail came here. But he didn’t reply.”

“What did you say?”

“The truth. That a Russian intelligence officer called Mikhail had been asking questions about him.”

Will’s heartbeat increased. “Any since?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because. .” She drained the last of her tea. “Because I’m not sure the messages would be read by him. Maybe his phone is now with. . them.”

Will nodded.

Her expression changed, and she said quickly, “Couldn’t you give me words to manipulate them? Anything that might keep him alive.”

Will didn’t answer her. Instead, he looked around the tiny but well-maintained home, then let his gaze rest on Maria. “If I can bring Lenka back to you, do you think he’ll stay?”

“Of course. The only reason he hasn’t lived with us was because he had a wage coming in. But whatever happens, there’s no going back to the SVR.” Alina smiled. “I think he’ll be relieved that the decision’s been made for him. Somehow, we’ll make ends meet. He’ll stay.”

It was the answer Will had expected. “I did consider asking you to send Lenka another message, knowing it would be read by the man who’s got him. Your message would have said that I’d visited you and advised you that I knew Lenka’s location, that matters would be concluded tomorrow and that I would try to keep Lenka alive, but that it was imperative that you went somewhere safe until all of this was over in case there were repercussions. You would have added that you didn’t believe that I was going to keep him alive, that Lenka should keep his phone safe and that you would contact him as soon as you were safe.”

“What purpose would such a message have served?”

“It might have caused the men who are holding Lenka to panic and move.”

And in turn to mobilize the SVR team, and to enable Will’s team to follow them and gun down William and anyone working for him, all before William had time to threaten Mikhail’s family and cause the SVR officer to back down from his vigil on William.

“But that’s good! They’ll abandon Lenka.”

Will shook his head. “They’ll put a bullet in his brain.”