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STEFI

O nce Joao is done talking to Moretti, I message Q. “He might not reply right away,” I warn Joao. “It often takes him a day or two to get back to me.”

“Oh, I have a hunch you’ll hear from him much sooner than that.”

I glare at Joao. He’s absolutely convinced that Q has sold me out, and increasingly, I’m starting to suspect the same thing. Joao has really good instincts, and it would be foolish to ignore him.

“It doesn’t make sense,” I say, repeating an argument we’ve had many, many times in the last week. “Without Q’s intel, I wouldn’t have been able to take out half the people I did.”

“You don’t know who Q is,” he says. “You don’t know their motivations.”

“I have my theories.”

“Yes, that Q is one of Bach’s assassins. Even if that were true, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t sell you out.”

The laptop beeps, cutting off our discussion. My heart sinks. As Joao predicted, I have a reply from Q.

Q

Congratulations on taking out Zaworski. Did you manage to get out of Warsaw?

I did. I’ve been laying low in Nuremberg.

Germany? No problems crossing the border then?

Q’s never been the type to offer congratulations, and they’ve never once wanted to know where I was. I silently curse Joao. He’s made me ultra-suspicious, ultra-vigilant. For all I know, Q’s just making conversation, and I’m being paranoid about nothing.

None I couldn’t handle.

Who’s next on the list?

Pavel Dachev.

The Butcher of Bulgaria? I can help you with that. He spends most of his time in Sofia. His estate is supposed to be impregnable, but there’s always a way in.

How much will it cost me?

Fifty.

I miss the days when Q’s usual rate was ten or twenty thousand.

I glance at Joao. “If he really knows how to get to Dachev?—”

“Set the trap,” he says implacably.

I make a face, but he’s right.

Fifty is fine. But my computer was hacked, and I don’t know who did it. Could you put the info on a USB key and mail it to me?

Q seems confused.

Mail? Physical mail?

Yes. Can you send it to this location in Nuremberg? It’s a Thai restaurant. I’ll be there at eleven tomorrow to pick it up.

Yeah, okay. I can do that.

I log off and stare at Joao. The trap’s set. Now, we just have to wait and watch to see who takes the bait.