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“And now you’re a spy?”
“There are some who would call me that. But you shouldn’t be funding Orlov. He wants to use Grafton Techs for wrong. Natalia wanted to stop him.”
“I got a message from someone warning me not to tell the police anything – on pain of death of my family. Was that you?”
“No, no. I know nothing of that. I came here to warn you.”
Dylan’s fists gripped Mikhail’s shirt in frustration. “About what?”
Mikhail’s expression hardened. “Have you heard of a device that can create free and clean energy? It has been linked to your family. To your dead brother.”
Dread rattled in Dylan’s brain at the mention of the device, but he forced himself to act cool. “Maybe. What of it?”
“Before your Ivan died he arranged a meeting with a couple of potential manufacturers in California. It would’ve been, like, February time. Those people never showed up for the meeting. We believe they were intercepted by the Russian government… Natalia sacrificed her life for the good of humanity.”
“Humanity? Come on…”
Mikhail’s voice surged with anger. “She did not intend to die today, Mr Quinlan. The message she needed to give you was this: there is one final piece of the blueprint from your dead brother’s device in existence. It is now safe in Orlov’s house. It needs to be destroyed.”
Dylan frowned. “Ivan thought it was Saudis who wanted the device. You say it’s the Russians?”
“So you do know about it?”
“I’m not telling you anything. I don’t trust you – you could be spying on me.”
“I am spying on everyone, Mr Quinlan. That is my role; to find information and to report it. Now you are involved. You must find out who were those people who never showed up to see your dead brother. Your dead brother will tell you more information about the piece of the blueprint that is still in existence.”
Dylan’s chest rushed with tension. “My dead brother will tell me…? What the hell are you suggesting? That I hold a goddamn séance?”
Mikhail stared confidently into his eyes. “I can’t reveal my sources, but I know Ivan Quinlan might not be completely dead, okay?”
Dylan refused to confirm or deny this. “And what if he’s not?”
“You go to see him, yes? He will tell you about the blueprint – about what to look for. Then you must find it at Orlov’s home and destroy it.”
“Why don’t you?”
“This was to be Natalia’s mission, but of course she is not able… Please Mr Quinlan, you must get this out of the hands of the Russian government. Believe me when I tell you they have plans to harm the world. Now I must go – I have been foolish to come here and reveal these things, but without Natalia… You are our hope now, Mr Quinlan. Don’t let us down.”
“Wait, what if I need you?”
“If you need me, just whistle three times.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I must go. If they’re watching us, they will kill me next. You mustn’t be surprised if you hear of my death.”
“Wait, what are you –?”
Mikhail broke free from Dylan’s arms and fled. As Dylan watched in him, he grappled to comprehend what he’d just been told… Mikhail squeezed through the iron gates and disappeared into the hot night, leaving Dylan standing there in the ringing silence, staring at nothing. How the hell did Mikhail know about Ivan? And what did he mean about a piece of the blueprint? And who had killed Natalia?
He tried to focus his mind, but the sound of Sarah calling his name pulled him out of his thoughts.
She halted in the dark exposed driveway beside him, looking worried. “What happened? Why did you run off like that?”
He grabbed her upper-arms and pulled her close, making her flinch. “We need to get back inside.”
Panic flashed over her face. “Why?”
