AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s an important question,” said Andie. “The answer is still unknown.”
“Which leads me to one conclusion: As interesting as this lesson in pirate history may be to you, we have more important leads to follow. So, can we please move on to the FBI’s analysis of the ‘goodbye girl’ signature? We’re all very busy.”
Several others seconded the sentiment—even a couple of the agents in the room with Andie. Times had changed, supposedly, but it was all oddly reminiscent of Andie’s first presentation ever as an FBI agent, when she was with the Seattle field office, back in the days when she was literally the only woman in the room.
The unit chief rose. “Thanks very much, Agent Henning. I think we’ve heard enough for now.”
“Sure,” said Andie.
She switched off the projector and took a seat in a chair off to the side of the room. The unit chief was introducing the FBI handwriting analyst on the team when her phone vibrated in her pocket with a text message. It was from the Miami ASAC.
Onward and upward, it read.
She hadn’t even been aware that he was among the remote participants. His words were surely offered as encouragement, but the sting of the insulting laughter from her peers was all the more painful knowing that her boss had heard it.
Chapter 40
Late Thursday, Theo got plaits. He’d walked into the barbershop asking for braids, only to discover that, at least in East London, what he actually wanted were plaits. One look in the mirror confirmed that the idea was a bad one by any name. The barber had done his best, but Theo’s hair was too short for plaits, and “undoing” them was not an option.
“Shave it,” he told the barber.
A clean-shaven head wasn’t new for Theo. It had been his look for most of his twenties and into his early thirties, ditching it only because his hair grew faster than the average Charles Barkley, which made maintenance a hassle. On balance, the added trouble would be worthwhile if it made him less recognizable to the Russian sniper on his trail.
“Anything else for you today?” the barber asked.
A Kevlar vest, maybe,thought Theo. “No, that’ll do it.”
Theo was the last appointment of the day. It was almost seven o’clock, well after dark, as he left the shop and started walking to the Tube station. He had no personal belongings with him. In line with the legal attaché’s advice, he’d gone straight to a hotel without returning to his flat to collect his things. He’d spent Wednesday night and all of Thursday’s daylight hours in his room. Only after sunset did he venture out to the barbershop for his new look.
His airline tickets were printed and inside his coat pocket. With no cellphone or laptop, he’d used the hotel’s business center to book one flight from London to Amsterdam, and a separate flight from Amsterdam to Miami. His thinking was that Kava might have someone monitoring nonstops from Heathrow to Miami. The tickets were underhis new name and passport number. The shaved head might prompt a few questions from customs agents as to why “Ivan Walker” didn’t look exactly like the photograph in his passport. But one of Kava’s assassins had already found him, and Theo didn’t want to risk going to the airport looking like the man who was, quite literally, in Kava’s crosshairs. His plan was to move to another hotel for the night, closer to Heathrow, and hole up there until it was time for his morning flight to Amsterdam.
He was a block away from the Tube station when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.
“I like the new look,” she said.
Theo stopped, turned, and saw it was Gigi.
“Your hair was too short for plaits,” she added. “It was like somebody glued a bunch of caterpillars to your head.”
Theo went to her quickly, took her by the arm, and continued walking toward the station. “You need to stay away from me.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not safe to be around me.”
“You’re the safest person I know.”
“No, I’m not,” he said with an empty chuckle. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow is the first flight I could get.”
“What’s the hurry? They caught the guy who was after you. I saw the cops come.”
Theo stopped on the sidewalk. She looked up at him. “You need to stop spying on me,” he said.
“I can’t help it. You’re so cute with your bald head.”
