Chapter 38

38

Teddy and Vesna strolled down the block, talking like two colleagues on a lunch break.

As they passed the parked Mercedes-Maybach, Teddy glanced at its license plate and gave Vesna a nod, letting her know it was Braun’s car.

They continued walking until they passed the building where they presumed Braun was, then stopped at a bus stop nearby like they were commuters waiting for their ride.

While Teddy kept an eye on the building’s entrance, Vesna monitored the tracking app.

Three buses came and went before she said, “It’s moving. Looks like it’s going around the block. ETA two minutes.”

At the building, a group of people exited and headed down the sidewalk in Teddy and Vesna’s direction. For a handful of seconds, they blocked his view of the entrance. When the last of them moved out of the way, Braun was standing outside with two men.

Teddy took several pictures of him as he conversed with his companions.

“Coming around now,” Vesna reported. “Ten seconds.”

The Maybach stopped in front of the building. Braun shook hands with the men and then headed to it. As soon as he was inside, the sedan pulled into traffic.

“Back to the safe house?” Vesna suggested.

Teddy’s goal in coming here had been to get eyes on Braun, so their little side quest was a success. He checked the time. Kevin should be arriving at the apartment within the hour.

“Sounds like a plan,” he said.

They started walking to the U-Bahn station but hadn’t even made it a block before Vesna said, “Hold on.”

“What is it?”

She was looking at the tracking app. “Braun just stopped in front of Ristorante Cumberland. That’s only two blocks from here.”

They both watched her screen to see if Braun’s vehicle had only been caught in traffic. After half a minute, the car moved again. Then, like it had earlier, it stopped a second time.

“I’m suddenly feeling hungry,” Teddy said. “How about you?”

“Famished.”

“Italian?”

“Sounds lovely.”

At Ristorante Cumberland, Teddy and Vesna were shown to a table in the ground-floor dining room.

“Your waiter will be right with you,” said the man who had escorted them.

They each glanced around the portion of the dining room they could see.

“I don’t see them,” Teddy said.

“Neither do I.”

Teddy opened his phone and looked at the restaurant’s website. “There are more tables up a floor, including an outdoor patio.”

“I’ll ask if we can be—”

Teddy cut her off by raising his palm just high enough for her to see. He had the view of the entryway, through which Dieter Wenz had just walked in.

The man spoke to the host, who nodded, then led him up the stairs to the second level.

“Dieter Wenz is here.”

She tensed. “If he sees me, he’ll come over.”

“It’s okay. He went upstairs and never looked this way.”

“Still, I should leave.”

“I agree. Take the duffel back to the safe house. I’ll be there soon.”

He picked up the bag with the items they’d purchased from Otto, removed one of the audio bugs, then handed the bag to her.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said.

“So, everything’s fair game?”

“More or less.”

After she left, a waiter approached the table, looking confused. In German, he asked if something was wrong.

Though Teddy could have answered in kind, he said, “I’m sorry. Do you speak English?”

“Sorry, yes. Your friend, will she be back?”

“Unfortunately, no. She didn’t feel well. Upset stomach.”

“Ah. Would you like to order now?”

“I don’t want to take up a whole table by myself.” Teddy set twenty euros on the table. “For your trouble.”

The waiter smiled sympathetically. “I hope you can return when your friend is feeling better.”

“Thank you.” Teddy stood. “Could you directly me to the toilet?”

“Of course. It is upstairs and to the right. You cannot miss it.”

“Thanks again.”

When Teddy reached the top of the stairs, he proceeded directly to the men’s room and locked himself inside one of the private toilet stalls. He synced the bug to a special app on his phone, then clicked the setting that would send whatever the bug picked up to a secure cloud server, allowing him to listen to the file at any time.

When he exited the bathroom into the corridor, he kept his eyes on his phone, like he was checking messages. Two waiters passed quickly by, but neither paid him any attention.

Teddy stopped at one of the windows that looked onto the outside terrace and spotted Felix Braun and Dieter Wenz at a table along the outer edge.

A few moments later, a waiter walked onto the terrace and headed toward Braun’s table.

Knowing an opportunity when he saw it, Teddy entered the patio acting like he was listening to someone on his phone and sauntered all the way to the empty table next to Braun’s.

While the men were distracted by giving the waiter their orders, Teddy deftly stuck the bug to the underside of the empty table and meandered back to the exit.

Once he was inside, he donned an earbud and checked that the listening device was working.

“I don’t like the fact that she hasn’t been dealt with yet,” one of the men said, annoyed.

“The moment her security detail is pulled off, we’ll take care of her,” the other replied.

As much as Teddy would have liked to hole up in the men’s room and listen in live, the smart move was to get out of there and listen later.

A man brushed past him as he started down the stairs. He was followed by a young woman who was so focused on the tablet computer she was carrying that she nearly collided with Teddy.

Teddy grabbed her arm to keep her from falling, but the tablet wasn’t so lucky. It slipped from her hands and tumbled a few steps down before stopping.

“Are you all right?” Teddy asked in German.

She took several quick breaths. “I think so. Thank you.”

From the top of the stairs, the man said, “Jillian, let’s go. He’s waiting.”

“Sorry, Mr. Lawrence.”

Teddy released her and went down to where the computer had landed. The screen side was up, and on it was an image of the House Dione commercial shoot in Budapest, taken from the fan barrier. It captured a moment not long after Danielle had been shot. She was on the ground, and in the distance Teddy—in his Billy Barnett guise—could be seen hurrying toward her.

He picked up the computer and held it out to the woman. “Probably best to save the Web surfing until you’re on level ground.”

“Thank you,” she said as she took it.

“Now, Jillian,” Lawrence ordered.

She gave Teddy a perfunctory smile, then hurried to the top.