Fatal Exchange

by Cindy M. Hogan

  Kamal came out with a different bag not ten minutes later. Things they wouldn’t take? Payment? Or did he have a hiding place inside the building where he kept things? I’d have to find a way in. I wanted to get help from Rosabella, but that was too risky. What would Siron do if she found out I was still working on this mission? Probably toss me in a Division holding cell. There was no way I could let that happen.

  Kamal went to his apartment. I stepped into the foyer and waited to hear his door click shut. Once it did, I crept up to the second floor, making sure no one was coming or going and listened. It sounded like he was typing on a computer. Was he checking new drives? Keeping track of what he had been given? Divvying up money? I just couldn’t tell. I needed to get some listening devices in there as soon as possible. Maybe tonight. I could probably find something I could rig up from civilian devices. Mentally, I thumbed through my training manuals from the Bresen Spy Academy, reviewing techniques for making and planting improvised bugs. Next thing I knew, there was silence, and I figured he was probably painting.

  I slipped away and headed to the electronics store where I’d bought the drives. I gathered the necessary items I’d need for the bugs and headed back home to assemble them. None of them would be as good as what Division had, and as Eva I wouldn’t even really have a chance to listen to whatever the bugs picked up. I seethed inwardly—it should not be happening this way. I should have my team around me. I should have the resources I needed. Instead I was on my own and stretched thin.

  I’d put listening devices in his apartment in the morning and find a way to get the tracker in his phone. Maybe Halluis and Ace would have moments where they could listen in and track Kamal.

  Chapter 9

  I set watch on Kamal’s place at six am after a five-mile run. I sat on a bench across the street in front of another ratty apartment that had a full view of the entrance with a handful of magazines to pretend to read. No one would leave or arrive without me seeing. I felt invigorated and more alive than I had since arriving in Paris. In the early mornings, the city seemed to exude its historical charm because no one seemed to be stirring. No businesses were open and everyone was still in bed. I could almost see the Paris of my dreams with the Eiffel Tower, the Catacombs, the amazing gardens, and the Louvre standing in all their historical glory in the beautiful, awe inspiring city. But once the city and its people awoke each day, reality hit me in the face, reminding me that my dreams were a long lost fantasy.

  I watched as Kamal left his apartment shortly after eight. He thought that was early? Perhaps it was if he’d stayed up all night painting. I waited five minutes to make sure he wouldn’t return because he’d forgotten something, then I picked the lock and went inside. I didn’t need much time. I’d be in and out in minutes. The inside of the apartment looked exactly the same as when I left it last time. Kamal was clean and organized—a man of habit.

  I made quick work of setting my three improvised devices and was about to leave when I had the urge to look in the silverware drawer again. I just wanted to see what he’d added or taken from it. I hit the jackpot. A ledger. I lifted it out of the drawer and set it on the counter. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. I picked it up. It was a drawing of a girl, a beautiful girl with mocha skin and deep, dark eyes lined with long, inviting lashes. I couldn’t help but smile back at her before setting the picture to the side and checking out the ledger.

  I examined it, capturing the numbers on the pages in my mind. There were three separate accountings. Perhaps one was for the drives?

  The last accounting was counting down from 300,000 euro. Maybe that was what his goal was to earn while picking. It was a lot of money, but he was already two-thirds of the way there—he only needed another 100,000 euro. Judging by the dates in the ledger, it had only taken him two years to earn that much. No wonder he lived in this terrible, rundown place. He obviously had a plan and was saving the money for something specific.

  I moved toward the door, admiring one painting of a girl laughing, but stopped in my tracks when I heard a voice. And not just any voice. It was Kamal’s voice. He was coming back. I’d lingered too long.

  His voice boomed through the door. “Yeah. I think I have about ten of those right now. I’ll go and check. Yeah, uh huh.” Was he on his phone? His key jiggled in the lock.

  I scanned the room for a likely hiding place. I was a dead duck. The only place to hide would be behind the door when he opened it. He did have a bathroom, but it was across the room, and I’d never make it there before the three seconds I had to hide expired. So, I stepped to the side of the door and stood, hoping the little alcove for coats would conceal me. I didn’t even have time to put the coats over me before he entered the room, leaving the door ajar with me halfway behind it.

  The seconds ticked by like hours. I didn’t dare move—it would call attention to me. I tried to blink as little as possible. If he did happen to close the door, I would be completely exposed, but if I remained still, I’d have a chance to not be seen. At least I continued to tell myself that. I kept my eyes fixed. No twitching. No swaying. I had to be stone. Actually, I had to be a coat.

  I had the worst luck today.

  I glanced at the kitchen drawer I’d opened and had left slightly ajar. It stuck out a half centimeter farther than the counter. I was sure he checked it every morning before he left. I breathed the shallowest breaths I was able without passing out. Only inches and a door stood between us. The floorboards squeaked as Kamal passed right in front of me and moved into the kitchen. I had become stone. He paused a millisecond before pulling out the silverware drawer. His eyes lit somewhere in the middle of the counter. He must’ve been trying to remember if he’d closed the drawer the last time he’d been in here. He was definitely on the phone.

  All he had to do was turn and look my direction and he’d see me. “For you, I’ll make it work. You’re my best customer.” Kamal smiled that winning smile even though he thought no one was there to see it. I closed my eyes.

  I could hear searching noises and then the sounds of the ledger being opened and thumbed through. “I’m pretty sure I have one like that, but I don’t have it with me. I’ll have to let you know.”

  My eyes darted to Kamal’s hands. He held a key. Had I seen a key when I looked in the drawer? No.

  “Are you serious? That much? We keep the same fifty-fifty split, right?” Kamal looked my way. This was it. I was busted. But he wasn’t actually looking at me but at some unknown object in the air. I wanted to look behind me and see what he was seeing, but forced myself to remain a stone.

  “Good.” He tossed the key into the air and caught it. “I don’t really care why this buyer wants to pay triple for flash drives collected in the next week, but I’ll take it. I’ll keep them for you.” He put the ledger and flatware back into the drawer and shut it.

  They had been talking about flash drives. I wished I could hear the other end of the conversation.

  “I have a girl who seems to have the touch with knowing where those are. I’ll encourage her to get more.” Kamal’s voice sounded truly thankful. “I could use the extra money for sure.” He walked out of the kitchen, only an arm’s length from me, staring at the key in his hand before slipping it into his pocket as he passed me. Kamal’s laugh was pinched, forced. I could feel rather than hear him move toward the door. Kamal was going to get a lot closer to his goal, whatever that was.

  He stepped outside and talked a bit more before bidding the buyer farewell. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek, and I took the chance while he was outside and wiped it away. Kamal’s fingers curled around the door. The question was, would he come into the apartment again or was he leaving? If he caught me, the mission would be a total loss. Be the coat. Be the coat.

  He started to pull the door closed and then stopped and started talking again. “Marni?” There was a pause. “No. I’m happy you called.”

  He was speaking in Arabic. I didn’t know a lot of Arabic, but I had lear
ned the basics while at Bresen Spy Academy. It was a required course. By the end of the month, I’d gone through the entire Arabic to English dictionary. And while I could recognize all the characters and had said most of the words at least once, I hadn’t had someone speak it enough to understand everything.

  He continued, and I was glad to discover I could understand enough of what he’d said to piece together a lot of it. He was surprised Marni had called because they had planned on talking that night. He told her about the possibility of getting extra money this week and talked about having enough money in ten months. That when he got it, everything would be all right and they’d be able to get her the help she needed. He also talked about a girl who was going to make it easy to make the money in ten months because she was twice as productive as his seasoned pickpockets. Apparently, they’d calculated it taking five years to get the money they needed, and he was hoping to cut that time in half.

  He told Marni that he couldn’t wait to be with her and even called her habibi, which was Arabic for my love. He told her he couldn’t quit just yet but that he wished he could. It was a sacrifice, but it was also the only way. They spoke about his paintings, but I didn’t understand it all. Then he told her when he came to her in ten months, he would be a full-time artist. Again he mentioned a girl that was making it possible to happen so quickly. Then he told her he loved her and couldn’t wait to see her.

  I wondered who this girl pickpocket was. Was he referring to me? It seemed a reasonable conclusion to draw. I assumed he ended the call, because his hand reached out and shut the door behind him. I heard his footsteps pound down the wooden apartment building steps. I exhaled sharply.

  I stayed where I was. People forgot things all the time. I waited the two minutes and forty-five seconds necessary to make sure he was gone for good as my mind whirred with what I’d just heard. Someone was excited about buying drives and was willing to pay a considerable amount for them. This changed everything. Not only would Kamal be selling the drives, but someone was actively seeking them. I had competition.

  I pulled out my cell and texted Ace. Tonight. Meet. No reply came and my mind wandered back to Kamal. He had a girlfriend or a wife, Marni, out there. Something was wrong with her, and that’s why he worked so hard.

  I wondered how many pickers had similar situations and felt they had to do what they were doing. It was true that it was still a choice. There were honest ways to make money, and lying, cheating, and stealing did not fit into that category. Sure, you had to be smarter than the average crook, but the path of least resistance was often fatal. I hoped Kamal would survive to help the person, the girl, on the other end of the phone. His scar flashed through my mind.

  Still no response from Ace.

  I listened at the door and took another look around the room. I assumed Marni had never been here. There was only a twin bed. He’d come here for the express purpose of making money for this girl. Maybe whatever was wrong with her made her unable to travel. I needed to get my hands on his phone so we could trace and listen to his calls. As much as I didn’t want to, we might have to use this girl to get him to spill his guts about where the flash drives went. Did I want this to happen? While Siron didn’t like torturing people or threatening them, it seemed this drive would be something that would make her look the other way. I’d tuck that information away for right now.

  I made a final mental snapshot of the room so that I would be able to easily navigate all the easels and art supplies without light. I hoped he wouldn’t move anything until after I came back to bug his phone.

  It was weird how the knowledge of Kamal’s motivation made me see him differently. On the one hand, it really bothered me that he was using me the way he was. On the other, I wanted to help him help the girl. If the police caught up with him, what would happen to her?

  Before reaching my apartment, I got a text back from Ace. The meeting was on. I got dressed for a day of picking as Eva and met Kamal at the Louvre.

  “I’ve got someone really interested in drives right now. Let’s give him what he wants.”

  “Okay,” I said and by the end of the day, I’d given him four.

  “Good girl,” Kamal said, “Let’s get a repeat of today, tomorrow.”

  “Will do,” I said before leaving to catch the train home.

  ***

  I paced my small living room. Five strides in one direction and five back. At ten on the dot, Halluis and Ace walked into the apartment from the balcony.

  “We’ve got a big problem,” I said as the two took seats on the couch. “There’s a buyer out there offering triple the usual payout for certain flash drives.”

  “What?” the two said in unison.

  “I overheard a conversation between Kamal and his flash drive buyer. The buyer told Kamal flash drives are going for a premium right now. Kamal promised him about ten.”

  “Not good,” Ace said. “This changes everything.” He put his elbows on his knees and cradled his chin with his hands.

  “I’m going to need a lot of help from you two in order to beat this guy to it,” I said. “In four days the drives are gone, which means we have less than that. But first, Halluis, tell me what you found out in Coulogne. Maybe there’s something there to help us.”

  “Dufor’s sister is a real sweetheart. She definitely needed someone to talk to. Dufor had a nephew named Henri. Yes, he was named after Mr. Henri Dufor. His nephew was killed in Paris a few years back in a murder that was never solved. The boy had gotten himself involved with some shadier elements and his body was found with its hands cut off and some symbol carved into his face.

  I gasped. “I watched Kamal take a knife to a boy who’d stolen something in Kamal’s area. Was little Henri a pickpocket?”

  “I don’t know. Like I said, the murder was never solved. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure his mom would be able to hold it together long enough to finish the story, but she did. She had a really close relationship with Dufor. I mean seriously, the she named her only son after Henri. She’s devastated, can hardly live a normal life now. Her son stabbed and what happens to Dufor? He’s stabbed too. Besides misery for this lady, we don’t have much information to go on. I basically got nothing more. I really felt for her.”

  “Shoot, I was hoping…”

  “I know, but it was a dead end.” Halluis frowned.

  “Let’s make a plan and hit this thing hard together tomorrow.”

  “I’ll see if I can’t get us some listening devices and—” Ace rubbed his chin.

  “I already planted some homemade ones.” I leaned forward, excited to let them know I had already thought of that.

  “And who’s going to listen?” Halluis huffed.

  “I will, I guess,” Ace said, totally serious.

  “In all that free time Siron’s been sending your way?” Halluis scoffed.

  “Touché,” Ace said. “We’ll have to find the time, though. We don’t have a choice. And we need to replace the bugs Christy so deftly placed with better ones. No offense, Christy.”

  “None taken. You’ll have all the time in the world once we get that drive,” I said. “Since the things Siron has you doing aren’t helping at all, put them to the side, ignore them for a couple of days. You won’t be losing anything, right? Just tell her nothing is panning out.”

  Halluis scrunched up his nose. “You’ve worked with Siron, she’s a hoverer. She’s on top of what we are doing nine times out of ten. No. I have a solution and you’re not going to like it. I think we need Division on this one.”

  “Siron has forbidden Christy from doing anything. If she were to find out…” Halluis interrupted Ace.

  “We have no choice. This is not something the three of us could ever hope to do on our own. We need Division’s backing on this.”

  “That’s easy for you to say when it’s not your prancing feathers on the chopping block.”

  “But it is and I’m willing to put them there. Christy is onto something, and I say we do it
right or don’t do it at all. I believe in the information you’ve found, Christy. We could totally do this, if we had the right resources. We need bugs. We need trackers. We need people to listen to the bugs, and a team ready to move when we uncover where the drive is. I hate to admit it, but we are over our heads on this one.”

  I stared at them, my mind running on fast forward. “I see what you’re saying, but I still don’t know if it’s the right move to bring Siron in on this.” What would happen if they failed again? Even if they were right, would she listen?

  “It’s really Christy’s call, Halluis. It’s her butt on the line.”

  As much as I didn’t want it to be, Halluis was right. I was going to have to tuck tail and go to Siron. “Convincing Siron to listen will be a mission in and of itself, but we can’t lose that drive now. Yes. We go to Siron. It’s the only way to have what we need to get the drive before it’s sold to the highest bidder.”

  “We have four days, right?” Halluis said.

  “Less than four days. The drive will be sold on the fourth day.”

  “Listen,” I said. “I’m going to go in to talk to her alone. I don’t want you two anywhere near when I do.”

  “Pshhh!” Ace said. “Screw that. We’re going to go in as a team. And, as you both know, we are the three greatest minds to hit the streets of Paris and can handle one little old Division head.”

  “We’re in serious trouble if we can’t.”

  Ace glared at Halluis, who loved to add skepticism to every conversation. “I guarantee Siron is a bit panicked right now because she’s going to have to report to Central soon and she doesn’t want to do that without something to show. She will be happy about a solid lead. We won’t have to tell her everything, just a little truth and a little lie. She’ll kick and scream, but in the end, she’ll give in because she has nothing else. Soon she’ll discover Christy should be commended for what she’s accomplished on her own.”

  Jeremy flashed through my mind. I still hadn’t heard from him. He would have been sick with worry knowing what I’d been doing.