Well, she thought, she'd found out. She was good, very good. So now what?
She was relieved to see the car was still parked on the side street, actually a little alley, where she'd left it. Thinking more clearly now, she realized she'd been a trifle careless, stashing the car in the first location she could find and then running for Zeno's.
As she headed down the alley in between the white plaster houses, she suddenly felt her heart stop. Someone was standing next to the Saab, a dark figure waiting. She watched as it suddenly moved briskly toward her.
Alex Novosty.
"What?" She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Budetya ostorozhyi!" He whispered the warning as he raised his hand and furtively tried to urge her back.
"Kak! Shto—?" She froze. "How did you find the car?"
"The hotel. They directed us to a kafeneion near here, but then I noticed your car. I thought . . ." He moved out of the shadows, quickly, still speaking in Russian. "Just tell me where you have the copies of the protocol, quickly. Maybe I can still handle it."
"Handle what?" That's when she saw the two other men, in dark overcoats, against the shadow of the building.
"The . . . situation." His eyes were intense. "They want it back, all copies. I've tried to tell them that killing you won't solve anything, but—" He glanced back with a small shiver. "You must tell them Michael has a copy, stall them."