The Romanov Ransom (Fargo Adventures 9)

“Donovan,” Viktor said. “Good to see you.”

“Whoa. And here I thought Fargo’s mug was bad to wake up to.”

“You’re looking . . . somewhat awake.”

“You realize what time it is here? Put Fargo on again.”

“Well?” Sam asked.

“Viktor Surkov,” Donovan said, stifling a yawn. “Worked a few art theft cases with me at the Bureau in conjunction with Interpol. Good investigator, terrible poker player. You can trust him.”

“Thanks. Get some sleep. You look terrible.”

Sam ended the call, then looked at Tatiana and Viktor. “I trust Donovan. Therefore, you have our cooperation. What do you want from us?”

Tatiana’s glance strayed to his pack. “Preferably, what you found in the tunnels.”

“We’d like to get a few photos first, but they’re yours.” Sam unzipped his pack, removing the key and tin from it. “Any idea what they’re used for?”

She picked up the tin, turning it over in her hands. “According to Rolfe, the tins have something to do with finding the location of the Romanov Ransom. But he needs all three of them.”

“This one makes number two,” Sam said. “We were on our way to Münster, following up a lead—we hoped—on the third. You’re welcome to what we have.”

“Perfect. But I’ll need to come back for them. Preferably, tonight.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“What I need to do is steal them from you.”

Definitely not what he was expecting to hear. “How will that help?”

“Buy Rolfe’s trust. He’d be suspicious if I suddenly showed up with whatever this is.” She returned the tin to the table, her smile apologetic. “In order to make this real, I’ll have to bring along Rolfe, or someone in his entourage, and I’d rather not have either of you present. Is there any chance you can leave this in your hotel room and go out for a while? A late dinner?”

Sam thought about it for a moment, weighing the risks. “What sort of security can you guarantee? We’ve already had one midnight visit from this group.”

“So I heard. I didn’t find out until afterward. There’ll be four of us. Viktor, the two agents you met in Kaliningrad, and I.”

Sam and Remi glanced out the jet’s window at the pair standing near their flight crew.

“Those two?” Remi said, the tone of her voice echoing how he felt. “You’re kidding.”

“Believe it or not,” Viktor said, “Nika Karaulina and Felix Moryakov are actually very capable. The problem was, they were under the mistaken assumption that the two of you were not.”

Sam watched the agents a moment longer. “We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “So where do you want to do this? We’ve already checked out of our hotel room in Walbrzych. A good thing, since the security there was lacking.”

Tatiana nodded at Viktor, who pulled a card from his pocket. “I’d recommend this place,” he said. “It’s high-end enough to not raise suspicion, but more secure than the last place you stayed. More important, you can disappear into any number of restaurants literally right outside the door. We’ll make sure that Felix and Nika are shadowing you the entire time.”

Sam took the card, showing it to Remi. “Feel like going out tonight?”

“Date night in Wroclaw?” She smiled. “I always have my Jimmy Choos on standby.”

45

Rolfe stared at the text from Tatiana a moment longer. “Why,” he asked Leopold, “am I paying you when that Russi

an is doing your work?”

Leopold, who’d just finished disassembling and cleaning his Glock and was now using a cloth to wipe the oil from each piece, barely spared him a glance. “What is it she’s saying?”