Quantum

34

Leskov heard the sound of approaching sirens and instantly knew that firefighters were en route to the burning building. He scanned the crowded plaza; people were starting to edge away from the library as clouds of thick black smoke roiled upward. Bright orange-yellow flames danced at the base of the smoky column. The accelerant had completely engulfed the lab in seconds. The firefighters didn’t know it, but soon there would be nothing left for them to salvage.

‘Misha, where is rendezvous?’

‘The driver reports very heavy traffic, as expected, Dmitri. An accident is causing problems at the primary pickup site. He suggests we meet at the backup location.’

‘Approved,’ Leskov said. ‘Evgenii, take us to the backup site.’

‘Da, Dmitri,’ the point man replied.

The Russians waded through the audience gathered around a quartet of Peruvian musicians. Leskov smiled; the crowded streets were the ideal place for him and his men to disappear.

Evgenii led the way across State Street toward Nickels Arcade, a two-story glass-roofed gateway of small shops that bisected the long block of continuous storefronts.

The phone purred in Nolan’s hand.

‘Kilkenny,’ he answered.

‘It’s Ptashnik. I’ve got you on a speakerphone so we can relay information to the cops on the street. Where are you?’

‘We just crossed State and are moving toward Nickels Arcade.’

‘Understood. I want you to stay out of sight — do not let these guys see you following them. They’ll bolt or worse. There’s a pair of uniformed officers on Washington moving toward Maynard. What do these guys look like?’

Nolan described each of the men as best he could. As he spoke, someone in the background on the other end of the line parroted what he’d said.

‘Got it. Our patrol has spotted your Russians just exiting the arcade.’

‘That’s them,’ Nolan confirmed.

From where they stood, Nolan and Kelsey saw the six men leave the arcade onto Maynard Street. An earful of static told Nolan their signal was fading as he and Kelsey moved deeper into the arcade.

‘I’m losing you,’ Nolan hollered, hoping the detective could still hear him. ‘Call me in a minute.’

The connection was gone.

‘What’s going on?’ Fear resonated in Kelsey’s voice.

‘Two cops on Maynard have spotted the Russians. I just hope to God they hang back until they can get these guys in the clear, or we are going to have a genuine, grade-A clusterfuck. Look at all these people — nothing but shields and hostages.’

‘Oh my God.’ Kelsey’s fear grew stronger.

‘The tactical situation here is completely skewed in their favor,’ Nolan continued. ‘What we need is a handful of two-man teams on the ground, roving in the crowd, and a sniper team up above if we’re to have any chance of taking some of those men alive without killing a lot of bystanders.’

‘Dmitri,’ Josef said in a low voice. ‘Police.’

Leskov looked to the left. About twenty feet back, two uniformed police officers carefully waded through the crowd, moving in their direction. The younger of the pair tilted her head slightly as she spoke into a microphone clipped to her shoulder.

‘Continue moving,’ Leskov quietly ordered. ‘It’s probably nothing.’

Evgenii led the team right, veering away from the approaching officers. A concrete parking structure spanned over the midsection of the street, casting a dark, cool shadow where they walked. The crowd thickened in the sheltered space, seeking some relief from the sun.

‘Excuse me,’ the senior cop announced in a stern, serious voice.

Pivoting on his left leg, Kiril quickly spun around and drove the ball of his right foot into the side of the cop’s head. The momentum of the vicious spin kick flung the man headlong through a plate-glass window and into a large bookstore. The officer lay in a torn, bloody heap atop an overturned floor display of anthropology texts.

‘Officer down!’ the younger cop shouted into her radio as she drew her weapon.

In a swift, fluid motion, Josef drew a 9-mm Glock from the holster concealed against the small of his back, aimed, and fired three rounds through the woman’s chest. She fell back, collapsing on the pavement.

A woman screamed, and the crowd on Maynard Street panicked, spreading out away from the scene like a rippling aftershock.

‘Move!’ Evgenii shouted as he pushed a couple into a booth of hand-tooled leather goods.

The metal frame supporting the light fabric roof over the booth buckled as the couple grabbed for anything to halt their fall. They toppled through the fabric wall into the next booth, setting a domino effect in motion that brought the seven consecutive booths down to the ground. Ceramics, jewelry, and blown-glass art crashed onto the pavement and was trampled by the fleeing throng.

Josef holstered his weapon as the team moved toward Liberty Street. Leskov’s team pressed farther into the crowd, hoping to lose themselves amid the chaos.

‘Shit, gunfire!’ Nolan growled as he broke into a run toward Maynard Street, leaving Kelsey in his wake.

He took defensive cover behind the pillars at the end of the arcade, scanned the situation, and moved out into the street. Kelsey emerged onto Maynard just as Nolan reached the officer who’d been shot. The crush of people emptying out onto the adjacent streets turned the area into complete chaos. Several bystanders were trampled, including artisans who were crawling out from beneath the wreckage of their booths.

‘She’s dead,’ Nolan pronounced angrily. ‘What a fucking waste.’

He rose, looked around, then spotted the other officer through the shattered plate-glass window. Kelsey followed, and they traipsed over the debris from the ruined booths and stepped into the bookstore. Carefully, they lowered the fallen cop onto the carpeted floor.

‘How is he?’ Kelsey asked as Nolan checked for a pulse.

‘Unconscious, and cut to hell.’

Nolan pulled the microphone off the cop’s shoulder and keyed the switch. ‘This is Kilkenny. There are two officers down on Maynard between Liberty and William. One’s dead and the other needs a medic, stat. Over.’

‘Help’s on the way, Kilkenny,’ Ptashnik promised, his voice filled with concern. ‘Where are the fucks who did this?’

‘They’re somewhere on Liberty, probably heading west, away from the fair. They’ve done what they came to do, so they’re looking to exfiltrate. Kelsey Newton is going to stay here with your people until the ambulance arrives.’

‘Where are you going?’ Ptashnik asked.

‘I’m going to try and get my hands on these guys for you.’

‘Don’t you even think about it, Kilkenny!’ Ptashnik shouted.

‘You’re going to have to trust me on this one.’ Then he cut the transmission.

Nolan turned to echo the same thought to Kelsey, but before he could say a word, she handed him the wounded officer’s weapon. After checking the safety on the SIG-Sauer P226 and clipping the police radio to his waist, Nolan turned and disappeared down the street.