The Atlantis Stone

CHAPTER 9

The next morning Volkov's men waited outside the building of converted lofts where Nick and Selena lived. The target was inside with her husband. The Russians were waiting for them to leave.

Viktor lit a cigarette. The side of his face was purple and bruised.

"It's a soft target. Getting in will be easy."

Vasily coughed. "Do you have to smoke inside the car?"

"I like American cigarettes."

"At least roll down the window."

Viktor muttered under his breath and lowered the window partway. He looked in the rearview mirror at Vasily in the back seat.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"I didn't think so," Vasily said.

"Stop this bickering," Yeltsin said. He sat up straight in his seat. "There she is. In the green Mercedes."

Selena's Mercedes emerged from the underground parking garage and turned right onto the street.

"We give them a few minutes, then go in," Yeltsin said. "The woman is rich. There might be servants. If there are, act as though it's a robbery."

"The Americans must pay their spies well," Vasily said.

"Idiot. She inherited the money," Yeltsin said.

He looked at his watch. "It's been long enough. Let's go. Drive into the parking garage. There'll be an elevator or stairs."

They drove into the underground garage and parked. The elevator was at the far end. There were only a few cars, leaving most of the garage empty. The target lived on the top floor. Yeltsin pushed the button and the doors opened.

"You need a key for each floor," Viktor said.

"It's not a problem," Yeltsin said. "Remember your training."

He took a small leather pouch from his pocket, opened it and extracted two tools from a set of lock picks. It took seconds to turn the lock. He punched the button.

They rode the elevator to the top floor and stepped out into an entrance foyer about twenty feet square. The floor was of polished oak, the walls painted a soothing peach color. A pair of framed watercolors decorated the space. The door to the loft was opposite the elevator on the other side of the foyer. There were two locks on it. A discrete camera peered at them from over the door.

"She has the entire floor?" Vasily asked.

"I told you, she's rich. Her husband is also a spy. She's the one with the money."

Yeltsin manipulated his picks. After a minute the first lock clicked.

"This is high-end stuff," he said.

He worked with the picks until he could open the door. The three men entered the loft. An alarm blinked yellow on the wall next to the door. A digital clock counted down seconds until the alarm would sound. There was a camera farther along the wall. A steady red light showed it was powered on. Yeltsin took out a small, electric screwdriver and had the cover off the box in seconds. He took a device from his other pocket and hooked two wires to terminals inside the box and twisted a dial. The counter stopped with three seconds to go. The light on the camera died.

Vasily looked around the loft and whistled.

"All this space for two people?" He walked over to the wall of windows facing the Potomac and Virginia. "Look at that view."

"Were not here to sightsee. Start looking for the map. Try not to mess everything up. We don't want them to know we were here. Vasily, take the bedrooms. Viktor, you take those rooms on the right. I'll start with the living area."

An hour and a half later they were still looking.

Viktor called from the room he was searching.

"I found a safe."

Yeltsin and Vasily joined him. Viktor had turned back a Persian rug, revealing a safe with a combination dial set into the floor.

"You don't see these much anymore," Vasily said. "Everything's digital and biometric now."

"A combination lock is a better bet. Safer," Yeltsin said. "Electronic locks and biometric readers fail, even the good ones. With a combination, you can always get it open."

"Can you open it?"

"Of course I can. It may take some time. Find a glass. A wine glass, with a stem."

Vasily went to the kitchen and came back with a glass. Yeltsin knelt by the safe and placed the glass upside down on the door. He laid his left ear on the thin base and began to turn the dial with his right hand.

That was when Selena came home.