The Nameless Ones by John Connolly

Chapter LXXII

Angel killed the call with Frend and detached the little CV-C voice changer from the cell phone. He could have used an app, but he preferred the CV-C because he knew for certain that it worked. He was of a generation that trusted the physical, and he regarded as deranged anyone who kept their most valuable personal information as data on a mobile device. Angel didn’t even like people knowing his name.

His conversation with Frend had been relayed to Louis over the speaker. They’d been forced to give the lawyer time to come back to them with the information they required, because Frend claimed not to know the location of the Vuksans’ hiding place. He had, he said, elected not to be privy to such knowledge in order to shield himself and his family. It was an arrangement that also suited the Vuksans as it placed an additional layer of separation between Frend and themselves. It was all about protection, Frend said.

‘This can end happily for the Vuksans or for you,’ Angel had told him, ‘but not for both. It’s a simple choice: Who do you care about more, your clients or your daughter?’

‘You know the answer,’ the lawyer replied. ‘Don’t harm her.’

‘Are you ordering me?’

‘No, I’m asking you, as a father. Please don’t hurt her.’

‘That’s out of my hands. She’s being held in England by our colleagues, while we’re a lot closer to you. If you go to the police, she dies. If you try to fuck us over, she dies. If the Vuksans kill us before we kill them, she dies. There are a great many outcomes that can end badly for her, but only one that ends well.’

‘I understand,’ said Frend.

‘I hope you do, because it won’t be quick for her. They’ll take their time, and they’ll record as they go, so you’ll have a permanent record of the event.’

‘I’ll do all that you ask,’ said Frend. ‘I promise.’

According to Frend, he had provided the Vuksans with a list of discreet and expensive rental properties looked after by agents who specialized in selective blindness, one of its symptoms being that they could see only the color of money. With Frend as a reference, the Vuksans would have experienced no difficulty in securing accommodations.

‘I need to make some calls,’ said Frend. ‘Some of the agents will be difficult to contact after hours. I may not be able to talk to them until morning.’

‘You have until noon tomorrow.’

‘That might not be sufficient.’

‘It will be,’ said Angel. ‘I have faith in the depth of your paternal affection.’

Louis slid a piece of paper in front of Angel. On it was written Girl/Hendricksen?

‘How many people do the Vuksans have with them?’ Angel asked Frend. ‘And be careful how you answer. If you miscount, and it costs us, it’ll add a very painful hour to the otherwise short span of your daughter’s life.’

‘One man,’ said Frend, ‘as far as I know.’

‘“As far as I know” isn’t the right answer.’

‘I’m trying to be honest.’

‘Try harder.’

‘Yes, it’s one man, just one.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘Zivco.’

‘Second name?’

‘Ilić. But there’s another, too.’

‘You said there was just one man,’ said Angel. ‘Don’t give me a reason to start doubting you before we’ve even properly begun.’

‘It’s not a man, but a child, a girl.’

‘Name?’

‘Zorya.’

‘Second name?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve never heard any other used. I’m not even sure that Zorya is her real name. Spiridon found her, or she found him. It’s never been entirely clear to me.’

‘Where?’

‘Eastern Serbia. Bor, Negotin, somewhere like that.’

‘What is she to Spiridon? Is he sleeping with her?’

‘It’s possible, I suppose,’ said Frend. ‘It’s not the kind of question one asks of a man.’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘Not a man like Spiridon Vuksan.’

‘If you say so. What else does she do for him?’

There was no reply. For a moment Angel was worried that the connection might have been lost.

‘Mr Frend? I don’t like being kept waiting.’

‘I think she kills for him,’ said Frend.

‘You said she was a child.’

‘She looks like a child – no, she is a child – but when you see her up close, you realize that you’re mistaken. It’s hard to explain without sounding foolish.’

‘Go on. You’re doing well – and you’re helping your daughter.’

‘I hope so. I really—’ Frend briefly lost his train of thought. Angel thought the lawyer might have been on the verge of tears. ‘I’m sorry, where was I?’

‘You were talking about the girl, Zorya,’ said Angel.

‘Zorya, yes. It’s as though someone hollowed out a child, removed its essence, and then replaced it with the soul of a creature much older. Radovan calls her his brother’s witch. Spiridon consults her, and defers to her judgment. She has a condition of the spine, scoliosis. It’s not very apparent, but it’s there.’

‘You said she’d killed.’

‘She has a blade. She keeps it in her sleeve. But—’

‘Yes?’

‘She prefers to use her hands, or so I hear. She has sharp nails.’

Angel was about to ask if she had killed Hendricksen, just to be absolutely sure, but the question would have given Frend a small advantage. Right now, Frend couldn’t be certain who had his daughter. If Angel asked about Hendricksen, he would know.

‘Does she stay with Spiridon?’

‘Not always. Radovan says she likes the night.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘She wanders when it’s dark,’ said Frend. ‘She may even sleep rough. I wish I could tell you more, but that’s all I know.’

‘What about guns? Are the Vuksans armed?’

‘Ilić carries a pistol. I assume Spiridon and Radovan do likewise.’

‘Wait,’ said Angel. ‘How do you know that Ilić wears a gun?’

‘He’s the go-between. I haven’t seen the Vuksans since they arrived in Austria, only Ilić.’

‘How do you stay in contact?’

‘Email.’

‘Give me the address.’

Frend needed a moment to search for it, presumably on his phone or in a notebook. He then recited a Tutanota encrypted address, which Angel wrote down.

‘What about phones?’

‘We change the numbers regularly. Radovan has a list of my SIMs, and he sends me his new numbers by email, but he’s being very sparing with them. Right now we’re in transition, and I haven’t yet received the latest.’

That sounded like evasion on Frend’s part, but Angel didn’t pursue it. Burner numbers would be of limited use to them.

‘Is there a protocol?’ said Angel.

‘What do you mean?’

‘A system. Do you email at particular times? Are there specific words to be used in the event of a problem?’

‘Like a code?’

‘Like an alarm.’

‘No.’

‘Let me warn you again about lying.’

‘I’m not lying. We don’t use greetings or names, but otherwise it’s just straightforward communication.’

‘When did you last meet Ilić?’

‘At the weekend. The girl was with him.’

‘Why did you meet?’

Another silence, then: ‘They needed cash. I provided it.’

Angel looked at Louis, who shook his head. They had both heard the lie, but Louis made a sign indicating that Angel should let it pass.

‘When will you meet him again?’ said Angel.

‘When the time comes to hand over the passports.’

‘What passports?’

‘The Vuksans have been ordered to leave Europe.’

‘Who by?’

‘Belgrade. I’ve been tasked with securing passports, under new identities.’

‘How?’

‘I have a source.’

‘What’s the name of this source?’

Frend hesitated before surrendering Hannah Kauffmann.

‘Does she know who the passports are for?’

‘Yes.’

‘When will you receive them?’

‘Within twenty-four hours, I believe.’

‘How many?’

‘Three: the Vuksans and Ilić.’

‘Not the girl?’

‘She does not wish to go with them.’

‘And how does Spiridon feel about this?’

‘I would assume he is unhappy, but what can he do?’

Beside Angel, Louis made a single slicing gesture: Cut the call.

‘Keep this phone close,’ Angel told Frend. ‘We’ll be in touch again soon.’

‘Wait! I want to speak with my daughter.’

‘You will, as soon as the Vuksans are dead.’

‘But how do I know she’s alive?’ said Frend. ‘How can I be sure that you haven’t harmed her already?’

‘Because we don’t lie,’ said Angel. ‘We’re not lawyers.’

Which was the point at which Angel had ended the conversation, leaving Louis looking impressed.

‘Man, you’re hard-core,’ said Louis. ‘I feel like I should hand over my wallet and watch before you hurt me.’

‘I didn’t enjoy that,’ said Angel. ‘It gave me no pleasure to threaten a man with the murder of his daughter, even if we have no intention of doing it.’

‘That’s what separates us from them,’ said Louis. ‘Or maybe you from them. I’m still reluctant to commit to a side.’

‘You’re committed. It just pains you to concede it.’ But Angel was more uncertain of this than he sounded. He loved Louis, yet one could love a man and still be frightened by his capabilities. ‘Me, I’m more in touch with my feelings, and my feelings tell me that holding a blade, metaphorical or otherwise, to a woman’s throat is bad.’

‘Do you think Anton Frend ever had to look at blood?’ said Louis.

‘Only if he cut himself shaving.’

‘There you go. He knew how the Vuksans operated, but he kept it in the abstract. That’s what men like him do. They can’t function otherwise. You’ve just given him a long-delayed lesson in outcomes.’

Angel let it go.

‘What next?’ he said.

‘We have the email address,’ said Louis, ‘but I don’t trust Frend’s claim that using it involves just simple messages. I wouldn’t institute that kind of email contact without a protocol, and I don’t believe the Vuksans would either. There’s a tripwire.’

‘You really think Frend would risk his daughter’s life by not telling us about it?’

‘Frend is shrewd – maybe not as shrewd as he thinks he is, which puts him in the same category as ninety-nine percent of humanity, but still, shrewder than most. He knows we’re holding his daughter, but has only our word that we’ll release her if he does as we ask. He’s forfeited a lot of information to us, some of which may even be accurate, but he’ll hold back enough to enable him to play us, if he has to. It’s what I would do, in his position.’

‘But you don’t have a child,’ said Angel. ‘You can’t be sure what a father would do to save his daughter.’

‘You may be right,’ said Louis, ‘but I’ve met a lot of men like Anton Frend, and they never fail to disappoint. They become corrupted, and that corruption taints every relationship they have. He won’t sacrifice everything for Pia. He’ll sacrifice a lot, but not all he has. And like I said, he’s also sharp. At this moment, he’s figuring out the angles.’

‘Which are?’

‘First, go to the police or a crisis management firm: the latter’s more likely than the former, given the company Frend keeps, but either would cause us problems. Second, do exactly as we say, but that’s not in his nature. Third, come clean to the Vuksans, and use them to try and turn the tables on us, but that would be risky.’

‘Why?’

‘Because they’d view him as a liability, and probably get rid of him. He’d have to use the passports as bargaining chips – safe passage for the Vuksans in exchange for their help in securing his daughter’s return – but they’d be more likely to tear out his fingernails to force the delivery of the documents.’

Angel watched Louis’s expression change, which meant that he’d just spotted a fourth option.

‘Or?’ Angel prompted.

‘Or,’ said Louis, ‘it could be that I have the second choice wrong. Why not just do as we say? As long as the Vuksans are alive, Frend is in danger. Even if he does obtain new identities for them, it will be assumed that he knows the names on the passports, and where the Vuksans are hiding. He’ll never be able to sleep peacefully again because he and his family will always be in danger. Better to let us kill the Vuksans and put an end to the whole rotten business. But just in case we fuck up, or try to double-cross him—’

‘A tripwire.’

‘Yeah, but not the email, because then he has no deniability with the Vuksans. There’s something else we’re not seeing.’

‘You know what I’d be doing in Frend’s position?’ said Angel. ‘I’d be sharing my knowledge of the Vuksans and their latest plans with someone else, because I’d have been protecting myself all along.’

And Louis thought – not for the first time in their relationship – that, damn, the man was probably right.