“Good work.” He gazed at Dylan. “And your dead brother believes this is the very last part?”
Dylan leaned his elbows on the table. “Yeah. No more surprises. At least I hope not.”
“Good. So what can I do?”
“Firstly, you’ve gotta assure me no one will know about Ivan’s… resurrection.”
Mikhail waved his hand dismissively. “I know nothing of this.”
“Good, thank you. Okay, I’ve got an angry Russian on my back and his lawyer is pressing me to sign a deal with him, but I’m stalling.”
Mikhail looked baffled. “A deal?”
“Yeah. Me and Orlov are – were – going to do business together. My company was going to sponsor his soccer club.”
“Yes I know – this is what me and Natalia wanted to prevent from happening.” Mikhail scowled. “Surely you don’t plan to still go through with this sponsorship – not after everything that has happened? Natalia gave up her life, Mr Quinlan. If you think you can –”
“Cool it, Mikhail – the deal’s off. But I can’t tell Orlov that – I need something over him, right? So he doesn’t decide to shoot me down in cold blood.”
Mikhail’s face remained passive. “If he planned to do that you‘d be dead already – as soon as he’d checked in his safe.”
Dylan opened his mouth to reply, but a chirpy waitress came over, so Sarah ordered a cup of tea, trying to act casual. Dylan was proud of how well she was coping with all this. She looked tired, but there was a sparkle in her eyes that Dylan had never seen before – not even back in college. It was almost as if she was enjoying this little adventure – it’d pulled her out of the mundanity of her life and given her some excitement. But there was something appealing about mundanity at the moment. Hopefully this crazy situation would soon be over and they could concentrate on getting to know each other again, without needing to worry about trying to stay alive.
The waitress bounded away with promises of tea and cake. The three huddled closer around the table.
“So,” Dylan said. “Me and Orlov are holding a press conference tomorrow afternoon. It’s been arranged a while, and I’ve had confirmation from his PA that he’s still keen to go ahead. It should be interesting. So long as he doesn’t try to stab me behind the podium – at least I’ll know where he is.”
“And he will also know where you are.”
“I know – but he won’t be able to kill me before I get there, right? Look, Mikhail, my reason for coming here… I need you to find me some evidence that Natalia was on your side. Can you do that?”
He stared pensively at his laptop for a moment. “Yes. I think I can get some documents. Some ID, yes? To prove she was a fully paid-up member – this sort of thing?”
“Anything. I just need to make sure Orlov’s friends know exactly who he was married to.”
“Good idea. You will expose him?”
“That’s my plan. If I can get close enough to those other inner-circle guys.”
Mikhail snorted with satisfaction. “The others, when they find out Orlov was married to a spy… they will tear him in pieces.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
Sarah leaned forward. “Mikhail, do you think Orlov killed Natalia?”
“Yes, I’m sure he did pay someone to do it. I hope you can do justice for her.”
“You two were close?” Sarah asked.
Mikhail’s eyes welled with tears. “Yes, very close. We were hoping to marry, but we gave it up for the cause – in order so she could marry Orlov. Losing her has been…” He shook his head. “But our little problems amount to nothing when placed in the context of our dear Russia’s future. We all must make sacr
ifices. Sometimes for love; sometimes with our lives.”
Sarah squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry for your pain, Mikhail. I also lost the love of my life once. I know how you feel.”
Mikhail smiled sadly. “But I see you got him back again. This will not happen for me.”
Dylan opened his mouth to say that he’d once believed Ivan was dead – so nothing was ever certain. But he closed it again. Natalia had died in his arms in Leicester Square and there would be no resurrection for her.