Lazlo cleared his throat. “Quite the difficult beast, don’t you know. As mentioned before, I’m not even certain it is in code. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what it all means.”
“But,” Remi said, “wasn’t that the very reason you thought it was in code?”
“Originally, yes. Now, however, I’m starting to wonder if it’s something else entirely. It’s almost as if someone went to the trouble to include the letters to throw anyone off, should they discover them.”
“What about the typewriter ribbon tins?” Sam asked him.
“Without having them in our possession, it’s difficult to tell. But, from the photos, they seem like ordinary ribbon tins that were manufactured in Berlin and used during the war. Common, in fact. I don’t suppose you had a decent look at the ribbon?”
“Enough to know it was just a ribbon,” Sam said. “That, and the ink was dry.”
“No messages hidden in the spool?”
“After Tatiana told us about her conversation with Rolfe, we looked. There was nothing.”
“Unfortunate, that,” Lazlo said, giving a glum sigh. “Of course, it wouldn’t be unusual to find one in any location where a typewriter might have been even if said typewriter is no longer there.”
A logical assumption, Sam thought. Except that Rolfe and his Wolfmen were willing to kill to get them. “What about this furniture restorer that antique dealer mentioned? Any luck finding him?”
“Unfortunately,” Selma said, “his name is quite common. We’ve called everyone listed in the public directories, leaving messages where we could. We’re waiting to hear back.”
“Let us know when you find out anything.”
“Will do. Take care.”
Remi disconnected. “What do we do in the meantime?”
Sam pulled Tatiana’s phone from his pocket. “Get this thing to Viktor and find out what she’s been up to.”
Nika and Felix were waiting in the lobby of the hospital when Sam and Remi walked in. “Any word?” Sam asked.
“Lucky for Viktor,” Felix said, “the shot went clean through and missed the bones. We should be allowed to see him soon.”
“Good. Any chance you can get us in? We have a few questions.”
“What sort of questions?” Nika said. “We’d be glad to help.”
“I’m sure you can. But I’d rather wait, just to keep him in the loop.”
He and Remi took a seat as someone wheeled a patient past them down the hall. After about fifteen minutes, a nurse approached, asking for Felix by name. He stood.
Her first attempt to inform him of Viktor’s progress was in Polish. After a few exchanged words, determining that he didn’t speak Polish and she didn’t speak Russian, she said in stilted English, “He does well. He asks to see you. This way.”
They all started to follow. She shook her head. “Only two.”
Felix glanced back at them, his gaze landing on Sam. “You come.” Then he said something in Russian to Nika. She sat down, looking upset that she wasn’t included.
He followed Felix into the room. Viktor was hooked up to a monitor that beeped quietly in the background. There was a tube coming from the upper left side of his chest, snaking down to a white plastic box hanging from the side of the hospital bed. His eyes were closed until he heard them enter. “…Good… You’re here…”
“Of course we are,” Felix said. “How are you?”
“Collapsed lung… Procedure to insert the tube is like getting shot all over again… They’re insisting on keeping me here…”
“So listen, for once.”
Viktor glanced at Sam. “Not quite how we expected this to turn out, is it?”
“At least you’re alive.”
“Tatiana, though…”
“I found her phone. If we can get in it, we might have a chance of finding her.”
Viktor seemed to perk up at that.
“Contact Rolfe… Tell him we have the key…”
“And you know what it’s for?”
“Not yet. But I have someone working on it now.”
“Good.” He closed his eyes a few seconds, then looked at them. “We should have anticipated… I should have…”
“No,” Felix said. “We did the best we could. Now we try to find her.”
Sam moved closer. “Do you have the code to get into her phone?”
He nodded, then recited the numbers.
Sam typed it in. “That works. Now, about Tatiana… We’d like to help. We can call friends. Government agents, even.”
“No… No outside help,” Viktor said. “We handle our own.”
Sam was surprised by his refusal. “I don’t understand…”
Viktor glanced at Felix, then turned to Sam, his expression troubled. “There’s something about this that I haven’t told you… Or Felix.” He took a ragged breath. “Something… important…”
48
The monitor beside Viktor’s hospital bed beeped steadily as Sam waited.
“Felix,” Viktor said. “Close the door… please… I’d rather not have anyone overhear.”
Once it was closed, Felix taking a position in front of it, Viktor turned his attention to Sam. “Because you’re Donovan’s friend, I know I can trust you… And I want Felix to also hear… Tatiana isn’t the only Russian involved with Rolfe Wernher. She’s merely the latest. It’s how we knew to cultivate Durin… And now that we’ve verified that the Wolf Guard is still operating in Europe, the stakes are even higher. They are, no doubt, how Rolfe has managed to eliminate witnesses in every case brought against him…” He closed his eyes, the sound of the monitor beeping as they waited. Finally, he opened them again, saying, “Until the shooting in Königsberg castle, we weren’t even aware they’d infiltrated Russia. Now…”
Sam glanced over at Felix, then back at Viktor. “You can’t mean to leave her there?”
“Of course not,” he said. “But in the past, every time we made a move, they found out… We have to be careful who we include. I hate to believe that anyone we have inside Rolfe’s circle is giving information… Or, worse yet, that the few of us who know on the outside are…” His voice grew softer, his eyelids starting to fall. But he roused himself, looking at them again. “The possibility exists… So you see my dilemma? There are many more lives involved than just Tatiana’s… She knows the risks… knows our hands are tied. But… she knows… someway, somehow… I’ll get to her… Have to do it below the radar… Without help…”
“From a hospital bed?”
“A flesh wound… They’ll be releasing me in the morning… I hope…”
“And if they don’t?”
“Perhaps…” He looked at Sam. “We saw how you went after your friend, Zakaria. I thought that you…”
Felix took a step forward. “You can’t mean send an American?”
Sam, hoping to cut through the tension in the room, said, “I’d be glad to help in any way I can.”
“No,” Felix replied. “It’s as Nika said. Tatiana is our concern. Not the Americans’.”
“You’re right,” Viktor said, his breathing more shallow. “Except that the Fargos are… in a unique position to help… without raising suspicion. They did it once… Not too out of the realm of their nature to do so again… without exposing anyone on the inside.” He looked at Sam, trying to keep his eyes open. “I have no idea if this key is important…”
“We’re hoping to find out,” Sam said. “Even if we don’t, we’ll make them believe it’s important.”
Viktor nodded. “Thank you.” He closed his eyes a moment. “I think whatever they’ve given me… for the pain… is starting to work…”
“We’ll let you rest,” Sam said.
“Felix…” It took some effort for Viktor to open his eyes. “Help the Fargos…”