Chapter XXVII
Bonn, Germany
MADDUX PERUSED THE WINE list as he waited on Rose to join him at his second-favorite restaurant, Sudhaus. He enjoyed the veal schnitzel so much that he didn’t mind the half-hour cab ride to get there. After visiting the establishment for the third time, he claimed the booth in the back corner as his territory. The wait staff caught on to his preferred seating arrangement and made sure he sat there whenever possible. And it was open when he arrived.
He ordered a bottle of wine, one he knew Rose would enjoy, and scanned the menu. However, his interest in the food selection was feigned. There was only one thing he ever ate—veal schnitzel. He talked so much about how delicious it was that he’d convinced Pritchett to try it as well, though the station chief didn’t find the entree as delectable as Maddux did.
After another five minutes, Rose finally arrived. Maddux stood and greeted her with a cordial hug before gesturing for her to sit down.
“I already ordered us a bottle of wine,” he said.
“Nice,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “So, what are we celebrating?”
“Nothing in particular, maybe the fact that I’m still alive.”
“That’s always a good thing,” she said as she placed her napkin in her lap. “Why don’t we also celebrate the fact that we are both employed as well after tying up a fellow agent and leaving him in a wine cellar.”
Maddux chuckled. “And that he forgave us.”
“Dex is a good agent,” Rose said. “I’m not sure I would’ve responded like he did.”
The waiter approached their table, carrying the wine. He poured a healthy portion in both of their glasses and quickly left.
“On that note, I propose a toast to our colleague, who isn’t with us tonight,” Maddux said as he raised his glass. “To Dex.”
They clinked their glasses before taking a swig of the merlot.
“So, why did you want to meet with me for dinner tonight?” Rose asked.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
“Of course. You know I’m happy to help you any time I can.”
“It’s a little bit tricky, so don’t agree just yet.”
“I’m sure I can handle it. What do you need?”
Maddux exhaled slowly after a deep breath. “Pritchett told me to take some time off and not go in the office for a week. I don’t know if he’s afraid I’m getting burned out or if he thinks I made too many mistakes on this last mission.”
“But you can’t do that, can you?”
“No, I can’t. And it has to do with Dex walking into a trap.”
“A trap? What are you talking about?”
“Call it a hunch, but there’s something not right about how this whole situation unfolded.”
Rose smiled. “The last time you had a hunch, we tied up Dex.”
Maddux narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “This is different.”
“I’m not trying to be belligerent when I ask this, but are you sure?”
“No, which is why I need your help. I need you to confirm my suspicions.”
“And what do you suspect at the moment?”
“I don’t want to tell you until I see the documents that I need you to get. I don’t want to mess this up. The consequences are too severe.”
“So what papers do you need?”
“I want to see the original message passed from the Belgrade station to Pritchett in Venice. And not the transcribed, typewritten one either. I need the original handwritten note.”
“Anything else I can get for you?” she asked with a chuckle. “A car, a plane, a rocket launcher.”
“Well, since you asked, there is one device I’d like you to get for me. You know that sonic transmitter that cripples just about everyone in range?”
“Oh, how could I forget?”
“I’d like to get that as well fitted inside a pair of dress shoes. I wear a size 12.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “But I’m not sure it will be all that easy.”
“I need everything by tomorrow morning.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “Tomorrow morning? Are you planning on going somewhere?”
“If what’s on that document is what I think, I’ll be headed to Belgrade.”
“What on earth for?”
“To kill Medved.”
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, Maddux walked by the CIA offices and conducted a brush pass with Rose. She casually dropped a shoebox into Maddux’s shopping bag as she walked by, refusing to make eye contact with him. Maddux hustled back to his office at Opel and opened the package.
He sat down in his chair to read the papers but first came across a note Rose left attached with a paperclip in the upper left hand corner.
“I need these back in one hour. Same protocol for returning as for receiving.”
She didn’t write her name or even use her initial, but it didn’t matter. Rose’s distinct handwriting was regularly lauded at the agency. When all the other agents and staff members looked like they’d learned penmanship from mimicking letters found on scrawled prescriptions from doctors, Rose’s notes were artistic, the words flowing neatly and straight across the page. Maddux half expected to see lipstick smeared beneath the first time he read one of her messages because there appeared to be so much care taken with each pen stroke. But he soon learned she wrote everything that way.
Before reading the note, he inspected the shoes. The black leather wingtips had a set of instructions inserted inside, along with a diagram of how to operate the device. Rose also included a pair of sonic resistant earplugs, stored neatly in a small plastic bag.
Maddux returned his focus to the documents, removing the paperclip and sifting through the papers. It didn’t take long before he confirmed his suspicions.
I know who Medved is.