The Mark of the Assassin

accelerator. The Mercedes responded, dropping down a
    gear and gaining speed rapidly. They swept through the intersection to
    the angry blare of horns. Elizabeth glanced at the mirror and saw that
    the Range Rover was still there. "Shit? "What do you want me to do?"
    "Just keep driving."
    At 28th Street, Max had no choice but to stop at a red light. The Range
    Rover pulled directly behind them. Elizabeth watched the woman in the
    vanity mirror, and Max did the same in the rearview mirror. "Who do you
    think she's talking to?"
    "She's talking to her partner."
    "Is her partner Red Army Faction too?"
    "No, he's a former KGB assassin code-named October."
    The light turned green. Max pressed the accelerator so hard the tires
    squealed on the pavement. "Elizabeth, the next time you ask me to come
    to your house to work, I think I'll decline, if that's all right with
    you."
    "Shut up and drive, Max."
    "Where?"
    "Downtown."
    Max headed east on L Street, the Range Rover shadowing them. Elizabeth
    toyed with the handle of the briefcase. She remembered Michael's words.
    Get out of the car, then throw the latch. Make sure the case is right
    side up. Walk calmly away. Whatever you do, don't run. The traffic
    thickened as they moved deeper into downtown Washington. "You sure that
    thing is going to work?" Max asked. "How the hell should I know?"
    "Maybe it's been in the closet too long. See if it has an expiration
    date on it or something."
    Elizabeth looked at him and saw he was smiling. "It's going to be all
    right, Elizabeth. Don't worry."
    He turned right on Connecticut Avenue. The midday traffic was heavy,
    cars rushing at high speed along the broad street, big trucks
    double-parked outside the exclusive shops. A half-dozen cars had slipped
    between them and Astrid Vogel. Elizabeth said, "I think this is our
    spot. Make the right onto K Street. Use the service lane."
    "Got it."
    He punched the accelerator and turned the wheel hard to the right.
    ASTRID SAID TO DELAROCHE, "They just made a right on K Street. Dammit, I
    can't see them? She made the turn and spotted the Mercedes slipping from
    the service lane into the heavy traffic on K Street. "I have them.
    They're heading west on K Street. Where are you?"
    "Twenty-third Street, heading south. We're very close."
    Astrid followed the Mercedes westward, across 20th Street and then 21 st
    Street. "I'm getting close, Jean-Paul. Where are you?"
    "M Street. Wait for me at Twenty-third."
    She crossed 23rd Street and stopped on the northwest corner. The
    Mercedes drew away. She looked north on 23rd Street and saw Delaroche
    pedaling at high speed, legs churning like pistons. He stopped, leaned
    the bike against a lamppost, and climbed into the Range Rover. "Go!"
    ELIZABETH SETTLED into the back of a taxi for the ride to the Hertz
    rental car outlet. Michael's gadget had worked just the way he said it
    would. Max stopped the car; Elizabeth climbed out and pulled the latch.
    A figure rapidly inflated, amazingly lifelike. Max drove quickly away,
    and Elizabeth walked into the lobby of her building. She was tempted to
    walk upstairs and hide in her office, but she remembered the janitor
    with the expensive haircut and Special Forces ring and knew her office
    was no longer safe. She waited behind the glass until the Range Rover
    sped past, and then she stepped out and flagged down the taxi.
    The taxi dropped her outside the Hertz outlet. She walked quickly inside
    and went to the rental counter. Five minutes later an attendant brought
    a gravy Mercury Sable to the front of the garage. Elizabeth climbed in
    and pulled out into the downtown traffic. She drove west across
    Washington through Georgetown, then onto Reservoir Road. She took
    Reservoir down to Canal Road and followed it north along the banks of
    the C&O Canal. After ten miles she came to the Beltway. She followed the
    signs north to Baltimore. Her purse rested next to her on the passenger
    seat. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the Mercedes. After five
    rings a recorded voice informed her that the cellular phone she was
    trying to reach "was not in service at this time."
    MAX LEWIS DROVE ACROSS Key Bridge and turned north onto the George
    Washington Parkway. He had lost the Range Rover somewhere in Georgetown.
    He looked across at the figure seated next to him, a tall rather
    attractive man with dark hair and a clean shave. He realized the figure
    looked something like Michael Osbourne. He glanced up into the