One of his neighbors said, “Good lord, Lucas, this is a goddamned sin.”
The Porsche salesman kept walking in circles around it, saying, “Good God. Good God.”
“Appeals to a deity won’t fix it,” Lucas said. “I noticed that none of you hosers asked if I was okay.”
Another of the neighbors said, “That’s because you’re not. Here comes Weather.”
15
Kuznetsov called when the team was halfway back to Iowa. “We are told by our asset that Sokolov was wearing armor under his sweater. Your bullet hit him over his heart, but the armor stopped most of it. Not all of it—he has a serious chest wound and may yet die. He is in the hospital operating room, in surgery. We will know more when he emerges.”
“If your asset is so close, why didn’t he warn us of the armor plate?” Abramova asked.
The sigh was audible. “They put the armor on one minute before they walked out the door,” Kuznetsov said.
Nikitin: “Ah! A head shot was too risky, so I shot for the heart. If I had known about the armor…”
“Tell me why this shot is risky, so I can explain it,” Kuznetsov said.
“People move their heads all the time, and quickly, and in alldirections. The chest, not so much. It is steadier and larger. We are trained for heart shots when that is possible. I could see no armor when he came out of the building. If I had known about the armor, I would have shot for the head.”
“I will explain this to the people here,” Kuznetsov said. “There is much disappointment.”
“Call again when you know if Sokolov lives,” Abramova said. “We will talk here about what to do next, if he lives.”
• • •
The Russian teamagain took two separate rooms at the Iowa motel, and smuggled Nikitin into Titov’s. When it seemed safe, they gathered in Titov’s room to strategize, eat, browse the Internet, talk about possibilities, and watch television. Titov, because he could pass as American, went out to pizza parlors for food and soft drinks.
Kuznetsov called Abramova that evening. She put the phone on speaker so the others could hear, and Kuznetsov said, “Our source in Minneapolis tells us that Sokolov may yet survive. Also, you are all now famous on television.”
“What?”
“You were on television this afternoon and now are streaming on the Internet on thisJonesing for News…”
“The what?”
“Jonesing for News.I’ll spell it for you…”
He did, including the “for News” part. Nikitin, who was online, brought up a search field and typed in “Jonesing for News.”
As he was doing that, Kuznetsov said, “This matter of the cars is perplexing. You are scattering them like potato chips. We havespoken to our friends in Minneapolis and they are finding two more cold cars for you. You will have them tomorrow morning. I will text the location and license numbers. Keys on the back tire.”
“If we’re to go for Sokolov again, with the rifle, we’ll need them,” Abramova said.
“They won’t be moving him for a few days. They took some metal from his chest,” Kuznetsov said.
“You have an excellent source,” Abramova said.
“Yes.”
“Perhaps we should deal with this person directly.”
“Not possible at this time,” Kuznetsov said.
“Then call us when you have the pickup arrangements for the cars. And all other arrangements.”
“We’re waiting for a return from our source. In the meantime, I should tell you that Orlov is on his way home.”
