The City and the City Part 21

"Whatever. Even if."

We whispered under the foreign shriek of a flap above us in Besel swinging in the wind. "Yolanda's convinced that Breach is Orciny," I said. "I'm not saying I agree with her-I don't know what I'm saying-but I promised her I'd get her out."

"Breach would get her out."

"You prepared to swear she's wrong? You prepared to abso-b.l.o.o.d.y-lutely swear she's got nothing to worry about from them?" I was whispering. This was dangerous talk. "They've no way in yet-nothing's f.u.c.king breached-and she wants to keep it that way."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I want to get her away. I'm not saying anyone here's got her in their sights, I'm not saying she's right about anything she's saying, but someone someone killed Mahalia, and someone got to Bowden. Something's going on in Ul Qoma. I'm asking for your help, Dhatt. Come with me. We can't do this officially; she won't cooperate with anything official. I promised her I'd look after her, and this is not my city. You going to help me? No, we can't risk doing this by the book. So are you going to help me? I need to get her to Besel." killed Mahalia, and someone got to Bowden. Something's going on in Ul Qoma. I'm asking for your help, Dhatt. Come with me. We can't do this officially; she won't cooperate with anything official. I promised her I'd look after her, and this is not my city. You going to help me? No, we can't risk doing this by the book. So are you going to help me? I need to get her to Besel."

We did not go back to the hotel room that night, nor to Dhatt's house. Not overcome by anxiety but indulging it, behaving as if as if this all might be true. We walked instead. this all might be true. We walked instead.

"f.u.c.k's sake, can't believe I'm doing this," he kept saying. He looked behind us more than I did.

"We can find a way to blame me," I told him. It was not what I might have expected, despite that I'd risked telling him what I had, to have him be part of this, to put himself so on this line.

"Stick us to crowds," I told him. "And to crosshatching." More people, and where the two cities are close up they make for interference patterns, harder to read or predict. They are more than a city and a city; that is elementary urban arithmetic.

"I've got an exit anytime on my visa," I said. "Can you get her a pa.s.s out?"

"I can get one for me, sure. I can get one for a f.u.c.king cop cop, Borlu."

"Let me rephrase that. Can you get an exit visa for Officer Yolanda Rodriguez?" He stared at me. We were still whispering.

"She won't even have an Ul Qoman pa.s.sport ..."

"So can you get her can you get her through? I don't know what your border guards are like." through? I don't know what your border guards are like."

"Oh what the f.u.c.k?" he said again. As the numbers of walkers fell our pedestrianism ceased being camouflage and risked becoming its opposite. "I know a place," Dhatt said. A drinking club, the manager of which greeted him with almost convincing pleasure, in the bas.e.m.e.nt opposite a bank in the outskirts of Ul Qoma Old Town. It was full of smoke and men who eyed Dhatt, knowing what he was, despite that he was in civilian clothes. It looked for a second as if they thought him there to bust the drag act, but he waved at them to get on with it. Dhatt gestured for the manager's phone. Lips thinned, the man pa.s.sed it to him over the counter and he pa.s.sed it to me.

"Holy Light, let's do this, then," he said. "I can get her through." There was music, and the growl of conversation was very loud. I stretched the phone to the extent of its cord and huddled down, squatting, by the bar, at stomach-level of the men around me. It felt quieter. I had to go through an operator to get an international line, which I did not like to do.

"Corwi, it's Borlu."

"Christ. Give me a minute. Christ."

"Corwi, I'm sorry to call so late. Can you hear me?"

"Christ. What time ... Where are you? I can't f.u.c.king hear a word, you're all-"

"I'm in a bar. Listen, I'm sorry about the time. I need you to organise something for me."

"Christ, boss, are you f.u.c.king kidding?"

"No. Come on. Corwi, I need you." I could almost see her rubbing her face, maybe walking phone in hand and sleepy to the kitchen and drinking cold water. When she spoke again she was more focused.

"What's going on?"

"I'm coming back."

"Serious? When?"

"That's what I'm calling about. Dhatt, the guy I'm working with here, he's coming over to Besel. I need you to meet us. Can you get everything in motion and keep it on the QT? Corwi-black-ops stuff. Serious. Walls have ears."

Long pause. "Why me, boss? And why at two-thirty in the morning?"

"Because you're good, and because you're the soul of discretion. I need no noise. I need you in a car, with your gun and preferably one for me, and that's it. And I need you to book a hotel for them. Not one of the department's usuals." Another long silence. "And listen ... he's bringing another officer."

"What? Who?"

"She's undercover undercover. What do you think? She wanted a free trip." I glanced apology at him, though he could not hear me over the criminal din. "Keep this low, Corwi. Just a little moment in the investigation, okay? And I'm going to want your help getting something, getting a package, out of Besel. You understand?"

"... Think so, boss. Boss, someone's been calling for you. Asking what's going on with your investigation."

"Who? What do you mean, what's going on?"

"Who I don't know, won't leave his name. He wants to know, Who are you arresting? When are you back? Have you found the missing girl? What are the plans? I don't know how he got my desk number, but he blatantly knows something."

I was clicking at Dhatt to pay attention. "Someone's asking questions," I said to him. "Won't say his name?" I asked Corwi.

"No, and I don't recognise his voice. c.r.a.p line."

"What does he sound like?"

"Foreign. American. And scared." On a bad, an international, line.

"G.o.d d.a.m.n," d.a.m.n," I said to Dhatt, hand over the receiver. "Bowden's out there. He's trying to find me. He must be avoiding our numbers here in case he's traced ... Canadian, Corwi. Listen, when did he call?" I said to Dhatt, hand over the receiver. "Bowden's out there. He's trying to find me. He must be avoiding our numbers here in case he's traced ... Canadian, Corwi. Listen, when did he call?"

"Every day, yesterday and today, won't leave his details."

"Right. Listen. When he calls again, tell him this. Give him this message from me. Tell him he's got one chance. Hold on, I'm thinking. Tell him we're ... Tell him I'll make sure he's okay, I can get him out. We have have to. I know he's afraid with everything going on, but he's got no chance on his own. Keep this to yourself, Corwi." to. I know he's afraid with everything going on, but he's got no chance on his own. Keep this to yourself, Corwi."

"Jesus, you're determined to f.u.c.k my career." She sounded tired. I waited silently until I was sure she would do it.

"Thank you. Just trust me he'll understand and please don't ask me anything. Tell him we know more now. s.h.i.+t, I can't go into this." A loud burst from the sequined Ute Lemper look-alike made me wince. "Just tell him we know more and tell him he has to call us." I looked around as if inspiration might jump to me, and it did. "What's Yallya's mobile number?" I asked Dhatt.

"Huh?"

"He doesn't want to call us on mine or yours, so just..." He recited it to me and I to Corwi. "Tell our mystery man to call that that number, and we can help him. And you call me back on that, too, okay? From tomorrow on." number, and we can help him. And you call me back on that, too, okay? From tomorrow on."

"What the f.u.c.k?" said Dhatt. "What the f.u.c.k are you doing?"

"You're going to have to borrow her phone; we need one so Bowden can find us-he's too scared to, we don't know who's listening to ours. If he contacts us, you might have to ..." I hesitated.

"What?"

"Jesus, Dhatt, not now now, okay? Corwi?"

She was gone, the line disconnected, by her or by the old exchanges.

Chapter Twenty-One.

I EVEN CAME WITH DHATT into his office the next day. "The more you're a no-show, the more people wonder what the f.u.c.k's going on and the more they're going to notice you," he said. As it was there were plenty of stares from his office colleagues. I nodded at the two who had tried halfheartedly to start an altercation with me. into his office the next day. "The more you're a no-show, the more people wonder what the f.u.c.k's going on and the more they're going to notice you," he said. As it was there were plenty of stares from his office colleagues. I nodded at the two who had tried halfheartedly to start an altercation with me.

"I'm getting paranoid," I said.

"Oh no, they're really watching you. Here." He handed me Yallya's cell phone. "I think that's the last time you're getting invited to supper."

"What did she say?"

"What do you think? It's her f.u.c.king phone; she was seriously p.i.s.sed off. I told her we needed it, she told me to f.u.c.k off, I begged, she said no, I took it and blamed you."

"Can we get hold of a uniform? For Yolanda ..." We huddled over his computer. "Might get her through easier." I watched him use his more up-to-date version of Windows. The first time Yallya's phone rang we froze and looked at each other. A number appeared that neither of us knew. I connected without a word, still meeting his eyes.

"Yall? Yall?" A woman's voice in Illitan. "It's Mai, are you ... Yall?"

"h.e.l.lo, this isn't Yallya actually ..."

"Oh, hey, Qussim ...?" but her voice faltered. "Who is this?"

He took it from me.

"h.e.l.lo? Mai, hey. Yeah, he's a friend of mine. No, well spotted. I had to borrow Yall's phone for a day or two, have you tried the house? Alright then, take care." The screen went dark and he handed it back. "That's another f.u.c.king reason you can field this s.h.i.+t. You're going to get a p.i.s.sload of calls from her friends asking you if you still want to go for that facial or if you've seen the Tom Hanks movie."

After the second and third such call, we no longer started when the cell rang. There were not many, however, despite what Dhatt said, and none on those topics. I imagined Yallya on her office phone, making countless angry calls denouncing her husband and his friend for the inconvenience.

"Do we want to put her in a uniform?" Dhatt spoke low.

"You're going to be in yours, right? Isn't it always best to hide in plain sight?"

"You want one too?"

"Is it a bad idea?"

He shook his head slowly. "It'll make life easier for some of it... I think I can get through my side on police papers and my say-so." Militsya Militsya, let alone senior detectives, trumped Ul Qoman border guards, without much trouble. "Alright."

"I'll do the talking at the Besel entrance."

"Is Yolanda okay?"

"Aikam's with her. I can't go back ... Not again. Every time we do ..." We still had no idea how, or by whom, we might be watched.

Dhatt moved too much, and after the third or fourth time he had snapped at one of his colleagues for some imagined infraction I made him come with me for an early lunch. He glowered and would not speak, staring at everyone who pa.s.sed us.

"Will you stop?" I said.

"I am going to be so f.u.c.king glad when you're gone," he said. Yallya's phone rang and I held it to my ear without speaking.

"Borlu?" I tapped the table for Dhatt's attention, pointed at the phone.

"Bowden, where are you?"

"I'm keeping myself safe, Borlu." He spoke in Bes to me.

"You don't sound like you feel safe."

"Of course not. I'm not safe, am I? The question is, how much trouble am I in?" His voice was very strained.

"I can get you out." Could I? Dhatt shrugged an exaggerated what the f.u.c.k? what the f.u.c.k? "There are ways out. Tell me where you are." "There are ways out. Tell me where you are."

He sort of laughed. "Right," he said. "I'll just tell you where I am."

"What else do you propose? You can't spend your life in hiding. Get out of Ul Qoma and I can maybe do something. Besel's my turf."

"You don't even know what's going on ..."

"You've got one chance."

"Help me like you did Yolanda?"

"She's not stupid," I said. "She's letting me help."

"What? You've found found her? What..." her? What..."

"Like I told you, I told her. I can't help either of you here. I might might be able to help you in Besel. Whatever's going on, whoever's after you ..." He tried to say something, but I did not let him. "I know people there. Here I can't do a thing. Where are you?" be able to help you in Besel. Whatever's going on, whoever's after you ..." He tried to say something, but I did not let him. "I know people there. Here I can't do a thing. Where are you?"

"... Nowhere. Doesn't matter. I'll ... Where are you? you? I don't want to-" I don't want to-"

"You've done well to stay out of sight this long. But you can't do it forever."

"No. No. I'll find you. Are you ... crossing now?"

I couldn't help glancing around and lowering my voice again. "Soon."

"When?"

"Soon. I'll tell you when I know. How do I contact you?"

"You don't, Borlu. I'll contact you. Keep this phone."

"What if you miss me?"