Free Slingshot: A Spycatcher Novel by Matthew Dunn

around him. Having the luxury of neither, he was going to have to take a risk.
    He moved forward, his hands in his pockets, his head still, his eyes flickering left and right to look for sudden movement. After seventy yards, he stopped at an apartment block, made no attempt to look around, and quickly pressed one of the buzzers adjacent to the door. A woman’s voice spoke in the intercom. Will said in Russian, the second language of Belarus, “I need to speak to Miss Alina Petrova.”
    The woman hesitated before answering in the same tongue, “ Da, that’s me.”
    “Can you let me in? This is official business.”
    The intercom was silent for ten seconds. Then, “What business?”
    “Business that concerns you. Please, let me in.”
    “Are you police?”
    “No.”
    “A government man?”
    “No.”
    “Then there is no official business to be conducted.”
    Will stamped his feet and silently cursed. “This matter concerns someone you know. He’s done something stupid and is in trouble. You might be able to help him. But I can’t talk to you over the intercom.”
    He didn’t know what else to say, couldn’t stay out here for more than a few seconds longer, and decided that if she didn’t let him in he’d have to come back in the morning and approach her as she was going to work.
    But the door buzzed and its lock was released.
    He entered the building, allowing the door to swing shut behind him and automatically relock. Ahead of him was a flight of stairs and adjacent to it a graffiti-covered, dilapidated elevator. Taking the stairs, he walked quickly up six flights to Alina’s apartment. He knocked on the door, heard a bolt being snapped open, and watched the entrance open a few inches until a security chain went taught. A young, dark-haired woman was partially visible in the crack between the door and its frame.
    “Alina?”
    She stared at him, her expression suspicious. “Who are you?”
    “Someone who’s here to help.”
    “You could be here to hurt me.”
    Will shook his head. “If that were true, the door would be off its hinges by now.”
    Her suspicion remained. “Can I see your ID?”
    “I don’t have any that’s relevant to this meeting.”
    Alina looked taken aback. “And yet you seriously expect me to let you in?”
    “I’m here about Yevtushenko.”
    “Who?”
    “Oh, come on Miss. Petrova. You were his lover, maybe still are.”
    “It’s not illegal to love someone.”
    “Legalities don’t matter to me. I need to know if he’s been in touch with you during the last few days.”
    From somewhere within the apartment, a baby started crying. Alina glanced over her shoulder, looked back at Will, and seemed uncertain what to do.
    Will repeated, “I’m not here to hurt you.”
    The baby’s crying grew louder.
    “Nor am I here to give you any trouble. I just want to talk. Then I’ll go.”
    Alina asked, “Who do you work for?”
    “Myself.”
    “Nationality?”
    “British.”
    Alina’s eyes narrowed. The baby’s cries were now echoing down the stairwell. Quickly, she released the chain, opened the door, turned, and hurried off toward the sound of the baby. Will entered the apartment, shut the door, and followed her into a small bedroom containing a cot. Alina lifted the baby, placed a hand underneath the swaddling and patted it against the girl’s diapers, then rocked the baby until her sobbing began to recede. “Men’s voices upset her. Probably she heard you.”
    Will nodded and withdrew into a tiny living room containing a worn sofa, one dining chair, a side table, an old television set, and a carpet that was threadbare in places but immaculately clean. He sat on the chair and waited.
    A few minutes later Alina reappeared alone. The baby was still crying. “I can only hope she sleeps soon.” She looked at him. “Would you like a hot drink?”
    Will shook his head and said quietly, “That’s very kind, but I’m not staying long.”
    Keeping her eyes on him, she