Page 264 of Roberto

Now I was alone on an empty street corner. Everyone else had fled.

I looked for cops –

None to be seen.

But a silver Bentley was parked in front of the Continental. The car’s convertible top was down, exposing the interior.

Mei-ling had already stripped off her head towel, face mask, and robe, and was sitting behind the wheel waiting for me.

I raced over, threw my luggage in the back seat, and jumped in the passenger side.

She immediately roared off into traffic.

My job had been easy:

Get outside with my suitcase and shoot the thugs.

Mei-ling’s job had beenmuchmore elaborate:

Get into a room on one of the floors just below the penthouse, either by renting it at the front desk or lying to a housekeeper doing their rounds.

Break the glass window with a heavy object, just enough to let smoke pour out.

Start a fire – preferably the drapes and bedspread.

Steal a bathrobe and towel, plus a mask – which all the rooms offered free to guests.

Get out of the hotel, park the Bentley someplace close by for a quick escape, and walk into the crowd dressed in her disguise, ready to hand off the gun when she saw me.

There had only been one thing I thought might be a problem.

“How did you start the fire?” I asked.

“A guy was sneaking a smoke in the stairwell. I offered him $500 for his lighter.”

“Nice.”

I wiped my hand off on my pants. No one would see the blood on the black material.

“Are you okay?” Mei-ling asked nervously as she zipped through traffic.

I looked around for any cop cars that might be following us.

There were none I could see –

Although fire trucks roared past us on the way to the hotel, their sirens deafening.

“I’ll be a lot better once we get there,” I said as I reached in the back seat for my suitcase.

I ripped apart the silk lining and popped open the two smuggling compartments.

In one was the C4…

And in the other was the hand-held detonator.

I pulled the C4 out of the compartment and stuck both wires into the putty.

“For god’s sake, don’t arm it yet,” Mei-ling cried out.

---