Page 47 of The Devil's Ransom

Brett came back, saying, “When the hell do I get to eat? I have to sit here and stare at the camera feed twenty-four seven.”

Pike said, “There’s a minibar in the room. I authorize you to eat the Oreos and potato chips.”

The table laughed and they ordered their own food, Jennifer surreptitiously checking out the area with her eyes. Pike said, “What are you looking for?”

She flicked her head to the rear and said, “See that balcony up there? With the tables? That’s the Café A’è. The bar that they supposedly used for the Wi-Fi. The same one we’re using. It’s on the backside of the building they live in.”

Across the table from her, Pike looked at it intently, then said, “Maybe we should have gone there instead of here.”

They had their food delivered, and ten seconds later Brett called, saying, “Targets are on the move. I say again, targets are on the move.”

Jennifer said, “Damn it. Figures.”

Pike said, “Get moving.”

Veep shoved an entire taco in his mouth and stood, saying into his earpiece through the mess in his mouth, “Commo check.”

Pike said, “I got you,” and Jennifer took off behind Veep, going back down the same little stairwell. They reached Radiceva in time to see the targets exit the building and start heading north.They kept them in sight, Jennifer clicking on the net and saying, “I’ve got eyes on. Cleared to breach.”

The two only walked to the next doorway, and then disappeared inside. Veep said, “Shit. We’re going to lose them.”

Jennifer quickened her pace and said, “That’s the entrance to the bar with the Wi-Fi. The balcony I talked about is in the back, on the second floor.”

They reached the door and saw a sign hanging in the entrance proclaiming the A’è bar. Jennifer took Veep’s hand as if they were on a date and they entered a darkened hallway, a runner on the floor and plants hanging from the ceiling. They followed the signs, going up a stairwell that was barely large enough for a single person, then down a hallway, then up another stairwell. It was a maze, with them choosing the wrong hallway once, only to turn around. Eventually they reached another stairwell, this one leading down, and they entered an outdoor terrace, a bar running the length along the building and tables scattered about overlooking the alley below.

Jennifer saw their targets in the corner and pulled Veep to a table on the opposite side, near the stairwell and right up against the balcony wall. They took a seat and Jennifer gave an update, telling Pike where they were and what the targets were doing. He came back with, “Making breach. Keep an eye on them.”

Jennifer looked below them and saw another terrace a floor below, this one with dinner tables, making her wonder how on earth they’d missed the entrance to that. She had seen no signs for a restaurant.

Below that was some sort of garden spilling down the hill to the alley below, full of spices and vegetables. Beyond the garden she could see the Oliver Twist pub they’d come from and the entrance to the tiny stairwell/alley they’d used to get here.

The waitress came over and they ordered a couple of soft drinks, saying they were here for the sunset, giving them ample time to sit and watch.

Pike came on, saying they’d found a laptop and were in the process of cloning it, meaning he needed at least ten minutes to complete. Jennifer knew that Knuckles was now carefully going through the apartment inch by inch, not leaving a trace of his presence.

She glanced over at the target table and saw the dark-haired guy staring at the entrance stairwell. She looked that way and saw two swarthy guys in the doorway. They were dressed like Europeans, but they most definitely weren’t Croatian.

They walked over to the target’s table and sat down. Jennifer could see confusion on the face of the black-haired guy, then fear.

Veep said, “What’s up with that? He looks like he was expecting someone else.”

Jennifer recognized the tension and said, “Get a picture of those two new guys,” then clicked on the net, saying, “Pike, Pike, this is Koko, we have a situation.”

“What’s up? We’re still working here.”

“We have a meeting occurring here, but I don’t think it’s amicable. Just a warning order that I think this is going to go bad.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I think our targets are someone else’s targets and they beat us to the punch.”

She heard him say something into the room, then he came back on, saying, “We’re almost complete. Keep eyes on them and let me know what happens.”

Veep said, “Gun. I see a gun.”

Jennifer heard a muffled pop and recognized it for what it was:a suppressed round. She looked at the table in time to see the red-haired target fall backward out of his chair, then run to the stairwell right behind them, his left leg dragging as if it wasn’t working right. She said, “Get on him. Keep him in sight.”

Veep took off and Jennifer returned to the target table. The black-haired guy from the surveillance photo held up his hands in supplication, then grabbed a bottle on the table and smashed it into the head of the swarthy man across from him, the glass shattering and knocking him to the ground. The second man leapt up, drawing a knife and blocking his escape to the stairwell.

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