Assassins Betrayed

by Robert Cuma

  Hannah replied, “Yes, what was all that noise?”

  “Something blew up in the next town over. The police think it was a terrorist bombing.”

  “Well, we don’t know much about that, we’ve been here all morning enjoying our honeymoon. As you can see, my husband is asleep from exhaustion.”

  “Soon the police will want to talk to everyone in the hotel.”

  Hannah, as she let her robe open a bit revealing part of her incredible body, asked, “Do you really think they need to disturb our perfect honeymoon here in your fine hotel?”

  “I’ll explain your situation to them when they arrive,” as he feasted his eyes on the best-looking woman he’d ever seen.

  Hannah exclaimed, “You are too kind, sir, there must be some way I can reward your understanding,” letting her robe open all the way.

  As the manager touched the forbidden fruit of Hannah’s breast, he said, “I don’t think you will be disturbed, Miss. Enjoy my hotel. I hope I can return later.”

  “I will be disappointed if you don’t return later tonight.”

  “Very well, Miss, until this evening.”

  She closed the door as the manager left.

  Then she turned to me and exclaimed, “Alright, Steven, you pervert, you can open your eyes now!”

  “I was peeking the whole time. Does this mean we have to leave tonight?”

  “We should, unless you want me to service the manager!”

  “Come here, you incredible woman!” She ran to the bed and jumped on top of me. After laughing for a while, we made passionate love again.

  That night we left early enough to catch the night train to Rabat. We pulled the same stunt as before. By placing the sign on the door and leaving the jeep parked in the back of the hotel, we walked to the train station. After we bought our tickets, we made our way toward the train. There were many armed soldiers and police around the station looking for the terrorists. Abdullah was a big deal in this part of the country, probably because he threw a lot of money around. We moved quietly with the crowds as people were boarding the train. There was a checkpoint ahead causing a bottleneck for the people to move onto the train platform. We weren’t too worried since we both had Italian passports. All of a sudden, Hannah grabbed my arm and gave me a high sign to look over toward the checkpoint. There he was, the creep who sold us the munitions. The police probably put the squeeze on the arms dealer to point out the so-called terrorist. I wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to identify us. With our heads down, we drifted backwards into the crowd. Once past the ticket office, we turned and slowly moved away from the train area.

  The safest place was back in the hotel for now. As we quietly retuned to our room, we heard the train whistle blowing while it left the station. Only one train left this place each night for Rabat. I lay on the bed thinking about our next move. There was a knock on the door. Hannah opened the door to find the manager standing there. I heard him tell Hannah to come with him to the next room so they could finish their little business. Hannah told him she would have to wait until her husband fell asleep. She said to give her about thirty minutes, then she would join him. This pleased him and he left.

  I said, “Hannah, you can forget about meeting the little creep. We are leaving.”

  “Steven, nonsense, I’ll take care of him and we’ll be safe here for awhile.”

  “Hannah, please don’t do this. It’s not necessary.”

  “You really do care, don’t you?” She walked over to me, kissed me and said, “I’ll be back soon,” as she ran out the door.

  A short while later there was another knock at the door. I jumped up to answer it. To my surprise, the manager was standing there.

  He asked, “Is the young lady here, sir?”

  “Why no, she isn’t. She told me she had to talk to the manager for a while and that I shouldn’t wait up. I hope she is okay.”

  “I will look for her. She probably went to the wrong place to meet me.”

  The creepy manager left but I was concerned about Hannah. What was she up to? This cunning little creature is capable of anything. I gave it about an hour then I was ready to go find her. I opened the door to leave and there she was in all her proud glory.

  I asked, “What happened to you? Your friend was here looking for you awhile ago.”

  “Don’t worry about him he’s been taken care of.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Steven, I been very busy ensuring our safety. I just need a shower right now.” Off she went into the shower. When she returned without a stitch of clothes on, she jumped into the bed and said, “Can we make love again?”

  “Sure we can, tell me what you did?”

  “Well, first I went to see the arms dealer and slit his creepy little throat. He won’t be identifying us anymore. Then I met with the manager to keep our rendezvous. When I entered his room, he was sitting on the bed fat dumb and naked. As I took off my clothes, the weasel was finished before we even started. He was so embarrassed he had to leave. And that is what I accomplished this evening. Now can we make love?” We embraced and continued making love until we passed out.

  19 – Traitors

  ______________

  The next night we boarded the train without incident. The smelly, sooty train took us to Rabat where we boarded a plane to Milan. It felt good to be back in Italy. We then drove to Gina’s house for some rest. Upon our arrival, Tina was there to greet us. After all the hugs and kisses, she appeared pensive and concerned about something.

  I asked, “Tina, did you miss us?”

  “Oh, sure I did.”

  “Well, we’re back, why aren’t you excited?”

  “I think something bad happened to Gina.”

  “What do you mean, isn’t she here with you?”

  “No, they cancelled her court appearance and sent her on an assignment.”

  “Where did they send her? And who sent her?”

  “I think it was her Boss, Balsano. Where he sent her, I don’t know. She never got a chance to let me know. I stayed at the hotel while she went into the office. An hour later, she called to let me know she was going on assignment and I should return here to wait for you guys. She did say to wait here for her call. That was yesterday.”

  “Okay, I’m sure she’ll call to let us know where they sent her.”

  We all sat around the house in a preoccupied mood waiting for Gina’s call. I said to the girls, “I’m going to give it until morning, and then we’ll start looking for her.”

  Hannah replied, “That sounds good but I think we should be ready to move quickly, anyway.”

  “I agree, after dinner let’s get to bed early.” We all went to bed around 9 p.m. I think Tina was glad we were back. She and Hannah went to their bedroom and I slept in Gina’s room. A little while later, I felt the bed moving. It was Hannah climbing in bed with me. She told me to be cool as Tina slid in the bed also on my other side. I figured they were worried and paid no attention to their unclothed bodies. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

  Tina whispered, “Steven, I am afraid for Gina, could I stay with you tonight?”

  “Sure, sleep guys, just sleep.”

  We all fell asleep with my arms around both of them.

  The next morning I was the last one out of bed. I smelled the coffee and heard the girls downstairs. I got up and was getting dressed when I heard the doorbell ring. I heard Tina say, “I’ll get it.” Then she said, “Hey, guys, someone sent us a package.” With that, both Hannah and I flew to where Tina was located in the house. Hannah yelled first, “Don’t touch it! Put it on the floor slowly!”

  We both got to Tina at the same time.

  Tina exclaimed, “Did I do something wrong?”

  Hannah responded, “No, it might be a bomb. Relax and move away from the package.”

  Tina flew out of the area and ran into the next room. She was peeking from behind the wall when she asked, “Is it going to explode?”


  I responded, “I don’t know yet.” Hannah and I listened to the box very carefully. We didn’t hear a ticking noise or a humming sound. This was a positive sign.

  Hannah said, “Steven, the package is addressed to you. Maybe it’s from Gina.”

  “Could be, let’s open it carefully.” The box was wrapped with a lot of tape. As we pulled it apart, it opened abruptly and a human head rolled out onto the floor. Tina let out a scream. “Who is it, Steven? Who is it,” she yelled.

  Hannah walked over to it and said, “It’s Aldo, guys, it’s Aldo Rey!” Then Tina came over and exclaimed, “Oh, I want to see!” While the two were examining the head, I found a note in the box. It read, “Put our money back or your girlfriend’s head will be next!”

  I showed the note to the girls and said, “We have to move fast on this one.”

  Hannah asked, “Where do we start?” At that moment, the house phone rang. I quickly told Tina to see if she could trace the call as I slowly went to pick it up.

  I answered, “Cross, here.”

  The caller said in an electronically disguised voice, “We want our money back now!”

  “Hold on, I’ll give you your money back but I need time and I want to talk to my girl.”

  I heard Gina’s weak voice say, “Steven, I love…” She went quiet.

  The caller continued, “Her head will be delivered in twenty-four hours from now unless our money is returned.” He hung up the phone.

  I yelled, “Tina, did you get anything?”

  “I’m still working on it!”

  I picked up my cell phone and called Carlo. He answered, “This is Carlo Balsano.”

  “Carlo, this is Steven Cross.”

  “Steven, how are you?”

  “I’m fine but we have a serious problem. Someone has kidnapped Gina and she needs our help.”

  “What happened? Who did this?”

  “The information I received was that your father sent her on an assignment yesterday and today she is being held somewhere for ransom.”

  “Steven, I will find out who sent her where and whoever is behind this, I will kill them. Where can I reach you?”

  “I’ll be here at her home in Tuscany. Call me when you find something out.”

  “I’ll call you there.” We broke our connection.

  Tina came out of the computer room still calculating numbers.

  I asked, “Tina, tell us something.”

  “Well, according to my findings the phone call was on a wireless line. It looks like it originated in Toulon, in the south of France. It is possible they are moving. We won’t be sure until the next call comes in.”

  “Okay, Hannah, see if you can find a fast but quiet car in the garage. Tina, take all the electronic equipment you need to continue to track the incoming calls and forward them to your computer. It must appear to all callers that we are still in the house. I’ll get some weapons for us and we’ll leave immediately. Let’s get going girls!”

  Hannah came around the front of the house with a late model Jaguar sedan. We piled everything Tina needed into the backseat and placed most of our weapons in the trunk. We were on the road in fifteen minutes. As Hannah drove this road monster up to the autostrada, Tina set up her system in the backseat.

  Tina said, “When the phone rings, answer this one,” as she handed me a phone wired into her computer. We were flying up the highway in no time at all. Hannah was driving at speeds over one-hundred miles per hour and the backseat felt like we were sitting in a living room.

  Then the phone rang through the computer hook-up. I picked up the headset and answered it as Tina told me to. I said, “Cross, here.”

  “Steven, it’s me, Carlo.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “My father did send Gina on an assignment. She was to join two other agents in Milano. They were supposed to track down one of Bono’s top guys. But he did say that Marco Marino recommended Gina for the lead on the mission.”

  “Where is Marco now?”

  “No one has seen him since yesterday. I’m going to fly to our office in Milano right now and check things out. Stay where you are and I’ll call you when I get there.”

  “Okay, Carlo, whatever you say. Be careful, I’m sure Gina is in danger.”

  “I will do that, Steven.” We hung up.

  I wasn’t about to reveal my actions to Carlo. Right now, the only people I trusted were in the car with me. We continued to fly up the highway. Hannah estimated our driving time to Toulon to be about two more hours. We needed another call from Gina’s kidnappers to verify their location. I started to think about the girls. Hannah I trusted most of all but Gina and Tina I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure about. They were through so much with me why should I doubt them now. I had to make a conscious effort to keep these thoughts out of my mind. I would see where all this led to once we caught up to Gina.

  About an hour from Toulon, the phone rang. Before I answered it, I signaled to Tina to start tracing the call just in case. Immediately, she went into action with her computer. Bingo! It was the suspected kidnappers. Again, in a disguised voice the caller asked, “Well, Cross, my bank accounts are still empty. Do I have to prove my point about your girlfriend’s head?”

  “No, I get the message loud and clear. It is still going to take time. I’m waiting for a call back from my sources in DC to get this show on the road.”

  “Well, you are running out of time.”

  “I’m telling you, I’m waiting on a call right now!” I looked over to Tina as she turned my way to give me a favorable high sign. I continued, “Look, you creep, when I get set up, the money will quickly go back to your accounts.”

  “I knew you would be cooperative. By the way, who killed Azure? It wasn’t you, was it?”

  “You mean to tell me Azure is dead? I didn’t kill him but congratulations to whoever took him out. It looks like the pot of money is growing in your favor.”

  “Oh yes, Cross, thanks for the big hit in Panama. That eliminated a few unwanted partners.”

  “I’m doing all the dirty work for you.”

  “Remember that your girlfriend’s head depends on what you do next.” He hung up the phone.

  I turned to Tina and asked, “Is he still in the same place?”

  “I’m pretty sure. If he leaves his cell phone turned on we can continuously track the location.”

  As we approached Toulon, Tina kept on directing Hannah to the origin of the phone calls. After twists and turns throughout the city, we came upon the location. Tina shouted, “Stop here! Park anywhere you can.” Hannah quickly complied. Tina’s equipment indicated the caller was in a building on the corner of a rather busy intersection. We were in the business district of downtown Toulon.

  Tina said, “They are on the second or third floor of that building over there,” as she pointed to a six story dwelling across from where we parked. We set up our communications so we could talk to each other. I directed Hannah to a church steeple diagonally across from the target building. She quickly took off with a canvas bag concealing her high-powered rifle. Tina and I waited in the car until Hannah was in place. It took about ten minutes before we heard from her.

  She said, “I’m in position.”

  I asked, “Can you see anything through the open windows?”

  “There is an office on the third floor. I can see three men moving around. One of them has a shoulder holster on but I can’t see if Gina is there.” Right on the corner where we parked, there was a building under construction.

  I asked, “Tina, are you ready to do some precision shooting with your rifle.”

  “Oh, man, you bet, Boss.”

  “Okay, then charm your way into this building next to us and find yourself a shooting position for the target area. Let me know when you’re ready.”

  “You’ve got it, Boss.” Off she went into the construction site. As soon as she got to the restricted area gate, Tina using her irresistible charms, walked right in.
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  Minutes later she spoke, “Well, guys, it looks like they have Gina in an adjoining office. I can see one guy in the room with her. She’s sitting in a chair talking with him.”

  I asked, “What’s going on here? Is Gina part of this whole scheme?”

  Hannah responded, “Don’t jump to conclusions about Gina, Boss. Go in and find out for yourself. Tina and I will cover you from our positions. Keep these guys where we can see them.”

  “Okay, you’re probably right, Hannah. Tina, are you onboard with us?”

  “Sure, Boss, I’ve got the room where Gina is covered.”

  “I’m going in guys. Wait for my command before taking your shots.” I crossed the street, entered the building and went up to the floor where Gina was located. Standing outside the room, I overheard the conversation she was having with some guy.

  Gina said, “You’ll get your money, not to worry. The money doesn’t mean anything to Cross.”

  The man spoke, “I hope you’re right, so we can get on with this business.” Then there was silence. With that, I took out my gun and I slowly opened the door. Once opened, I rushed inside pointing my gun at the duo. They both froze in place. I quietly motioned with my gun for them to get closer together.

  I said, “Okay, start talking Gina and make it good.”

  Gina placed her finger over her lips as to tell me to be silent. In a soft voice she said, “Steven, listen, this is Boris, he is a mole in the Russian mob. The three in the other room are mob people. They kidnapped me in Milan and I was brought here. Boris prevented them from doing some terrible things to me.”

  I responded, “He doesn’t look like a good guy to me but if you say so, I believe you.” Gina’s voice was weak as she began to tremble. Knowing Hannah and Tina had everyone in their sites, I holstered my weapon. At that moment, Gina went to say something and the guy slapped her as he drew his pistol. Pointing it at me, he boasted, “That was easy. You did a good job, Gina, you slut!” I hesitated to have the girls kill this creep because I had to find out more about this situation.

  Gina spoke in a quivering voice, “Steven, I’m sorry. They made me do it. I had no choice!” With that, the Russian backhanded Gina and sent her reeling over a chair. It was then that I noticed she was in an extremely weakened condition. As she stood up, I saw blood seeping from the back of her tee shirt from some previous wounds. It appeared that she was tortured but I had to continue.