Hit For Hire

by David Archer

  Ernesto told them some of the history as he drove, and was delighted when Noah invited him to join them on a tour through the Palace. Covering more than 1,400,000 square feet, and with more than three thousand rooms, there was no possibility of seeing the whole thing. Much of the edifice, however, served as a museum and was open to the public.

  In a tour that lasted more than two hours, they saw incredible works of art by Caravaggio, Velasquez and even Francisco de Goya. There were smaller areas devoted to particular arts, including porcelain, watches, silverware and furniture, and gift shops permitted tourists to buy replicas of some of the rarest pieces. Sarah fell in love with a tea set, so Noah bought her one that was almost identical.

  From the palace, they went to the famous monastery, San Lorenzo del Escorial. The monastery had become a major cultural and heritage location, seated in a town of the same name nearly 30 miles from downtown Madrid. Many Spanish kings were interred there in the mausoleum, and Noah and the team were awed by the architecture and grandeur of the Royal Library.

  “I never would have believed that Madrid was so beautiful,” Sarah said. “I mean, all I really know about it is the stuff I learned in school, and that wasn’t much. I’m really glad we got to see this place.”

  “I’ve been here once before,” Moose said. “Back in my college days, a couple of friends and I spent a summer tooling around Europe. I think we were only here for a couple of days, and I didn't get to see nearly as many things as I wanted to.”

  Noah looked at him. “Well, we may get some time to just play tourist...”

  He was cut off when the burner phone in his pocket vibrated. Noah excused himself and walked away from the group for a moment to answer.

  “Yes?”

  “You placed an advertisement,” a female voice said. “You are available to discuss business?”

  “My advertisement has not yet been published,” Noah said.

  “Not in print, but we were notified that it had appeared on the website of the newspaper. Are you available to discuss business?”

  “That will depend entirely on the nature of the business to be discussed,” Noah replied. “I am a cautious man.”

  “We are looking for a man who is experienced in the removal of certain problems. We have been anticipating the arrival of such a man who would place an advertisement such as you have done.”

  “Then perhaps it is fortunate that I have chosen to visit Madrid at this time,” Noah said, maintaining character. “I might have gone to Geneva or Marseilles in my search for opportunities.” Geneva and Marseilles were two of the other cities where IAR suggested Adrian might place the ad, so mentioning them confirmed that he was responding to their attempts to reach him.

  “Then I am certain you are the man we are seeking,” the woman said. “Are you willing to meet?”

  “I prefer to conduct my business at a distance. My line is secure, is yours?”

  There was silence on the line for a moment, but then the woman cleared her throat. “The business we wish to discuss is very sensitive. The principal would prefer to discuss it face-to-face.”

  “Then I’m afraid we have reached an impasse. I never show my face to my employers.”

  Another silence that lasted for half a minute. “The business we wish to discuss will impact the entire world. The compensation will be greater than any you’ve ever received in the past. Is there no possibility that we can arrange a meeting between yourself and our principal?”

  Noah hesitated, trying to give the impression that he was considering her request. “A meeting would have to be on my terms, and with no others present. Call this number again in four hours, and I will give you the details. If they are acceptable, then the meeting will take place.”

  He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket, then rejoined the others.

  Moose caught his eye. “That was awfully quick,” he said softly.

  “Welcome to the age of the internet,” Noah said. “Apparently my ad was posted on the newspaper's website and spotted there.”

  Moose nodded. “So, what’s next?”

  “They’ll call me back in four hours. I need to set up a meeting with their representatives. To stay in character, it needs to be a very private meeting where I can keep my face concealed. I think we’ll do it late tonight, somewhere with lots of shadow.”

  “Then maybe we should get Ernesto to show us where some of the nightlife can be found. Look for a spot you can use that’s somewhere around there.”

  They conferred with Ernesto and took a two-hour tour through parts of the city best experienced after dark. Noah chose a blues bar called La Coquette to set up his meeting, because of several dark alleyways close by.

  They said goodbye to Ernesto and entered the bar, where they were quickly escorted to a large, private table. A waitress took their food and drink orders and then hurried away. She was back in what seemed like only moments with their drinks.

  “Interesting,” Neil said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard blues played with a flamenco flair.”

  “It is an unusual sound,” Moose said. “Not bad, though.”

  Noah nodded. “It has an unusual beat, not like the blues back in America. Still, you can tell the relation is there.”

  The bar was entirely different from others the team had been in, and the music, while somewhat loud, was comfortable and enjoyable. They enjoyed their dinner, occasionally talking with other patrons, and then relaxed with bottles of San Miguel beer. Neil couldn’t help grinning, since the drinking age in Spain was only eighteen.

  “A guy could get used to this,” Moose said. “Kinda makes you understand why a lot of Americans choose Spain when they decide to leave the country.”

  “It is pretty nice here,” Sarah said. “Of course, it would be even nicer if we were really on vacation.”

  “Yeah, well, some of us have to work,” Neil said. The look on his face said he was trying to cover her slip, but Sarah only laughed.

  “Yes, but at least we get to enjoy a day off now and then. Let’s let work wait for tomorrow, there’s plenty of time for that. Tonight I just want to relax and have fun.” She cast a sidelong glance at Noah, fully aware that he was on the job twenty-four hours a day.

  “For now, in any case,” Noah said.

  It was slightly more than an hour later when Noah’s burner phone rang again. He excused himself from the group and walked outside to answer.

  “Yes,” he said.

  The same female voice came back to him. “Are you ready to meet?”

  “I am,” Noah said. “There is a small group of trees near the intersection of Calle de las Hileras and Calle de las Fuentes, just in front of the Infinity Comics building. Tell your principal to be standing there in one hour, and to come alone.” He ended the call and then immediately took the SIM card out of the phone and used a lighter from his pocket to burn it. The phone went into a nearby trashcan as he walked back into the bar.

  SIX

  Noah sat down at the table and looked at Moose. “I set the meeting up for an hour from now, under the trees in front of the comic shop. Go on out and find a spot where you can keep me covered. Neil and Sarah can stay here in the bar.”

  Moose nodded once and then got up and walked out of the building. Noah sat with Sarah and Neil for another twenty minutes, then walked outside and found a dark spot to wait.

  A half-hour later, a car turned onto the street and parked 50 yards away from the front door of the comic shop. There was one man inside, Noah could see, and a moment later that man stepped out of the car and walked toward the trees that stood near the entrance. Noah waited until he was under the trees and then stepped out of hiding and walked toward him.

  The light jacket he wore had a hood, and he had flipped it up when he had come outside. By keeping his head tilted down, the hood concealed his hair and face fairly well. He walked directly toward the man under the tree and stopped eight feet from him.

  “You want to talk b
usiness?” Noah asked.

  The man was watching Noah’s feet intently and swallowed nervously. “I have a job for you,” he said, his accent seeming Middle Eastern and thick; Noah placed it as Iraqi, probably from the Kirkuk area. “It involves the removal of someone who is preventing my employers from accomplishing things they want to do. I have been sent to discuss this with you.”

  “You are not the principal? I was told I would be meeting with the principal.”

  “I—I am the principal for this job,” the fellow said anxiously. “If you agree, you will deal only with me.”

  Noah studied him for a moment. “It is very fortunate that you are an intelligent man,” he said, “which is obvious since you have not tried to look at my face. However, I do not deal with underlings. You may go and tell your employers that I am not interested in whatever work they want to offer.”

  The man jerked and for a split second his eyes almost rose to Noah's face, but he caught himself and looked down again. “Please, I—I cannot do that. How can I satisfy you so that you will accept this employment?”

  Noah spat on the ground in front of the man’s feet. “You cannot,” he said. “If I do not speak with your employer directly, I will not consider any employment you offer.”

  The man kept his eyes on the ground, but nodded slowly. “I can arrange for you to—to speak with him. Should he contact you on the same number?”

  “That number is no longer functioning. Can you not call him at this moment?”

  The man stood silent for a moment, then carefully withdrew a cell phone from his pocket. “One moment, please,” he said. He dialed a number and put the phone on speaker. A man’s voice answered a moment later.

  “Hello?”

  “This is Mustapha. I am with the man I was sent to meet, but he will not speak to anyone but you. I have the phone on speaker, so that he can hear you.”

  There was silence on the line for twenty seconds, and then the voice, which had a mild French accent, said, “Am I speaking with Adrian?”

  “I am he,” Noah said. “I do not appreciate this game you’re playing.”

  “Then, please forgive me, but it was necessary to ensure that we were speaking with the right person. Has Mustapha told you what we want you to do?”

  “In only the vaguest of terms,” Noah said. “However, I do not discuss such business with anyone other than my actual employer.”

  “Nor can I discuss it over a telephone. I know that you are very secretive, but if you wish to discuss this matter with me, it must be in person. Are you willing to do so?”

  Noah waited for ten seconds before answering. “No one who knows what I do has ever seen my face and lived. That has kept me free and safe for these last four years. Why should I change that practice for you?”

  “Because I can provide you with a great deal of employment in your specialty. No one but myself would ever have to know who you are, and you would be able to reach me at any time. I have spent the past few years dealing with this type of work, and have never allowed anyone to know anything about my contacts. Since I would not know your true name, nor anything about your private life, there would be nothing I could use to betray you.”

  Noah hesitated a few more seconds, trying to give the impression that he was considering the proposal. “I would meet with you, and you alone. If there is any sign that others are watching, I will simply walk away and within three days you would be dead. Is that acceptable?”

  “Perfectly,” the man said. “We can meet two days from now, wherever you choose. Only tell me when and where.”

  “Then let it be in London, the day after tomorrow. Take a room at the Elizabeth Hotel under the name of William Sykes. Be completely alone, and I will come to you at three in the afternoon. Trust me to know if you have anyone watching. Do you understand?”

  “William Sykes, Elizabeth Hotel, three o’clock on the day after tomorrow. I will be alone.”

  “Very well. I will come to you. Tell this man to leave and never approach me again.”

  “Mustapha,” the voice said. “Ring off the call and leave immediately. Report to your superior at once, and forget this conversation ever happened.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Mustapha said, and then he ended the call and turned away. He walked quickly to his car and got in, then drove away, keeping his face averted from Noah the whole time.

  Noah stood and waited for Moose, who appeared a minute later. “Get Neil and Sarah, while I find a taxi,” Noah said to him. Moose turned and headed into the bar while Noah took out his phone and dialed a number from memory.

  A woman answered. “Hello?”

  “Catherine?”

  “Yes, this is Catherine Potts. I believe I recognize the voice, is this Mr. Colson?”

  “Yes, it is. You have an excellent memory.”

  “I’m told it comes with the job. How can I help you, Mr. Colson?”

  “Are you aware of Pierre Broussard?”

  “Oh, indeed I am.”

  “I need surveillance on the Elizabeth Hotel. I believe Monsieur Broussard will be checking in there under the name of William Sykes the day after tomorrow, but I’d like to be sure that none of his associates are checking in between now and then.”

  “I can arrange that,” Catherine said. “Will he be enjoying the pleasure of your company?”

  “I’ll be paying him a visit, yes. Whether he enjoys it or not is entirely up to him. I’ll check in with you the day after tomorrow, just let me know if there’s anyone else staying there I should be suspicious of.”

  “I’ll have it all under control, Mr. Colson. Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”

  “I’ll be sure to do so. Have a good night.” He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

  A lone taxi was coming down the street from the opposite end, and Noah flagged it down just as Moose, Neil and Sarah appeared. It was a small car, and Noah had Moose sit in the front while he joined Sarah and Neil in the backseat. The four of them laughed and talked about the fun they had in the bar all the way back to their hotel.

  They gathered in Noah’s room and he quietly explained what was going on. They would fly to London the following day and begin preparing for the meeting on Sunday.

  “Neil, I want you to book a private plane first thing in the morning, as early as possible. I want to be there by early afternoon if we can. Everybody get some sleep, tomorrow could turn out to be a long day.”

  Neil and Moose said goodnight and left the room, heading for their own. Sarah looked at Noah with a grin.

  “If you want to get any sleep tonight, then let’s go to bed now.” She giggled. “I’m just a little bit tipsy and you know how I get when I’m tipsy.”

  Noah raised his eyebrows and reached out to pull her into an embrace. “Yes, I do,” he said. He kissed her, and then began undressing her.

  Sarah giggled again. “Mmmm, I love it when you take charge.”

  * * * * *

  The four of them packed their things the next morning before heading down to breakfast. Noah and Sarah got there first, with Moose and then Neil arriving only moments later.

  “I found a guy with a private Cessna jet,” Neil said, “all ready to go as soon as we can get to the airport. I told him it would probably be around nine, so we got time to eat.”

  “Well done,” Noah said. “That should put us in London around one o’clock at the latest. When we get there, we’ll get a car and look the situation over. I’m fairly sure it was Broussard I spoke to last night, but I have no idea if he’s in London at the moment or not. I asked Catherine Potts last night to set up surveillance on the hotel, watching for any of his associates or anyone else we ought to be wary of.”

  “That’s our lady in London, right?” Moose asked. “She sounds like she’s a pretty tough gal.”

  “She’s efficient, and that’s what I’m counting on,” Noah said. “With her double connection to both our outfit and MI6, she’s got the resourc
es we need right now. If there’s anybody around that hotel we need to know about, I’m pretty sure she’ll be able to fill us in.”

  “Are we going to stay in the hotel?” Sarah asked. “I mean, would it be a good idea for us to just be there when he arrives?”

  “Not all of us, no. I’m going to have Moose take a room there tonight, so he can have his eyes on the situation as well. The rest of us will go somewhere else.”

  “How did you pick the Elizabeth Hotel for the meeting?” Neil asked. “We never stayed there when we were in London.”

  “No, but it’s on a list of places I saw once, places where you can stay cheap and still get a decent room. I remember thinking it looked interesting, so when I needed to pick a spot in London in a hurry, it came to mind. Hopefully it gave the impression that I know London a lot better than I do.”

  They ate their breakfasts when they came and then checked out of the hotel and caught a taxi to the airport. The pilot was waiting with the little jet fueled and ready for the three-hour flight, and his copilot helped them stow their bags in the small luggage compartment. Less than fifteen minutes after their arrival, the plane was moving into position for takeoff.

  The plane hesitated at the start of the runway for a moment, and then the pilot shoved the throttles forward and they began moving. All of them were shoved back into their seats as their velocity rapidly climbed to the point that the wings grabbed the air and lifted them away from the earth.

  The copilot, who doubled as flight attendant, leaned out of the cockpit to ask if they wanted anything to drink, but they all shook their heads so he settled back into his seat. The team sat and looked out the windows, not bothering to try to talk over the loud roar of the engines.

  Sarah managed to doze off, but the three men stayed awake throughout the flight. Noah was trying to anticipate what the meeting with Broussard would tell him, planning for every contingency he could imagine, but Moose and Neil were only watching the earth pass along below them. When the pilot announced their descent, Sarah finally stirred and awoke, and then they were making their final approach to the London City Airport.