by Peche, Alec
As they exited, Jill felt like someone was watching her and she turned around to look. No one seemed to be watching them. Maybe it was Nick that she was sensing. She climbed into the van while the driver stored their luggage. She stared out the window, but again saw nothing. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at their hotel. Again they had a suite with a common living room and separate bedrooms. Nathan’s luggage was already in the room he would share with Jill. He had been able to book a room in the same hotel, so they could meet together in the suite.
Once inside the suite, introductions were made between Nick and Nathan. The two of them sat in the living room chatting while the woman unpacked their bags and freshened up.
After organizing their clothes, they headed out to the city’s central square, the Grand Place. Nick brought along two guards from the properties he had hotel contracts with in Brussels. He was very concerned about their safety as the diamond consortium had a lot to lose if Jill and her team continued exploring their connections. They seemed to have millions of euros on the line, as well as a centuries-old reputation. The guards were in plain clothes like Nick, just keeping a watch on the group.
The Grote Market square was full of people and chocolate shops. They decided they wanted to try a Belgian waffle since they missed lunch on the train. Each of the women tried something different for a topping since one could get a waffle with bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate, and nuts.
Following the commentary in a popular walking tour guidebook they viewed the historic buildings of the square where seven streets intersect. The Old Town Hall, the Palace Hotel, and the many buildings of the square, some dating to the fifteenth century were amazing. They also knew that the entire square had been covered in a flower rug in August which must have been an awesome sight. After exploring the square and some of the surrounding streets, it started to rain, so they took shelter in a pub.
The group was directed to an upstairs dining area and they were quickly served their beer of choice.
“Nathan, since you have clients here in Belgium, I assume you have been to this city before?” asked Angela.
“Yes, I have been here three times previously. I have acquired my clients one at a time, but they have all been with me for at least five years. So while I may not have journeyed here at the start of design work, I have visited them all at some point. It helps me to design a better label if I can visit their vineyard and speak with the client in-person. I try to include in my label design what makes the vineyard or its owners unique.”
“What is your favorite part of Brussels?” Marie probed.
“I discover something new with each visit, but mostly I like the ambiance. It feels very old world in this city, yet modern when you view the people and the businesses. Of course, I also like exploring the beer. The beer glasses that pair with the beer are unique in my experience, and I like the artistry of that pairing.”
The group must have been getting a little too jovial for the pub as a waiter came by to quiet them down. It was hard to tell if the increase in voice volume came from the beer or the sugar high of the Belgian waffle.
“Looks like the rain stopped. Let’s go back out on the square and visit the City Museum, then maybe do some window shopping on all those cute streets afterwards,” suggested Marie as she looked out the pub window.
They paid their tab and exited the pub, likely to the relief of the waiters. They had never before been asked to keep their voices down. They headed towards the museum housed in King’s House.
The City Museum contained a fascinating scale representation of the town in the Middle Ages. Additional paintings tracked the history of the city. By far the biggest square footage was devoted to the costumes, some eight hundred in quantity, of the Manneken Pis Fountain. Embassies, businesses, and artists had contributed to the collection over the past century. The women had not seen the fountain yet, but the costumes contained a lifelike model of the little boy inside each costume. There were so many costumes that some were lying flat in glass covered drawers. Amazing that one little fountain has drawn so much attention worldwide.
They finished viewing other parts of the collection and decided they would browse the area. Everyone bought chocolate to take home as gifts. They headed toward an indoor shopping mall. Nathan and Jill decided to sit on the bench while the others shopped. Marie and Angela were in a chocolate store and Jo was browsing in a shoe store. Nick had not been sighted since they left the hotel.
While chatting on the bench, Jill was leaning against Nathan’s shoulder watching the chocolate store. Nathan was keeping an eye on Jo. Suddenly he stood up and walked toward the store Jo was in.
“Nathan, what did you see? Is someone threatening Jo?”
“I think I just saw a large knife in the hand of the man who entered the store behind her. I’m going in.”
“I’m right on your heels.”
“Good. I don’t want to be distracted as I protect Jo because I am worrying about you.”
Jill looked through the chocolate store window, hoping to catch a glance of Angela and Marie. She wanted them close for their safety and to help her and Nathan protect Jo, but they were tucked in the back of the store looking at the chocolate display.
She and Nathan entered the shoe store. Jo was in the back looking over her shoulder toward the two of them, as a man was attempting to drag her out the back of the store. The man held a knife in view of Jo to ensure her cooperation. Scattered around the floor were the shoes she had been thinking of trying-on, but had dropped once the man showed her the knife.
“Let go of that woman!” Nathan commanded as he approached the two of them.
“Call the police!” said Jill to the store employee as she stood staring at the man wielding the knife.
Jo, aware of how close the big knife was to her body, cooperated with the man, just trying to stay relaxed, while letting him drag her backwards. It helped to have Nathan and Jill in the shop with her. Their presence reduced her panic a little and made it easier to think.
Jill had no idea what Jo was thinking beyond a panic she surely must be feeling. Nathan approached the man, thinking about how he could make use of his hapkido skills.
“Sir, let the woman go,” and he repeated the order in French.
“Do not call the police,” yelled the man in English at the woman who had been dialing the phone. She dropped the phone on the floor in shock. Jill could only hope that, like in the U.S., an emergency operator would trace the call if it had gone through before she dropped the phone, or that she left the line open.
The man with the knife was watching all of them, looking less confident than a minute ago. Meanwhile, Angela, Marie, and a disguised Nick all entered the store. The man with the knife was considering his escape, whether he could drag the woman with him, or if he should let her go and run. He wouldn’t get paid for the job, but he would not be caught either. He heard the sirens in the distance and decided he’d best abandon kidnapping Jo and escape the store and the growing crowd. Suddenly he shoved Jo at Nathan, and then took off out the back door.
“Are you okay? Did he cut you?” Nathan questioned Jo, examining her for any injuries.
“No, you got here in time. Thanks for coming to my rescue. I need a hug right now.”
The four women gathered in a group hug while a few tears were shed. Nathan gave Nick a look and took off after the man. The assailant had a head start on him, but Nathan was younger and likely in better shape, given the size of the man’s beer belly.
Jill looked up and around, asking, “Where’s Nathan?”
“He took off after Jo’s kidnapper,” declared Nick. “I stayed behind to make sure there wasn’t another kidnapper waiting in the wings.”
“Go after Nathan; he may need some help. Besides we have each other and the police will be arriving momentarily.”
Nick did a quick assessment of the timing of the police’s arrival and the crowd now forming, and decided that he could safely take off aft
er Nathan and the knife-wielder.
Jill asked Angela, “Did you get a picture of the man?”
“Does the sun rise and set each day? Of course, I have about four pictures of the man. I think when he saw me aiming my camera at him, he made the decision to flee. He could not harm all of us before the police arrived. Here, look at the pictures.”
The four women gathered, focused on the camera screen, just as the Police Locale entered the store. Introductions were made and a short conversation took place between the shopkeeper and the police in Dutch. They heard the word “Amerikaanse” and assumed that she was telling the officers that they were Americans. One officer continued with his interview of the terrified shopkeeper, who had been fairly quiet through the whole altercation. The other officer approached the women and switched to English.
“I am Inspector Willems, what are your names?”
“I am Jill Quint.”
“I am Jo Pringle. I am the one that the man with the knife was holding hostage.”
“I am Angela Weber. I have a picture of the man in my camera.”
“I am Marie Simon.”
“Thank you. Can you tell me what happened?”
“Before we start with that, two men took off after the knife-wielding creep. Would you send an officer to assist them, or maybe we can all exit the store and try to help them?” reasoned Jill.
“No, I would like a report of what happened here first.”
“Sorry, you’ll have to get that report from the shopkeeper. We are going to go help our friends,” said Jill and the women exited the store’s back door in pursuit of their men.
“Let’s split up and send two to the left and two to the right since we don’t know which way Nathan and Nick went,” suggested Marie, as they scanned the empty alley.
Inspector Willems departed the store behind the woman with the second officer joining him. They likewise split up and followed the women who were jogging to the end of the alley. When they reached the street, they looked up and down the intersecting street for Nathan or Nick. Marie and Angela shouted down the alley at Jill and Jo. They were too far away to hear what they were saying, but they were gesturing for Jill and Jo to join them. They must have sighted Nick and Nathan. Jill and Jo ran to meet up with Angela and Marie. They soon joined a developing crowd down the street. They found the police putting handcuffs on the knife-wielding man as he lay on the ground. Until the handcuffs were secured, Nathan and Nick had a foot in the center of the man's back.
“Nathan, Nick, are you injured?” asked Jill.
Both men viewed her with a ‘what a stupid question’ look,’ eyebrows raised.
“Okay then, I'll take that as a no.”
The police hauled the man upright, preparing to take him to the station for questioning. They had seen Angela’s photo of the man holding a knife to Jo’s body, so it would be an easy conviction. Inspector Willems was finally able to circle back to the women and ask them what this past thirty minutes had been about.
“Can you tell me the full story here? Why did the man pull a knife on one of you and why did you chase after him?”
“Let me start with an explanation of who we are. As you might have guessed, we are American tourists here on vacation. By the way, this is Nathan Conroy and this is Nick Brouwer”, said Jill as she introduced the two men to the inspector.
“We became accidentally involved with a Belgian citizen in Antwerp who needed medical assistance in a restaurant shortly after we arrived in this country. That was six days ago. We have been in contact with the Dutch police and Interpol as it seems that the citizen we provided assistance to was the best diamond thief in the world and held a place on Interpol's most-wanted list. Somehow a diamond consortium has been trying to kidnap or harm one or more of the four of us since the original event in the restaurant.” Marie explained, summarizing for the inspector.
Angela picked up the story. “We don't know why people are after us. We have pretty much been spending every waking moment pondering the answer to that question. Interpol in the Netherlands assured us that Interpol Brussels would be informed of our arrival and be prepared to assist us. It seems that they now have their proof that we need protection and they need to help us solve this case.”
“All four of us hid in a dark courtyard while a man with a gun hunted for us. Angela was shot at with a poison dart gun and we hid in a windmill in Zaanse Schans, then there was an attempted kidnapping last night in Amsterdam. Other than that, we have been enjoying our vacation.” Jill said, adding her two cents to the story.
“I love to shop and if I hadn't been so fascinated with a pair of shoes, I would have noticed the man before he got so close. He did not say anything to me before you arrived. He showed me the huge knife and motioned that we would be exiting through the back door,” Jo explained. “Perhaps he knew that I didn’t speak Dutch or French or maybe he didn’t speak English. Regardless I understood in a universal language that he wanted me to leave with him out the back door.”
Inspector Willems had been scribbling many notes while the women spewed their descriptions of everything that had happened in the past several days. Ordinarily, he would have assumed that he needed to transport them to a mental health center, but they seemed otherwise normal and the gentlemen also agreed with their descriptions. He was simply nonplussed by them.
“We are going to continue with our vacation, starting with a stop at a pub for a beer or two to relax after this altercation,” stated Jill. “If you will arrange a meeting with Interpol and us and yourselves then we will take a taxi to whatever meeting location you specify. Nick and Nathan will stay with us as protection. They have done a great job keeping us safe so far.”
Jo was looking a little worse for wear and Jill was convinced that one to two beers would go a long way to restore her to good health.
With that statement, the four women turned and began walking toward a pub down the street, the two men, providing escort. Inspector Willems and his partner stood there, completely dumbfounded by the women just walking away from them.
“Nathan, how did you get the knife-wielder flat on the cement?” asked Jill.
“I used a bi-directional kick from hapkido to knock the knife to the ground with one foot and the other foot made contact with his head. He just dropped. Nick and I each put a foot on his back to keep him safely on the ground.”
“Why, Nathan, I sense you enjoyed yourself assisting this guy to the ground,” remarked a grinning Angela.
“Seriously, “I always wanted to test my martial arts skills in real life, and I wish my Songseang-nim was here to see this. I’m sure he’d give me some feedback that would bring me back down to earth,” Nathan said with a laugh.
“After watching you in action, I would hire you in a heartbeat,” said Nick with some awe in his voice. “I am going to start searching for new employees in the various martial arts gyms in Belgium and the Netherlands. Jill, you need to stop worrying about whether Nathan can defend himself. I have never seen anyone better able to take down the common criminal.”
“Nick, the problem is that no matter how great a master black belt Nathan is, he is not faster than a speeding bullet, which is the weapon of choice in the United States. I will, however, stop worrying about him while in Brussels.”
With that comment, they settled into a pub, taking the edge off the adrenaline rushes with a pint of beer. Thirty minutes later and into their second beer, Jill received a call from Inspector Willems that a meeting had been arranged in an hour at Interpol headquarters. He provided Jill with the address and disconnected the call.
“Jo, we have a little time. Do you want to go back to the shoe store and try those shoes on? They were cool and unique. Given some time, I'm sure I would find some shoes that interested me,” suggested Marie.
“They were great shoes, but I don't think I want them in my closet reminding me of when a man pulled a knife on me and I had my life flash in front of me. However, if you ladies would like to spend a
few minutes shopping, I’m fine providing an opinion on your choices.”
“Nick, do you have an idea how long it will take us to get from here to the meeting’s location?” asked Angela.
“I would guess ten minutes by cab, thirty minutes walking.”
“Since we have a little time and we’re in the neighborhood, how about if we look for the Manneken Pis fountain and his sister, the Jeanneke Pis fountain, and we can cross that off our list of things to see in Brussels. When we’re done, we can take two cabs to our meeting,” Angela suggested.
The group had taken Angela's advice and viewed the fountains, which were located on opposite sides of the Grand Place. Rather than wait for two taxis, Nick had two of his employees drive them to their appointment at Interpol. They presented themselves to a reception desk and were escorted to a meeting room on the seventh floor. When they arrived, Inspector Willems and three other people were seated around a conference table and introductions were performed.
“Dr. Quint, we contacted our colleagues in The Hague and your American FBI. You have quite a reputation for crime solving in the U.S.,” announced Criminal Intelligence Officer Dubois.
“It’s actually the reputation of my team, rather than me. This case has nothing to do with my occupation. We are here on vacation. It was dumb luck that we were seated next to Interpol’s most famous diamond thief. Now we are involved just trying to save our own lives. These guys are getting bolder and more violent and we need your help.”