by Paul A. Rice
‘Well, go and un-fucking-check them then, sonny boy!’ he said, Welsh accent grating in my ear. ‘Get your stuff and go and see where he’s bloody going – find out if he’s he flying, or if he’s meeting someone and staying locally, just get me some information!’
‘Listen, I haven’t got time to uncheck anything, they guy is moving and I’m gonna follow him – you get hold of the airline and tell ‘em I won’t be making the flight!’
‘And then…?’
‘And then I’ll go and see what this bastard is up to – have you got a pen?’ I waited until Jim was ready, and then quickly reeled-off my flight details.
‘Just make sure that you ring them!’ I said.
‘Right, I’ll do that,’ he said, half-heartedly.
‘Jim, don’t mess me about on this, I’m already pissed off as it is!’
Jim snorted, saying: ‘Jake, you can still do this, can’t you – you’re not past-it these days, are you? You know… the drink hasn’t finally got to you, has it?’
That guy… he knew exactly how to pull my strings, the bastard.
‘Fuck-you, Jim!’ I said, angrily. ‘Go and get your boyfriend his breakfast – after all, your wife can’t have stayed with you, can she, you miserable bastard? I’ll ring you back!’
Two minutes later and I was slipping through the arrivals area with my eyes on the target, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn’t recognise me. I’d been in my desert combats and wearing a heavy beard when he and I’d had our little altercation all those years ago.
I had the advantage because I would recognise his face anywhere. After all, I had studied it for two years. Right on cue, I saw him. He was with two other men and heading for the door.
I rang Jim and told him the score.
‘Well, follow him then, Jake, follow him!’ he said, like I was a half-wit. ‘And when you have something that might be of any bloody use to tell me, then call me back – now… fuck-off, because thanks to you, I’m having an early breakfast!’ The line went dead.
‘What an arse,’ I murmured, grinning to myself.
Slipping the phone into my pocket, I hitched-up my daysack and walked out into the cold. I caught sight of Wireman climbing into the back of white Toyota people-carrier with a taxi sign on the roof.
‘Typical,’ I thought, ‘it had to be a bloody Toyota, didn’t it?’
When I had been watching the Wireman before, Toyotas had been the only type of car that he and his cohorts ever used.
They were like a bad advert for the brand.
I raised my arm and shouted for a cab, waiting until it drove forward before clambering into the back seat.
‘Where to, buddy?’ the cab driver asked me.
‘You’re not gonna believe this,’ I said, ‘but can you just…’
‘…follow that cab?’ he asked, laughing loudly.
‘Yeah, that’s the very one,’ I said. ‘Follow that cab!’
‘I love this shit, man!’ the cabby said, pulling away from the kerb.
I sat back and shook my head in disgust, not at the cabbie, no – it was the situation that brought about my reaction. Just as I was about to have a few weeks of peace and quiet, this had to go and happen.
‘Damn it! Why the hell couldn’t I have just been sitting in the airport bar, getting gently pissed whilst minding my own business?’
The thoughts made me grin, what a pain in the backside this little escapade could turn out to be. Mind you, after the amount of cash I’d dumped onto Andi’s family, it might not be too long before I would need a decent payday. Probably best to take whilst you can, Jake.
That’s the only problem with this game – it may pay well, but it’s a roundabout and I know that the chances of getting off are somewhat less than slim. It’s a machine and I’m right in the middle of it.
The End
Other Books by Paul A. Rice
Parallel – The Awakening
Parallel II – The Gift
Parallel III – Demon Hunters
Books featuring Jake Collins:
Tears in Tripoli
www.riceauthor.co.uk
Contents
1. The tears of Jake Collins
2. Love at First Sight
3. The Machine
4. Risky Road Trip
5. New Faces – New Places
6. In Deep
7. Vantage Point
8. The Lion’s Den
9. Mayhem in Martyr Square
10. Easy Day
11. Death and Love
12. Missing
13. Unlucky For Some
14. Nightmares and Nightcaps
15. Hidden Truths
16. Last Goodbye
17. Burned and Turned
18. Headaches and Assumptions
19. Good Deed – Big Risk
20. Grey Skies and Dry Eyes
21. Italian Riches
22. New York – New Discoveries
23. Freedom
24. Old Faces – New Games