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Authors: Matt Hilton
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its way through my mind. ‘Not yet. Cooper’s bankrolling this job and hasn’t budgeted for three. In fact with us he’s getting a two-for-one deal . . . are you happy coming all the way here for little payback?’
‘A little’s better than nothing, brother. Things are kinda slow at this end. We’ve still got that contract with Jerry Redmond. It’s unlikely it will get hit again, but he wants his premises covered this weekend. I’ve got Mack and Velasquez on that. I’d just be sitting here contemplating my navel, and you know that’s not good for any narcissist’s sense of importance, least of all mine.’
‘Maybe I can get Cooper to throw a bit more cash our way. He knows as well as we do that a close protection detail takes more than one man.’
‘Unless that was his thinking all along,’ Rink said.
‘You don’t trust him?’
‘Do you?’
I said nothing.
‘I’ll go see if I can book a standby flight now,’ Rink said. ‘Should be with you early tomorrow afternoon. Don’t go getting yourself or Billie killed in the meantime.’
‘I’ll try.’
We hung up, and I made a cursory check of my mirrors. No man in a suit lurked nearby. I sought the smelly man and saw him delve in a pocket of his coat and pull out a cell phone. Exhaling, I sank back in my seat as I focused on him. Not for the first time during my career I wished I’d learned to lip-read. Not that it would have helped because the guy turned his back and began a slow walk up the road, heading towards Billie’s gallery, albeit still on the opposite sidewalk. I picked up my SIG and put it in my jacket pocket, before getting out the car and locking it with the fob. I headed in the same direction, using the delivery truck for cover. I paused alongside the cab, and saw the man come to a halt directly opposite the gallery. He was totally unaware of my scrutiny, his counter-surveillance as crappy as his choice in inconspicuous clothing. Who chooses a red coat when they wish to blend with their surroundings?
The watcher stood out like a beacon; he moved from foot to foot as he tried to get a view through the front window of Billie’s shop. Even a few of the tourists passing by glanced at him, he was so obvious. His actions gave me pause: was he acting deliberately to draw me out from cover? I checked for his suited pal, or anyone else taking any interest in me. No one stood out. I crossed the street and approached the man. The breeze was blowing away from him, so I didn’t catch a whiff of his scent until I was within a couple of feet. Billie had been correct: he stank. It was a mixture of mildew and rotting wood and I considered again the possibility he’d been hiding in the forest near her farm. He was so intent on peeking inside the gallery he was unaware of my presence. I stood a few feet behind him, listening to him as he spoke on his cell.
‘I think we’re wasting our time here. She’s in there taking a late lunch or something, so it’s unlikely she’s going to leave any time soon. The sign on the door says the gallery stays open until six. Why don’t we just come back at closing time?’
His words confirmed that he was waiting to make a move of some type but not that he was dangerous. I couldn’t hear the answer, but his body language told me he was on the receiving end of a berating.
‘When will you be back, Kirk?’ the man demanded. ‘I wouldn’t mind taking a leak and I can’t do that standing out on the freakin’ sidewalk.’
I guessed he was speaking to the suit. From his tone of voice the suited man wasn’t a superior, just a better-dressed peer. Smelly wasn’t happy that his buddy Kirk had left him to stand guard all this time. On the contrary I was. I was also happy to note that his pal wasn’t returning in a hurry. It would be so easy to move in close, jam my gun under his ribs and move him somewhere quiet. In fact, I contemplated doing so for a long heartbeat, but decided no. If the man went missing
‘A little’s better than nothing, brother. Things are kinda slow at this end. We’ve still got that contract with Jerry Redmond. It’s unlikely it will get hit again, but he wants his premises covered this weekend. I’ve got Mack and Velasquez on that. I’d just be sitting here contemplating my navel, and you know that’s not good for any narcissist’s sense of importance, least of all mine.’
‘Maybe I can get Cooper to throw a bit more cash our way. He knows as well as we do that a close protection detail takes more than one man.’
‘Unless that was his thinking all along,’ Rink said.
‘You don’t trust him?’
‘Do you?’
I said nothing.
‘I’ll go see if I can book a standby flight now,’ Rink said. ‘Should be with you early tomorrow afternoon. Don’t go getting yourself or Billie killed in the meantime.’
‘I’ll try.’
We hung up, and I made a cursory check of my mirrors. No man in a suit lurked nearby. I sought the smelly man and saw him delve in a pocket of his coat and pull out a cell phone. Exhaling, I sank back in my seat as I focused on him. Not for the first time during my career I wished I’d learned to lip-read. Not that it would have helped because the guy turned his back and began a slow walk up the road, heading towards Billie’s gallery, albeit still on the opposite sidewalk. I picked up my SIG and put it in my jacket pocket, before getting out the car and locking it with the fob. I headed in the same direction, using the delivery truck for cover. I paused alongside the cab, and saw the man come to a halt directly opposite the gallery. He was totally unaware of my scrutiny, his counter-surveillance as crappy as his choice in inconspicuous clothing. Who chooses a red coat when they wish to blend with their surroundings?
The watcher stood out like a beacon; he moved from foot to foot as he tried to get a view through the front window of Billie’s shop. Even a few of the tourists passing by glanced at him, he was so obvious. His actions gave me pause: was he acting deliberately to draw me out from cover? I checked for his suited pal, or anyone else taking any interest in me. No one stood out. I crossed the street and approached the man. The breeze was blowing away from him, so I didn’t catch a whiff of his scent until I was within a couple of feet. Billie had been correct: he stank. It was a mixture of mildew and rotting wood and I considered again the possibility he’d been hiding in the forest near her farm. He was so intent on peeking inside the gallery he was unaware of my presence. I stood a few feet behind him, listening to him as he spoke on his cell.
‘I think we’re wasting our time here. She’s in there taking a late lunch or something, so it’s unlikely she’s going to leave any time soon. The sign on the door says the gallery stays open until six. Why don’t we just come back at closing time?’
His words confirmed that he was waiting to make a move of some type but not that he was dangerous. I couldn’t hear the answer, but his body language told me he was on the receiving end of a berating.
‘When will you be back, Kirk?’ the man demanded. ‘I wouldn’t mind taking a leak and I can’t do that standing out on the freakin’ sidewalk.’
I guessed he was speaking to the suit. From his tone of voice the suited man wasn’t a superior, just a better-dressed peer. Smelly wasn’t happy that his buddy Kirk had left him to stand guard all this time. On the contrary I was. I was also happy to note that his pal wasn’t returning in a hurry. It would be so easy to move in close, jam my gun under his ribs and move him somewhere quiet. In fact, I contemplated doing so for a long heartbeat, but decided no. If the man went missing
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