“Okay.”
The main courses arrived and he tucked into his steak. I’d chosen a chicken dish, which was delicious. Our watchers were now eating as well, so I relaxed. The fact that they were so obvious and unconcerned about my presence meant that they weren’t treating me as a potential player, just an innocent who was now being swept along in their game. They weren’t American or British, I could tell that much from their clothes and mannerisms. At a guess, I’d say they were Russian or East European. With the way Europe was developing, the money had to be on Russia. If they were Maxim’s people, then they could be any nationality. I had to assume that there were others waiting out of sight and planning proactive operation against Jon.
The only logical action that I would consider would be to kidnap him, interrogate him or to hold him as a lever to persuade his father to release the information they required. Equally, the other children and wife were similar potential targets as was Jon.
While eating, I was seeking out escape routes, safe zones from firearms and potential weapons. I was almost disappointed that we finished our main course without being interrupted. I managed to secure Jon’s steak knife as the waiter was removing our dishes.
“Dessert?” he asked.
Jon looked at me. I shook my head.
“Non, merci. L’addition, s’il vous plait.”
“Café?”
“Non, l’addition.”
The man shrugged and wandered off.
“Sorry, did you want a coffee?”
“We’ll have them back in my room at the hotel.”
His eyebrows shot up, making me smile.
“Don’t get excited, my friend should be back.”
We combined cash and paid the bill. I linked my arm through his as we walked slowly back towards the hotel. I was wary and watching each car as they approached.
“Will they try anything?”
“Possibly.”
“What do we do?”
“You do nothing. If anything happens, you run to the hotel, see Carlene, my friend, and hope for the best.”
“I couldn’t leave you.”
“Don’t be an arse, chivalry gets no points, and unless you happen to have an M4 or MP5 under your coat, just trust me.”
“You said I shouldn’t trust anyone, even you.”
“Okay, I said that, but at this moment, you have to trust me, okay?”
He nodded.
We were walking over a bridge, so I stopped him.
“Hold me close and kiss me,” I said.
“What?”
“Just do it!”
He wrapped his arms around me and we kissed. I used the opportunity to look back at a set of headlights I’d seen earlier. The vehicle had parked at the side of the road behind us, waiting for us to complete the crossing. I couldn’t see who was inside it, but guessed that it was the two men from the restaurant. That meant that they probably had someone else ahead of us waiting to leap out when we reached them, the car would come forward and Jon at least would be bundled in and away. We’d used the same method in Beirut.
I could feel the adrenaline start to course through my body. It was a familiar feeling that hit me at the beginning of each operation. It was one reason I did the job.
At the same time, Jon was a reasonable kisser, and was getting into his role. His hand was stroking my left breast, while he was pulling my bum closer with his other hand. I felt a very pleasant glow start to spread across my lower abdomen as my body responded to him. I shook my head. I couldn’t let him distract me. I broke off. He looked faintly disappointed.
“Calm down, tiger, I’ve seen what I want to see,” I told him.
“What?”
“We’re up for an ambush. Probably as we cross the bridge and get level with that alleyway on the right.”
We started to walk on, slowly, with our arms wrapped around each other. I noted a break in the balustrade of the bridge. That meant that there was access down to the river, probably by some steps. I stopped again, and forced him to turn and look at the lights of Paris. It was a very romantic city, but I was looking down to see what was below us.
We walked on, so when I was level with the gap, I pulled Jon down behind me. There was a steep flight of steps to a towpath that went under the bridge. We ran down the steps as fast as the poor light enabled us, and turned under the bridge
We ran along the towpath, as I heard the sound of a car race to the point we’d vanished and screech to a halt. I heard one door slam, so there was one man in the car. Or there had been one man in the car, he was now on foot after us!
I smiled, as one man wasn’t a problem.
Houseboats and pleasure craft were moored along this bit of the bank, so I pushed Jon into a dark alcove adjacent to a large darkened barge.
“Stay there and keep quiet!” I said, as I climbed onto the barge. There was a tool bag on the deck, so I grabbed a mallet as I hid.
I heard the man before I saw him. He was talking into a radio or mobile phone as he ran - another indication that he hadn’t assessed us as a serious threat. He spoke English with an accent.
“…they were all over each other, so they’re probably looking for somewhere to have a fuck. No, I don’t know who she is, but it’s definitely Standing’s son.”
He stopped speaking but still had the instrument in his hand. He wheezed and puffed his way past where Jon was hiding, slowing to a fast walk when he was below me. Just as he passed, I rose and, using the wooden handle of the mallet, struck him across the back of the head. He went down. I didn’t have to hit him again.
I quickly retrieved his phone before it slithered over the edge into the dark water, and checked to see if anyone else was close. I knew we didn’t have much time. He was a complete stranger, dressed in a grey suit.
I took his wallet, found a SLP (Self Loading Pistol, what the ill-educated call ‘automatics’) in a holster on his belt. It was a Beretta with a full clip. I searched him, but finding little else of value, rolled him into the shadows.
“Come on!” I said, grabbing Jon and started to walk back the way we’d come.
“Shouldn’t we run?”
“No, only run for something we know is there. All running does is draw attention to us and tire us so we can’t fight when we have to.”
At that moment, I heard the sounds of someone running towards us. We melted into the shadows as a second man ran past us. Neither of them had been in the restaurant. That meant that two more were out there somewhere.
We reached the steps, and I cautiously peered up and over the top. A Citroen C5 was parked next to the kerb with the lights still on.
“Get in!”
He did so as I slipped in behind the wheel. Using the keys I had taken from the man, I started the car and drove slowly off into the evening traffic.
“Did you kill him?”
“No, no point. It would only make them madder than hell and give them reason to be nastier next time. They might even put it down to a mugging. There’s nothing to connect us to his attack.”
“Where are we going?”
“In here!” I said, as I swung the Citroen into a multi-story car park, drove up to the top and parked. I quickly searched the car, taking anything I thought would be useful. There wasn’t much, some papers and a guidebook.
“Get out,” I said to Jon, who was only too happy to oblige.
I wiped the inside of the car and the door handles. I locked the car with the remote and took his hand.
“Okay, let’s walk.”
As we walked towards the hotel, I saw a police car parked at the side of the road. The officers were out talking to a colleague so the passenger door was open. They were all looking at a parked van that had seen better days.
As we passed, I gently threw the keys of the Citroen onto the passenger seat of the police car. They didn’t as much as glance our way. We walked past and were back at the hotel in a couple of minutes. I was grinning as we walked into the lobby. The grin died as I saw Carlene sitting with the two Americans, Wayne and Carlton. She did not look happy.