Thanos appreciated having reliable helpers. They were difficult to find in this day and age. It was one of the reasons he knew that Gikas appreciated his services. In turn, Thanos appreciated the young Italian’s attention to detail. “Excellent work. Take the first shift and rotate out every hour with the other three. That way none of you will get so bored that you start looking at the birds flying around or the buttocks of a ripe young woman on the sidewalk.”
The Italian gave a single nod and stepped over to the window. He picked up a pair of binoculars that rested on top of a round wooden table and began staring through them at the opposite hotel. Thanos left the room and went next door to his own room. When he entered, he found it similarly decorated, and with a pair of binoculars provided just like in the other room. He was pleased at how thorough his assistant was.
He closed the door and removed his jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair at a little desk. Thanos stopped at the door to the balcony for a few seconds, and then opened it wide, letting in the smells and sounds of the busy city surrounding him. Tourists and citizens mingled in the slow dance around the shops, cafes, and fountains of the piazza. Mist from the elaborate fountain spewed into the air, evaporating quickly before it reached the windows of the surrounding buildings. Children played in the water, some held by a parent’s guiding hand, others not. Hundreds of other people sat in chairs at small bistro tables sipping wine, beer, and even a few coffees. Thanos stared at Villa’s hotel across the way and took in a long, slow breath.
“Your move, Mr. Wyatt.”
Chapter 11
Getting into the city of Rome is an exercise in patience at any time of the day. On this particular morning, it seemed inordinately perilous. Vehicles swerved in and out of tiny openings, whipping around the ones in front of them and repeating the stunt all over again.
The driver of the car Sean and his companions were in seemed perfectly at home with the chaos, which was no surprise since he had been serving the American embassy in Rome for the last year. He was a man in his early fifties named Carl. The remaining ring of shortly cut hair on his head was mostly gray with smatterings of black, a reminder of the way it used to look in the man’s younger days.
Carl didn’t say much, other than asking where the group was headed and how fast they needed to get there. “As quickly as possible,” had been Sean’s response, which resulted in a tad more reckless driving than he was comfortable with.
After more near misses than Sean could count, and about forty minutes later, the car arrived at the gray, palatial building where Adriana had been staying. The structure was only fifteen to twenty stories tall, but it occupied a huge footprint on the city’s landscape.
Sean and the others exited the white SUV and grabbed their luggage out of the back. Yarbrough led the way to the front door with the others in line behind. Tommy looked around at the scenery, admiring the architecture and grandiosity of it all.
“I do love coming to Rome,” he said with a smile as big as a billboard. “So much rich history and culture here.”
“Yeah,” Sean agreed hesitantly. His eyes panned through the scene, searching for something he wasn’t sure was there or not. “And so many dangers lurking in the shadows.”
Through the mist of the fountains, he thought he noticed something in one of the buildings on the other side of the street, something out of place in one of the windows. Was it a silhouette? Sean wanted to believe he was just being paranoid. Paranoia had saved him on more than one occasion, though. A bread truck pulled up next to the curb and cut off his line of sight. He shrugged it off, but stepped back over to the SUV before Carl could pull back into traffic. Sean spoke to the driver for a minute before the man nodded and drove away.
When he joined Tommy at the hotel entrance, Sean attempted to wipe away the concerned look on his face before his friend said anything. “Everything all right?” Tommy asked, beating him to the act.
“Yeah,” Sean lied. “Why wouldn’t it be?” he cast his friend a mischievous glance.
The metal-and-glass doors opened into a vast atrium, featuring a bronze water fountain in the center that portrayed two mermaids. Red and gold tapestries dangled from the second floor on either side of several marble columns that decorated the room. The matching floor tiles covered the entire span of the area. Tourists were filing out the door, ready to begin their day of discovery in the ancient city.
Yarbrough was already inside, talking to a man who appeared to be one of the local authorities. The meeting had been arranged before they had landed at the airport, an easy trick when you worked for the president of the United States. The olive-skinned man was much shorter than Yarbrough, and the Italian’s pointed nose seemed much more elongated as he stared up at the secret agent. He nodded several times and then ushered Yarbrough over to the concierge desk.
After a short conversation with the brunette woman behind the counter, Agent Yarbrough was handed a plastic key card, which he accepted with a smile and nod. A moment later, the two men joined Sean and Tommy in the middle of the lobby.
He held out the key for Sean. “The room number is on the back of this. The concierge said the room was paid for through to the middle of next week. Whatever your friend was looking for, she was prepared to spend a great deal of time finding it.”
Sean looked down at the room number and felt a twinge of nausea in his abdomen. He wished he’d gone with her to Italy. She’d invited him to go, but he insisted he wanted to get things set up with his new life in the Florida Panhandle. He knew that standing there letting regret wash over him wouldn’t save her. What would save Adriana was trying to find a clue, anything that could lead them to what she was researching.
Yarbrough looked over at the Italian man with the pointed nose. “Thank you for your cooperation. The president appreciates your help.”
The short man held up both hands and shook his head. “I assure you, it is no trouble at all, signore. Your president has been very helpful to our government during this difficult time in the economy. It is the least I can do.”
He was right. President Dawkins had pushed hard for reinvestment into new Italian companies and businesses. He pooled his network of powerful allies together and managed to raise over five billion dollars in venture funding. Having a strong belief in entrepreneurship helped Dawkins start business incubators all over the United States, a move that resulted in a huge jump in the gross domestic product, not to mention the lowest jobless rate in history. Thanks to John Dawkins, the Italian economy was beginning to experience a smaller, but similar growth.
Sean was grateful for the help as well. “Thank you, signore,” Sean said to the man, who nodded with an appreciative smile.
The three headed to the nearest set of elevators and slipped in to an empty one before the doors closed. Tommy noticed the Italian had stayed behind in the lobby. “He not coming with us?” Tommy asked.
Yarbrough hit the button for Adriana’s floor. “In these kinds of situations, we find that discretion is the best course to take. The less our friend knows the better.” Tommy gave an understanding nod.
A few moments and a short ride later, the doors opened and they stepped out into the long, narrow hallway. Sean glanced at the room numbers to the left and noted that they were descending in that direction. “Her room should be that way,” he stated.
He started to the left, walking hurriedly down the corridor, passing the golden wall sconces and various paintings of Tuscan scenery. The art had a prefabricated feel to it, as if the artists had just created it en masse for a paycheck. Sean stopped at a door on the right and paused for a second. The Do not disturb sign hung from the doorknob.