Sean and the others slid onto a wooden bench, all facing outside. “Tommy, sit across from me. If they look in here they’ll see us if we sit like this.”
“Right,” he said and spun around the table to the opposite chair.
Sean and Adriana kept bunched together for a minute, carefully watching out the windows for any sign of the man in the red jacket and his comrade. The hissing sound of the espresso maker filled the air as the young barista steamed the milk for the cappuccinos. Then Sean saw them. Two men, muscular, and stalking intently down the street. One of them was wearing a red jacket.
“I see them,” Sean said, staring over Tommy’s shoulder. “They’re walking by.”
“Did they look in here?” Tommy wondered nervously.
“Not yet.”
He watched as the men appeared and reappeared in the consecutive windows until they were out of the line of sight completely.
“Here are your drinks,” the blonde said cheerfully, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. She had carried a round tray with the three steaming beverages on top. She placed them on the table and nodded her head as she walked away.
“Thank you,” Tommy offered, still wary that the men following them could come through the door at any moment. He turned his attention to Sean. “Should we double back?”
“Not sure,” Sean said. “They’ll be expecting that move, too. If I had to guess, I’d say they put someone back there at the entrance to Stroget.”
“We get in behind them, then,” Adriana said.
“And we loop back around,” Sean added. “We can go through Kongens Nytorv and circle back to the train station. I’m guessing those two guys split up at the fork out there. One went toward the park palace, the other toward the river and the Parliament building.” He took a sip of his cappuccino after laying out the plan.
“You’re actually going to drink that?” Tommy asked incredulously.
Sean shrugged. “I don’t like to waste good coffee. Besides, we need to let those two put some distance between us.”
“What if they double back?” Adriana asked.
“Then we’ll see them. Hopefully, that’s exactly what happens.”
Chapter 31
The three companions sat patiently in the coffee shop, waiting to see if the guy in the red jacket and his partner would walk by again. Five minutes went by, then another five. Still no sign of them. Sean had finished his coffee and had decided to stand up and make their move when he froze in place. The two men had stopped directly outside the cafe and were looking around with puzzled expressions on their faces.
“Stay in your seats. They’re right outside.” His warning came just above a whisper, keeping Tommy and Adriana likewise glued to their seats.
Red jacket’s partner, a broad-shouldered brute in a peacoat, was pointing in one direction and then the other, back toward the entrance of Stroget. It was evident they were confused as to what had happened to their quarry. The one in the red jacket was clearly furious.
Tommy stared down at his nearly empty cup and breathed calmly. “What happens if they come in here?”
“I don’t think they can see us,” Sean said. He flicked his eyes around at the dim lighting. “Too dark to see in here from outside.”
“Yeah, but what if they do?” He looked up from his cup, staring at his friend with a questioning glare.
“Then I guess we’ll have to have a talk.”
The two men outside continued their brief discussion before deciding to head back to the main entrance to Stroget. Ten seconds later, they had disappeared.
“Okay, they’re gone,” Sean said, getting up. “Now’s our chance.”
The three slipped out the front of the coffee shop and back into the mass of people. They turned right and made their way past the closed bookstore and down the next street. Ahead, they could see the monstrous roundabout known as Kongens Nytorv, or King’s New Square. A greenish metal statue stood proudly in the center, surrounded by small sections of trees and shrubbery.
Kongens Nytorv had been the concept of the old Danish king Christian V, inspired by a visit to the Royal City in Paris. Taking ideas from other European cultures and making them their own was a common trait of Danish royalty. Upon visiting Amsterdam, Christian loved the canals so much that he purchased vast amounts of land around the city of Copenhagen and dredged the earth to create their own waterways.
Surrounding the square were some of the city’s notable buildings. The Royal Danish Theater, Charlottenborg Palace, the Thrott Palace, and the famous Hotel D’Angleterre.
Sean stopped next to a rack of city bikes at the edge of the square and looked in both directions.
Tommy glanced down at the bicycles and had an idea. “You got any kroner coins?” he asked, fishing through his own pockets. He pulled out two metal discs.
“Yeah,” Sean said, “I think so. Why?” Then he followed Tommy’s eyes to the bikes. “Good call.”
“We can definitely go faster on those.”
The city of Copenhagen’s bicycle initiative provided thousands of public bikes all over town in specified locations. Visitors or citizens could rent the bikes for twenty-five kroner and drop them off at other designated areas.
Now, the bikes gave the three companions an unfair advantage.
They slid their coins into the locking mechanism and freed the white bicycles. Sean noted the GPS unit attached under the handlebars. “That’s new from the last time I was here.”
He pulled the bike off the rack, hopped on, and started pedaling into the roundabout with Tommy and Adriana close in tow. The three wound their way around to the other side of the square, passing the renowned Magasin du Nord department store, and cutting down one of the less-traveled side streets.
A gust of wind picked up and sent a chill through Sean’s bones, but he kept pedaling, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure his friends were close behind. Once they were safely in the deep confines of the side road, the wind died down. No one paid them any mind as the three companions rode hard down the street.
After five minutes and three pairs of burning quads, they reached the main stretch of road that stretched beyond the plaza and the entrance to Stroget. They waited for the light to turn green and then pedaled across, darting behind the Rathaus to avoid being seen by one of their trackers.
The bikes rolled around the back of the old brick building and then turned sharply to the right. Sean stopped his bike suddenly, nearly causing Tommy to crash into the back of him. Adriana pulled up next to the both of them.
“We need to split up,” Sean said. “We’ll be easier to spot if we stick together.”
“I’ll go first. Adriana, you follow me, then Tommy. Go to the train station, and get your tickets, but keep separate. They’re looking for all of us, not one of us. I’ll see you on the train to Helsingor.”
Tommy gave a quick nod. “Sounds good.”
Adriana agreed as well. “Okay. Be careful,” she said.
Sean flinched. “Careful doesn’t really seem to be my style. But I appreciate the sentiment.” He winked and took off, pedaling at a leisurely pace and blending in with several other cyclists who were riding in the same direction.
“It’s really not his style,” Tommy said. “It’s not yours either.”
“Touché.”
They watched as Sean reached the next intersection and waited for the light to signal traffic to turn left. He turned his head both directions a few times, making sure none of the henchmen were around, then when the light changed, he hurried through the crossroads with the other bikes, disappearing around the corner near Tivoli.