“He wasn’t there when I looked before,” Carmen said.
Zane looked back at Amanda. “Can you turn out the lights please?”
Amanda walked over to the front door and flicked the switch, plunging the interior into darkness. Zane put his phone in camera mode and placed the lens up against the part in the curtains, moving the viewfinder until the car was centered on the screen. He then maneuvered a small zoom bar on the touch screen until the car came into sharper focus.
“Yep, it looks like we have company. They’re both looking up here and one of them is on the phone. And something else… boy, that’s interesting …”
“What?” Carmen asked.
“The driver. If I’m not mistaken I’d say that’s Baldy from the London Underground.”
“So I was followed?” Amanda asked.
“Apparently so.” Zane pulled the phone away from the window. “I think it’s time to go.”
“We can take the stairs and exit out the back,” Amanda blurted.
“Possibly. Then again, they may have that covered too. At this point it’s safe to assume that Carmen did hear someone behind the building, and that’s probably who they’re talking to right now.”
Carmen shook her head slowly. “I knew I should’ve checked out that sound. When your instinct tells you to do something, then you do it.”
“Well, we can’t worry about it now.” Zane replied. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Do you have any throwaway phones?”
“Always.” Carmen reached inside her coat. “I actually have two.”
“Good. I need you to do something. Using your best German, call the cops and tell them that you live on Baumanstrasse. Tell them you were walking your dog when two men you've never seen before made lewd remarks. You noticed that one had a gun, and now they're casing your building.”
“A gun? On the streets of Vienna?” Carmen laughed. “I think we may have the whole force down here within minutes.”
“That’s the idea. When the cops arrive, we’ll check the back first, and if that’s covered, we’ll walk right out the front door.”
Carmen nodded slowly. “I like that.” She selected one of the phones, dialed, and then walked down the hall toward the bedroom.
A few seconds later, Zane could hear her speaking in German. There was a pause, and then she spoke more loudly. As the call went on, Carmen got more aggressive and was shouting into the phone. A few seconds later, she came walking back into the room.
“Well, that was easy enough.” She winked at Zane. “The more questions they asked, the louder I got. Finally, I told them my husband was a Viennese politician, and if they didn’t get over here in a hurry, there would be hell to pay. Needless to say, they’re on their way.”
The Vienna police arrived four minutes later. Zane was pleasantly surprised to see no less than three red-and-white Smart cars marked “Poleizi” turn the corner and roll slowly down the street.
Apparently, they aren’t about to risk insulting a politician’s wife. As Zane watched, the lead car stopped at each parked vehicle and illuminated the interior with a spotlight. Eventually they reached the blue car, and the caravan came to a halt. Zane could see the driver holding up his hands as if protesting innocence. The two policemen got out and pointed flashlights at him.
“Let's go,” he said to Carmen, who was waiting near the front entrance.
After closing and locking the door, they crossed the hall and entered the elevator, which Amanda had been holding open.
Seconds later the door slid open, and they exited into the lobby. Zane signaled the others to wait as he looked down the hall that led to the rear. He would have preferred to exit out of the back but was wary of the possibility that there might be others lying in wait.
There didn’t appear to be any movement along the corridor, so he motioned for Carmen and Amanda to follow him. As they moved forward, Zane held his gun inside the pocket in case a resident came through.
After reaching the back, Zane peered through the window in the door. It was too dark to tell if there was any movement in the courtyard, so he knew they’d need to have their weapons ready and take their chances.
“Zane,” Carmen said, pointing to the light switch. “Let’s kill the interior lights so we won't be an easy target.”
Zane nodded and Carmen flicked the switch, plunging the rear of the building into darkness. He then drew his weapon out of his pocket and whispered, “You all set?”
“Yes,” Carmen replied, lifting her Beretta to indicate she was ready.
“Amanda, you stay behind us, understood? We’re going to cross the courtyard the same way we came in. Simple and sweet.”
Amanda nodded nervously.
“Okay, let’s move,” Zane said, turning the handle and opening the door.
After stepping out onto the concrete, the operative paused to take in his surroundings. There was little noise and no movement that he could see. He was just about to give the all-clear signal when he sensed a shadow closing in on him fast. He swiveled to his left, catching the attacker with a sharp elbow to the face. The man was thrown up against the building, and Zane followed with a fisted blow to the head. As the man fell to the ground, there was a popping sound that Zane recognized immediately as a suppressed shot. The round exploded into the metal awning above the entrance, causing Zane to duck.
There were two more popping sounds to his right. He looked over to see Carmen down on one knee, having just squeezed off a couple of rounds. There was a loud grunt from somewhere along the trail, indicating the Italian had connected with at least one of her shots.
“Back inside!” Zane shouted. “Now!”
Carmen and Amanda pushed through the door as several shots sprayed across the back of the building. Amanda was huddled in a corner, and Carmen helped her up in order to get her moving.
Ten seconds later, they burst through the front entrance and out into the street, where blue lights reflected brightly off the surrounding buildings. A crowd had gathered up and down the block, drawn by a scene that most of the residents had never seen before.
Zane tried to maintain a calm demeanor as they walked down the sidewalk but managed to steal a glance at the drama unfolding across the street. The two men were standing up against their car and were being frisked by a Vienna police officer. As Zane studied the bald man who had been driving, he saw something he had almost forgotten about — the tattoo of a snake wrapped around the man’s neck.
Almost as though he knew he was being watched, the man turned his head around and his eyes fell on Zane. The man’s countenance turned to one of anger and rage. Unable to help himself, Zane gave the thug a quick wink and then hurried to catch the other two.
It took less than a minute to hail a cab. Once they were all piled into the back, Carmen told the driver to take them to the Hilton. She and Zane had decided in advance that it would be best to be dropped there and then take a separate cab to their hotels.
After the cab left the Hilton parking lot and moved into traffic, Zane spoke. “You did well.” He placed a hand on Amanda’s shoulder. She was a bit rattled but holding up better than most would have in the same situation.
“Thank you.” Amanda smiled. “I guess it’s official now.”
“What’s official?” Zane asked.
“That was my first time ever being shot at.”
Zane nodded. “You were behind the door, but we’ll let it count anyway.”
Amanda laughed and then said, in a more serious tone, “I guess you also realize what I said earlier is true, that I don’t really care if I’m in harm's way. I’m going to see this through to the end, whether that be Geneva or anywhere else.”
Carmen looked at Zane, which was her way of indicating he should handle that one.