He had just one choice, since this guy’s friend had to be somewhere close. Still twisting the Greek’s arm, but the man on his knees and starting to recover, Jake shoved his knee swiftly into the man’s back, slamming his face into the rail and knocking him out. Jake let the man settle to the deck and he casually walked off toward the down ladder.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Jake nearly ran into another man. He could have been the brother of the man he just encounter on the deck, and his eyes widened with recognition when he saw Jake. Always more than one, Jake thought.
He looked over his shoulder as he worked his way forward and saw the second Greek man rush up the ladder to the upper deck. Jake had to hurry now. Looking out the side windows, he could see the lights of Trapani closing in, darkness soon upon them. Why in the hell were the Greeks after him this time? Damn it. Somehow those who might have had something to do with the disappearance of Sara Halsey Jones were now keeping track of him. But that made no sense. Not unless the Agency or State Department had a leak. Like that never happened.
Jake kept moving, blending in with the other passengers, who were now out of their seats and heading toward the exits.
Okay, he thought, his eyes open for the two tails he had picked up, Sara must have been safe still. Somehow the Greeks had found out he had been put on the case, and they were here to simply follow Jake to see if he would lead them to the American woman. All right Sara Halsey Jones. What have you gotten yourself mixed up in?
Shuffling with the crowd, Jake quickly made his way off the ferry. He’d never been to Trapani, but had spent a lot of time in Italy and Sicily. As he walked down the pier toward a row of taxis, his phone suddenly startled him. Not many people had his cell number. In fact, he could count the number of calls he’d gotten on this particular phone without the use of his toes. He considered letting the phone go to message, but then remembered that the Tunis cultural affairs officer had said he would get a call from his contact when he got to Trapani.
Retrieving the phone from his pocket, he looked over his shoulder to find the Greeks. They were just coming down the gangplank.
“Yeah,” Jake said into the phone.
“Is this Jake Adams?”
“Who the hell is this?”
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“No. Who is this?” Jake repeated.
“This is Senator James Halsey.”
“Right. And I’m Santa Claus. Seriously, who is this, what do you want, and how did you get this number?”
“A woman named Maria,” the senator said and hesitated. “She said to ask you about some hotel balcony in San Remo.”
Crap. Maria was a persona used by an old more-than-friend from his Agency days and beyond. They had spent a number of vacations in San Remo, Italy. If she was using her Maria moniker, then this poor senator had no idea who she really was. Probably a good thing, since she had worked her way up fairly high in the Agency these days.
“The breeze flows through the sheers,” Jake finally said. It was one of their safe phrases.
“Maria is quite the looker,” the senator said. “If you spent any time with her at all on the Italian Riviera, you’re one lucky guy.”
“Long time ago,” Jake said, noticing the Greeks had caught onto him just as he found a taxi. “Just a minute.” He shoved the phone against his chest and said to the cab driver, “Aeroporto, per favore.” The cabbie nodded, Jake threw his small backpack onto the seat and he scooted down, feeling the gun he had taken from the Greek man for the first time. He shifted the gun so it wouldn’t blow a hole in his butt and then got back onto the cell phone with the senator. “Parlate inglese?”
The taxi driver shook his head emphatically no.
Jake smiled and said to the driver, “I’ll bet you have a small penis.”
The driver shrugged and drove off.
“Sorry about that,” Jake said to the senator on the phone. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”
“I take it you’re in Sicily,” the senator said, his Texas accent flowing freely now.
The taxi slowly worked its way through the pedestrians, the driver honking his horn indiscriminately.
“Yeah, I’m here. I have a flight to Rome in the early morning.”
“Good. I just wanted to thank you for doing this for me.”
“No problem. I take it you helped with my legal issues in Tunisia. Thank you.”
“I just made a phone call, but I will deny any knowledge of that affair.”
I’ll bet, Jake thought. He guessed the senator could get in some deep shit for helping free a murderer, regardless of who was killed.
Jake looked ahead and could see the two Greek men waiting at the curb. He pulled out the gun and placed it against the window, smiling at the men as they passed.
“I was told to expect a call from a contact,” Jake said, “but I had no idea you would be contacting me directly.”
The senator let out a deep breath of air on the other end. “Well, I don’t know if you know this, but we sent two other men to find my sister and they have both disappeared as well.”
“I heard,” Jake assured him. “I’m guessing I had just the one get out of jail free card from you.”
Hesitation. “I’m not expecting you to do anything against the laws of Italy,” Senator Halsey said.
“I understand. But I already have two men tailing me. Greeks.”
“Sara was in Athens doing her research.”
“Right. So this is probably good news.” Except that somehow there was a leak in the chain of contacts.
“How so?”
“The Greeks found out I’m on the case. If they had Sara they wouldn’t care about me. And if she was dead, they’d also have no reason to follow me.”
“Shucks, Mister Adams, you’re a blunt man.”
“I’ve got guys with guns following me around. I don’t suspect they’re from my fan club. I don’t have time to beat around the bush. And call me Jake.”
“It wasn’t a criticism, Jake. I like forthright folks. Now, do you have all the information you need to start in Rome?”
“I got everything but Sara’s bra size.”
The senator laughed. “Sorry, but I’m very thorough. And last I heard it was a thirty-four C.”
Jake looked outside and noticed they were already approaching the international airport. He checked over the gun he had taken from the Greek. It was a 9mm Glock 19, old and well used, but probably quite reliable. Looking at the driver, he slid the magazine from the handle and counter 15 rounds and then slid open the slide to see another in the chamber.
“Are you still there?” the senator asked.
“Yeah, just seeing I’m getting to the airport. Will I be able to contact you at this number?”
“Yes. It’s my personal cell number. Please keep it private.”
Christ, he wasn’t born yesterday. “Right. I’ll call you when I get to Rome.” Then Jake hung up.
The taxi pulled up to the curb and Jake paid the man, giving him a modest tip. Nothing to make him stand out. Then he got out and headed into the terminal. He verified that there were no more flights to Rome that evening. Then he wandered around, removed the sim card and the battery from his phone and placed pieces in various garbage cans around the terminal. He had memorized all the data given to him by the embassy man, Rob Pierce, and if he needed a refresher he could pull it up from his e-mail. He had also put the senator’s phone number to memory. Jake had a feeling he might need to call the senator at some point, but he also guessed that someone could be tracking him through his phone. Caution more than paranoia.
Next he went outside and found an airport shuttle to an old town hotel. He would need his strength and only a good night’s sleep could provide that.