“Beatrix Street.”
Henry grabbed the bag with his new pistol in it. David brought the map.
They ran out the door as fast as they could go and headed toward the far staircase. Now David was wondering if a fifth-floor room made sense. The minute or so that they spent going down step after step and working up a sweat was also plenty of time to wonder what awaited them on the bottom floor. Thankfully the door at the bottom of the staircase emptied into a vacant parking lot on the side of the building opposite the men in black sedans.
Henry and David tried to look inconspicuous as they half-ran along the main street, taking the first turn onto a side road on their way to the meeting spot.
Henry said, “What will we do if those guys in black sedans are waiting for us on Beatrix Street?”
David thought about that and said, “Well, I guess you’ll get to try that new gun you bought at the pawn shop.”
Henry said, “Got it.” He looked down at the piece, lying in the bag on top of a single box of ammo. He handed the bag to David. “You might want to take it instead. I’m a little low on my firearms experience. You should probably consider loading it too.”
Philippe looked at the empty phones on the coffee table and swore to himself.
The commotion outside was growing, until two men in suits that Philippe didn’t recognize got past his men. One held up a badge.
“Are you Philippe Shek?”
Philippe looked at the badge. ASIO. It was like Australia’s combined version of the American FBI and CIA.
“I am he.”
The ASIO agent said, “Could you come with me, please? We’d like to have a conversation.”
Forty-five minutes later, David stood under the buzzing telephone wires of a small residential street. It was almost 11 p.m. local time now. No one was outside in the neighborhood. A slight breeze rolled through the coconut trees that lined the street. Henry hid behind one of them, trying to blend in.
A white Mercedes SUV with the word POLICE painted on the side turned the corner at the end of the street and headed their way. David’s chest tightened as the vehicle approached. At least it wasn’t a black sedan like they had seen earlier. A positive sign. He gripped the pistol inside of the bag, getting ready for whatever might happen next.
The SUV came to a stop directly in front of him. The passenger-side window rolled down and revealed a man wearing a button-down shirt holding a wallet ID. David could just make out the words Australian Security Intelligence Organization.
“My name’s Wilson. I’m ASIO. Are you David Manning?” Australian accent.
David, not knowing what else to say at this point and still gripping the gun, said, “Who sent you?”
“Bob Crowley and your friend Lundy. I can get them on the phone for you if you like, but I’d prefer if you would get inside first so we can get you to Larrakeyah.”
“Where?”
“It’s an army base ten minutes away. We’ve arranged a secure place for you to stay there. Look, I’m not sure what’s going on, but apparently you men are quite important and in danger. My job is to get you to safety as quickly as possible. If you would, please hop in. Bring the man behind the tree. Glickstein, I presume?”
David sighed in relief and called out to Henry, “Come on, Henry. Let’s get in.”
David slid across the backseat and Henry got in behind him. Wilson reached out of the window and shut the door with his hand, and the SUV zoomed forward.
Wilson said, “Gentlemen, Mr. Crowley asked us to tell you that we’re your security for now. Like I said, we’ll be taking you two to the Larrakeyah Army Base for the night. You’ll be safe there. We’ve got armed guards outside, and we’ll move you in the morning.”
He held his hand out and said, “You don’t mind if I take that weapon in the bag, do you? We’re going to have to go through security to get on base, and they might not like it.”
Henry looked at David and shrugged. David handed him the bag with the gun in it. He said, “What about the men that were after us?”
“We’re on it. We’ve identified who they are and it will all be resolved shortly. They won’t be bothering you any longer.” He smiled and said, “You can relax, gentlemen.” David saw the driver glance at Wilson as he spoke.
Henry slapped David on the back. “Phew. We did it,” he whispered. He slouched back into the seat and closed his eyes. He looked like he had just dropped a fifty-pound pack that he’d been carrying for two weeks straight.
David was thinking of his wife and children. “You still got that phone?”
Wilson said, “Sure, you want me to call Lundy?”
“Actually, I was hoping to speak with my wife.”
“Sure thing. Actually, we’re almost at the base. Let’s get to where you’ll be staying tonight and I’ll set you up.”
“Alright.”
The SUV slowed and came to a stop at a security gate. Beams of bright light shone into the car. David squinted as a man in a beige military uniform walked from window to window, shining his flashlight inside. The Australian driver said, “Come on, now. Important cargo here, let’s get this moving.” He held up a badge of some sort so the man could see. The security guard read the ID and waved them through.
The vehicle came to a stop outside a tiny single-story building that reminded David of a double-wide trailer. There were several more Mercedes SUVs scattered around the building, each with armed military men standing next to them. There must have been over a dozen men, almost all of them watching David and Henry get out of the car. Now this was security.
Mobile lighting units had been set up. The kind that were used for road construction at night. There were no other buildings around. David could hear the sounds of a marina nearby. The dings and clangs of the loose parts of boats bumping into the hard parts as they bobbed in the water.
Henry followed the two Australian men that had brought them there into the building. David was a step behind. His head ached and he was hungry. Wilson was telling them how they would be flown to a different location tomorrow.
They entered the building and two other men sat across from each other at a large wooden desk. They both looked up. Strange looks in their eyes. A flat-screen TV in the corner of the room was tuned in to a twenty-four-hour news channel. The sound was off. David caught a glimpse of the banner at the bottom of the screen. Something about Iran.
“Thank you, Mr. Wilson,” the man behind the desk said. This one had a European accent.
Wilson said, “Quite alright. Mr. Shek, would you like them restrained now?”
“I think now would be an appropriate time, yes.”
David felt Wilson grab his arms from behind and heard the click of handcuffs.
Henry wiggled and yelled, “What are you doing?” The man that had driven them there was handcuffing him too.
David, looking around the room in alarm, didn’t understand. Then he saw tall black iron bars behind him. From the angle they’d entered the room, he hadn’t seen it. Now he did. This building was like one of those old jails you would see in a John Wayne movie. Half office for the sheriff, half jail. These men had just brought them to a jail and handcuffed them. Not very standard procedure for people you were trying to protect. Pretty typical for people you were going to lock up.
The men were talking, telling Henry something. Reading the two men their rights, it sounded like. But David didn’t hear any of it. He couldn’t hear anything. He just stared blankly at the TV screen. The captions were on.
“We can now provide you the names of the two American men that are considered armed and dangerous. David Manning and Henry Glickstein are believed to be somewhere in Australia or the Philippines. A global police manhunt is underway. Authorities say they have recordings of the men claiming responsibility for stealing US military cybertechnology secrets and selling them to Iran. They also participated in planning attacks against the United States. No word yet on whether any of this is related to the other major news coming out of Iran today.