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“We have,” she replies tightly, turning the screen so I can see it. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better than the other place. Zé’s making the arrangements. He knows what we need.”
“As soon as we get there, we’ll send word to Will of the hotel change, and he’ll get it to the plane. That should send the rats scurrying.” Hopefully right into our trap.
“Clarke’s not exactly an amenable guy. What if he doesn’t go along with the change?”
Then we’re screwed. “He will,” I assure her. “He’ll assume that when we got on the ground, we saw something that alarmed us.”
It’s a risk not telling him up front. I have no doubt we were on a secure line, but he’s juggling a lot of balls. I don’t want to take any chances that the wires get crossed. Besides, the best way to control the outcome is to control the pieces. Some of them are in the hands of the enemy, but the rest are ours to manipulate.
“If we have to read Clarke in to appease him, we will,” I tell Tamar. “But that’s plan B.”
She nods. “Our team is minutes from entering the city.”
“Send the four best sharpshooters to the airport. Tell them to observe at a distance unless Ms. Clarke’s entourage is ambushed. If that happens, they need to take immediate action. Warn them that they will likely be expected, and that there’s a shoot order.” It might be directed at me, but any order on me extends to my people as well. “Send the other two to stake out the original hotel. Have them alert us when Will’s soldiers leave the premises, and tell them to pick up anyone who leaves after them—male or female.”
That’s the best scenario. The worst is that the guards are working with the enemy.
“Our people need to remain in constant contact,” I add.
“What if it’s just the guards who leave?”
“Then we know they’re involved, and getting Ms. Clarke out of Quimper is going to be particularly challenging.”
“We’re two minutes from touchdown,” the pilot announces through the intercom.
“We need to find a place in her room to hide until she’s alone. Because once she’s there, no one’s getting near her room.”
“Maybe I can. They’ll be less suspicious of a woman.”
“They’re not going to take any chances. Her life’s on the line, and if they fuck up, it’ll be an ugly end for them.” Will won’t show a lick of mercy. If they fuck it up, they better hope Will gets to them before I do.
She nods and puts the interior layout on the big screen. “We took a section of the hotel without suites to ensure that the guards wouldn’t stay in the room with her once they’ve swept it.”
It’s good thinking, but a single room means there are fewer places to disappear.
“I’ll go to the roof,” I mutter, studying the layout. There will definitely be somewhere to hide up there, and they don’t have a large enough team to search every inch of the place on short notice. That’s one of the perks of the last-minute hotel change. “From there, I’ll find a way onto the balcony after her guards check the room.”
“You’re not serious, right?” she asks, as the wheels hit the ground with a thud, although there’s no thud that can mask the exasperation in her voice.
“You have a better idea?”
“Platform beds in hotel rooms are hollow.” She points to the screen. “The beds in upscale establishments are high off the floor—that means taller platforms, which leaves plenty of room for lying in wait.”
I’ve never known Tamar to be prone to hyperbole. If she’s not sure, she says so. But we’re in a tough spot, bordering on desperate, and I can’t afford to leave anything to chance.
“How do you know those beds are on hollow platforms? Fabric obscures the entire bottom of the bed to the floor.”
“The hotel was completely renovated two years ago. I guarantee the mattress is sitting on a platform. It’s industry standard. The bed skirt is for polish.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. It’s too expensive to make them solid. I’ve seen this tactic used successfully before. Many times. Including with platforms that were not as tall as these appear to be.”
It’s genius. “Once I’m in, how do I get out?”
“The room she’ll be in has a king-size bed.”
In most of the world, that means two single beds pushed together. It certainly does in Europe.
