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At the exact time he was supposed to arrive, a black Mercedes pulled up to the office. It parked horizontally across three parking spots, and two bodyguards with hoodies on jumped out and opened the back door. They had their hoods up, obscuring their faces.
But the man who stepped out of the back didn’t bother to cover himself. Aldi Kadyrovic was a hawk-nosed man with small, beady eyes. His dark hair was so greasy it looked wet. And he had a permanent sneer on his face as he gazed up at our building, like everything was a joke to him.
If I had met him randomly on the street, I would have known he had evil in his heart. I relaxed a little. That made all of this easier. I made myself smile as his bodyguard opened the front door.
“Welcome to Elite Baku Helicopter Tours,” I said. Working here all week had helped me hone my pitch. “Mr. Kadyrovic, you’re right on time. Please, have a seat while we get you to sign some paperwork. Can I get you a water? Or coffee?”
He looked around the office. “Where is Daniel Ricardo?” he asked in a rough, accented voice.The voice of a madman.
I smiled apologetically. “He will be joining us after the tour, I’m afraid. But trust me, the wait will be worth it. Mr. Ricardo is excited to meet you. He is very selective with who he does these individual meet-and-greets with.”
Kadyrovic didn’t take my offer to sit; he remained standing with his arms crossed. One of his bodyguards filled out all of his paperwork for him. The other bodyguard stood in the corner and stared at me. His hood was up, so I couldn’t get a good look at him, but I got the impression he was staring daggers at me.
He’s right to be suspicious, I thought.We’re going to kill his master today.
Archer came out of the back room and introduced himself. He shook hands with Kadyrovic, but neither of the bodyguards made any move to do the same. The mood was tense. Forced.
“We are ready to depart at your leisure,” Archer said. “I’ve just wheeled the bird out onto the pad. If you’ll follow me…”
“Anton is coming, too,” Kadyrovic said, gesturing at the bodyguard who had been staring at me. “Vasili will stay behind to wait.”
Archer glanced at me. This wasn’t part of the plan. Kadyrovic had specifically requested that he be on the tour by himself, without any guards.
It doesn’t matter, Archer said to me with his eyes.It changes nothing.
“That’s quite fine,” he said with a disarming grin. “Plenty of room. Come on, then. It’s a beautiful sky for flying, today.”
The other bodyguard and I stood at the edge of the building and watched them board the helicopter. The rotors spun up, and then it lurched into the sky. We waited until it was out of sight before going back into the office.
I glanced at the other guard. He took one of the seats in the office and stared straight ahead. That wasn’t part of the plan, either. We had expected him to wait out in the car. But ultimately, it didn’t matter, either. When I broke for my fake lunch, he could stay inside or go out to his car. It didn’t matter.
Here’s hoping it works.
36
Trish
Kaylee liked packing. She saw it as a game, like Tetris, to fit everything into her little pink suitcase. She frowned down at it with all the seriousness an eight-year-old could muster, rearranging items here and there.
I was a bundle of weird emotions while packing my own suitcase. It felt like just yesterday when I had packed up to go on this month-long adventure. I was nervous, but mostly excited back then. I had no idea what was in store for me.
I never in a million years would have guessed how things would have turned out.
There was a nervous energy to my motions as I folded my clothes. I still felt somewhat violated after the attack in the market. I was sad about leaving. And I felt deeply, personally uncertain about what would happen next. The future was a big black blob, completely unknown and unpredictable.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one wondering.
“What do you want to do first when we get home?” Kaylee asked while zipping up her suitcase.
“What do you mean?”
“We could play a new videogame,” she said. “Or we could play with my K’nex. We only brought one box of pieces with us, so when we get home we could build somethingreallybig. Or we could play something else, if you want.”
I smiled at the innocent little girl. “I don’t know what will happen. I might go home. Tomyhome, I mean.”
“But then you’ll come back. Right?”
“Maybe.”
