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A few minutes later, we were driving down the road to get some tacos at a local restaurant around Perwata Park. Nancy was very quiet, and something was strange about the way she looked at me.
We arrived at the restaurant, and I parked the truck. Before she got out, Nancy adjusted her pistol in the back of her pants and slid her phone into the inner pocket of her suit. I looked at her, trying to understand why she was so nervous when she had seemed so composed all these days. I reckoned it was probably the call she’d taken in the bedroom.
We walked into the restaurant and ordered tacos. Then we sat at a table and ate.
“Can you do me a favor and call your boss to ask how Andrei is doing?”
She nodded. “Actually, he just called a few minutes ago. Your boyfriend is fine.”
Something was off. She had received a call from her boss, and she didn't tell me right away. And why didn’t Luck Murphy call me? He had been calling every day since Andrei left to see if I might spill some things about Andrei, but today he didn’t call. I rechecked my phone to be sure I hadn’t missed his call. No. No one had called me. Not even a text. I put the phone down and continued eating.
When her phone rang again, she got up and walked to the bathroom. This time, I followed her.
I could see her shoes under the door, so I took the cubicle next to hers.
“You want me to keep an eye on her?”
She listened for a few seconds before speaking. Sometimes it seemed she interrupted the other person.
“You think he abandoned the mission. What does that even mean?
“Okay.
“So, what should I do?
“Convince her to go back to the States? Are you joking?
“Why?
"You do that...”
She sighed and ended the call. I could hear her sitting down and taking a deep breath and then the sound of the tap rushing.
Quickly, I opened the door and pointed the gun I had in my purse at her. The shock on her face told me that she was caught completely off guard.
“So Andrei abandoned the mission...” I said in a confident tone. She narrowed her eyes at me, then turned to wash her hands.
“Put that down before you hurt somebody, Elise. You’re not a target of the CIA. Not yet at least. I’ll tell you what you need to know, then you can stay with me until Marcello is dead or leave. But if I were you, I would stick around. Something is telling me that Andrei is about to do something stupid. Something that might save you but cost him his life.”
Chapter 22
Andrei
It was dark when I woke up on the couch in my room at the motel. It was colder than the night before, and I was still wearing a jacket and a baseball cap. It was like living in South Africa again, wearing hats and jackets and trying to stay off the radar. Only, this time, the CIA clearly knew where I was, and I broke protocol. If I would have just returned to Indonesia right after leaving the Radcliff estate, I could have outrun them and grabbed Elise for another round of cat and mouse. But for how long?
No. I needed to take out Marcello, no matter the cost. Once that piece of shit was done, Elise and our child stood a chance of a normal life. The CIA had no interest in her. She knew nothing, and with me dead, she was worthless to them.
With me dead...
Because that was the likeliest outcome of fucking over the CIA and then being stupid enough to stay in town to take out Marcello.
But so what?
Elise and the baby get to live, a monster dies. Fair enough, happy ending, if you ask me.
I tossed my bag over my shoulder and walked down to the reception, where I put some dollar notes on the counter. The female owner of the motel glanced at me, surprised at how much cash I put on the desk. Who the hell still paid a stay in cash these days? She was still blinking at me as I walked to my car.
I started the engine and took a deep breath. Then I drove out of the parking lot. I’d hardly been able to sleep. I had been caught in a trap, and now I was about to do something that could land me in serious trouble or more likely put a bullet in my head. I knew Luck Murphy and the rest of the CIA would expect me to make a move on Marcello.
