Glenn sat in the restaurant off of the hotel's lobby, his nose buried in a book. At least that's what it would have looked like to anyone who saw him. His concentration appeared to be totally on what he was reading. In point of fact he was barely aware of what was on the page. Instead he watched a man who was in the small bar sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant. He was his target and probably one of the most dangerous men Glenn had ever gone after.
Dangerous because he was exactly like Glenn.
'So who's your target?' Glenn wondered. If he could find that out it could give him the edge he needed. So far Glenn had been in the city for twenty-four hours and the man he was after hadn't even left the hotel. 'Someone here or someone who hasn't arrived yet?'
When the man turned on the barstool to glance toward the lobby Glenn cautiously checked to see what had captured his attention. There were four people on their way to the check-in desk, each one with luggage, none apparently with any of the others. The man returned his gaze to his drink but Glenn saw his eyes flick to the back bar mirror which would give him a decent view of the elevators.
Two of the new arrivals finished signing in and headed to the elevators. Glenn's target shifted but stayed where he was. Glenn knew he was tracking which floors the elevator stopped at. Then the man finished his drink and ordered another, apparently not interested in the remaining pair still at the desk.
'That narrowed it down a bit.' Glenn closed his book, and left the restaurant after he'd stopped to pay for his meal. In need of a smoke, he stepped outside and lit up. Then he strolled far enough from the entrance that he wouldn't be hassled by the doorman and leaned against a pillar, ostensibly just enjoying the cigarette and the cool night air. In actuality he had a good view of the elevators from where he stood. He knew which floor his target was staying on, so if the man stopped at another one he'd know where to find the person he was after.
It took twenty minutes and another cigarette before the man left the bar and headed to the elevators. Just as Glenn had hoped, the man was alone when he got on, and he rode up two floors above what would have been his normal stop. Five minutes later the light for that floor lit up again and the elevator went down two floors and stopped.
Glenn headed back to his room to send an encoded email to his friendly hacker with the name of the hotel, the time the two men had arrived and the floor he was interested in. Ten minutes later he got his reply.
"Well professor," he murmured under his breath, "let's see if I can keep you alive and still deal with the man I'm after."
The man who hired Glenn had worked quickly once Glenn came up with a plan. The ID Glenn needed, plus two other items, arrived by private courier just after two am, along with the keys to a university security car which had been left in a parking garage a block away from the hotel. Glenn picked up the car, drove it to the hotel's front entrance then told the doorman that he would be back as soon as he'd collected his charge.
'If it were me I'd take him out on his way to the lab.' Glenn smiled tightly. 'But then he's not me and he likes to show off. So, where would make the biggest impact, and how? At the lab. Yes.'
Those were Glenn's thoughts when he rapped on the professor's hotel room door, He adjusted the dark glasses he was wearing as the professor opened it and introduced himself as a member of the security team from the lab.
"We may be acting overcautious," Glenn said as he showed the professor his ID, "but better that than having some disgruntled dissident trying to take a potshot at you."
"Absolutely," the professor agreed haughtily. "I shall be ready to leave in ten minutes."
Glenn paced impatiently as the professor took his time making certain he had everything he needed. Finally the man said he was ready. Glenn nodded, held up his hand, and stepped into the hall. When he determined it was clear he beckoned the professor to follow him. Three minutes later they were in the car.
No comments:
Post a Comment