vehicle?”
“Plate number, aerial profile. Not to worry, we have it covered.”
“That’s not what I meant,” said the Eagle. How old is it?” He was thinking about the target possibilities.
There was a delay at the other end. They were gathering the information. “That’s a negative,” said the other man. “Cannot be used.”
The lawyer’s car was too old. Their man on the ground had checked it out while the two occupants were in the club. Just his luck. More than a million lawyers in the country and they had to find the one riding around in a dinosaur.
“We could try to hijack a cue ball,” said the voice from the other end. “That is, if they try to use his ride. But that is problematic.”
“You think?” Sarcasm dripped from the Eagle’s voice.
What the man at the other end was talking about was to electronically hijack another car or preferably a large late-model truck and use it like a missile to destroy the target vehicle.
“As I recall, that didn’t work very well last time.”
“We got the target.”
“You got half a target. The reason we’re doing the drill over again,” said the Eagle.
“Not our fault.”
“OK! All right!” said the Eagle. “Let’s not be splitting hairs on an open line.”
“We’ve got movement. The vehicle,” said the man on the phone. “Moving slowly, westerly direction. Away from the building. They do not appear to be in a hurry.”
“Any sign of the girl?” asked the Eagle.
“No. One moment.” Seconds went by, almost half a minute.
“Talk to me,” said the Eagle.
“They’ve stopped again. Half a block down heading west, stopped at the intersection. Looks as if they’re not exactly sure . . . hold on. They turned left and picked up speed. Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“They pulled into a parking lot.”
“Where?” said the Eagle. He was getting too old for this. The stress, the long days, it was taking a toll.
“One moment.” More seconds passed.
“It’s a motel.”
“Damn it!”
“One of them is out of the vehicle, headed toward the front of the building. Looks like he’s gone inside.”
The Eagle knew it. They had set up a meeting. He wondered how much the lawyer already knew. A transcript with more holes than Swiss cheese, she could have told him anything inside that club. The girl was likely to remember him, right down to his silver-handled cane. She had commented on it, the fact that she’d never dated someone who carried a cane before. She called it “elegant.” He wondered if she was putting him on or putting him down. What was an old man like him doing in a club like this? Business, if the truth be told. Champagne and a room upstairs, conversation and money changing hands. Services rendered, but not the usual kind. Sweet girl, and bright. She didn’t miss a trick.
“Both men have now exited the vehicle and entered the motel. What do you want to do?” The voice at the other end of the phone roused him and set the adrenaline flowing again.
“Just hang tight. Keep an eye on them and call me the minute the girl leaves the other building. Do we know where her ride is?”
“One moment.” There was a delay. He could hear voices in the background over the line. “The driver is on the road, just exiting I-5, en route.”
“Headed her way?”
“That’s affirmative.”
All the pieces suddenly snapped into place. They were waiting for her at the motel. She called her ride and, depending on what they told her, how much she knew, she was either getting ready to meet with them or getting ready to run.
What he couldn’t be sure of was how much she knew. She had very quick eyes and they seemed to be everywhere all at once, spilling over you like a flood. There was little that escaped her. She caught him up in two small lies in the first three minutes of their conversation the one time he met her. That and the fact that the story he gave her about a practical joke being played on a young friend, the
“Plate number, aerial profile. Not to worry, we have it covered.”
“That’s not what I meant,” said the Eagle. How old is it?” He was thinking about the target possibilities.
There was a delay at the other end. They were gathering the information. “That’s a negative,” said the other man. “Cannot be used.”
The lawyer’s car was too old. Their man on the ground had checked it out while the two occupants were in the club. Just his luck. More than a million lawyers in the country and they had to find the one riding around in a dinosaur.
“We could try to hijack a cue ball,” said the voice from the other end. “That is, if they try to use his ride. But that is problematic.”
“You think?” Sarcasm dripped from the Eagle’s voice.
What the man at the other end was talking about was to electronically hijack another car or preferably a large late-model truck and use it like a missile to destroy the target vehicle.
“As I recall, that didn’t work very well last time.”
“We got the target.”
“You got half a target. The reason we’re doing the drill over again,” said the Eagle.
“Not our fault.”
“OK! All right!” said the Eagle. “Let’s not be splitting hairs on an open line.”
“We’ve got movement. The vehicle,” said the man on the phone. “Moving slowly, westerly direction. Away from the building. They do not appear to be in a hurry.”
“Any sign of the girl?” asked the Eagle.
“No. One moment.” Seconds went by, almost half a minute.
“Talk to me,” said the Eagle.
“They’ve stopped again. Half a block down heading west, stopped at the intersection. Looks as if they’re not exactly sure . . . hold on. They turned left and picked up speed. Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“They pulled into a parking lot.”
“Where?” said the Eagle. He was getting too old for this. The stress, the long days, it was taking a toll.
“One moment.” More seconds passed.
“It’s a motel.”
“Damn it!”
“One of them is out of the vehicle, headed toward the front of the building. Looks like he’s gone inside.”
The Eagle knew it. They had set up a meeting. He wondered how much the lawyer already knew. A transcript with more holes than Swiss cheese, she could have told him anything inside that club. The girl was likely to remember him, right down to his silver-handled cane. She had commented on it, the fact that she’d never dated someone who carried a cane before. She called it “elegant.” He wondered if she was putting him on or putting him down. What was an old man like him doing in a club like this? Business, if the truth be told. Champagne and a room upstairs, conversation and money changing hands. Services rendered, but not the usual kind. Sweet girl, and bright. She didn’t miss a trick.
“Both men have now exited the vehicle and entered the motel. What do you want to do?” The voice at the other end of the phone roused him and set the adrenaline flowing again.
“Just hang tight. Keep an eye on them and call me the minute the girl leaves the other building. Do we know where her ride is?”
“One moment.” There was a delay. He could hear voices in the background over the line. “The driver is on the road, just exiting I-5, en route.”
“Headed her way?”
“That’s affirmative.”
All the pieces suddenly snapped into place. They were waiting for her at the motel. She called her ride and, depending on what they told her, how much she knew, she was either getting ready to meet with them or getting ready to run.
What he couldn’t be sure of was how much she knew. She had very quick eyes and they seemed to be everywhere all at once, spilling over you like a flood. There was little that escaped her. She caught him up in two small lies in the first three minutes of their conversation the one time he met her. That and the fact that the story he gave her about a practical joke being played on a young friend, the
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