The other way, and the most popular, was the cable car, which started at a station far down the mountain just outside Acharnes, a suburb of the greater Athens area. The cable cars were always packed, and Stiletto stood against the Plexiglass window with a crush of other Regency guests behind him. Standing room only. The parking lot at the cable car station had been full when he arrived by taxi, so that meant anybody taking their own car would have to brave the road.
Stiletto had been visiting the casino every night for the last three days, tracking Jafar el-Gad, his girlfriend, and his two-man entourage of security. Asaf Cohen’s suggestion of finding the Palestinian at the casino had been so spot on, Stiletto knew they’d been tracking the target even before Stiletto made his plea to continue the mission. He didn’t fault the Mossad man. A lot of things in the spy business happened based on suggestions, hints, and creative interpretations of other men’s words. It was up to people like Stiletto to make sure they made correct assessments of such indirect instructions.
Sometimes it was enough to make a guy crazy. Why couldn’t they say things directly, like normal people? That, Stiletto thought with a short laugh, assumed that spies were indeed normal people. He seriously doubted that they were.
As the cable car continued to creep along, the voices of the people surrounding him slightly muting the groans and whines of the thick cables holding the cabin aloft, Stiletto ran through what he knew about el-Gad.
El-Gad and his crew visited for a round of poker which often ended in el-Gad losing money. They avoided the cable car. El-Gad’s bodyguards drove him around in a four-door Jaguar XJ, white in color. The reason was obvious. The cable car represented a cage in which el-Gad could be trapped. Stiletto would have made the same call, except tonight he needed the cable car. He’d left his own car in the casino parking lot, positioned near the exit, and planned to follow the Palestinian back to whichever hideout he had secreted away in Athens. Their use of the road meant Stiletto could, if he made the effort, find an ambush point and blast the Jag off the road, but that would endanger civilians also using the road. If he were still with the C.I.A., they could do a drone strike as the car traveled, but he no longer had that option. He was on his own. He had to solve the inevitable problems that always came up in such a way that required nothing more than his ingenuity. He could do it, but he wished he didn’t have to. He wished he had help. He wished a lot of things.
He let out a sigh that created a small patch of condensation on the Plexiglass. The cable car was almost to the top. Stiletto wanted to be there now.
The cable car finally docked at the receiving platform and Stiletto waited while the other passengers disembarked into the dazzling and brightly lighted casino. He heard a lot of Greek, foreign languages, and some English. The Regency catered to tourists and locals alike. Stiletto made his way through a floor of buzzing and dinging slot machines, weaving around clusters of people trying to navigate their way around, and presently exited the front of the casino into the parking lot. His shoes scraped the outside steps and tapped a rhythm on the blacktop. It looked like every parking spot had a car in it, bright lamps lighting the way. His rented BMW sat in a farthest corner. Stiletto dropped behind the wheel and let out a deep breath. He couldn’t see the white Jaguar from where he sat, but there was only one exit, and he’d see the car for sure when el-Gad and his people departed.
Now he just had to stay awake and not get bored. The soft leather seat felt like a couch. He turned on the car’s accessory power and rolled down the windows to let the cold air in, then turned on the radio and found some music to listen to. Lastly, he removed a Montecristo cigar from the inside pocket of his jacket and struck a match to the foot. If he had to sit and wait, he could at least enjoy himself.
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.
Copyright © 2018 Brian Evankovich. All rights reserved. Including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author.
Version 2012.04.22