False Horizon - Alex Archer [16]
Burton wandered into another room.
This was his chance.
Tuk eased over to the main door and cracked it open, passing out of it as quickly and noiselessly as he could manage. He heard the soft hiss as the door closed behind him and then he was fairly running to the stairwell, shooting down to the floors below the penthouse.
Once there, he hopped on the elevator and sank to the lobby. He walked out as easily as he’d entered and then took up a position outside of the hotel. He would be able to see Burton and Kurtz remove Annja Creed and the fellow known as Mike.
He removed the cell phone from his pocket again and pressed the number two. It was answered immediately.
“Were you successful?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Tell me everything you heard and saw.”
Tuk faithfully recounted the entire escapade, delving into detail about the conversation and then also about the mysterious woman in the apartment.
The man on the phone seemed especially intrigued about her. “You said she seemed to know you were there.”
“Without a doubt. She knew I was there. In another moment she might have killed me, such was the feeling she gave me.”
“But when the man you called Burton came around the corner, she assumed the guise of a servant woman again?”
“Yes.”
“Very interesting.”
“Terrifying,” Tuk said.
“She is no doubt some type of plant on Tsing. Of that we can be certain. But for what reason?”
“I don’t know,” Tuk said.
“Where are you right at this moment?”
Tuk glanced around. He was again hidden in the shadows and certain no one would see him. The only way he could be discovered was if someone overheard him talking on the phone.
“I’m hidden across the street from the hotel entrance.”
“You said Tsing’s men will take them to the airfield?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a back entrance to the hotel they might opt to use instead of the front?”
“There is,” Tuk said. “But it leads only to an alley too small for a car to travel down. If they want to use a car to transport Annja Creed and her friend, they will need to come out the front entrance.”
The man grunted. “They’ll wait, then, until very late. When there’s a skeleton crew on duty in the lobby. That way they’ll be able to pass without too much interest in what they’re doing.”
“That is my guess, as well,” Tuk said. “I will stay with them all the way.”
“Good. I need to look a little bit further into this strange woman you spoke of just now. I want to know more about her and who she really is.”
“May I ask what your feeling is about her?”
“I’m not sure yet. But it may be assumed that she is no mere servant girl. She is obviously positioned close to Tsing for some reason. But for what, I don’t know.”
“She scared me. And I’ve never felt fear like that.”
“You did well,” the man said on the phone. “You acquitted yourself admirably and performed excellently. I’m very pleased with the results of your reconnaissance. Now I must decide what to do about this new wrinkle.”
“I do not envy you.”
“Just continue to make certain that Annja Creed stays safe. If Tsing lives up to his word, then all should be fine. But I want you around just in case.”
“And if it appears that Burton and Kurtz mean them harm?”
The man paused for the slightest moment. “I don’t wish to tell you how to handle that situation if you are not comfortable with it. However, my primary concern is that Annja Creed remains safe. As such, any steps you think wise to ensure that may be taken.”
Tuk grunted. “Understood.” He calmly fingered the folded kukri in his pocket. Dispatching Burton and Kurtz would please him.
“Don’t be in a hurry to exact vengeance on those who have wronged you, my friend. Act only if the situation calls for it. But if you must act, then do it swiftly and boldly. You must strike first and be without restraint in order to win the day.”
“I will.”
“Keep me informed of any developments.” The line disconnected and Tuk was once more alone in the darkness.
A stiff breeze blew out of the northwest and circled around