The Last Ring-bearer - Kirill Yeskov [115]
"All right – two!"
"I said three and I meant three; I ain't a peanut seller. Quit haggling already, it's not like you're paying with your own money!"
"All right, whatever. Two now and the third when we take him on your info."
"'Whatever' is right – I tell you when and where, the rest is your problem. All three right now."
"What if you're cheating me?"
"Listen, we're adults in business, no? I'm not some wino offering you a pirate treasure map for a bottle, am I?"
Having pocketed the coins, Vaddari laid out the set-up:
"Know Castamir Square?"
"The one with a lake in the middle and three canals opening into it?"
"The same. The lake is round, a hundred fifty yards across; the canals open into it a hundred twenty degrees apart – counting from the rostral columns, at twelve, four, and eight o'clock. The embankment isn't unbroken – there are stairways down to the waterline, two between each pair of canals, that makes six. Seven in the evening I must be at the stairs to the right of the eight o'clock canal, dressed in a scarlet cape and a hat with black plumage. A water taxi will arrive by one of the canals; the gondolier will let me board after seeing those signs and will then follow my directions. I'm supposed to cruise from stair to stair, not one after the other, but rather crossing the lake: seven o'clock, eleven, three, and so on. Get it?"
"Yes, quite."
"There's almost no traffic on the lake at that time of day; if any other gondolas show up, I'm supposed to park and wait until they leave. Tangorn will come down one of the stairs once he's sure that there's no danger, and board my gondola. He will be in disguise and I will know him when he takes out a purple handkerchief and waves it twice. That's it. Good luck, Secretary, and good evening."
Vaddari got up and headed out of the coffeehouse where they have met, thinking in passing that he'd bet his life on Tangorn making fools of these guys.
The captain returned to the embassy and filled out a field agent expense report first thing: 4 (four) dungans. He was tempted to put in five, but restrained himself: greed kills, while a birdie pecks a little here and there and is satisfied. So, should he raise the Dol Amroth pennant, and hand Tangorn to that cutthroat from the capital on a silver platter? Like hell, he suddenly decided. Such opportunities come up but once in a lifetime; I'll capture him myself, and the winner is always right. He remembered Mongoose's eyes and shivered: maybe he should play it safe? Then he calmed himself: no, this is a sure thing. I have the time and place of the meeting, I have thirty-two operatives and five hours to prepare – the sun-like demiurge Aritan supposedly managed to create the entire Arda in five hours, complete with fish in the water, birds in the air, beasts on the ground, dragons in the fire, and man with all his disgusting habits…
Chapter 43
Umbar, Great Castamir Square
June 5, 3019
"How many have you counted, Jacuzzi?"
"Thirty-two."
"I can only see twelve…"
"I'd rather not point them out."
"Heavens, no! You, after all, are the operative, while I'm just an analyst, so you rule here." Almandin relaxed against the back of a wicker chair, enjoying his wine. They were sitting under a striped awning of one of the many small open cafes on Castamir Square, almost directly under a rostral column liberally studded with the prows of captured Gondorian ships, lazily observing the milling of the idle evening crowd. "If there's indeed thirty-two of them, then Marandil has brought out his entire staff, save the embassy guards. Do you see our performer, by any chance?"
Jacuzzi looked over the bustling embankment of the grubby round lake one more