Massive Attack (A Guy Niava Thriller Book 1) by Dana Arama (e reader for manga .txt) 📗

He wasn’t huge, average height, maybe. About six foot, perhaps a bit more. Broad shoulders. What attracted me were his eyes. They were blue with a hint of grey, almost black at times, and they contained a multitude of expression. During the day I would see in them amusement, concern and determination. Now, for the first time I saw in them seduction.

I closed the door behind him and pointed towards the kitchen. In a voice hoarse with passion I said, “I know we have a mission before us. We don’t have much time and I need to pack a few things.”

“I understand,” he answered and smiled. “You are requesting for me to be an independent guest and make my own coffee.”

“And make one for me, black and strong. Strong enough to keep me awake.” I thought it was just as well we weren’t standing in the hallway in close proximity, otherwise we may have been tempted to go to the bedroom instead and we would have been delayed even further. The apartment wasn’t big, but to keep him busy in the kitchen while I was taking a shower was the best solution for this situation. I also felt good that I had a few minutes to lock the room where I had all data from my investigation spread out. The pictures of Gail with Murat, a copy of their plane tickets to Mexico and a satellite picture of someone who looked an awful lot like Gail, sprawled out on a beach in Cancun, surrounded by a group of drug addicts.

Murat Lenika,

New York City, November 12, 2015 3:42 a.m.

Besides the sharp ring, an insistent vibration awoke me. I hoped it wasn’t another raid on the casino. My uncle had already answered numerous questions and the manager’s aide took precautionary methods when reporting on everything that was going on over there. My network of spies, the one I had built up for myself and generously rewarded, had paid off. That’s how I knew I had to keep hiding out and that they were onto the kidnapping. I looked at the number on the screen. I didn’t recognize it. I answered, “Yes?” I tried not to sound as drugged out as I felt.

“It took some time and a lot of money but we’re on it, boss.”

I could hear from his voice he sounded satisfied. I thought to myself that Dubroshin was also a good investment. Former KGB, addicted to adrenaline, with many skills, not the least of which was extremely flexible conscience.

“And what did you find out?”

“They got on a plane belonging to the Anti-Drug Authority and are about to land in Cancun.”

“Thanks, Dubroshin,” I said. “Excellent work.” I hoped I hadn’t shown the excitement in my voice. I knew that with that news, I had become more than just another distributor for El Desconocido.

For my next call I took on a dramatic tone when I announced, “Amigo, they are closing in on Zorro. They used a plane from the Anti-Drug Authority and took off now. A man and a woman. I think someone should keep an eye on them.”

Guy Niava,

En route to Cancun, November 12, 2015, 3:50 a.m.

To my surprise, the plane was civilian, as opposed to the FBI helicopter, or it at least appeared to be, with no obvious security features. I had flown in rented airplanes, private planes and luxury planes. This was a hybrid. A private airplane with minimal frills. I didn’t know where it was rented from and, in any case, it wasn’t my business, but I realized then that Laura had connections more advanced than the average office clerk.

By the time Cuba’s shoreline began appearing on my left, Laura had shut her computer, stopping whatever it was she was doing, and came to sit opposite me. It was quite amusing, the way she withheld certain bits of information from me. In a way, it seemed she was demonstrating that I was only a guest and I should stay in my place, or else. Or else what? Probably she wouldn’t share any more information with me, and I would be left in a bubble of uncertainty.

“Any news from New York?” I enquired.

“We are exploring all avenues. The team in charge of the kidnapping received more backup in order to follow the route of the car that kidnapped Jonathan. We know they ended up in a parking lot, but what happened on the way? The main problem is that the closest camera is two blocks away from where the kidnapping took place. And if the kidnappers knew that and wanted to avoid the cameras, they had two exit routes from the neighborhood without being watched by the cameras.”

“Not very encouraging at all,” I said. She didn’t have a clue how bad that sounded to me at all. In a kidnapping every minute is crucial, and the grains of sand were running out in Jonathan’s hourglass. “Who does the plane belong to?”

“Who do you think?”

“There are no outward signs that link it to any specific office…” I was trying and failing to find a hidden clue but, in the end, just guessed, “Privately owned?”

“Actually, the Anti-Drug Authority has airplanes which look civilian. If someone in Mexico knew that the plane belonged to the Anti-Drug Authority, there would be a great chance that they would blow up the plane on arrival. I don’t know if you are aware of the inter-cartel wars or the wars between the cartels and the government, but the whole business is dirty.”

“And the person who controls all this dirty business is Zorro.”

“Exactly. We need her to make sense of what is going on and to help us get to our destination.”

“What is our order of actions now?” I asked. I liked knowing what to expect ahead of time. “To settle in or to try and locate her?”

Laura looked at her watch and answered decisively, “To settle in. We’ll arrive too late for the real action