City of the Star
I just want to thank those of you who are viewing. I really appreciate
it, and I'm glad I managed to catch some interest.
Chapter 4
Jacqueline barely slept, but the adrenaline running through her kept her
very alert. The partners had tried to make it look like they were
simple tourists, taking lunch at a small seafood place near the beach
before asking their waiter where they could rent a car for the day.
Jacqueline had hardly listened as Raymond talked with the waiter about
some hot spots they could find just out of town.
That had been an hour ago. Now she listened intently to Raymond as the
two of them bounced along a rocky stretch of road in their small rented
jeep. "They would send Parker," he was saying.
"So you know him."
"Yes. He and I used to work together for a little while. I doubt he'd
be happy to see me, seeing as how last time I saw him, I saved him from
dying on the Queen Zenobia, then dumped him in the Mediterranean."
"You what?" Jacqueline turned to face Raymond, her hair whipping around
her. "Did I just hear you correctly?"
Raymond nodded, taking his eyes off the road for a second to meet hers.
"I dumped him in the Mediterranean. I, of course, could not take him
with me. He is in the BSAA, after all." After a pause, he added, "I
did leave him somewhere he would be found."
"Remind me not to need your help," Jacqueline muttered. She attempted
to brush her hair out of her eyes, then gave up. The open vehicle would
not allow her hair to stay in place.
Raymond smirked. "You'll be fine... just as long as you don't cross
me."
In an effort to change the subject, Jacqueline asked, "So, any changes
to the plan?"
"None." He looked at the road ahead of them. Barely visible on the
horizon was the outskirts of a city about twice the size of Citlali.
Many tourists had found their way here, as the locals advised them to
do. There was more to do for people who did not like just a life on the
beach. The bars, clubs, and people were a little less exotic but were
promised to be more exciting.
"Did I just see a strip club?" Jacqueline asked him as they drove into
the heart of the area.
"Probably." He brought the rental to a stop in front of a deli. "You
know what to do, right?" She nodded. "Good. Meet me back here in an
hour."
He let her by the jeep, wondering for a moment if she would be fine by
herself. They could cover more ground, and could cover it faster,
separately.
He reached down, made sure his phone was in his pocket, then crossed the
busy street. Jackie had her part to play and he had his. He ducked
down one alley and came out onto another street. He pulled his phone
from his pocket and began to send texts. While he did that, he would
glance out the corner of his eye, looking at every shop he passed. He
stopped in front of a brick building that housed a boutique. After
sending a few more diversion texts, he snapped his phone shut and
murmured "Perfect."
It took Raymond's eyes a moment to get used to the dimness of the
boutique. He blinked rapidly then stepped further into the shop. He
knew exactly what they needed and did not dally. The two would never
past for "doctors," but dark clothing would suffice.
He found himself doubly lucky that the young man behind the counter
seemed more interested in his magazine than in Raymond himself. He
would never even remember Raymond was there.
When he returned to the bright sunshine outside of the shop, Raymond
found himself wondering again if Jackie could jam the BSAA's
communications. When he asked her the night before, she had said she
was not sure if she could.
"I've never tried anything like that before," she had confessed. "I'll
see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."
'If she can't do that,' he thought, 'she can at least try to keep tabs
on where they are.'
Finding the second place he needed to go to was a little more
challenging. Silently, Raymond cursed Marco for not providing them with
everything they could possibly need.
As Raymond hunted for one shop, Jacqueline hunted for another.
Mentally, she wondered if this plan of theirs would work, but she did
not voice concerns to Raymond. 'It's too much like a movie,' she
thought. 'Nothing works like the movies.'
She had been completely shocked by his request to block BSAA
communications. She had never done that before. She could perhaps hack
into their frequency if that would help, but completely messing with
them? She shook her head as she wandered the streets.
A large crowd had gathered in front of a store. Jacqueline managed to
catch bits and pieces of the conversation, but for the most part she
could not understand it at all. She pushed her way through the crowd
and managed to reach the door. As she grasped the knob, a thought
struck her. 'This would be a better place for a bioterrorist attack
than Citlali.'
She shuddered as she stepped into the store. It was more crowded than
the entrance if that was even possible. 'The one place I need to go...'
she thought bitterly. She stepped past two small children that were
fighting over a handheld video game system. 'How am I ever going to
find anything in here?' she wondered.
She passed up and down aisle after aisle of electronics, but not the
type of electronic device she needed. She bent down to examine a small,
somewhat expensive set of walkies when she heard someone clear their
throat. She straightened up and turned around, then cringed.
An older man nearly half a foot shorter than herself was grinning at
her. "May I help you?" he asked with a thick accent.
"Just looking," Jacqueline replied casually. "Trying to find a present
for a friend, you know."
"Oh? What is she interested in?"
He took a step closer to her. Jacqueline could feel her skin crawl as
he looked her over. "He," she said, "really enjoys beating up
perverts."
"Tsh." The man walked away from her, muttering in Spanish. Jacqueline
looked around, made sure no one was looking in her direction, palmed the
walkies, tucked them in her pocket, then casually walked out of the
store.
On the street she increased her speed, not stopping for anything or
anyone until she reached the jeep. She beat Raymond there, though she
would have been happier if he was there before her.
She slid into the passenger seat, tucked the stolen goods under the
seat, and grabbed her phone. Raymond answered on the first ring.
"Please tell me you're on your way."
"I am. Any trouble?"
"Nothing you'd ditch me in the ocean over. I hope."
Raymond gritted his teeth. "I'll be right there," he told her. "Just
stay put and don't kill anyone."
"Right."
Jacqueline sat there, fighting the urge to glance around. After what
seemed like an hour Raymond joined her. "Did you get what you needed?"
he demanded.
"Uh, yeah, but I don't know what good it will do..." she trailed off as
she removed the walkies from under the seat.
"How much?"
"Oh they were on clearance. Five finger discount."
He stared at her. She broke and looked away. "I didn't want to deal
with that guy, he was a creeper. I pissed him off and swiped them.
Honestly, with everything I do, a little theft really isn't going to
hurt too much." She turned them over in her hand, her thumb caressing
the buttons. "I really don't think this will work."
"Worth a try," Raymond said, pulling out of the parking spot.
They did not speak for most of the ride back to Citlali. He tossed one
of the bags to her and followed her to her room. He sat down on the bed
next to her and watched silently as she booted up her laptop. "I should
find something smaller," she muttered. Her fingers flew across the
keyboard as she typed. When she reached the BSAA database she scowled.
"Nothing." She closed the laptop and looked at Raymond. "Unless
they've decided to back out, then we're going in blind." Jacqueline
glanced at the walkies before grabbing one. "Here's hoping..."
As she worked on the walkies with a very little toolkit, Raymond paced
the room. He was at the window when the phone in his pocket vibrated.
"Damn."
"What?" Jacqueline did not look up from what she was attempting to do.
"Marco."
"Son of a - " Jacqueline let out a muffled squeak as a static squeal
issued from the device in her hand. "What does he want?"
Raymond read the message before giving Jacqueline the general idea. "He
says our schedule just got tighter and to hurry."
"What does he think we're doing, working on our tans?" She swore again.
"Calm down. Either this works or it doesn't. Either way, we're going
in tonight and seeing what can be done."