The Old Town Square was quiet at this time of the morning. Only a handful of people roamed about, and most of them appeared to be tourists. Cassie checked her watch. Five fifty-seven. Her heart began to flutter as she thought about what or who could possibly come in the next three minutes.
She was sitting near the statue of Jan Hus, her hood up against the chill that hung in the early morning air. The sun was creeping up over the horizon, washing the grand city of Prague with its soft glow. A young woman in a puffy coat walked by and greeted Cassie. "Ahoj."
"Ahoj," she politely responded. Cassie watched the woman as she walked away. Is she the one? Was that some sort of signal to follow her? There was no way to be sure, except to hope whoever was doing this "trade" made it clear who they were. Also, who was to say that they were coming to trade with her? The note just said the artifact "is going to be traded". And what would she trade for it if they were coming to meet her? She smiled as she thought to herself, I guess I haven't thought that far ahead.
Cass looked intently at one of the twenty-seven crosses that marked the pavement in honor of those who had been executed after the Battle of White mountain (She had spent the last half hour reading up on the square's history on her phone), and a shiver ran down her spine. So much history here! And yet somehow the city made her feel uneasy and on edge, like she would never be able to fully trust anyone she met here.
She stood and stretched her arms as a cover for her to be able to scan the square again without drawing too much attention. This time she noticed a tall, bearded man wearing a flat cap and black turtleneck. She knew from her frequent observations that he had just arrived, and he was standing reading a newspaper. Nothing particularly suspicious, he could just be checking the times that the different tourist traps opened, but Cassie felt that he was somehow out of place. She took a stroll around, pretending to admire the Jan Hus statue, and eventually resettled in a place that would be a bit easier to keep an eye on the man. Acting as though she was blissfully enjoying the Gothic architecture of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, she watched the man through her peripheral vision and took note that he would regularly lower the paper he was reading just enough to look at her over the top of it. Cassie's pulse began to pound. Had she made herself too obvious? Was this man the artifact trader, or was he just an innocent bystander who was getting some weird vibes from her? Or was this her worst fears come true and he was just some creep who was stalking her? Suddenly her whole plan seemed crazy. What was she doing here, and who did she think she was? If this man attacked her, how would she defend herself? Her only weapon was a pocket knife, and the thought of seriously hurting someone- or even killing them- made her stomach turn. Punching smart-ass bullies was one thing. Killing for survival was something else entirely.
As a sudden panic set in, Cassie decided to get up and go back to the hotel. She put conscious effort toward maintaining her cool as she stood and slowly walked away, trying to seem as casual as possible, all while her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She was about halfway across the square when she realized with horror that the man in the flat cap was following her. Her throat got tight, but she reminded herself that there were other people around, and it was probably unlikely that he would try to do anything in such a public place. Then again, he was the one who called the meeting here, so...
Cassie turned down the nearest street, putting the man temporarily out of sight, and broke into a run. She ran almost blind to everything around her, focused only on getting to the safety of her hotel. She didn't even notice the man in a leather jacket and sunglasses coming towards her, and she didn't notice when he jutted his foot just slightly out into the walkway, but suddenly she tripped, falling headlong onto the pavement. Cassie pushed herself up off the ground, the rough asphalt creating an unpleasant sensation on her newly-skinned knees.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said a man's voice in a very American accent. "Here let me help you." He bent down and took her by the shoulders.
"Uh, no thanks," Cassie said uneasily. "I'm fine."
The man's grip tightened on her arms and Cassie suddenly felt sick with fear. "No really," he said. "I insist." He proceeded to pull her to her feet and push her into an alley, where two other men with gray hooded sweatshirts approached them from the other direction.
Oh my God, Cassie thought to herself.
"We've been expecting you," her captor said in her ear. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Drake."
"Listen," Cassie said, her voice quaking, "I don't know who you are or what you want, but if you don't let me go, you're going to have the police on you so fast-"
"Is that right?" the man holding her arms said as he reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "I don't think that will be necessary, now. This will all be very clean after all."
"Get your hands out of my pants, you creep," Cassie spat at him. "And give me my phone back."
"Not quite yet, Miss Drake. We must first see too it that you are secure, and then we will give you back everything in due time." The man suddenly spoke sharply to the men in hoods as he handed them the phone. "The handcuffs, boys. Quickly."
Cassie opened her mouth to scream, but had it immediately covered by her attacker, while one of the others moved closer with the cuffs.
Then there was the sound of a metal bar striking something hard, and the man released his grip on Cassie, falling unconscious to the ground beside her. Cassie staggered backward, away from the two men in hoods, and realized it was the bearded man with the flat cap who had just saved her. He stood with a short metal pipe in his hand and scowled at the other two thugs.
"Why don't you blokes pick on someone your own size?" he said in a thick cockney accent. The two remaining thugs looked at each other in surprise and then turned heel and ran. The man in the flat cap chuckled. "That's what I thought." He then turned to Cassie. "Not hurt, are you love?"
"N-no. No I don't think so," Cassie stammered.
"Good," the man tossed aside the pipe. "Got yourself in a bit of a bind there."
"I guess so," Cassie said, still trying to make sense of what was happening.
"So you, uh," the man struggled for words. "What brings you to the square today?"
Cassie hedged."Oh, just seeing the sights."
The man nodded and did some fumbling. "The, er, plum dumplings were delicious, weren't they?"
She looked at him blankly. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," he said quickly and turned away. "Right, well I hope everything goes well for you. Have a nice day."
"No wait! You're here for some kind of deal, aren't you?" Cassie called after him.
"What? No!" he said defensively, turning to face her.
"No, no," Cassie insisted. "You've been acting fishy ever since you showed up. What's the deal?"
The man seemed frustrated. "Look, darling. I don't even know who you are-"
"Cassie Drake," she said boldly, sticking her hand out toward him.
The man's eyes went about as wide and round as dinner plates, and he stuttered as he repeated, "Cassie D-Drake?"
"That's right," she said.
The man found his composure and shook his head, muttering, "Oh, bollocks."
"What?"
He put his head back and sighed. "Why does this have to happen?"
"What?" Cassie asked more insistently.
"Alright, love, you're coming with me," the man said determinedly.
This time it was Cassie's eyes that widened. "Uh, excuse me? I don't think so."
"Look, these guys had designs on you, and I don't know what they were, but I'm not leaving you alone to find out."
"I'm actually not alone, I'm with my school group, so-"
"Oh, lovely. So they can fight them off with their pencil sharpeners," the man said sarcastically. "If you know what's best for you you'll come with me." Then he turned and began walking away.
Cassie felt so confused. "But wait, I don't even know who you are!"
The man turned again. "Charlie Cutter," he said with a slight bow and sweep of the arm. "Your father's old partner in crime."
Cassie gasped. "You're Charlie Cutter?"
"In the flesh."
"That is so cool!" she exclaimed. "I always heard so many stories about you! Although my dad never said you had a beard."
"It's been fifteen years since we worked together love," Charlie said. "But also, in my line of work it's sometimes helpful to not be immediately recognizable when you walk into a place, if you know what I mean."
"Sure," Cassie said.
"Now, if you don't mind hurryin' it up a bit I've got a meeting to get to," he said, and began walking back toward the square with Cassie close behind.
They moved at a brisk pace, with Charlie checking his watch as they went. "Bloody six twenty," he muttered. "I hope I didn't miss him."
"Mind filling me in on what this is all about?" Cassie asked.
"This," Charlie said curtly, pulling a bronze cased compass out of his pocket. Cassie took it from him and examined it. "A client offered a significant sum of money for me to obtain and deliver it."
Cassie examined the relief on the outside of the case depicting an eagle standing on top of a swastika. "The Reichsadler... World War Two," she murmured as she flipped it open to look at the compass face, which had an image of a dragon behind the compass rose. "Looks vaguely interesting, but not like something that you couldn't find in someone's attic somewhere."
"There's a bit more to it than meets the eye, love, or at least that's the story." Charlie looked around the square, searching for his contact. "Not here," he said. "Something must have come up."
"Who is this guy you're meeting?" Cassie asked him as he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through some contacts. She noted with some amusement that he still used a flip phone.
"Oh, you're just full of questions aren't you?" Charlie said.
"Sorry!" Cassie blushed slightly.
He flashed her a grin full of pearly white teeth. "Just pullin' your leg. His name's Ian Foster. Calls himself an 'acquirer of goods.'"
"Sounds like a fancy name for thief," Cassie said.
"Damn right it is," Cutter replied. He was silent for a moment as he continued looking through his phone, then he asked, "So how did you get here?
"With my school trip," Cassie answered.
"No, I mean to the square. This morning."
"Oh," Cassie adjusted her glasses. "Someone knocked on my door early this morning. When I got up to see who it was, no one was there, but there was a note taped to my door telling me to be here at six."
"Not good," Charlie said. "Someone tried to set you up. But why? Who knows you're here?"
"Just my family and the people at my high school," Cassie said. "But those guys definitely weren't students."
Cutter's phone rang. "It's him," he said, and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?...No, no... Right... At the where?... Right, see you then."
"What's he saying?" Cassie inquired.
"He said he got held up and won't be in town until this evening, but by then the square will be too busy to make the deal without attracting attention. He wants to meet at a club called the 'Amber Room'. Don't have any idea where that is, but I'm sure we can look it up."
"It's down that street, I saw it yesterday," Cassie said, pointing in the right direction. "Just past the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn."
"Oh that's convenient."
"I know, right? It's just right there."
"No I mean, the name of the church. Get it? Our lady before ten goes to church, and then our lady after ten goes to the club," Charlie said.
Cassie chuckled. "It's spelled differently, but good joke anyway."
"Now I imagine I should call your parents and let them know where you're at," Cutter said.
"Please don't. Not yet. They're going to be scared out of their minds, especially my mom." Cassie said. "I'm an adult now, I'll call them when I'm ready."
Charlie looked at her and shrugged. "Suit yourself." He slipped his phone back in his pocket. "Now let's go take a gander at this place. You know, a little reconnaissance." Together they walked down the street to the club to check out the outside of it. It was a three story building with a limestone balustrade on the roof and lots of cornices and corbels, and the name was written in floral script across the marquee awning. "It looks bloody fancy," Cutter said, peering in through the windows. "Do you have anything decent to wear?"
"You want me to come with you?" Cassie asked in surprise.
Charlie looked at her. "I told you I wasn't going to leave you by yourself with those blokes after you. Besides," he said, "this is a very simple operation. Just walk in there, give him the compass, get the money, and get out."
"Then no, I guess I don't," Cassie said.
"Well neither do I," he said. "So I guess we're going shopping."
Nate and Elena's laughter rang through the cool night air as they burst through the door of their beach home. It was eleven forty five P.M., and they had just gotten home from a romantic evening on their family sailboat. The only sound was the familiar creak of the floorboards to welcome them as Nate flicked on the light to their unusually empty home.
"That is hilarious!" Elena said, wiping away tears of laughter.
"And that's just the beginning," said Nate, turning his head to look directly into her eyes. "But I think the rest will have to wait for another night."
Elena smiled as she gazed back into her husband's warm blue eyes. "You know, maybe we should let Cassie go for trips more often."
"And maybe we should accidentally leave my phone in the room more often," Nate smiled back.
"No, that is a definite," Elena said. "No maybes about it."
They kissed, basking in the delicious solitude of that cool night on the water. Pulling away, Nate smiled at her again and said, "You know something?"
"What's that?" Elena asked.
"I," Nate said, "am famished."
"Mmm, me too." Elena said. "I'll have to see if I can find us a midnight snack."
She walked to the kitchen and Nate wandered into the bedroom. When was the last time they had had the entire house to themselves? He thought about it and decided it must have been that time Sully took Cassie on a trip to the Keys. He loved his daughter dearly, but he had forgotten how good it felt to just have some alone time with his wife, since almost all of their trips were done as a family.
Nate saw his phone on the nightstand and noticed the missed call light was blinking. He picked it up and opened it.
"Cassie," he mumbled. "Eight thirty-seven. Let's see, seven hours difference, so..." he did the calculations in his head. "Three thirty in the morning?" Nate raised his eyebrows. "What in the world was she doing calling at three thirty in the morning?" He leaned out the door and checked to make sure his wife was still in the kitchen, then pressed the call button and held the phone to his ear. It rang twice and then went to voicemail. "Hmm," he muttered as he hung up the phone.
"Who you calling?"
Elena's voice caught him by surprise. "Oh, just that new customer, you know the one I was talking about?" he said lamely.
"At this time of night?" Elena asked.
"Well, he's a couple time zones behind," Nate improvised. "I saw I missed a call, and he said the job is important, so I thought I'd try him."
"Any answer?" Elena sat down on the bed and put a bowl of cereal and milk on the nightstand.
"No," Nate mumbled. "No answer."
"Then let's let sleeping dogs lie, right?" Elena said, pulling Nate closer.
Nate locked eyes with his wife, and made a mental note to try calling Cassie again in the morning. "Yeah, let's," he said, closing his eyes as his lips met hers again.