ringtone

"Mueller. Go ahead."

"Mr. Mueller? It's Crumbs."

"Good evening, Mister Crumbs! It's great to finally hear from you. Where are you calling from?"

" Zurich, sir. A café on Bahnhof-Quai."

"Is the coffee good?"

"Well, ugh, I'm drinking a coke, actually, so... I don't know."

"I take it you have news for me?"

"You bet. You're going to love this."

"I'm all ears, Mister Crumbs."

"First things first: what about the money?"

"Ten thousand dollars had been transferred into your account at Citibank as of the morning of today's business day. Make sure to collect all your receipts, and the incurred expenses will be paid as well."

"Great. All right, so around nine o'clock in the evening the subject left his suite running. That was my doing - I left him another present in the bathroom, and I guess his nerves just couldn't take it. He just couldn't get out of that place fast enough, I tell you. I thought at first we were just going to do another tour-de-france type chase through the mountains with him, but he must've been pretty spooked, 'cause he actually went ahead and called Khan, just like you said he would. He obviously suspects that his line is compromised, so all he did over the phone is schedule a chat conference with him. Around nine fifteen he headed over to the Hauptbahnhof and had a chat with Khan through instant messaging. That lasted until ten oh five, at which point the subject closed the laptop and headed over to the counter to buy a ticket."

"Excellent work. Where are they meeting?"

"Yeah... I... See, that's where it sort of fell through."

"Explain."

"See, I got an excellent view of the screen with the binoculars you gave me. Problem is, they didn't ever mention the place outright. Subject is clearly getting smarter on us. He said: "Let's see each other at the place in Hell's Valley where we had so much fun in '76" or something like that. I got the time - two in the afternoon - but they didn't ever mention the place, so... I don't really have a choice at this point, I have to keep shadowing him."

"No, no more shadowing. What did you say the year was?"

"1976. It's supposed to be some crazy fun place or something, 'cause the subject said your man Khan laughed himself stupid when they were there, but it's probably just an inside joke or something. It's also supposed to have "pretty nature," whatever the hell that means. Maybe it's a nude beach or something. I haven't a clue."

"It doesn't matter. The year and the season are more than enough. Our records of both the subject and his companion go back many decades. It's simply a matter of having the appropriate files pulled up from the archives and doing a cross-check. You did well. "

"Thank you, sir. I still don't understand why I couldn't just take care of the subject on my own – he's literally across the street from me right now. And then I could dispatch his boyfriend while he's on his way. How hard could it be to arrange a natural-looking motorcycle accident in the Black Forest? A little decapitation has been known to happen on these treacherous cliffs."

"Categorically verbotten, Mister Crumbs. In this case, the method is as important as the effect, if not more so. There will be no ad-libbing."

"Suit yourself."

"I extend my gratitude for your competent work. Now your job is to disappear from their radar. For good, Mr. Crumbs. You must take care not to come within their combined sense perimeter again. I want you to head back to your apartment and wait there until eight o'clock tomorrow morning. At that time, you will go to Zurich Airport and purchase a plane ticket to Paris on the first available flight. You will be reimbursed."

"Yes, sir."

"When you get to Paris, I want you to come straight to my office. Bring all your receipts, every single one, no matter how trivial. My secretary will write you the check. I don't want you to be obligated to have paid for anything on this business trip, including the cola you're drinking right now. Mister Crumbs!"

"Yessir!"

"This is arch-important. Do not make yourself seen or felt to the subject again. Finish the assignment competently, and you will be compensated beyond the agreed upon sum. Fail, and you yourself will be finished. I can arrange it so that you will end your days in a military research facility. All it would take is one phone call. Do you understand, Mister Crumbs?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Good-bye, Mister Crumbs. Thank you for flushing out the game for me."

"Good-bye, Mr. Mueller. And good hunting."

soft laughter

"Indeed."

click