Chapter 13: Arrival
Annie has a plan for back-up, but she kept that tidbit to herself. His availability wasn't confirmed yet. She had plenty of nitrate injections in her bag. Since her medical condition was now out in the open, she was able to see a cardiologist without pretense and stopped paying out of pocket for the expensive drugs. Annie contacts Eyal on a secure board they set up.
"Are you up to no good or are you free to play? Heading out of country, could use a hand."
It didn't take long for Eyal to respond. They agreed on a meeting spot and a cover. They were a reporter and photographer covering the refugees fleeing to Turkey from various points along their border. She also asked if he had any Mossad files on Borz, Mueller, and Belenko.
Annie told Auggie she was going to Georgia, but really she was heading to Istanbul.
Auggie had gotten wind of Annie's mission. He had placed a tracker on the phone he gave her, but Annie conveniently left it behind at her desk at McQuaid security. She knew Auggie like the back of her hand. He wasn't a good liar. He stopped being a good liar the second he stopped being an operative. Lying, being other than who he was, wasn't in his blood to begin with. Annie was good at it, she had few tells. She was good at it because she lied to herself and those around her for most of her life. It was a matter of self-preservation. No the moves aren't painful, no it's not hard to leave friends she just made, sure it's easy to make new friends, no it's not hard to get to know new teachers and their expectations and so on.
Annie couldn't sleep on the long plane ride to Turkey. Her mind went from Ryan to working a plan to Caitlyn to trying to figure out the little evidence before her. She was not sure what the motive was, were the Generals in the car the target? What the point to derail the peace talks or was that not even part of the equation. Something didn't quite add up.
Eyal arrives in Istanbul a few hours ahead of Annie and has already acquired a safe house, proper papers for the two, a car, a cache of weapons and surveillance equipment. The two are reunited, "Looking good, looking like a woman who has someone special to think about. How've you been Neshama?" Eyal, always knew and kept up with what was going on in Annie's life. "How did you know?"
"I keep up with you, well Mossad keeps up with you, so I keep up with you. Rivka made sure of it after our last encounter. That business with Caitlyn Cook and McQuaid, you got lucky, one of these days your nine lives are going to be done. How's your health, need Dr. Lavin to take a listen?"
"I'm good, you just want to get me to take my shirt off, but really, you know me, like a cat, I always land on my feet."
"How is your boyfriend or shall I say boss?"
"I don't know, but last I heard, stable and he's not my boyfriend."
"Ah, I struck a chord."
"I helped him out when he was in trouble, would have done the same and have done the same for you and it doesn't make you my boyfriend."
"And that fact pains me Neshema."
Annie smiles and changes the subject, "So what have you found out?"
"Our target is at Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, has a suite."
"What's the plan?"
"The plan is I get myself a meeting with Belenko, try to smoke him out, make him and his partners nervous. Men do stupid things when they feel cornered you know."
"I wouldn't know. I never do anything stupid."
Annie smiles at her friend as she fills him in on her plan.