what the attack is gonna be about, or what it will look like, but we will find out. We will, I can guarantee you that. That’s why I’m not stopping now. I’m not pulling any plug, so Steve, I’m sorry to say but you’re either behind me one hundred percent, or you get out of the way.”
Silence took over the room. Alex saw mixed emotions on Steve’s face. Hurt, concern, and admiration. She swallowed hard, tears coming to her eyes.
“And that, my friends, is called courage,” Sam said.
“Hear, hear,” Tom said. Brian smiled, looking at her slightly differently than he normally did. Louie gave her a military salute, executed by the book, with a very serious expression on his face.
“Good. Then we’re set. By the way,” she continued, “I don’t think Robert or Melanie’s lives are at risk at this point. I don’t think the UNSUB would touch any of them while the contract’s still in progress.”
“I’d say that makes sense,” Sam said, “we can count on that logic for a while, but let’s not trip their alarms again.”
...54
...Thursday, May 19, 8:57AM Local Time (UTC+1:00 hours)
...Letiste Praha-Kbely Airport - Air Traffic Control, Prague East
...Prague, The Czech Republic
Jaro Zelezny rubbed his eyes for the tenth time since he had started his shift, only under an hour before. His back hurt, his abs and buttocks were sore, and he had slept less than two hours for the third night in a row. At this rate, his new girlfriend was going to kill him soon. But she was hot. She was hotter than he’d thought he’d ever find, and a total sex addict too. Jaro was still young, not even thirty-five yet, but he was feeling exhausted, worn out, and horny at the same time. There was no ending in sight. She was too damn hot. Her full breasts, her blond, wavy hair, and those long, slender legs that wrapped tightly around him until he couldn’t breathe . . . He was getting an erection just thinking of her. How to say no to a girl like that?
Jaro poured himself another cup of coffee, extra dark brew and the third one in the last hour. He spent a few minutes considering the drugs he could take to keep up with her desires. No need for Viagra, not yet, anyway. Some vitamins wouldn’t hurt and a nap between flights. It didn’t seem like a busy day today, so it might be a good time to get caught up on some shuteye. He pulled a file folder in front of him, thinking he’d better deal with flight plan approvals before napping so the phone wouldn’t wake him up.
A quiet day, indeed. Only one flight plan filed, for the new Piaggio Avanti Evo owned by that deli mogul or whatever he was. Jaro couldn’t get enough of that plane. He liked to watch it taxi, take off, and land. The elegance of its silhouette, the unusual wing design, the speed and climb rate. He was in love. With a woman and with a plane. He already had the woman; he hoped one day he’d have the plane, or at least fly in it. His daydreams, when not filled with images of Helenka’s naked body, were populated by the Piaggio.
The flight plan was more complicated than usual. He concentrated with difficulty, trying to follow what the plane was scheduled to do. Fly out of Prague Kbely LKKB, home base, and into Aden Adde International, Mogadishu, Somalia, airport code MGQ, with a quick refueling stop in Turkey. Refuel in MGQ and pick up, umm . . . three cases of coconut oil, one case of sesame oil, and two cases of camel meat. Who eats that crap? Very rich people, apparently.
Then the Piaggio would land here at home base, refuel, drop the sesame oil, pick up three cases of smoked oysters and four cases of various caviar assortments, and take off, heading to final destination BXM, Brunswick Executive Airport in Maine, United States. Of course, the Piaggio had to stop and refuel a couple of times before making it to Maine. But wasn’t it wonderful that it could cross the ocean all the way to America?
Jaro slammed the stamp down, marking the flight plan “Approved” with red ink, then started towards the fax machine. Dialing the number indicated on the flight plan, he wondered if he could use the Piaggio’s stopover on its way back from Somalia to check it out on the inside, pretending to inspect the