“No hay problema,” she said, realizing they were causing a ruckus in the hotel lobby. Walker wasn’t saying anything, his face expressionless and his body ready for the big guy to get braver, but the newcomer noticed that and didn’t want any trouble over some random hot girl. Still, he had his pride to massage.
“Tienes suerte,” he said, backing off and heading to the door. “Maricón.”
Alicia left them both behind, moving to the elevators, eager to stop the staring eyes, lest someone would recognize her. Walker didn’t relent, though, following her with Gabril in tow.
“Hey,” she heard the Brazilian say as he entered the elevator, “Take it easy on Miss Alicia, okay?
As the doors were almost closing, Walker slid inside, leaving Gabril, the big Venezuelan, and the gathering crowd behind.
“Oh, Jesus!” she said.
Walker chuckled, “Look, I’m sorry about all that.”
“About what, the first part, the second part or the third part?”
She had him nonplussed, as he tried to figure out the third one, then he smiled, “Oh, this?”
“I think we got off on the wrong foot, Ms. Barkley,” he said, giving her ample time to respond, but when she didn’t, he went on; “Danny...ah...well, he and I go way back. To his son, Nicky. You knew Nicky...”
He stopped again, but she stared at the changing floors in the readout.
“Of course you did. I mean, we met at his twenty-first party. You...” he laughed, reminiscing. “You must’ve been fifteen or something. Anyway, Danny puts me on this, and all I see are security flaws. I don’t even get off the plane and there’s a bunch of fucking Russians waiting for me. Your team isn’t vetted, you’re not working together. You’ve been compromised and there’s no damned sense of urgency. I don’t care that you’re treasure hunters, the same principles apply. You’re staying at...”
He looked at the numbers counting as they rose to the tens. The highest floor was the twelfth and the subsequent penthouse.
“You’re at the penthouse?” he said, incredulous. “See, this is what I mean, you’re too high profile. From what Danny told me, you have some serious competition on you so you have to lay low. Have you even swept the rooms?”
The door slid open onto the Penthouse, and she finally spoke.
“Mr. Walker. You’re fired.”
They were waiting in the second penthouse, the one under construction. The team was smaller now, five of the members were seriously injured, and three more had recused themselves, taking flights out of Maiquetia Airport, stopping first in Germany, then back to mother Russia. It was to be expected, they were the least experienced and all related. They came and went as one.
Tihkonov didn’t much care about that anymore. He’d been in this shit South American country two days and he was already tired of all the stupid little dark people and their pitter pat semi-language, he was tired of the heat, though he had been told Caracas was as 2,000 meters and quite mild, and most of all, he was tired of his stupid team, a bunch of goddamned miscreants who couldn’t even stop a single man.
“She’s here,” the man on watch said, looking out under the door with a flexible camera. “Ms. Berkley is with a companion.”
“Can you identify the companion?” Tihkonov asked, slapping a 32 shell drum magazine his AA-12 autoloading shotgun. Around him, the other five men were readying their DRD Paratus-18 suitcase guns, pulling the individual components - stock and trigger assembly, barrel and grips, and a scope - from the case and putting their assault rifles together. The watchman at the door was armed with only a pistol, but he just needed to secure their egress point by the elevator.
It was all planned to the last detail. Break into the penthouse, secure the perimeter, disarm those present, which now included a second person, then “negotiate” with Ms. Barkley to get the information Tihkonov’s employer needed, information they had failed to receive in a previous failed mission. The failed mission before the last failed mission, another “negotiation” with a British national that was unwanted in the region.
This time, thought, they had the advantage of surprise, numbers and firepower. The companion had to be Superman for this mission to fail.
He followed her, and she couldn’t believe it, leaving the door wide open and standing there.
“Get the fuck out!” Berkley finally said. “I have a gun in the other room, don’t make me go get it.”