Black Flagged Apex (38 page)

Daniel was amazed to see how quickly Benjamin Young unraveled, as the prospect of being stood up by a prostitute became more likely.

"Good to see you again, my friend," he said, releasing Melendez and putting a hand on the chair meant for him.

He had selected a table at the back of the lobby, giving away two of the four chairs to an ever-expanding group of well-groomed men at the table next to them. The remaining chairs were arranged behind the table to give them both a full view of the Lobby Bar, which would be a necessity given the number of people pouring into the tight room. By 7:55, it had become standing room only, and he couldn't keep an eye on Jessica without moving his head in an obvious manner. Given the recent arrival of two men, who had taken an obvious interest in Benjamin Young, he couldn't afford to tip his hand here in the bar.

"Likewise. Young's eight o'clock appointment is taking a nap in the parking garage. We're clear for at least three hours. Here's her phone," Melendez said.

The stocky Latino took his seat and casually scanned the room, signaling for the cocktail waitress two tables away. Daniel's anxiety level dropped a few notches with Melendez at the table. He'd been nervous using Jessica like this. True America wanted Benjamin Young off the street sooner than later, a fact reinforced by the quick replacement of the original assassination team. The two men standing at the end of the wide, mahogany bar gave away their intentions as soon as they arrived. Sipping club sodas, the two had spent the last twenty-five minutes stealing impatient glances at Young.

Their tradecraft skills were nonexistent, which signified that they were either operating well out of their comfort zone or that they had never been trained for the more subtle aspects of their work. Either scenario worried Daniel. A combination of the two terrified him. There was little doubt that "Ben and Jerry" had been given orders to kill the man sitting less than six inches from Jessica. The hazard lay in their interpretation of the orders and their professionalism. Had they read the situation correctly and realized that he'd be headed up to his room shortly? Would they panic when his escort failed to show and try to kill him in the bar? Daniel wished Jessica would double her efforts. Based on the increasing severity of their facial expressions, he calculated that Ben and Jerry would make a bad decision within the next ten minutes, maybe sooner.

He saw Jessica lean over and say something to Young.
Finally
. She could read the situation better than any of them. If he knew Jessica, they'd be out of there shortly. Daniel smiled and faked a quiet laugh, turning to Melendez.

"Time to send Young a text from Natasha's phone. Type this…ready?"

Melendez pulled the phone out of his blazer and held it under the table. "Shoot."

"Something came up. Sorry. Will call later," Daniel dictated.

"That's it?"

"That's it. The message should frustrate him enough to turn all of his attention to Jess."

"Sending," Melendez said.

Daniel watched Young shake his head upon reading the message. Jessica immediately leaned in and said something, which caused Young to put the phone down on the bar and engage her in conversation. It looked like their mark had conveniently forgotten all about Natasha. Jessica could have that effect on men. He noticed that she had started to touch the bottom of her nose like Young. She was definitely expediting the process. Daniel took a sip of his vodka martini and shifted his gaze to Ben and Jerry, who looked even edgier than before. The mystery text had probably shaved three minutes off their bad decision timeline.

"She'd better hurry this up," Petrovich said.

"You got that right. Those two look ready to start shooting," Melendez said.

"If this gets out of hand, grab Young and get him out of the hotel," Daniel said.

"What about you?"

"I have Jessica."

"Got it," Melendez said.

"We'll get a real drink when this is over. I owe you my firstborn. I'll never forget what the two of you did for her," Daniel said.

"As long as the kid comes with a return option. Fucking scary concept, the two of you having kids," Melendez said, and they both laughed for real, though it was short lived.

Jessica moved her purse, and Benjamin Young put his cell phone away. A few seconds later, Jessica swirled her index finger around the rim of her half-finished cosmopolitan and removed the maraschino cherry inside. She slipped the cherry in her mouth, sensuously pulling the stainless steel pick clear of her lips.

"Time to move," Daniel said and placed a pair of twenty-dollar bills on the table.

The cherry trick was their prearranged sign that departure was imminent.

"Are you sure you want to work it this way?" Melendez asked.

"Yeah. I'll babysit them on the way up. Get going," Daniel said.

"All right. See you upstairs," Melendez said and walked through the bar to the lobby.

The plan was simple, but required careful timing. Melendez would leave the bar a minute before Jessica and their mark, taking the elevator directly to the eighteenth floor. He'd join Munoz in the room across from Benjamin Young's suite and wait. Munoz had been watching the suite most of the afternoon, making sure that Young didn't have any uninvited guests. He'd sent Daniel a text message indicating that nobody had approached the suite after he left tonight, leaving him relatively confident that the two men standing at the bar comprised the entire team sent to eliminate Young.

Jessica stood first, clutching her purse and making brief eye contact with Daniel. He quickly shifted his eyes to Ben and Jerry, both of whom had placed their drinks on the bar. Jessica walked past Young before he could stand up. She placed herself close to the bar and pulled him to her left side, ensuring that her new friend would walk out of the bar with a human shield as they passed the two men on their right. It would probably be enough to discourage the two men from taking a hasty shot in the bar, but it involved unnecessary risk.

Jessica clung onto Benjamin Young's arm, and they started walking together toward the spacious lobby opening. Daniel watched Ben and Jerry closely, knowing that the two men would be too focused on Young to notice. He rose from the table as the new couple passed the two operatives. Jessica said something to Young as they passed in front of them. Whatever she said seemed to put their countdown on hold. He saw one them place a hand against the other, in a subtle restraining motion. He'd be willing to bet that Jessica made it clear they were headed to Young's room and said it loud enough for the assassins to hear. Still, he wasn't going to rely upon this assessment. They could follow him to the elevator and shoot him as the doors started to close, or take the elevator up with him. He could think of a dozen scenarios, all of which put Jessica right in the line of fire.

One of the men checked his watch and spoke to the other. Daniel couldn't believe it. They were actually timing how long they would wait. At least they had enough sense to avoid a bloodbath in the lobby. He left the bar, trailing his wife at a respectable distance. He decided to ride the elevator up with Ben and Jerry, so he diverted toward the concierge for a few moments. From there, he could watch Jessica and Benjamin Young and make sure the two idiots in the bar didn't change their minds about a public murder. The two men emerged from the bar just as his wife stepped on the elevator ahead of Young. For a brief second, a shiver of panic ran down Daniel's spine.

The two men looked like they might go for Jessica's elevator. Daniel tensed, ready to sprint across the lobby to intercept the men. Ben and Jerry exchanged words and started to walk rapidly toward the elevator bank. Daniel's right hand drifted along his beltline, pushing the bottom of his suit jacket back. He tried to keep the motion subtle, but they weren't making it easy for him. They walked directly at the open door, closing the distance to thirty feet. The door started to move at twenty feet, which still didn't relieve him. One of them could press the "up" button, while the other blasted away into the carriage.

He firmly grasped the polymer grip of his HK USP Compact pistol and loosened it in the concealed holster. He started to edge toward the elevator bank, hoping to close the distance for a more accurate shot. If either of the men glanced in his direction, there would be little doubt about his intentions. The lead operative reached the elevator buttons a few seconds after the door closed. The illuminated numbers above the elevator door had not started moving, and he looked back at his partner, who shook his head. Daniel eased the gun back into the holster and approached the elevators, pulling out his cell phone.

Once the illuminated numbers above Jessica's elevator started moving, the man pressed the elevator button. The closest elevator was on floor three, which should give Jessica enough time to make sure they were in the room before Ben and Jerry appeared on the eighteenth floor. He had no doubt they wouldn't waste any time eliminating Young and any witnesses that could identify them.

He dialed Munoz and waited for the elevator.

"Hey, Jeff. Are the ladies ready for dinner?" Daniel said.

"Yep. We're all set here. Are you on your way up?" Munoz replied.

"I just left the bar. I'll run by the room and grab Jess. See you in a few."

Daniel put the phone in his jacket and nodded cordially at the man who had just stepped away from the glowing elevator button. Instead of returning the nod, the light-haired operative started conversing quietly with the wiry dark-haired man to his left. He watched them while they argued in harsh whispers for several seconds. The dark-haired operative, possibly the leader, ended the argument by telling the blond not to worry. He examined them a moment longer and started to wonder if they had any experience whatsoever with this kind of an operation. The only thing the two of them had going for them as covert operatives was the fact that they were both utterly unremarkable in every way.

It didn't really matter. He could in no way afford to underestimate them, no matter how inept they appeared. He was about to spend nearly a full minute alone with them, packed tightly into an enclosed space. If they were craftier than they appeared, Ben and Jerry might try to kill him in the elevator. Daniel wanted to avoid this at all costs. Skill levels didn't mean much in an elevator.

He followed them into the elevator, moving to the left corner. He pressed the button for the seventeenth floor.

"Which floor?" Daniel asked before the man could press the buttons on the other side of the open door.

"Eighteenth, please," the man with the thick eyebrows said.

Daniel pressed the button and settled in for the ride, avoiding eye contact in accordance with the universal code of elevator conduct. His peripheral vision served as his only early warning system in this enclosed space. Any quick movements from either Ben or Jerry would be met with extreme violence. Both of them stared at the numbers above the elevator console. Within several seconds, the elevator started to slow, arriving at the seventeenth floor. Daniel nodded at them and walked briskly to the right, toward the stairs. When he heard the doors close, he broke into a full sprint for the exit sign thirty feet away down the hallway.

**

Jessica hung on Young's arm as they walked down the hallway to his suite. She couldn't wait to end this deception. Benjamin Young was an arrogant creep. Once in the elevator, he'd cast off any subtlety and began to inquire about her menu of activities. She'd almost broken out of role in the elevator and put a knife to his throat. She was slightly surprised by his quick change of demeanor. Charming and suggestive in the bar, he'd shown the kind of confidence expected from a man receiving flirtatious advances from a beautiful woman. She could have easily lured him upstairs without the overt hints that she was "on the clock," but they didn't have that kind of time.

The two men at the end of the bar smacked of intense desperation and took few measures to conceal their interest in Young. Daniel had locked eyes on them, confirming her suspicion and advancing the timeline. She needed to get Young out of there within the next few minutes. It didn't require a great deal of effort on her part. Young asked her what she was doing in Atlanta, and she told him that she had recently moved down from Raleigh to find new clients. The follow-up question about her clients led to the immediate departure for his suite on the eighteenth floor.

The elevator transformed him into a sex fiend. He put his hands on her thigh, sliding them deep into private territory on both sides of her body. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, as he licked the small of her neck and whispered something about putting his cock somewhere she'd considered permanently off limits. She fought every instinct in her body to keep from tensing, responding with a subtle, sensuous exhale, but nothing more than that. She didn't want to encourage him to the point where he might try to stop the elevator. His hand slid deeper along her inner thigh, and all she could think about was the serrated blade in her purse. Mercifully, the elevator doors opened on the eighteenth floor, putting his disgusting behavior on hold. She couldn't imagine how bad it would get when he closed the door to Suite 1812.

Benjamin Young sported all of the prerequisites that would identify him as a wealthy, well-heeled gentleman: Armani suit with pocket square, $350 haircut, custom leather shoes, Clive Christian cologne, Rolex, diamond cuff links. But beyond this ungodly expensive, thin veneer, he was no different than the body-odor-soaked, soulless murderers and rapists she'd lived among in Belgrade. He might smell better, but ultimately, he behaved like the rest of them. Countless women and children suffered because of men like Benjamin Young. She hated his type and looked forward to getting him behind closed doors. His reign of terror permanently ended tonight.

They arrived at his door, and she stole a glance at the peephole on the door directly across from the suite. Munoz and Melendez were waiting patiently for Young's admirers, which should give her some time alone with Young. He slid the key card in the door and opened it, inviting her in.