Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Boston, MA
“Call Travers,” Dan yelled above the noise of the shower jets.
Gary paused in mid action, his jeans around his hips.
“Why?” He pulled them up, went over to the doorway, and leaned against the frame.
Dan was rinsing shampoo out of his hair, and Gary did his best not to be distracted by the sight of soapy water sliding down his torso to catch on his pubes before Dan wiped away the lather.
“I’m done,” Dan announced. “We got back from Provincetown six days ago, and since then we’ve ventured out of this apartment once to shop for groceries. So yeah, I’m done being scared. Let’s go back to work. This is a dead end.”
Water fell in a steady stream from the head of his dick.
His long, hard dick.
Dan coughed, and Gary jumped, his gaze jerking upward. Dan’s eyes sparkled. “Did you hear a word I said?”
“Of course. You said something about Provincetown.”
Dan let out a throaty chuckle. “Yeah, it was in there somewhere.” He looked Gary up and down.
“You haven’t zipped up your jeans. So technically, you’re not dressed yet.
” He reached back to grab his asscheeks, spreading them, leaning forward a little.
“It’s all yours if you want it.” His voice took on a husky quality that Gary always associated with sex, usually when Dan was balls-deep in Gary’s ass.
The sound of Gary’s shrill ringtone came from the bedroom, and he groaned. “Hold that thought.” He hurried to the nightstand—and froze when he saw Nathan’s name.
Fuck.
He clicked on Answer. “Good morning.” He managed to sound calm.
“We’re up.”
Holy fuck.
“What’s happened?”
“Those two ex-CIA buddies? We’ll call them Knight number one and Knight number two for convenience. I’ve had operatives tailing both of them since Friday.”
“Why not earlier?”
“I had to convince my superiors there was just cause before they signed off on it. And an hour ago, we finally saw movement. Knight One boarded a flight to Johannesburg. I’ve got two men on the same flight.
No movement yet on Knight Two, but all the signs indicate he’s preparing to follow his buddy. ”
“You’re sure they’re involved, aren’t you.”
Nathan chuckled. “Oh yeah. And when Knight Two makes a move, so do we, so be ready. Pack a bag as soon as I hang up. And for Christ’s sake, don’t forget your passports. I’ll send a car to take you to the airstrip as soon as I know something.”
“Do you need my address?”
Nathan laughed. “What do I do for a living? I know exactly where you are, Gary—you and Dan.”
Nathan’s words finally registered. “Let me get this straight. We’re going to South Africa?”
Gary caught Dan’s strangled gasp from the bathroom.
“Looks like it. Bring your badge, but leave your weapon at home. You’ll have no jurisdiction anyway because you won’t be there as a cop. You’re more of a consultant.”
Gary was under no illusions. He was going because Dan was.
“Okay, I have to go. See you soon.” Nathan ended the call.
Dan stood in the doorway, a towel wrapped around his hips. “South Africa? Are you kidding me?”
“Johannesburg, to be exact.” Gary went into the closet and grabbed an overnight bag. He stood and stared at his racks of clothing and the drawers full of shirts, underwear, and socks. “I have no clue what to pack, or how much, because I have no idea how long we’re going to be there.”
Dan had followed him. “Then forget about that bag. It’s too small.
” He pointed to a carry-on case standing in the corner.
“I’d go with that. Pack a couple of pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts, and as many tees as you can cram in.
” He paused, rubbing a hand through his damp hair. “This is really happening, isn’t it?”
“Seems so.” His heart was racing, his palms clammy.
“You didn’t tell him, did you? About what I felt in Provincetown?”
“No. But if they’d gotten the go-ahead earlier to follow those two, we might have had proof one of them was in Provincetown while we were there.”
Dan shivered, hugging himself, goose bumps visibly erupting over his chest, pebbling the bronze disks of flesh surrounding his nipples. “It had to be one of them.” He frowned as Gary opened drawers and removed tees. “You’re packing now?”
“That’s what Nathan said to do.”
“Okay, fine, but we’re not going anywhere right this minute, are we?” Dan let the towel fall to the floor, his cock springing up, standing to attention.
Gary saw the action for what it was—an attempt to alleviate the tension and divert him from worry. He could live with that.
Packing could wait for thirty minutes.
An hour at the most.
The two carry-ons were packed and standing by the door. Dinner was over hours ago, not that either of them had eaten much. That was yet another reason for Dan to wish for a conclusion to the case; he wanted his appetite back.
“Maybe we just go to bed and try to get some sleep,” Gary suggested.
Dan snorted. “I tried that this afternoon, remember? Couldn’t get my brain to shut down.” He glanced at Gary’s phone.
“My grandmother had this saying about a watched pot never boiling,” Gary murmured. “Staring at the phone will not make it ring.”
It rang.
Dan bit his lip. “You were saying?”
“My grandmother also said no one loves a smartass.” Gary peered at the screen, and his breathing hitched. “It’s Nathan.” He swiped the screen. “Nathan? I’m putting you on speaker.”
It felt as though ants were crawling over Dan’s skin. This is it.
“Okay, this went faster than I anticipated. Knight Two is about to board a Quatar Airways flight to Johannesburg from Logan. It takes off at twenty-two twenty-five.”
Dan looked at his phone. Less than an hour’s time.
“That means he’ll land in Doha about fifteen thirty tomorrow afternoon,” Nathan continued, “and after a two-and-a-half-hour layover, he’ll be on the connecting flight to Johannesburg. It lands twenty-two thirty Wednesday night, local time. Johannesburg is six hours ahead of us.”
“When do we leave?” Gary asked.
“Our pilot has already filed a flight plan. We take off from Hanscom Field at four tomorrow morning. The car will pick you up in five hours’ time.
Don’t worry about getting some sleep—we have a twelve-hour flight to Lagos, where we’ll refuel.
You can sleep on the plane. Then it’s another six hours to Johannesburg, where we’ll land about five o’clock Thursday morning. ”
“So we won’t be that far behind them,” Gary observed.
“Exactly. Be ready for the car. And I’ll have more information for you when I see you.”
“What kind of information?” Dan demanded.
“The interesting kind. We think we’ve identified the pawn.”
Both he and Gary frowned. “The what?” Gary gave Dan a puzzled glance.
“This can wait. There’s stuff I need to do before the flight leaves. See you in a few hours.” Nathan hung up.
Dan got up and went into Gary’s bedroom. He headed for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and began scanning the shelves.
“What are you looking for?” Gary joined him.
“Unisom, Relaxium, any sleep aid like that. I can never sleep on a plane, so I’ll need a helping hand. Otherwise I’ll arrive in Johannesburg jet-lagged and exhausted, and I’ll be no use to anyone.”
Gary reached into the cabinet behind the bottle of Gaviscon and removed the box of ZzzQuil Ultra. “Here. These’ll put an elephant to sleep.” He handed them over.
Dan regarded him with arched eyebrows. “Not sure I like what you’re implying with that remark.” Then he noticed Gary was busy on his phone, his thumbs flying. “What are you doing?”
Gary expelled a long breath. “Do you know how many miles lie between us and Johannesburg? Seven thousand, eight hundred fifty-three, as the crow flies.”
“I don’t think a crow could make it all in one flight,” Dan quipped. “And I hope this plane has decent seats.” He hated the thought of sitting cramped up for almost twenty hours.
Then he really would need the ZzzQuil.
Gary inclined his head toward the bed. “How about we stretch out for a while? I’ll set an alarm in case we fall asleep.”
That sounded like a really good idea. Anything to get his thoughts to slow the fuck down for an hour or so.
That plane isn’t just taking us thousands of miles from Boston.
It was also taking Dan way out of his comfort zone.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Dan had expected Hanscom Field to be a military airport, but judging by what he’d seen in the terminal, it appeared to be mostly civilian.
He and Gary were hurried through security, flanked by Andy and Soren, two of Nathan’s men who’d been with them in the car.
Then they were out into the cold morning air, the tarmac lit with bright lights.
A sleek jet stood on an empty runway, its engines already running, filling the air with a dull roar.
“And there I was, worrying about being comfortable,” he muttered as they neared the steps that led up to the main entry door.
“Have you ever flown in one of these before?” Gary asked.
Dan coughed. “My dad owns a Gulfstream G200. This is a G550, so it’ll seat more passengers.”
“How many passengers does your dad’s plane seat?”
“Nine.” He expected a response, but Gary fell silent, for which Dan was thankful. Some of their coworkers would have had a field day with that kind of information. Dan was sure he’d never have heard the end of it.
“This one seats up to sixteen,” Soren said from behind them. “But I’ve been in fancier versions that only seat eight to ten.”
“Yeah, they took out all the executive seats when they modified it,” Andy chimed in.
They stepped onto the plane. Instead of the customary four seats across, the interior was arranged more spaciously.
There were even two four-seater couches, facing each other.
Dan spied Nathan along the aisle, talking with two men.
Three-quarters of the seats were already filled.
Everyone seemed to be dressed casually, which surprised him.
He’d thought the operatives would be in suits.
Nathan straightened as they approached. “Grab a seat. Everyone’s here.” Then he scowled. “Including one unexpected passenger.”