Chapter Twelve
I glanced down at the pretty blonde, taken aback for the thousandth time at how normal she looked.
Aquarius, a blood-thirsty killing machine, dressed in a simple floral sundress, sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat.
She really did blend in, just like any other tourist as we strolled hand in hand along the promenade.
The Coconut Club was situated on the shore front, overlooking the white sands and turquoise seas of a popular beach. All around, people went about their business – swimming and sunbathing – none the wiser to the assassin that walked amongst them.
It had been over a week of us meandering up and down this damn beach, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ian Keller, and to say I was officially over it was an understatement.
At first, daily dates with Charlotte on my arm had been exceedingly appealing.
I had only been too happy to accompany her whilst she scoped out The Coconut Club, hoping to get a glimpse of something, anything that might clue us in to where the kingpin was hiding out.
Now? I never thought I would be complaining about having to spend my afternoons wandering a beautiful white sand beach.
Turned out, it was only enjoyable when it wasn’t for work.
Today was at least a slight change of pace. After scouting the outside of the bar, we had decided to venture inside for drinks. With no sign of the kingpin, Freddie had finally conceded that getting inside the property might be the only option we had to look for clues.
“It’s hot out, hm?”
I knew my lines well. Charlotte would mention being hot, and then I would say: “Shall we stop to grab a drink?”
She gestured ahead. “What about there? The Coconut Club.”
“Sounds good, babe.” I squeezed her hand in mine, fighting a smirk as she dug her nails into me in warning.
She hated it when I overplayed my role like that but teasing her was the only way to make this bearable. We came to a stop just outside the kingpin’s premises, and I took my time to survey the menu whilst Charlotte got a good look at the place.
“What do you think?” I asked her. “Fancy it?”
“Sure. A quick drink couldn’t hurt.”
I led her inside, glad to be out from the heat of the sun. This may have been an undercover mission, but I couldn’t deny I was eager for a cold drink. We headed to the bar and a moment later, a young bartender approached us.
“Buenas tardes, ?qué le puedo ofrecer? What can I get for you?”
Charlotte removed her sunglasses and snatched up a drinks menu before leaning in and tapping her fingernail against one of the iced fruit drinks. The bartender turned to me.
“Una cerveza, por favor.”
With a nod, he moved away and began preparing our drinks. I could feel Charlotte watching me and I met her eye.
“I didn’t know you could speak Spanish.”
“A little. I’m far from fluent,” I replied. “My work takes me all over.”
“Interesting.”
Sooner than I’d expected, the bartender was passing our drinks to us, and we meandered back out to the deck before settling down at a table that overlooked the beach. There was a moment of comfortable silence as we each took a sip from our glasses.
“That’s nice,” I sighed. “Refreshing.”
“Mhmm.”
Charlotte wasn’t paying any attention to me now, but that I had expected. I followed my instructions, pretending not to notice her eyes darting about whilst she took in all she could about the place.
I watched the ocean for a long moment. As much as I complained about the monotony of our days since we had arrived in Venezuela, I had to admit it was a beautiful spot.
It was rare that my occupation brought me to tourist destinations.
My time with the special forces mostly entailed jetting from one war-torn hellhole to the next. This was a very welcome change of pace.
“I’m just going to pop to the toilet,” Charlotte said, getting to her feet. “How do you ask for the toilet in Spanish?”
“?Dónde están los banos?”
“Thanks.”
“Hurry back, won’t you.” I held eye contact, hoping my meaning was understood.
She simply treated me to a dazzling smile. “Of course. Won’t be a moment.”
I watched her shimmying between the chairs as she made her way back inside. A moment later, Freddie was in my ear.
“Why have you split up?”
“She’s gone to the bathroom,” I murmured, keeping my voice low.
“Aquarius,” Freddie said, his disapproval apparent.
“This wasn’t part of the plan. You and Hangman are supposed to stick together.
I sanctioned heading inside on the express understanding that you weren’t going to go off-piste like this.
” When no response came, I heard him sigh. “You’re a fucking nuisance.”
My lips quirked, fighting against smirking.
They were both so cute, it was sometimes difficult to remember they were actually a deadly assassination operation.
Before I had a chance to consider it, a commotion caught my attention.
A group of men, definitely not tourists, made their way up the steps into the bar.
“Whoa, hold up,” I murmured. “Something’s going on down here.”
“The watch,” Freddie instructed.
My eyes fell to the unassuming metal wristwatch on my arm, and I fiddled with the dials, praying I could remember the complex set of instructions Freddie had given me on how to operate it.
I felt the device whirring subtly against my skin and under the guise of scratching my face, I held my wrist up in the direction of the men.
“Shit,” Freddie hissed. “Shit. Aquarius – he’s here. Ian Keller, the kingpin.”
My stomach turned over. As much as I wanted to watch the men, I knew my staring would raise suspicions.
I forced myself to look at the sea, all the while angling my wristwatch towards them.
A moment later, Charlotte reappeared, emerging from the gloom of the bar like a spectre.
She would have to pass right by the group of men to get back to me and a muscle twitched in my jaw.
“Sorry, excuse me,” she said, her voice softer and an octave higher than I was used to hearing it.
In an instant, the men were eyeing her, their intent clear upon their faces.
They chuckled and muttered filthy obscenities in Spanish as she passed them by, her generous assets having caught their attention.
With an excuse to look across the bar at them now, I took my time memorising their faces.
It was clear even to me who the kingpin was – a balding, rat-featured man in his late forties.
There was an air of danger about him, something in the glint of his eye…
He caught me staring and as Charlotte took a seat beside me, pushing her sunglasses back up her nose, he waggled his eyebrows.
His meaning was clear. He was congratulating me on securing such an attractive woman, as if she was no more than a piece of meat or a possession.
Though it sickened me to do so, I grinned back and briefly stuck my tongue out between my teeth.
The kingpin cackled, turning his attention away and back to his cronies as they ordered drinks at the bar.
He shouted something in Spanish, but there was no doubt about it – his accent was definitely English.
“That piece of shit,” Aquarius whispered, breathless with adrenaline. “I had hoped we’d cross paths with him here eventually, but I didn’t for one minute expect him to be waltzing around in the open like this without a care in the world.”
“He’s getting over-confident, sloppy,” Freddie replied in our earpieces. “That’s a good thing. It’ll make him easier to take by surprise. Bide your time, we’ve almost got him.”
I reached across the table, taking Charlotte’s hands in mine. I smoothed my thumbs over her skin, comforting her. To anyone looking in, we’d look just like any other couple enjoying a romantic getaway. If only they knew the truth.
“What’s next?” I asked.
“He drove here. He had a set of car keys hanging out of his jacket pocket,” Charlotte muttered. “We need to find that car as a matter of urgency. We can’t let this opportunity slip us by, not after waiting all week for it.”
I watched as she snatched up her drink and downed it in one long gulp, gasping and wiping her mouth off on the back of her hand. She grinned at me.
“Drink up, break time is over. We’ve got work to do.”
I did as I was told, throwing back my beer before following Charlotte out of the bar and onto the promenade. There was no strolling this time, no handholding. She meant business and I was just along for the ride.
“Turn right here,” Freddie said. “There appears to be some sort of shared courtyard at the back of these properties.”
“Got it.”
We turned down an alleyway that ran between a pair of buildings a little way from The Coconut Club, ducking behind a dumpster. Charlotte peaked out and nodded her head at me.
“It’s clear. Come on.”
With senses on alert, we crept from the alleyway.
Just as Freddie had promised, there was a cobbled courtyard here.
Above us, washing lines packed with laundry were strung between the residential properties that towered over the busy promenade below.
Other than a skinny, ratty-looking cat, we were alone.
“There,” Charlotte murmured, gesturing ahead.
A car, dark and sleek, that didn’t seem to fit in. That had to be Keller’s. As we approached, Charlotte began rummaging through her purse. Not looking where she was going, she stumbled over a curb. I lurched forward to grab her before she fell.
“God, sorry. I’m so clumsy. I’ve lost my earring,” she said, that false, saccharine tone returning to her voice. “Oh! There it is.”
Before I had a chance to be confused, I watched Charlotte crouch down. With impressive dexterity, she hurriedly unfasted the valve cap on the rear tyre of Keller’s car, replacing it with one that looked identical. A tracker.
“There, got it. Sorry, hon.” She smiled up at me. “We’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. Let’s head back to the beach and get our bearings.”
“Sure,” I replied, draping my arm around her shoulders. I leant in to press a kiss to her head, murmuring softly into her hair. “Sneaky little bitch.”
“Comes with the territory,” she purred, leading me back out onto the promenade. “It’s done.”
“Good job,” Freddie replied. “I’ll make sure live tracking is set up. If that car moves an inch, we’ll know about it. Come back to the hotel and we’ll run over our next steps.”
“On our way.” Charlotte reached back for my hand, faltering as she realised what she had done. Before she had a chance to retract it, I snatched her hand up in my own and entwined our fingers.
“If I ever see another beachfront again, it’ll be too soon.” I paused, pressing a kiss to the back of Charlotte’s hand. “But this is nice.”
She scoffed, casting me a playful scowl. “Charmer.”
“If you two are quite done,” Freddie muttered tersely in my ear, making me laugh.
“Don’t be jealous. I told you, there’s plenty for you as well if—”
“Shut up,” he snapped. “Just… Get back here.”
Charlotte’s sniggering drew my attention and we smirked at one another. Freddie really was too easy to wind up.
The walk back to the hotel was an easy one that we knew like the back of our hands already.
The room was like a fridge and I shivered, the sweat on my skin cooling in an instant.
Freddie insisted we needed to keep things as cold as possible with all this tech crammed into such a small space, and I wasn’t about to be complaining.
It felt amazing after walking around in the humidity all day.
“Any movement yet?” Charlotte asked, hurriedly removing her earpiece, placing it down on the desk beside Freddie, along with her sunglasses and her purse filled with tricks.
“Nothing yet, but I’ll keep a close eye. It’ll be interesting to see where that car goes once they’re done with whatever business they have at the bar. Perhaps we’ll be able to track him to a residential property.”
Charlotte nodded. “That would certainly be preferable to conducting a hit in such a public place.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Freddie’s fingers tapped on his keyboard.
“So, what now?” I asked, throwing myself down on my sad, little single bed. I still hadn’t been promoted to share the double yet, but I held out hope.
“Now we wait,” Freddie replied. Charlotte’s feelings on the matter must have been apparent, making him chuckle. “I know neither of us are very good at being patient, but there’s no other choice, I’m afraid. You’ll just have to find something to entertain yourselves with to pass the time.”
Charlotte sat heavily on the edge of the bed with a sigh. She looked at me, I looked at her and when a grin crept across her face, I knew we were thinking the same thing.
“Threesome?” we said in unison.
Freddie just groaned in response.