A Debt Owed

Chapter 6

My eyes drifted open to a room semi-lit by the morning’s first sunlight struggling to push its way through the still drawn curtains. I checked the couch; it was empty, and listened for any sounds indicating Kirill was in the room. Nothing. All was quiet except for the traffic moving outside and my breathing. Where had he gone?

Maybe he went down to the lobby to sort something out, this was my one chance to search the room, he may return any second. Although I seriously doubted he left my guns behind. I carefully opened his suitcase first, all its contents were neatly folded but nothing unusual there only shirts, pants, underwear. No hidden compartments. I went to the wardrobe next finding a couple of ironed dress shirts, suits, jackets and overcoats. He had enough clothes here to make this his home. Who knew how long he had been living in this hotel. I rummaged through all the pockets and came up empty. The rest of the drawers were also empty. I even searched between the extra linen, under the couch cushions, the underside of every piece of furniture, the mattresses, even the mini-bar and inside the fridge with no luck.

Then my search invaded the bathroom finding nothing out of the ordinary. If he had hidden anything in there it was gone now. He had to have a secret hiding place, somewhere; the hotel safe was just too obvious besides you couldn’t put weapons in there. I was probably a locker down town. Didn’t we all resort to one of those conveniences sooner or later. It made mo sense to have all your eggs in one basket.

The lock on the door clicked open, rushing out I checked for movement through the crack under the door. It was 7am, far too early for housekeeping it had to be Kirill. I quickly scanned the room making sure I had put everything back where I originally found it before ducking out of sight, pushing my back up against the wall besides the hallway entrance. It gave me the added advantage of seeing who exited before they did me. My hand rested on the lamp on the nightstand at the ready, if it was one of the people chasing us last night instead of the Russian I could knock them out cold and take my chances.

I waited, my body tensing with the anticipation f the tussle as the door closed. Then out of nowhere a suitcase landed on the floor in the main room, just outside of my reach. He didn’t step out from the hallway.

“I believe this belongs to you. Thought you might need it.”

It was Kirill, I realised as he walked into the room, my hand unwrapping itself from the lamp base as his steadying gaze landed on me. He was busy returning his gun to the shoulder holster under his jacket. I stope a quick glance at the nightstand; damn my car keys were gone. I hadn’t noticed.

Pushing away from the wall I picked up my luggage. “So I’m assuming my car is in one piece.”

“It is in the hotel car park.” He didn’t turn to face me; placing one of the bags he was carrying onto the table then offered me the other one.

I recognised both bags, one had my laptop and the other well … was the equipment bag. I snatched it ff him. “I see you searched my car. Bet you enjoyed that Kirill.”

He turned towards me this time, fingers tapping the equipment bag with every word he spoke, I couldn’t tell if my abruptness angered him or not. “Da I did. As much fun as you when you searched this room. I liked your secret compartment under the backseat. Effective.”

His gloating failed to amuse or impress me, since he found everything and I found nothing. He now had all the weapons I owned. I would have verbally fought him on the issue but all I wanted the most was a hot shower and a fresh change of clothes. Tossing the suitcase on the bed I grabbed a handful of clothes, no sense in being bashful now he had probably already riffled through it and that probably did included my underwear, before disappearing into the bathroom.

“Make it short we have to go.”

I heard him yell through the door as I turned on the sower, all I wanted was ten minutes to gather my thoughts. The water felt so good falling on my body, soothing, tranquil, all the things my life wasn’t. I quickly brushed my teeth, some may consider it a nasty habit in the shower but I was pressed for time and soaped myself down happy that the grime of the last twenty four hours was being washed away.
The street café was busy, not over crowded but full enough to make it easier to blend in. I didn’t mind being outside it was a nice change from the Closter phobic confines of the hotel room, plus I needed to the fresh air and breakfast. It surprised me that Kirill chose such a public place, then again dressed in casual attire; dark coloured sweater and coast. He looked normal, like he belonged their. I guess if you don’t act suspicious then no one is suspicious of you.

We were there because he was doing some surveillance on a contact. Conversation between us was still down to a minimum. Nothing was said about the nightmare incident last night and I didn’t ask. Why waste time talking if you don’t have to. I finished off the last of the fruit and my second croissant, layered with butter and jam, on my plate. What can I say; my perfect start to the morning was coffee and pastries. Kirill on the other hand didn’t eat much and sat all the way back in his chair perusing the newspaper, legs crossed at the knees, body relaxed. Every now and then he would blindly reach for his coffee cup and each time I noticed his wristwatch; black leather band, rectangle face with roman numerals. Classy and sophisticated. Not what I’d expected. Had I read his profile wrong?

I always liked to know something about the people I conduct business with; information made good leverage. I deduced that he would have been into more practical, combat ready accessories. Yet again the luxurious hotel choice surprised me and all this upscale imagery could all be for show. A persona. Which brought me back to my original train of thought; was he unintentionally ignoring me or was he always this rude?

There was one fun way to find out. I’ve had my coffee, I’ve eaten and now I was in a good mood.

“Why no officer I don’t know this man. He just sat down at my table. He may be carrying a gun.”

Kirill’s eyes shot up, the paper a crumpled heap in his lap as he tried to stealthily locate the supposed policeman I was talking to. Coming up empty his gaze returned to me, accepting the joke as he now straightened out the newspaper neatly folding if before resting it on the table.

“I just wanted to see your reaction.” I leaned forward holding out the tray with the last pastry on it to him.

He tilted his head to one side, those eyes of his now glowing green in the sunlight and then there it was … that charming smile. No threats. No deception. It was genuine as he accepted my food offering.

Now that was much better.

Casual conversation did follow but nothing too personally revealing. Every now and then he searched the faces of the morning commuters and shoppers along the street hoping to locate his target. Pausing for longer than previously his focus zeroed in on who he was waiting for. Before I could ask about it he shot out of the chair, easily jumping over the railing that separated the cafe from the rest of the walkway, running across four lanes of morning traffic to the other side. Guess I was paying the bill. I fished out a handful of notes shoving them under my coffee cup before following; of course it had taken me a lot longer to cross the road so I was counting on not loosing him in the crowd as I kept my eyes trained on the back of his head. Good thing he was taller than every one else.