As it turned out, I was the last one on the team to arrive 'cause Ed and Johnny were there already. I spare you the description of our get-together, except for the fact that we were all three equally puzzled by these "new guys" and also by the apparent ease they spent 30.000 Euros just to have the pleasure of a chat with us. We agreed they knew us from our intervention in the battle for N'djamena, in the Chad conflict, three years ago - kind of a no-brainer 'cause the Swiss had mentioned that to Ed, anyhow. We also agreed that someone willing to spend 30.000 just like that, would be probably a very nice employer - depending of the job they would want us to perform, obviously... I just hope these guys are not going to be part of some Al Qaeda secret cell and ask us to kill Obama, or something crazy like that. Nah... Just kidding. The Al-Qaeda doesn't hire mercenaries - at least not our kind. They have their own system of "martyrs" I guess, but you see my point: if the task is not something irrealistic, this could very much be a dream job. What else...?
Oh, something that impressed us in a positive way, was the fact the "new guys" had left a cellular phone for us in the main desk, one of those prepaid models. That told us they were playing it super-safe: having a cell phone it's a way to bypass the hotel desk. So, we had dinner in separate tables (no need to draw unnecessary attention to our team) and it was a very nice dinner, by the way - unfortunately, being "at work" none of us tasted the great wines they had in the cellar...
Between the air conditioner and the triple sized bed, I slept all night like a baby.
 |
| The hotel swimming pool. I can hardly believe we are being PAID to be here. |
The morning went by, so lunch time. After lunch, we decided to wait together in my room. The call came at 16:00 sharp. I was the one closer, so I picked up:
"Hello?"
"Hello" said a voice with a slight accent on the other side. "Eagle seven eight ?"
"Yes, it's me." I awnsered, after recovering my voice.
"Are your associates with you ?"
"Yes, we are all here."
"May I ask you to switch to loudspeaker, please ?" The man's voice was polite.
"Of course, just give me a second." I switched the phone to loudspeaker mode and placed it on the table. The three of us got around it.
"Raptor twenty-one ?" The voice asked again. It was Johnny's callsign.
"I'm here" Johnny awnsered.
"Exordia ?" Ed's call, this time.
"I'm here too" he said.
"I hope you gentlemen had a pleasant trip and found your accomodations suitable ?"
"Yes, everything is OK, thank you" I said.
"Good. I regret to inform you gentlemen that one of the people who was supposed to meet with you today had some unexpected delay. So, if it is convenient for you gentlemen, the meeting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, in the afternoon ? We will take care of all the extra expenses regarding your accomodation, of course..."
I glanced at my mates and they both nodded."No problem, tomorrow it is" I awnsered.
"Wonderful" the guy on the phone said. "Do you gentlemen need something else ?"
"Nothing, thank you. The only thing we need is more information about the job, but I suppose that will have to wait 'til tomorrow ?"
"Indeed" The man seemed almost apologetic. "In that case, a car will pick you up at your hotel, tomorrow at 18:00 if this will be convenient to you ?"
We changed glances. "We were under the impression that the meeting would take place here, in the hotel ?"
The Swiss (or whoever was the man with the accent) seemed apologetic again: "I'm afraid my employers prefer to meet you gentlemen in a place less... public. Is this a problem ?"
"Hello?"
"Hello" said a voice with a slight accent on the other side. "Eagle seven eight ?"
I almost dropped the phone: "Eagle seven eight" used to be my radio callsign in the N'djamena deal. How in hell those guys knew that? How in hell they knew immediatly it was me awnsering, not Ed or Johnny? Well, something to think about later.
"Eagle seven eight?" The voice insisted."Yes, it's me." I awnsered, after recovering my voice.
"Are your associates with you ?"
"Yes, we are all here."
"May I ask you to switch to loudspeaker, please ?" The man's voice was polite.
"Of course, just give me a second." I switched the phone to loudspeaker mode and placed it on the table. The three of us got around it.
"Raptor twenty-one ?" The voice asked again. It was Johnny's callsign.
"I'm here" Johnny awnsered.
"Exordia ?" Ed's call, this time.
"I'm here too" he said.
"I hope you gentlemen had a pleasant trip and found your accomodations suitable ?"
"Yes, everything is OK, thank you" I said.
"Good. I regret to inform you gentlemen that one of the people who was supposed to meet with you today had some unexpected delay. So, if it is convenient for you gentlemen, the meeting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, in the afternoon ? We will take care of all the extra expenses regarding your accomodation, of course..."
I glanced at my mates and they both nodded."No problem, tomorrow it is" I awnsered.
"Wonderful" the guy on the phone said. "Do you gentlemen need something else ?"
"Nothing, thank you. The only thing we need is more information about the job, but I suppose that will have to wait 'til tomorrow ?"
"Indeed" The man seemed almost apologetic. "In that case, a car will pick you up at your hotel, tomorrow at 18:00 if this will be convenient to you ?"
We changed glances. "We were under the impression that the meeting would take place here, in the hotel ?"
The Swiss (or whoever was the man with the accent) seemed apologetic again: "I'm afraid my employers prefer to meet you gentlemen in a place less... public. Is this a problem ?"
I checked with the others: both shrugged. "No problem at all".
"Perfect. The driver will look for Mr A. Michel on the front desk. Is this acceptable?"
"Completely."
" Very well. Until tomorrow then."
"'OK, bye".
When I pressed the button to terminate the call, we looked at each others:
"Heyyy! It seems we're going to have an extra day of vacations" laughed Johnny.
Ed glared at him, a bit annoyed: "Yeah, another day to wonder what this deal is all about. You guys noticed what he said about "his employers" ?"
"Yeah" I said. "Seems like our Swiss is not the boss, after all."
"So it seems, yeah. And how did he knew it was you on the phone ?"
"I wonder the same" I said. "I propose we sweep this room for bugs and cameras ?"
"I don't think we're going to find anything. Probably the guy knew your voice already."
I remembered the driver saying he had seen my picture: If they had pictures, probably they had recordings too. "Maybe you're right".
"So, we have one more day to kill" commented Johnny. "What about ?"
"Pool, dinner, sleep, breakfast, pool, lunch, rest" awnsered Ed, concisely.
Me and Johnny both pretended to be very disappointed: "No Monte-Carlo night-life, then ?"
"Nope."
"Perfect. The driver will look for Mr A. Michel on the front desk. Is this acceptable?"
"Completely."
" Very well. Until tomorrow then."
"'OK, bye".
When I pressed the button to terminate the call, we looked at each others:
"Heyyy! It seems we're going to have an extra day of vacations" laughed Johnny.
Ed glared at him, a bit annoyed: "Yeah, another day to wonder what this deal is all about. You guys noticed what he said about "his employers" ?"
"Yeah" I said. "Seems like our Swiss is not the boss, after all."
"So it seems, yeah. And how did he knew it was you on the phone ?"
"I wonder the same" I said. "I propose we sweep this room for bugs and cameras ?"
"I don't think we're going to find anything. Probably the guy knew your voice already."
I remembered the driver saying he had seen my picture: If they had pictures, probably they had recordings too. "Maybe you're right".
"So, we have one more day to kill" commented Johnny. "What about ?"
"Pool, dinner, sleep, breakfast, pool, lunch, rest" awnsered Ed, concisely.
Me and Johnny both pretended to be very disappointed: "No Monte-Carlo night-life, then ?"
"Nope."
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