Free Revenge of the Assassin (Assassin Series 2) by Russell Blake Page B

knelt and padlocked it into place, noting that there were a lot of people on the promenade – so it was hard to be sure he was clean, but what he was looking for was anything atypical – something that didn’t belong. He didn’t immediately detect anything, but that didn’t mean he was safe – taking the long way home would indicate whether there was a problem.
    He ambled slowly towards the park, moving with the flow of the pedestrian traffic, mindful of potential surveillance without giving any outward appearance of being on guard. He stopped abruptly across the street from the stock exchange building and examined a jacket in a display window – its reflection revealed a figure fifty yards from him had stopped to tie his shoe. It would have been innocent, except that with an eighth of a second glance he confirmed that the man’s laces were still tied. Sometimes it was the small things that gave you away.
    Confident he was being followed, he now needed to decide how to deal with his pursuers. He didn’t think it was police. They would have no reason to sneak around. Rather, they’d walk through the front door, as they had earlier, and pick him up. No, this was someone else, which was worse. Probably Gustavo’s crew. Perhaps the old man hadn’t been entirely truthful with El Rey . Yet another of life’s small disappointments. Sometimes people weren’t completely honest.
     
    ~
     
    The shoelace tier resumed his casual following once the target made for the street that separated the park from the pedestrian thoroughfare and murmured into his cell phone, “He’s crossing into the park. If you get into position on the far side, you’ll be able to pick him up as he exits. He’s wearing a dark blue long coat and has longish hair and glasses. Black pants. I’ll stay on him, but lay back. He’s all yours. But remember. He’s extremely dangerous, so be careful.”
    He watched as his quarry jaywalked, a car honking angrily as it nearly missed him. The target seemed unfazed and picked up his pace past the street vendors at the park entrance. The light turned green, and he joined the crowd in crossing to the verdant expanse, trying to maintain a fix on the target’s trajectory.
    The young man was now a good hundred and fifty yards ahead of him, and he watched as the distant figure cut through a line of people waiting to enter the small underground theater that was the central hub of the park. He could just make out the lights and distinctive white façade of the Park Hyatt hotel across the far street and knew his men would take over once he’d crossed that street. If the man made a right or a left, they could still track him, but it would be more obvious. It wasn’t a perfect scenario, but it was the only one they’d been able to improvise on short notice.
    A few lights glimmered dimly in the area he was walking towards, which could work well for them. The target seemed to have no idea he was under surveillance, so it would be straightforward enough to corner him. He wished he could still see him, but the theater crowd was now in his line of sight as he moved past the massive fountain.
    He wasn’t worried. It would be over shortly.
     
    ~
     
    El Rey could just make out the pair of shadows lurking beneath one of the large tree trunks twenty yards from the path he was on. A pair of teenage lovers lay sprawled on a darkened park bench, exploring each other’s charms with single-minded intensity, oblivious to anything but their passion as he hurried past. An old woman moved out of his way, clutching her purse tightly as if afraid he’d assault her. He nodded as he walked by, offering a non-threatening look.
    At the street, he made a split-second decision, and instead of crossing straight over as he normally would, he instead moved diagonally across the empty thoroughfare to the far block. He registered the two shadows beneath the tree begin their pursuit and considered the desolate sidewalk he was now on. There