Free Rich Man's War by Elliott Kay Page B

to say anything about it.
    No one batted an eye at her in the lobby. No one rode the elevator with her. It was always like t his. Perfectly calm, perfectly casual and perfectly nerve-wracking.
    In the movies, meetings like this always happened in public, right under everyone’s nose. They happened in parks. In restaurants. On waterfronts. Something about the scenery seemed to say, “No one would dare shoot us out here.” In reality, she found, this sort of thing generally occurred in private.
    Finding the correct room, Sarah glanced up one end of the hall and down the other—she couldn’t help herself—and then pressed the door chime. A moment later, the door opened. She walked inside.
    It was a pleasant suite. Clean, comfortable, quiet. Nice artwork and furnishings. Probably a nice view, but for the closed blinds on the windows. Sarah could afford this on her own. Her boss would’ve considered these accommodations rough living.
    “It’s good to see you, Sarah,” said the sole occupant of the suite. Vanessa extended her hand, smiling warmly. Her clothing was a touch more business casual than Sarah’s suit, but she wouldn’t look out of place at Sarah’s side. The outfit complimented Vanessa’s light brown skin and took advantage of her athletic build. Sarah wondered where Vanessa could be hiding her gun. Movies suggested that a spy like Vanessa could have a weapon hidden in the back of her collar, tucked under her long black hair. Then again, Sarah’s experience with Vanessa had her abandoning everything she’d ever heard before about spies.
    Vanessa snapped her thoughts back toward conversation. “Any trouble getting here?”
    “No. Not at all.” Sarah shook Vanessa’s hand, then took a seat at the small table.
    “Are you nervous?”
    Sarah blinked. “Do I look nervous?”
    “No,” Vanessa said, still with a calm smile. “You cover it well.”
    “I am, a little, actually, yes.”
    “Tell anyone where you were going?”
    “Nobody asked, so no.”
    “Good. Then I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” She then fell silent. Sarah, too, fell silent, and the silence quickly became awkward. The door chime rang again. “That should be Raoul,” Vanessa said, rising to get the door.
    “Raoul?” Sarah blinked again. “Who’s Raoul?”
    “He’s your cover,” Vanessa grinned a bit mischievously. “Just let me handle this part.” Crossing the room, Vanessa checked the screen at the control panel and then opened the door to greet a tall , unarguably handsome young man in a suit.
    “Hi,” he said. “I’m Raoul.”
    “Yes, you are,” Vanessa agreed with a decidedly flirtatious tone. “Raoul, could you wait in the other room, please?”
    Raoul glanced at Sarah, then back to Vanessa and nodded. “Of course,” he said as if there was nothing at all odd about this. He walked to the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
    “What’s that about?” Sarah asked.
    “I thought you might have been nervous at your meeting. You came to an upscale hotel instead of going home. I wanted to provide some plausible explanation in case anyone is watching you.”
    Sarah’s head turned toward the closed bedroom door, then back toward Vanessa. “That man’s a prostitute.”
    “Mm-hmm,” Vanessa nodded. “ Licensed, certified and worth every bit of his fee, or so I’m reliably told. I haven’t tried him out myself.”
    “You want people to think I’m having a fling with a prostitute.”
    “I want people to think you aren’t doing anything odd at all,” Vanessa corrected. “But if they do think you’re acting suspiciously, I’d prefer it be over something harmless. No one who’d keep tabs on you would think a fling with a prostitute is something to cover up—but you would, and those people would know that about you.”
    Sarah wanted to be mad. As she considered her retort, though, she realized that Vanessa was absolutely right. She’d have laughed it off if she had discovered any of her friends or