Chapter 11

Veronika looked around the room waiting for an answer to her question and noticed they were acting secretive. “What are you people up to? It looks like you’re making plans to storm the castle.” [Not the same font as the rest of the chapter]

Aeden stood up quickly and moved towards her. “We are, and I as the Dread Pirate Roberts will prevail this night!”

Veronika fought back a smile as Marketa exclaimed, “What the heck are you talking about?”

“It’s a Princess Bride movie reference. We used to watch it all the time when we were younger. We had the lines memorized and drove our friends crazy from the constant quotes,” Veronika answered.

Marketa laughed. “We’ll have to watch it together some day. Anyways, you know the bad guy you ran into last night? The four of us have an appointment with him tonight at midnight.”

Veronika got a determined look on her face. “I’m going, too!”

Pavlina walked into the room with several boxes of Pizza Hut pizza and didn’t miss a beat with her reply. “No you’re not. You’re staying here with me while we go over some important things. Let’s not forget you experienced a trauma last night and need to be checked.”

Veronika looked at Pavlina and then at Aeden. He shrugged his shoulders. “Did I forget to tell you she was a medical doctor?”

“You might have neglected that little fact, big bro.”

Pavlina opened one of the pizza boxes and fanned it towards Veronika, whose eyes lit up. “I’ve been in training so long, I forgot what real food smells like! Please excuse my lack of manners.” Veronika grabbed a slice and immediately began wolfing it down.

“She eats pizza like you, Aeden” Pavlina remarked.

Extor and Dodek left to finish preparations while the others ate pizza and talked. When it was time for Aeden and Marketa to leave, he took Veronika into another room. “Sis, I want you to listen to everything Pavlina and her father has to say. It’s the gospel truth. She’s going to take some blood and run some tests and it’s important that you stay with her and watch everything she does. When I come back, we’ll hang out and talk.”

He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips like he always did when the occasion was serious. “I love you, Veronika.”

She sat there shocked that he used her name. They never used each others names.

Anya was walking through Václav Havel Airport Prague trying to figure out what her next step would be. She obviously had to get into the city, but had no idea on where to go once she got there. American names were all she had which would do her no good and then she remembered that Tara was there. Where was she staying? She backtracked through her memory and came up with a hotel name she hoped was correct. On her way to the exit, she managed to pickpocket enough money from passengers to pay for a taxi and a meal.

Aeden, Marketa, Dodek and Extor were walking towards the park and Dodek took the opportunity to speak with Aeden. The alien put his hand on Aeden’s shoulder in a fatherly manner and began speaking.

“A wise ruler is one who heeds what a trusted advisor has to say. Regardless, of whether you believe them or not; you must always keep an open mind and allow for the possibility it could be real. You can’t make decisions based on what you want to believe or on what you don’t know you don’t know. You’ve been doing a good job of listening so far, but the real test comes after you become comfortable and think you know it all.”

Marketa couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Look at you being all fatherly. It’s kind of cute in an awkward way if you ask me.”

Dodek glared at her. “Nobody did.”

Extor chimed in. “Does she always talk so much?”

“Pretty much” his brother responded.

“Well, she’d better get her game face on because it’s about to be life or death.”

“You Americans have the weirdest colloquialisms.”

Aeden could sense Marketa had her feelings hurt so he grabbed her hand as they walked. “He’s right, you know. Someone could get hurt or die and I don’t know about you, but it’s not something I am used to. I understand using humor to deflect the seriousness of the matter, but these two guys have seen some serious shit and we need to heed what they say.”

Marketa leaned her head onto Aeden’s shoulder as they continued on.

As they approached a major thoroughfare near the park, Extor spoke up. “We need to separate here. We can’t take the chance that they may have lookouts. Aeden, remember the plan, stay calm and don’t be afraid to run for it.”

Marketa gave him a big kiss and then they parted ways.

As instructed, Anya’s taxi stopped a block away from Tara’s hotel to make sure she could exit the vehicle and approach the building unseen. Even though they wouldn’t be expecting to see her there, they would certainly recognize her if they saw her. She used small groups of people as cover and managed to make her way into the lobby and find a seat with good cover to watch both the front door and the elevator.

It wasn’t long before Ivan entered through the main doors and she felt goosebumps and a shiver rush through her body. Her pulse increased and she felt herself clenching her hands into fists. Above all else, he would die tonight, she decided. She hadn’t been in the lobby long enough to make sure there were no other of Rgal’s thugs around, so she sat waiting. They would have to exit back out the same doors so she would be patient.

At 10:30pm, she felt her stomach cramp and the distraction saved her. Just as she bent over to deal with the discomfort, the first of Rgal’s guys walked right past where she was sitting. Had she been upright, he would’ve seen her for sure. The guy stopped at the door, looked furtively around and exited. Knowing what she knew about Rgal’s tactics, she figured he must be the advance scout.

Several minutes after that, the elevator door opened up and Rgal, Ivan, Tara and three other thugs stepped out into the lobby. Tara was dressed up like she was going out on a date and was carrying a big envelope. Curiosity tickled the back part of her brain and for a moment she almost reached out telepathically to Tara to find out what was in it, but stopped as she realized it would give her presence away. The gang exited the hotel and soon thereafter did Anya.