Chapter 87

I was asleep, but Farley woke me when he took the beer out of my hand. "Time to get up, Jon. Our clothes are here and we have to get ready to go to the dinner you invited everyone to. Besides, you stink!

When I looked at him, I got that grin of his and he got the finger which just made him smile wider. Of course Jubal got in his two cents worth and said; "Yeah, hurry up. I am starved!" I headed for the shower, shaking my head at them. While I was showering I thought about the last three months we were together; tracing down the threat against my family, and some of the jokes they had pulled on the Frog as they liked to call me. I had to admit that you couldn't ask for better friends and fighters than I had with these two jokers. As I dressed, I thought about Myrna and wondered if and when she was going to come back. I knew Farley thought about her a lot, but since we had started on this, he hadn't mentioned her and I would bet that he wouldn't. I knew he thought about her because he had admitted it when we first caught the plane to fly to France. We were on the way to meet with Interpol to try and trace down where the threat had originated from.

While I was slipping on the boots Quanta had sent, I realized how soft and comfortable they were. When I had bought my first pair of cowboy boots back home in Virginia, it had taken over two month to break them in so that they were comfortable on my feet. Now these were brand new, but they fit like they were made for my feet. Man, this is nice, I thought as I stood, putting on the shoulder harness and adjusting it for a comfortable fit. It had room for four mags, so I slipped the rest into the pockets on the corduroy jacket that had been furnished to cover the holster. I drew several times and made a couple more adjustments, then finished dressing. I went to one knee and picked up the aluminum case that was an exact replica of the one we had shipped out. Hell, it even had a burn mark on it along with the dents and scratches. All in all it looked like a case that was many years old and had been through the wars. I had ordered it to use as a decoy to draw out any other would be assassins to be sure we weren't being followed. I knew someone would eventually miss the case and would want it and what it contained, as I was sure they hadn't found it in the wreckage. Of course there would be a big surprise when they opened it and found several folders concerning my business holdings here in Nigeria and a couple of other countries. I made sure that Quanta had put them in and also that there wasn't anything in them that would give anything away concerning my business dealings. I figured if there were any players left after the boat was destroyed, they would be sweating the contents of the case falling into the wrong hands. This would maybe draw them out in the open to be grabbed. With all the protection in the dining room, I didn't figure they would get away with it and I figured it was worth the risk.

I looked at my watch and saw we still had fifteen minutes to get down to the dining room, so I went out to the lounge area to make a few plans with my friends and my bodyguards. Farley and Jubal were dressed in western garb also and as usual, they were arguing about who looked better. Saul and Paul were just grinning at them and shaking their heads at the comments flying back and forth.

When I stepped out, Jubal looked at me and turned to Farley and said; "See, I told you he was trying to turn us into some kind of dude or something. We look like out of place cowboys. I am never gonna live it down if anyone takes a picture of me lookin' like this!"

"Oh shut up, Jubal. I like the clothes and these boots are the most comfortable pair I think I have ever worn. Hey, you can always stay up here and call room service if you don't want to be seen in public. Of course all the women will be looking at me anyways!"

"Ha, you would have to get a woman drunk like you always do to get laid. Besides, I have always been the better looking one in our family."

I stepped in and told them we needed to go over a few things before we went down to the dining room to eat. They immediately went quiet and sat down. We spent fifteen minutes hashing out a plan that we all were comfortable with. Paul and Saul were on the phone, passing on the information to the right people before we headed out.

When we got to the balcony that overlooked the main floor area and several small shops, I paused, looking at the people who were wandering or standing still. I remembered Captain Kushka telling me he would have people planted as extra security and I was trying to pick them out, as well as looking for any familiar faces in the crowd. Farley and Jubal were doing the same thing from the other side by the steps. We were wearing the ear buds so we would be able to communicate back and forth.

"Jon, I don't see any familiar faces, but I do see three males and one female that look like police officers on a vacation. Captain Jubee just came in with his wife and from the shocked look on her face, she is overwhelmed by the hotel and what she is seeing. If her eyes get any bigger I think they are going to fall out!"