Deadly Crossing (Tom Dugan 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

You’re too obviously a local, and if you just show up out of the blue, the mob boys might get suspicious as to why they haven’t seen you before. With my accent, I can come off as a horny middle-aged American, in town for business and looking for a good time.”
    “Accurate on several counts,” Anna said with a smirk, “though I’ll refrain from specifying just which ones.”
    Dugan shot her a dirty look while Alex and Gillian laughed and the Russians looked confused. As the laughter died, Ilya Denosovitch shook his head.
    “I do not like it. Is my family, so I should take risks. These are very bad people, Dyed .”
    “I’m not keen on putting Tom in harm’s way either,” Anna said, “but we can work around that. We’ll fit him with a wire so we can hear everything he says and you two” — she nodded towards the Russians — “can wait with me just outside the club. If he runs into trouble, you can go to his aid.”
    “ Da ,” Borgdanov said as Ilya nodded. “This, I think, will work.”
    “When?” Dugan asked.
    “I have to organize the wire and a van,” Anna said, looking at her watch. “Obviously this will be an evening operation, and it’s too late to get things going tonight. I’d say tomorrow evening.”
    Berwick Street, Soho
London, UK
    Dugan looked out the window of the cab as it turned south onto Berwick Street. Soho had changed in the last decades, transforming from a seamy area of sex shops and adult entertainment to a district of theaters and an eclectic mix of upscale shops, restaurants, and offices. But here and there remnants of the sordid past remained, sex shops and adult entertainment venues scattered in the mix, now almost ‘upscale’ by association. It was no wonder the Russians had chosen this more prosperous location for Club Pyatnitsa , where the clientele was undoubtedly more prosperous. It was almost respectable.
    Anna and the Russians were already in place in a van parked on a side street near the club, and Dugan was arriving by cab, a typical foreigner on the prowl in the big city. He saw the club just ahead, and the cabbie pulled to the curb.
    “Here we are, guv,” the cabbie said, looking at the meter. “That’ll be sixteen quid.”
    Dugan passed the driver a twenty and waved away the change.
    “Thanks, mate,” the driver said as Dugan closed the door.
    Dugan looked around and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He held it to his ear as if he were talking to someone and then said, “I’m here. How do you copy?”
    “I hear you fine, Tom,” said Anna’s voice in his ear. “But are you making a spectacle of yourself by standing on the street and talking to your invisible friend?”
    “Sheesh, give me a little credit, will you. I’m talking into my cell phone.”
    He heard Anna’s laugh in his ear. “Okay, Tarzan. Now that we’ve got our com check, you best lose the earbud before you go in. You remember the safe word?”
    “No,” Dugan said, “I’ve forgotten it completely in the thirty minutes since we last spoke. Of course I remember the safe word. It’s Stoli .”
    “Good. Just don’t forget and order vodka by mistake, or our two Russian friends will come crashing in to rescue you.”
    “I’ll try to fend off senility long enough to remember that. I’m taking out the earbud now, so I don’t have to listen to any more of this abuse.” He cut off Anna’s laughter as he discreetly plucked the small earbud from his right ear and pocketed it.
    Dugan crossed the sidewalk towards the club, and as he approached, the doors opened and a large well-dressed man emerged, his arms around two attractive girls, one on each side. Pounding rock music blared from the door before it closed, and the man gave Dugan a drunken smile. “A wonderful place,” he said in a thick German accent. “I’ve invited these two lovely ladies to dinner.”
    “Ah … well, good luck with that,” Dugan replied.
    “Ah, but that’s the beauty of it,” said the man, his