Sake Bomb Read Online Free PDF Page B

belfries;
horse-drawn carriages and cozy shops. An idyllic place like this
would do someone like her a great deal of good. She deserved the
fairytale.
    Drinks dispensed, she held the empty tray
flat against her middle, cupping the bottom edge with both hands.
Her lips turned up pleasantly while she spoke with one of the men.
He replied; his friends laughed. She flipped dyed brown hair off
her shoulder and smiled wider. Was she flirting?
    Phil wanted to grin…and rip the guy’s head
off.
    He swallowed more beer.
    She ducked inside the restaurant and Phil
returned to the task he’d abandoned. The form on the tablet’s
screen already contained the pertinent information: Charles de
Gaulle airport. Arriving in two days. He reviewed the reservation
and paid by gift card. Info forwarded to his boss, he changed the
screen to the weather. The drive down to Paris would be a wet
one.
    The phone vibrated in his pocket. A discreet
tap to a button on the sunglasses and the caller’s info appeared on
the lower corner of his right lens. He let it connect, left the
line open.
    “Good or bad?”
    The arguing couple got a bit louder, masking
the sound of his caller’s voice. Phil grabbed up his tablet and
headed for the door, deserting his expensive drink. “I’ll get both
anyway.”
    “Another hit off the necklace, three days
ago—just a mile or so away from one of my usual spots.” The man on
the line chuckled. “I’m sure she heard of my prowess and came
looking for me.”
    Outside, the young woman stood at the table
of men, now stuffing a business card into her pocket. Phil’s eyes
narrowed.
    He cut through a line of people at a cart
serving frites ; headed away from her, striding toward the
large statue in the center of the Markt . A sharp turn left
and he blended in as best he could with a tour group wandering by.
“Not keeping a low profile, are you, Stix?”
    “Have I ever kept a low profile? All part of
the life,” Stix replied off-handedly. “I’ll leave all that
‘low-profile’ stuff to you and X. Though, word has it he hasn’t
been too incognito himself…”
    Phil almost stopped short, full attention
now on the call. “What have you heard?”
    “Not enough to ruffle your feathers,
Marchande. But there was a whisper,” Stix said, voice full of
mischief. “Some beautiful young vixen...who isn’t Nai.”
    Phil smirked, catching a glimpse of his prey
one last time as he went by.
    Back to important things.
    All this time and only three hits off the
necklace? This wasn’t working as planned. He broke away from the
group and doubled back, heading for the statue again while making a
quick check of his watch. She’d be getting off soon. “The bad?”
    “Network’s down again.”
    His jaw clenched.
    Using a network was hit-or-miss, or more
miss than hit, apparently. Tracking in major cities was spotty—too
much interference and the relay got scrambled. Outside of major
cities was worse—with fewer chip readers, chances of getting a hit
were slimmer. The few blips they had didn’t pinpoint a specific
location, more a general area they were hoping to determine a
pattern from. To do that, they needed more hits. “How long will it
take to get back up?”
    “Two to ten days, depending on where it
broke off in the loop. Longer than you may have, my friend. If you
didn’t care about a trail, I could have it hopping in hours. I’m
surprised you’ve been able to last this long, but I think your
luck’s running out.”
    Didn’t he know it. Phil reached the center
of the plaza, sidestepped quickly, narrowly avoiding capture in the
digital memories of a cheesing couple. He perched a hip against the
arched concrete wall surrounding the statue. “I’ll pass the m—”
    “That’s not all.”
    Their only lead was roaming about and
currently untraceable. What could be worse than that?
    “Some rich American died in the act the
other day, landed face down in the sushi.”
    “That’s sick, even for you.” Phil