“I think I’ll take Deke for a walk in the park before we meet with Cassie and Linda.” At the word walk, Deke leaped at Nick as if he were a four legged pogo stick. “You two get some rest. Gus and I will scope out the trails in the park and report back.”
Rachel understood immediately when Nick mentioned Gus going, walking Deke played only a small part. “We’ll be going down to eat in a few hours. You’ll need to allow yourself enough time to shower and get ready.”
“Can I go, Dad?”
“Let Gus and I check it out first with Deke. It’s freezing out there. You and your Mom can go with me on a walk tomorrow morning before breakfast, okay?”
“Sure… that’ll be alright.”
“Good deal.” Nick called Gus. “You ready to dress for the arctic, and take Deke the dog for a walk with me?”
“Meet you in the hall,” Gus answered.
Nick disconnected. He harnessed Deke up, put on his winter coat with hood, and grabbed the small pack he had readied. He kissed Rachel and Jean, promising to be back early. “I have a couple things to check out, and of course let Deke do his thing.”
*
“You haven’t said two words since we left the hotel.” Gus looked like a Himalayan mountain guide with the heavy clothing he wore. “I figured you’d be laying out plans for me in detail by now.”
“See those clumps of white coated bushes there opposite the hotel within the stand of trees. It won’t be quite the same, but walk over here with me.” Nick heeled Deke to him, and led the way to a spot on the walkway where Trump International was in plain view. Nick took out what appeared to be a camera with telephoto lens. He handed it to Gus. “Check out the room ten floors up, and four over from the left.”
“What the hell? I can see through the tinted windows with this damn thing, you pervert.”
“A little louder with the jokes. I don’t think everyone in Central Park heard you.”
“Hell, there ain’t many people dopey enough to be out in this weather. Yeah… okay… I see Jean.”
“Check out the room right above ours.”
“Holy shit, Batman,” Gus whispered, his breath exhaling in fogging clouds. “I caught a glimpse of Dafar. His two bodyguards are watching TV.”
Gus moved the camera to point and click at a myriad of scenes as if he were taking tourist shots before handing the camera back to Nick. “So you’re going to make your nest in the bushes, and take him out right through his picture window?”
“Not exactly. I can’t simply take the shot, and then walk back into the hotel with a .50 caliber sniper rifle. My new best friend would be disappointed if I were to do it in that way. I have a book signing in Stamford, Connecticut in a few days after I do a couple here in the city. We’re going to stay overnight there, although it’s only forty minutes away. You and I, however will be traveling back here if my bodyguard surveillance proves fruitful.”
“I don’t know, Nick. They have cameras everywhere. How the hell do you plan to pull off this master plan, and pick the exact moment when Dafar will be visible?”
Nick led off once again with Deke along the pathway. “That’s where you come in, my friend. I have my eye on that bodyguard that was on his left at the airport – clean shaven, bald dude, a little over my height, but thirty pounds heavier. I have complete dossiers on the two bodyguards, but Boyko Sarac likes to party when he’s given some time off. He’s Bulgarian, and a dangerous threat. Paul gave him to me as a secondary target.”
“Great. Two targets with no access – this just keeps getting better and better.”
“Why is it when we get a job to keep us busy, you start with the negative vibes, Guster? Sarac is Dafar’s driver. When he’s off, Dafar is in. They have a black Lincoln MKX rented. Sarac is on call 24/7, but when he’s off he frequents a Bulgarian bar here in the city, called The Mehanata. It’s kind of a wild place, but also an entertaining one. They have a room inside where people dress in costume and drink ice cold vodka. The room’s known as the Ice Cage. Sarac drinks in there. I’m going to play dress-up, and go in to collect Sarac. We’ll use the Lincoln for our plan.”
“How in hell are you going to blend in there?”
Nick spoke a few sentences in a foreign language. Gus stopped. “What language is that?”
“Bulgarian. I did a deep cover contract in Sophia once. I also used the city as a base of operations three other times due to its nearness to a few other points of interest. Once I get old Sarac, you’ll drive the MKX to where he and I can get into position. When I give you the signal, you call Dafar from Sarac’s phone, and tell him to look out his window. I blow his head off, leave Sarac with the rifle, and we head back to Stamford.”
When Gus kept silent, Nick nudged him. “Well?”
“Thankfully we’re in the USA. At least we won’t get put in a Gulag until we rot.”
“In other words you think it’s a great idea?”