At ten minutes before two, Noah climbed out of the car in an alley, three blocks away from the bar. He walked the rest of the way, carefully making sure that he wasn’t being followed. Once he was certain that he was clean of a tail, he made his way to the bar and walked through the door.
“It’s good to see you again, my friend,” Pablo said as Noah took a seat at the table. Felicita hurriedly took the chair at his side, and slipped a piece of paper into his hand.
Noah unfolded it, and then smiled. The price that had been named for the girl was only twenty thousand dollars, and he turned to Eduardo, smiled once more, and then nodded.
He turned back to Pablo. “I’ve taken the liberty of arranging another little transaction, while I’m here,” he said, “and I’m sure you probably already know about it. Would it be convenient for me to simply add the additional price to the transfer I’ll be making to you today?”
Pablo’s smiled. “I will tell you what,” he said. “If all goes well with our business, I will pay that price for you, and you may have the young lady as my gift. Is it true that you wish to marry her?”
Noah looked at Felecita, then smiled and put an arm around her protectively. “It is,” he said. “Where I come from, it’s not easy to obtain such a delightful little beauty with such exciting skills. I plan to take her home with me, and keep her barefoot and pregnant from now on. That’s sort of a tradition, back home.”
Pablo laughed out loud, throwing back his head to show how great was his delight in Noah’s answer. “My friend, I think that is a tradition that we should adopt here in Mexico. But, come, let us now discuss business. You have arranged for the necessary funds?”
“I have, indeed,” Noah said. “However, the Dragon is somewhat skeptical. Since you said the material is somewhere in his neighborhood, he would like to verify that it is genuine before he allows me to complete the transaction. Can you accept those terms?”
Pablo grinned. “If you had said anything else, I would probably have had you shot. While I do not know this Dragon, I suspect that I do know his employer, and I’m quite certain that she would not authorize such a payment without being certain of what she was buying. You have contact with your man?”
Noah pulled out his phone, an Iridium satellite phone that did not bother with cell towers. “With your permission?” he asked, and Pablo nodded. Noah dialed the number, and a few seconds later he heard Moose on the other end.
“Hello?” Moose said, his accent thick.
“Mr. Dragon,” Noah said, “I’m sitting here with my agent, who will tell you where to go to verify the product. I’m going to hand him the phone, now.”
He passed the phone to Pablo, and the old Mexican smiled. “Se?or Dragon,” he said, “you are in Dubai? Is that correct?”
“I am,” Moose said. “To where must I be going?”
“Not very far,” Pablo said. “You are familiar with the Armani Hotel Dubai? It is on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard.”
“But of course,” Moose said. “I am staying there myself, right now.”
“Excellent, excellent,” Pablo said. “The product you are seeking is in room 427. Knock on the door, and simply say that you have come about the insects. The men inside will allow you to examine the merchandise, so that you may tell my friend here that it is genuine.”
“Very good,” Moose said. “Of course, you know that it is quite early, here. Will they be expecting my visit?”
“Yes, Se?or Dragon. I made sure they understood that someone would probably want to inspect it at this time.”
“Very good. Will you stay on the line with me? The room you speak of is only a few doors down.”
Pablo nodded into the phone. “Of course, I would be delighted.”
They heard the sounds of doors opening and closing, and then Moose’s footsteps as he walked down the hall. There were other footsteps around him, and Noah knew that he would have a couple of men with him. If he had been alone, it might have raised suspicions. There came the sound of a knock, and then Moose could be heard saying, “I have come about the insects.”
A door opened, and several voices could be heard speaking at once. A moment later, things got quiet and they heard Moose say, “Give me just one moment.” There was a rustling sound, and then a sound like static from an old radio.
“The product is genuine,” Moose said. “I will wait here while you conclude your business.”
Pablo smiled and handed the phone back to Noah. “Se?or Dragon would like to confirm to you that the product is indeed what you seek.”
Noah smiled, took the phone and said, “Mr. Dragon?”
“My client will be very pleased with this product. Please conclude the transaction so that I may take possession immediately.”