“You know too much.”
He left the cell phone in Chi’s hand. It was painful to sacrifice those millions, but he could afford it. The evidence trail would point to Quan Chi as Ares, infamous arms dealer, the payment indicating that Chi had hired General Jemwa to stage the coup.
The first half of Nikos’s plan was complete.
He crouched over and dipped his hand into Chi’s blood pooling on the floor, smearing it on his own leg and torso. Yes, more than enough for his purposes.
His phone buzzed—a text from one of his men stating that his father had been confirmed to be somewhere close by. Good. No one would beat him to the final punch. He called the chopper and ordered the pilot to stand by.
Plan for everything, count on nothing.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Crawling through the claustrophobic ventilation system certainly wouldn’t make Thea’s top ten list of fun things to do. Her breath sounded heavy and raspy as it echoed against the metal structure. Ironic that an air shaft should feel as if it had no air.
She led the way with her cell phone’s flashlight, Mamadou Kimweri following her closely. At the first junction, she turned left, then kept following the route that would take them westward.
Voices suddenly sounded from directly below them. She froze, flicked off her light, and strained to listen. The words weren’t decipherable, but she recognized the familiar tones of Swahili.
A soft touch on her ankle. Mamadou letting her know he understood they needed to pause. Seconds passed like hours as they waited to see what would happen. Four shots were fired in the distance. The men in the room underneath them shouted at each other. Loud footsteps pounded as they exited.
It killed her not knowing what was happening outside.
She waited another two minutes to make sure the men were gone. Sweat from her forehead dripped onto the galvanized steel. Okay, onward. She crawled away from the fire, searching for an external vent where they could slip out of the hotel unnoticed.
Intense thirst overwhelmed her, and she needed to pee. Not good signs. Her blood sugar levels were rising in the absence of insulin. She had to return to her room or the conference space and give herself an injection. But first she had to get the prime minister to safety.
They reached another bend in the ductwork. She considered the structure of the building. Her gut told her to turn right. This place was an absolute maze with all its twists and turns. She hoped like hell she hadn’t gotten them lost.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Gabrielle concealed herself in the alcove adjacent to the room Nikos had entered, and from there she could hear the sound of voices but not what they were saying. Then the sound of two gunshots, followed by two more. Then silence.
Who else was inside that suite?
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, startling her. She quickly checked her cell. Max. Christos Paris is being held nearby. Meet me at the Victoria Falls Bridge.
At long last, positive news. She texted back: Hotel under siege. Will come as soon as I can.
Movement. Sounds. The hotel room’s door opened. She remained hidden in the alcove, where she had a view of the hallway. Nikos again. She hoped he was headed the other way. To her relief, he exited the room alone and hurried toward the rear stairs.
She waited a few moments to make sure he was gone. What to do? Curiosity overrode any hesitation. She raised her SIG Sauer and inched toward the room. The door was ajar. She listened, but only silence greeted her. Cautious, she pushed the door wider so she could look inside.
A metallic scent filled the room. A woman’s body lay supine on the white carpet, blood framing her in a crimson blot. Quan Xi-Ping. A quick glance to the left revealed Quan Chi slumped across an armchair, also dead, his brains splattered on the chair and wall. Sister and brother, forever bonded in death.
She cleared the bedroom and bathroom. The suite held no other bodies.
A whiff of smoke flooded her nose. Time to leave. A cell phone rested on the floor beneath Chi’s hand. She picked it up using a napkin from the table and scanned the screen. Locked. She slipped the phone into her pocket for examination later. It might hold answers to this unusual turn of events, and she didn’t want it destroyed in a fire.
She exited the room, scanning the hallway, making her way toward the stairs. Nikos Paris had murdered the Chinese delegation vying for the same oil deal as his father’s company. This took negotiating to a whole other level. Was he working on behalf of Christos, or did he have his own agenda? If he and General Jemwa were in cahoots to stage the coup and give the oil rights to Paris Industries, why did he need to kill the Chinese? And why had Nikos shot the soldier? Questions and more questions. Gabrielle tabled everything until later. She needed to reach the bridge and find Max.
Chapter Sixty-Nine