The Trap

Chapter 24 of the thriller The Imperative U-turn.

Chapter 24

On Monday morning February the 28^th Semion checked out rather early, and asked the reception current clerck a good looking young female, to hail a cab for him. She smiled rather pleased with his obvious interest in her, and a called a cab. While waiting for the cab, he exchanged a few words with her; he told her how pleased he is with his stay in the Hyatt Regency, making his best to leave good impression. As an experienced agent he knew that leaving a good impression on anyone to whom he exposes himself for even a few seconds, would make the stranger who ever he is to forget him. It took some ten minutes and the cab’s horn sounded, and Semion picked his suitcase took leave of the good looking clerck and went outside.

The cab driver got off as soon as he him, he welcomed him with a smile; he took Semion’s suitcase and loaded it in the cab’s trunk, while Semion settled on the cab’s rear seat. In about twenty minutes drive they reached Toronto’s Pearson airport.

He paid the cab driver and took his suitcase and went inside the terminal. He had no trouble to pass all the beaurucratic procedures including immigration and boarded his plane quite early.

The flight was rather short, in about three houre and fitteen minutes; right after take off Semion pretended to fall asleep, and in fact he did sleep all along the flight almost; up to the moment of landing at Dulles International airport, only then he woke up with a start, and tried hard to realize where he is… It took him just a friction of a second to leave his seat, pick his handbag and join the queue of passengers towards the plane exit.

He passed emigration just like any other passenger, picked his suitcase and joined another queue outside the terminal to board a cab. After some forty minutes he reached his Washington hotel; he checked in and in hardly ten minutes time he settled in his room, and without losing time he went down to the hotel’s restaurant to have lunch. While he was sitting next to the table, all alone not too far from the rest of the few guests, which prefared like himself to have their at the hotel’s restaurant; he wondered whether he should have had his meals in his room, but in a second thought he understood that he took the right step. Having his meals in his room would have attracted attention, while sitting in the hotel’s restaurant he didn’t attract needless attention.

Back in his room he watched TV and waited impatiently to his operator’s phone call. Time oozed by slowly despite the TV channels and movies. He fell asleep for a couple of hours, and woke up to realize that’s already the end of day; and when moved to his room’s door, ready to descend to the hotel’s restaurant his mobile rang.

‘’Hello Semion’’, he read his operator’s message. “I’m in a black sedan next to the hotel’s entarance with the lights on”.

"I’ll be with you in a moment”. Semion wrote back to him and left his room. He did not rush down, he took his time, in about some five minutes he crossed the small lobby and went out.

‘Why did it take you so much?’ His operator asked as soon as he sat in the car next to him.

‘I didn’t want to attract attention Dima, well what am I supposed to do here?’

‘We’ll talk about during dinner Semion.’ His operator answered him and switched on the car’s engine. After about twenty minutes ride without exchanging another word between the two of them, they reached the Clarck Street Grill restaurant. They had to sit next to the bar having an apperitif drink until a table would be free for them.

‘We could have dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, instead of wasting time, don’t you think Dima?’

‘We would’ve attracted attention...’ His operator repeated his excuse with a sarcastic smile.

Hardly five minutes passed and a corner was freed and cleaned for them.

‘You don’t I hope if I’ll odrer,’ Dima said as they settled next to the table with their drinks still in their hands; and he raised his arm to summon one of the waiters.

His operator ordered without consulting the menu, and as soon as the waiter left the table he turned to Semion and started to brief him. ‘Okay do you remember the last time when you were supposed to bump off the vice president, I mean the address and your orders at that time?’

Last time I wasn’t supposed to know whom I’d to bump off, and I don’t like at all that unexpected mission... Semion reminded himself quite surprised, why do I’ve to return to the same where I was arrested by the other side? He thought peplexed by the thought of returning to that building where he was supposed to hit his unrevealed target... ‘But that’s exactly the same place where I was caught Dima!?!’ Semion hissed at him making an effort not to raise his voice.

‘Yes we know it but it’s like taking a shelter in bomb crater against air raid, being sure that no bomb would hit the same place twice.’ His operator answered him smiling with pursued lips.

‘And how do I get away after the thing, I mean after I’ll accomplish my mission successfully?’

‘You’ll leave the building through its rear exit and cross over to the parallel road, there you’ll hail a cab the train terminal and board the train to New York; there you’ll hire a car to cross the border up to Montreal, and there you’ll fly back home.’

At the end of the meal when they were drinking their coffee. Semion looked at Dima with a searching gaze.

‘Oh yes you’ll have to leave the and get to that same address, and between three and five pm she will come out; you’ll have to shoot her before she’ll board the waiting limouzine. I you’ll miss your chance leave the place, take the train to Montreal and return home, got the message?’

‘Even if I’ll miss the chace to bump her off?’

‘That’s right Semion, you were chosen to this mission because we believe that you won’t miss her.’ He made a short pause while watching Semion’s face, and lowering his voice he added: ‘order a cab I’ll call you tomorrow morning at about nine am.’

As Semion entered the hotel’s he passed a well dressed stranger, which was standing next to the reception counter with his back to him. The lone stranger that seemed to make a pass to the young reception clerck, a good looking blond didn’t arouse Semion’s suspicions; but when stepped out of the elevator and was getting close to his room, he was utterly surprised to realize that his room’s door was wide open. When he crossed his room’s threshold he saw two tall strangers waiting for him, standing at far end of his room with their backs toward the room’s wide window.

@ Haim Kadman 2020 �" all rights reserved.