62. A Friend’s Friend
“What are you going to do now?” Mrs. Conway asked.
“I need to think.”
“They won’t hurt Jeremy until they have what they need,” Pearl said.
“They may hurt him if they don’t get what they want fast enough.”
“If they are as clever as you say they are, they know that they need your cooperation.”
“Not if they think everything is already neatly written down. Then they couldn’t care less about me or Jeremy.”
“But they don’t know that.”
“Right.”
I felt for the small USB stick in my pant pocket. It was a Star Wars plastic figurine on a chain. Yoda was holding all my secrets.
“Why don’t we go for a walk?” Pearl asked.
“You’re right. Who knows? They may have bugged the room.”
“I wish you luck, Nick. Let me know if I can help,” Mrs. Conway said.
“It is too dangerous.”
Pearl and I walked to the nearest park. Jeremy was way better at this than I was. Natalie Conway could do it in her sleep. But I had to do it myself. In my head. Run all the possibilities where Jeremy could be and how I could find him.
“Nick, we’ve walked eleven times around this pond already. Do you want to sit down, maybe?”
“I need to make a phone call.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It is, but I need to take the risk. I have no choice.”
“I saw a public phone at the gate.”
We walked to the gate and I put a few coins into the pay phone. I called the old black phone in the warehouse. It was 9:00 in the morning there. After a long time, Rick picked up.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I am. But my friend is not. They have him.”
“Pythias?”
“No, another one.”
I heard Rick sigh with the same relief I had that it wasn’t Martin.
“How can I help?” Rick asked.
“Your friend, the one in New York.”
“Yes.”
“Can he find out where the … guys would take and hold someone they took in Vienna?”
“I suppose.”
“Can you ask him?”
“Certainly. He will want a lot of money for that.”
“I don’t have money. They stole it.”
“Should I call George?”
“No!”
“They are worried about you.”
“You let them know we’re fine?”
“I did. They still worry about you.”
“All the more reason not to involve them.”
“I can try and find some money. The obstacle course is doing well, and the show is coming together pretty well,” Rick said with pride.
“No,” I said. “Can you ask your friend how much he wants?”
“I will. I’d say a hundred thousand at least.”
I took a sharp breath.
“That is a lot of money.”
“Maybe he wants more.”
“I’ll think of something, Rick. I need to know where they took my friend.”
“Call back tomorrow.”
Rick hung up.
“What are you doing, Nick?” Pearl asked.
“I have a friend who has a friend who can find out where they took Jeremy.”
“But how? It’s the proverbial needle in the haystack.”
“Not if you know where to look.”
“How would he know?”
“I believe this friend of my friend is a former government agent. He may be able to get a list of possible holding locations.”
“You mean the US government has secret prisons in Europe?”
“More like safe houses.”
“I don’t know, it all sounds so wild.”
“I know, like a Bourne movie.”
“And this friend of your friend wants money?”
“Yes, minimum a hundred thousand dollars.”
“Oh my, where will you get this kind of money?”
“I will have to think of something.”
“Shall we go back to the hostel and see what they have taken?”
“Yes. We also have to tell Martin and Rachel.”
We walked to our hostel and found our room a mess. They had turned everything upside down. We tidied up and found they had taken everything except our clothes. My laptop, Pearl’s, Martin’s, all of Martin’s books, his notes, Pearl’s notebooks and all the money we had. They had also taken the IDs for David Winter and James Rebar.
That was one silver lining. If they hadn’t found out about our other IDs, maybe we had a chance.
Rachel and Martin arrived when we had just finished cleaning up.
“What happened?” Martin asked and all afterglow drained from his face.
“They have Jeremy,” Pearl said.
“What?” Rachel gasped.
“The FPA took Jeremy. They sent Conway a message on her computer. They have him and want to exchange him for the proof.”
“They will never let him go. They will take the proof and kill him,” Rachel said.
“I know,” I said. “We have to find him.”
“How?” Martin asked.
“I have an idea. But I need money. Tons of money.”
Martin sat down on his bed.
“Rain Man.”
“Brilliant, Marts!” I said. “Why didn’t I think of it?”
“What are you talking about?” Rachel asked.
“But where?” I asked.
“Five casinos in Vienna, Nick.”
“No denying that you memorized the guidebook anymore,” I said.
Martin smiled.
“Can someone please tell me what is going on?” Pearl asked.
“Have you seen the movie Rain Man?” I asked.
“Yes, I have. Ages ago,” Pearl said.
“Do you remember that scene in the casino where Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise play blackjack?”
“Yes. And?”
“Hoffman counts cards, Pearl. They win a lot of money,” Rachel said.
“86 thousand dollars,” I said.
“I don’t understand.”
“Martin and Nick both have photographic memories.”
“Martin has memorized the tourist guide? That was not a joke? It has more than 1,000 pages!”
“No joke.” Rachel, Martin and I shook our heads in unison.
“I didn’t know this,” Pearl said.
“Don’t worry, it’s not contagious,” Rachel said.
We all laughed.
Copyright by Ines Strohschein, Berlin 2023