of the United States government.”
She almost pulled her gun out and shot him in the face for that last bit. Instead she lowered her head and said, loud enough for all the hired gorillas to hear:
“I will bury you first.”
She eased the door open, slipped through and walked past the man holding people back. To make sure she wasn’t being followed, she kept looking over her shoulder.
Rod stepped out onto the pavement and watched her go.
She turned a corner and walked out of sight.
A small park came up on the right. She walked to the open gates, stepped in and sat on one of the benches where she put her face in her palms and wept.
Fear motivated her. Threats inspired her to action. But this was different. Those men meant what they said. She was in real danger.
Real danger scared her.
For one of the first times in her life, Sarah was seriously afraid.
She wept as if her emotional side opened a dam and released all the pent up sadness at what her life had become.
She needed to be held. Her mother would be good, but maybe it was time for a man. Someone strong who could take care of her in her weaker moments.
Sarah hugged herself and shuddered under the pressure of her tears.
Chapter 6
At nine in the morning Sarah entered a pharmacy that was just opening its doors. In less than ten minutes she’d accumulated everything she needed.
By nine-thirty she had found a hostel-like hotel that would allow her to rent a room for the night. The room was ready so she settled in right away. In the bathroom she applied the brown hair color she’d bought and began the grueling task of dying her blond hair.
After rinsing it all out in the shower she tied her hair into two braids that hung over each shoulder.
She studied her new look in the mirror. With the hair so vastly changed from the old layered blond that fell past her shoulders to two brown braids that resembled a young Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie, Sarah was confident that no one would recognize her. At least not at first look.
She applied eyeliner and eyeshadow to her eyes, adding a small black line on the outside of each eye to make them appear longer and thinner. After the mascara she stood back and stared again.
Perfect. No one will recognize me.
She stepped back into the room and checked the time. Just after twelve noon. She grabbed her passport and the gun, checked that its safety was on and left the room. A few doors down from her room she stopped at the fire extinguisher that sat embedded in a recess in the wall. With a glance both ways to make sure no one was watching, Sarah reached in behind the extinguisher and set her passport completely out of sight. Unless there was a fire in the building in the next twenty four hours no one would find her passport.
After a lunch of french fries and a Coke, (they’d offered mayonnaise for the fries but she declined), Sarah started for the Great Market Hall to meet Armond Stuart by “the red Ape”.
She’d been there before. In the first four weeks of living in downtown Budapest with no contact from Vivian and nothing to do, she had explored the area. She’d been to the castle district, the Citadel, rode their buses and shopped in some of the walking streets. She’d learned that Saint Stephen founded Hungary in the year 1000 AD and that the Parliament buildings were some of the prettiest structures made by mankind.
In that time she had ridden the tram to the Great Market Hall a couple of times. The market held over two hundred stalls - she had ambled through and had lunch there, enjoying goulash the way it was supposed to be prepared.
But today was different.
Today she was armed. Armond Stuart would be there. She would find him by “the red Ape”, whatever that meant. No doubt Parkman would show as he’d read the note too. He’d asked what the hell a “red Ape” was but she had no idea.
She almost pulled her gun out and shot him in the face for that last bit. Instead she lowered her head and said, loud enough for all the hired gorillas to hear:
“I will bury you first.”
She eased the door open, slipped through and walked past the man holding people back. To make sure she wasn’t being followed, she kept looking over her shoulder.
Rod stepped out onto the pavement and watched her go.
She turned a corner and walked out of sight.
A small park came up on the right. She walked to the open gates, stepped in and sat on one of the benches where she put her face in her palms and wept.
Fear motivated her. Threats inspired her to action. But this was different. Those men meant what they said. She was in real danger.
Real danger scared her.
For one of the first times in her life, Sarah was seriously afraid.
She wept as if her emotional side opened a dam and released all the pent up sadness at what her life had become.
She needed to be held. Her mother would be good, but maybe it was time for a man. Someone strong who could take care of her in her weaker moments.
Sarah hugged herself and shuddered under the pressure of her tears.
Chapter 6
At nine in the morning Sarah entered a pharmacy that was just opening its doors. In less than ten minutes she’d accumulated everything she needed.
By nine-thirty she had found a hostel-like hotel that would allow her to rent a room for the night. The room was ready so she settled in right away. In the bathroom she applied the brown hair color she’d bought and began the grueling task of dying her blond hair.
After rinsing it all out in the shower she tied her hair into two braids that hung over each shoulder.
She studied her new look in the mirror. With the hair so vastly changed from the old layered blond that fell past her shoulders to two brown braids that resembled a young Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie, Sarah was confident that no one would recognize her. At least not at first look.
She applied eyeliner and eyeshadow to her eyes, adding a small black line on the outside of each eye to make them appear longer and thinner. After the mascara she stood back and stared again.
Perfect. No one will recognize me.
She stepped back into the room and checked the time. Just after twelve noon. She grabbed her passport and the gun, checked that its safety was on and left the room. A few doors down from her room she stopped at the fire extinguisher that sat embedded in a recess in the wall. With a glance both ways to make sure no one was watching, Sarah reached in behind the extinguisher and set her passport completely out of sight. Unless there was a fire in the building in the next twenty four hours no one would find her passport.
After a lunch of french fries and a Coke, (they’d offered mayonnaise for the fries but she declined), Sarah started for the Great Market Hall to meet Armond Stuart by “the red Ape”.
She’d been there before. In the first four weeks of living in downtown Budapest with no contact from Vivian and nothing to do, she had explored the area. She’d been to the castle district, the Citadel, rode their buses and shopped in some of the walking streets. She’d learned that Saint Stephen founded Hungary in the year 1000 AD and that the Parliament buildings were some of the prettiest structures made by mankind.
In that time she had ridden the tram to the Great Market Hall a couple of times. The market held over two hundred stalls - she had ambled through and had lunch there, enjoying goulash the way it was supposed to be prepared.
But today was different.
Today she was armed. Armond Stuart would be there. She would find him by “the red Ape”, whatever that meant. No doubt Parkman would show as he’d read the note too. He’d asked what the hell a “red Ape” was but she had no idea.
Similar Books
