Poseidon's Ransom

Chapter Thirty Four

The return journey to Peretola International, was decidedly more comfortable than their previous taxi ride. The sleek Bentley pulled up to the departures area and the chauffeur bid them a safe journey.

Peretola, although classed as international, is not that big an airport, so Jack and Bogdan had to fly via Rome before travelling on to the South of France. The Alitalia flight from Peretola to Rome was busy, but not so the onward leg to Nice.

It was a little after 6pm when the wheels bounced onto the tarmac and, as the plane taxied towards the terminal, Jack made a quick call to Nicole. ‘You okay, Zaikin?’

‘I’m fine, darling. How you doin?’

‘We’re all good here. Where are you, Jack?’

‘Just landed in the South of France.’

‘The Cote d’Azur?’

‘Yeah, babe.’

‘Lucky you!’

‘It’s just work, darling.’

He heard her chuckle. ‘Yeah right, mister.’

‘Okay, baby, gotta go, just wanted to check-in.’

‘Be careful, Jack. Love you.’

‘Love you too. Kiss the girls.’

The line went silent.

After quickly clearing Immigration and Customs, they rented a car from one of the more reputable agencies. Bogdan was adamant he did not want a ‘little’ Jaguar.

With an unhappy frown, he said, ‘I can’t get in those fuckin things, boss.’

So, when Jack tossed him the keys to a Range Rover, the smile returned to the big man’s face.

The Russian pulled out of the parking area and onto the main road. Jack had tapped the location of Washington’s villa into the Sat-Nav, the display read 32 miles and 45 minutes. It directed them onto the main coast road east, along the Avenue des Anglais and through Nice, on to Villefranche and Beaulieu-sur-Mer, then finally into Monaco.

Jack knew the area well. He and Nicole holidayed here a lot, staying at their villa in Cap Ferrat. The Avenue des Anglais was busy and the sidewalks bustled with happy tourists from all over the world. The slow moving traffic was peppered with some of the most expensive cars available.

As they passed the Hotel Negresco, Jack smiled.

‘Why you smile, boss?’

Jack pointed to the elegant hotel. ‘That hotel, the Negresco. Nikki and I had one of the best meals of our lives there.’

‘Looks expensive, boss.’

Jack nodded. ‘Yeah, kind of.’

A gaudily illuminated pedal-taxi swerved in front of them, the Russian hit the horn hard. ‘Stukah,’ he shouted out the window. ‘What the fuck is that?’

‘They’re just modern-day rickshaws, big man.’

‘Rickshaw belongs in fuckin China, boss, not here.

Jack laughed.

‘What is plan when we get there?’

‘We’ll play it by ear.’

‘Play it with ear? What is this?’

Jack laughed. ‘We’ll decide once we see the situation.’

‘Okay, da. But we have no weapons. This guy will be armed for sure.’

Jack put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and smiled. ‘Yes. But I have you, big man.’

Bogdan turned to Jack. ‘You are real bullshitter, boss.’

They both laughed.

It was almost eight o’clock when the Sat-Nav declared, ‘You have arrived at your destination.’

They parked the Range Rover a good hundred yards from the gates of the villa and got out. It was quiet, with only the odd vehicle passing, the moon offered some light to the dark roadway. They walked in silence.

Twenty yards from the gates they stopped, and Jack said quietly, ‘I’ll go over the wall. You go down the hill here, see if you can see anything from the back.’

‘Da, okay, boss.’

‘We just check it out first. Don’t go in. Not until we see what we’re dealing with.’

‘Niet problem.’

Jack waited a few moments as his friend crept down the hill. The lights from the sparkling marina, three miles below, did nothing to illuminate the hillside, and within seconds the big Russian disappeared into the darkness.

Jack made his way to the wall and pulled himself up. The short driveway and gardens were all lit up but, from his viewpoint, the villa looked to be in darkness. He waited a few more seconds then heaved himself over the wall, dropping down behind a large bougainvillea. Again, he waited and listened. Nothing. There was no vehicle in the drive but that didn’t mean anything. Moving slowly and keeping to what shadow there was in the illuminated garden, he approached the building. He looked through the windows. The villa was in darkness.

He could see right the way through to the rear of the property and out to the pool area, then he heard the sound. He quickly bent down and picked up a large ornamental owl. He felt the weight of it in his hand, then raised it high, ready for anything.

‘You there, boss?’ said the big man, as he came around the corner of the house.

‘Here, buddy.’

‘Place is deserted, boss.’

‘Yeah.’

Bogdan pointed to the owl. ‘What’s that?’

Jack grinned. ‘Oh, just doing a bit of bird-watchin,’ then put the ornament back in place.

‘Front or back?’ said Bogdan.

‘In the back, buddy.’

They moved to the rear of the property and found one of the smaller windows unlocked. Jack struggled in, and a few moments later appeared at the big patio doors. He slid them open and said, ‘Check the place over. There’s bound to be weapons here.’