Payback - John Hayes Series 06 (2020), стр. 30
Adriana nodded, her eyes still holding his.
“As soon as I know when and how we are getting back, I will text you. I might need you to bring the minivan to pick us up. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I know you can.” John smiled and brushed a lock of hair away from her face with his right hand. “The key is with the concierge. The van is in the basement parking. It’s a silver Mercedes Vito just like the one we had in Istanbul.”
“Okay.”
John let go of her waist and checked his watch.
“Okay, I have to go now.” He leaned forward and kissed her again. “Get some sleep. Before you know it, we’ll be back, and it will seem like none of this has happened.”
Adriana gave a sad smile and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
John turned, picked up the backpack leaning against the wall, and opened the door. Stepping outside, he saw Steve doing the same. He nodded in his direction, then looked back at Adriana standing in the doorway. She wrapped the hotel robe tighter around herself and stepped forward and kissed John again.
“Good luck.”
“See you soon.” John smiled and turned before she could see the tears in his eyes.
John walked down the corridor toward Steve and smiled at Maadhavi, who also stood in the doorway.
“Bye, Maadhavi.”
She swallowed and gave a half-smile.
John looked back over his shoulder, saw Adriana still standing there, and gave her a wave. He walked ahead and waited by the lift for Steve to finish his goodbyes. The lift pinged just as Steve approached.
“Did you get hold of Mia?”
Steve shook his head, his forehead creased with worry.
John frowned. He stepped into the lift and turned around, Steve followed him in, and the doors closed behind him.
“Mansur?”
“He’s gone down already.”
“Good.”
“What do we do, John? If we can’t get hold of her?”
John looked down at the floor of the lift. What was the right thing to do, the sensible thing? The sensible thing would have been to stay at home. He looked up.
“We keep trying, Steve. We’ve come this far. We’ll keep pushing forward.” He slapped Steve on the shoulder. “Stay positive, Steve. This will work.”
Steve exhaled loudly but didn’t look convinced. John wasn’t so sure, either.
“Send her a text once we’re in the car. Tell her all is going well, and we will be there tomorrow night. If she had no signal or the battery was flat, she’ll get it once the phone is working again.”
“Yeah...” Steve sighed.
“Come on, Steve. We can do this.”
He nodded and gave a tight smile.
The two men rode the lift down to the basement, stepping out into a dimly lit car park. Mansur was waiting for them, dressed as they were in dark cargo pants, jackets, and trekking boots. They each carried navy blue ballistic vests with Press stuck to the front and back with Velcro, and Steve carried a camera bag with a camera body and two lenses.
John looked at both the men.
“No second thoughts?”
Steve and Mansur shook their heads.
“Right, let’s go then.”
They walked three abreast up the parking ramp and out onto the road. The air was cool and quiet, and the road empty apart from the pickup idling by the curb. They walked over, hoisted their bags into the back, and pulled a tarpaulin over them, then climbed into the double cab, John up front with Hemin.
“Good morning, Hemin.”
“Good morning.” He smiled, flashing white teeth under a luxuriant mustache. He shifted in his seat, turned so he could face the back, and studied the two men sitting behind him. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw and nodded a greeting.
Both men nodded back but stayed silent. Hemin turned back to the front and looked at John expectantly.
John gave him a nod.
“Let’s go, Hemin.”
47
Adriana stood in the doorway, her heart in her throat, as John walked toward the lift. She understood why he had to go. Steve had saved their lives back in Oman when they didn’t even know him. Now, as a friend, when he asked for help, there was no way John could have turned down the request, but it didn’t make things any easier to watch the man you love walk off into a situation from which he may not come back. Adriana blinked away tears as she saw Steve give a last kiss to Maadhavi and walk after John. The two men disappeared inside the lift, and Maadhavi turned to go back into her room.
“Are you okay?” Adriana called out.
Maadhavi looked up and gave a sad smile. Her eyes moist, she wiped her cheek and nodded.
“Do you want to come and stay with me? I don’t think I will sleep much.”
“Thank you.” Maadhavi reached inside the doorway, removed the key card from the slot, and allowed the door to close. She walked down the corridor to Adriana’s room, and Adriana stepped aside to let her enter. Closing the door behind her, she followed Maadhavi into the room.
“Would you like a drink? I think there is something in the minibar.”
Maadhavi shook her head. “No, thank you.” She looked around, and Adriana waved toward the bed.
“Make yourself comfortable. It will be a long night.”
Maadhavi climbed onto the bed and leaned against the headboard, pulling the covers over her legs.
Adriana climbed in beside her, and they stared at the wall at the foot of the bed.
“How do you do this?”
“What do you mean?” Adriana looked over, unsure of Maadhavi’s meaning.
“I mean, wait for John, knowing he is doing something so dangerous? When... he came to India... when he saved me.” She looked up at Adriana. “You knew what he was going to do?”
Adriana nodded slowly.
“Not everything.” She reached over and held Maadhavi’s hand. “It had to be done. Surya Patil was an evil man. He tried to kill John and me. He had to be stopped. Otherwise, we would never have been able to live in peace.”
“I know all that, but...”
“Was I worried? Yes, of course, I was.”