Night Games Pt. 07

"This isn't going to stand out at all." Alice sarcasmed into the comms.

"You said to get something inconspicuous." Morris countered. "Something that two utility workers wouldn't look out of place driving. That seemed right to me."

Alice secured the bundle of clothing that she and Gordon would change into at the first place they stopped next to her. Posing as utility workers was their best chance of doing what they had to without arousing suspicion. For this phase of the task, though, they were still supposed to be university students taking the GPR to a dig site.

"If we've gotta outrun cops in this thing..." Gordon commented. "We're not outrunning cops in this thing."

"They're designed for utility, not speed." Tracy said over the comms. "For what you need to do, blending in matters more."

Gordon watched out of the vehicle's rearview mirror as Franz walked onto the loading dock, gesturing to the man pushing the GPR to be careful. He stepped out of the vehicle to help load it aboard. Walker admired the approaching piece of machinery. He didn't quite understand it and Alice would have to be the one to operate it, but he could still appreciate a fancy piece of equipment.

"Looks expensive." He commented.

"They make smaller, cheaper hand units." Alice replied. "But those aren't suitable for the job. So yes, it's expensive."

"So expensive that it's a safe bet there's a tracker on it." Tracy mused. "Which they'll certainly switch on once someone notices it missing. We may have to abandon your 'return it afterwards' idea, Alice. But you've thought of trackers and how to get around them. Right, Spencer?"

"Yep." The Texan replied. "Don't know if the tracker's RFID or GPS-based but threw a little something in your bag that should take care of both kinds of devices."

Walker approached Franz and the man pushing the unit and helped him load it onto the truck. Franz turned to Gordon.

"Ah. I'm going to need this brought directly to the dig site. This is a very expensive piece of machinery and we only have it for the day. I shall follow you in my car."

He continued prattling about being careful with the unit while they finished the task. Walker gave the other man a look that said "Yeah, bosses, what're you gonna do" and strapped the machine down into the bed. Franz led the man away while Gordon got back into the vehicle and pulled away from the loading dock.

Gordon drove until he found a place with a bathroom where he and Alice could change into their utility workers' clothes. He pulled into the parking lot and stayed with the vehicle while Alice went to change. Once she returned, she did the same for him.

"So," Alice asked into the comms on her way back to the Ape. "We're not going to return it? I know this country's got money and can afford a new one, but still, it's a shame."

"Not with that GPS to think about." Tracy replied. "Just leave it somewhere safe, Alice. Someone will turn it in and Science won't have to get hurt."

"Ok." Alice resolved herself, hopping into the bed of the vehicle and looking over the unit. She soon found the tracking device that had been screwed onto the machine. Alice dropped her bag and fished for the item Spencer had put inside.

"You said you put something in here to take care of it?"

"Yeah." Spencer answered. "You'll know it when you find it."

"Ah." Alice ah-ed, wrapping her hand around the object and instantly knowing what to do. She produced a small hammer from the bag and gave the tracker a few whacks until it broke into pieces. They got into the vehicle and Gordon pointed it up Strada al Castillo to start taking readings.

* * *

Franz Hauber made his way back to the Ministry of Science's front entrance and to his waiting rental car. On the trip up the elevator and out the door, he worried about being recognized. What if he ran into Giorgio Estrada again? Luckily, he did not. When he got outside the air-conditioned building, a wave of heat hit him, and he noticed just how hot a day it had started out as and was only going to get hotter.

The heat made him tired. He wanted to find a bench and just sit there and be too hot to move. Franz went over his symptoms in his head. Paranoia, sudden fatigue, and he was getting hungry. The powder clinging to the inside of the empty bag of coke that he and Alice had licked clean when they returned to the yacht was now out of his system, and he was crashing. When Franz got to his car, he turned on the air conditioner and waited while it washed over him. It invigorated him slightly, but Franz knew it wasn't what he needed.

Franz weighed the decision before him. Tracy had warned them about making contact with any friends they had in San Finzione. That La Contessa would have her hooks into them one way or another, and that they should assume them all to be compromised. On the other hand, he needed to keep going. Whatever Tracy had in store for him next, he needed to be awake for it. And fucking Alice was just more fun with coke. The best part of working a job with her was the deep and meaningful week-long drug-fueled thing that the two of them had when together.

He didn't know what he would have said in there if someone had bumped into him and started talking science. "Some species of ferns live to be a hundred, but most homes are not humid enough for them to thrive?" After that, he had nothing.

Franz was overthinking things. He needed a bump. Tracy would have to understand. He was no good to the team like this. And after this job, some of them may wish to party as well. They were guests on his yacht, and was it not custom in this country to accommodate one's guests? Just a quick stop on the way back to the boat. He wouldn't be missed.

He took out his phone and dialed an old contact.

"Hey." Franz told the man who answered. "I'm in town and I'm looking."

The contact gave him directions. Franz ended the call and went to meet him.