“I told you they’d be trying to make it back here.” The accent was so thick; it was hard for him to make out what the voice was saying over the disposable phone he’d been given. “They are in Patra, heading to the airport. Find them. I don’t have to tell you how important it is that she doesn’t make it here.”
The man rolled his eyes and squinted in pain when he remembered the black eye and broken nose he’d received the night before. He’d been hearing how important it was that Katie Derby didn’t make it to Rome ever since he’d been hired two weeks ago. So far, the only chance he’d gotten to grab the girl had ended badly and now he had a broken nose and two chipped teeth to show for it.
“I know where she is, and I told you I’d get her. She’s with a man and he knows how to fight. It may end up costing you double because of him, and I might have to hire a couple more guys.”
“Do what you must, just stop her from getting to Rome.”
He heard a click and felt like tossing the small phone through the window of the moving car. He knew how to do his job, and he’d be damned if he would sit by and let some little girl slip through his fingers, especially considering the amount of money he was about to make. He looked over at his partner and saw the large lump on his forehead that he’d received last night. He’d been doing jobs like this his whole life and knew who he could trust and who he couldn’t. Watching his partner, he knew the man was one that he trusted completely. They’d been working together since they’d been kids.
“Raul, they’re in Patra. I told you that tracking device would come in handy.” He watched the small screen of the device that was showing him exactly where Katie Derby was. “Damn thing is not very reliable, keeps cutting out.”
“I told you we should have bought the more expensive one,” Raul said.
Maybe he was right, but he didn’t want to explain that he’d blown through most of the advance they’d gotten for the job. After all, the van hadn’t been cheap, and they still had a lot of traveling to do, so he’d set some money aside for his expenses. Now he thought he’d have to hire a few other guys to help watch the ports, maybe send them ahead to Rome. He still had a few other methods of getting his hands on the girl again; he’d be damned if he let her slip through his fingers next time.