"Simon Hawke - Batman - To Stalk A Specter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawke Simon)

Batman
To Stalk a Specter

Simon Hawke



PROLOGUE



"Excuse me, Ambassador," said the ma┼Тtre d', as he came up to the table.
"There's a telephone call for you, sir. The gentleman did not identify
himself, but he said it was important. Do you wish to take the call?"
"Yes, thank you, Phillipe. I'll take it."
The ma┼Тtre d' handed him a remote phone handset.
The ambassador turned to his lunch companions and said, "Please excuse me for
a moment," then put the handset to his ear and identified himself.
"You requested my services," the caller said, speaking with a Continental
accent. "There is a telephone stall across the street. Go there now,
please."
The connection was abruptly broken.
The ambassador made a pretense that there was still someone on the line.
"Yes, I see," he said. "No, no, I understand. I will have to see to it
myself. I will be there directly." He handed the phone back to the ma┼Тtre
d', turned to his companions, and said, "I fear something has come up at the
embassy that requires my immediate attention."
His companions assured him that they understood, and he excused himself and
left the restaurant. He stood on the sidewalk for a moment, waiting for a
break in the busy lunch-hour traffic, then quickly crossed the street to the
phone stall opposite the restaurant. He walked up to the stall, looked around
briefly, and waited. A moment later, he heard someone behind him shout, "Hey,
why don't you watch where the hell you're going?"
"Up yours, buddy."
"What did you say to me?"
"You heard me. I said, up yours!"
Behind him, two men were squared off in a confrontation on the sidewalk. The
phone rang. He picked it up at once.
"This is Specter," said the voice with the Continental accent.
The ambassador glanced around nervously. The two men behind him were shouting
at each other loudly and looked as if they were about to come to blows.
"The argument is merely a diversion to mask our conversation from any
microphones in the vicinity," said the man who called himself Specter.
"Forgive the elaborate precautions, but you are known to frequent that
particular restaurant, and its lines might have been tapped."
"You are a very careful man," the ambassador said.
"The nature of my work requires caution. I have decided to accept the
contract."
Behind the ambassador, the argument was heating up and a crowd was gathering.
"The fee will be one million dollars in U.S. currency," said the Specter.