It was Lenny’s considered opinion that the airport facility had no air-conditioning. With all the people crammed inside, it felt stuffier inside the terminal than out of it, so Lenny did the only thing he could think to do, and went in search of a bar.
He found one, and he found something else.
Lucas was sitting at the bar, sipping on an ice-cold beer. He saw Lenny approach and ordered another from the bartender. Lenny hooked his garment bag over the back of the stool and sat.
“Cheers,” said Lucas, clinking Lenny’s glass.
“Cheers.” He took a long slow drink and felt the inside of his body cool. “Didn’t expect to see you.”
Lucas shrugged. “I’m done here.”
“You are?”
“Sure. I was here to keep an eye on your mob, wasn’t I? And you’re leaving.”
“I am. Where you headed?”
“Back to base. Perth.”
“Long way.”
“It is. Where are you off to?”
“Same. North Carolina.”
“Nice there?”
“Sure. Good beaches, nice people.”
“Sounds like Perth.”
Lenny took another sip. “You stop in on Jarani?”
“Yeah. She’s good. The kids are good. Some of the others, not so much.”
“It’s not fair.”
“No, it ain’t. But what are you going to do?”
“I think we did it,” said Lenny.
Lucas looked at him with a serious expression. “Yeah, guess so.”
“You have any trouble converting the gold?”
“Nah. I know a bloke. Opened a bank account, all official-like. Jarani will disperse the cash as and when.”
“Alice said some of the adults are headed to the States for treatment.”
“Yeah, hope it does some good. Not sure how you bounce back from lung cancer.”
“No,” said Lenny.
“She’s a good one, though.”
“Who’s that?”
“Alice. Nice lady.”
“She is.”
“You’ll keep in touch with her?”
“I’ll try.”
“You should. Some people are worth the effort.”
Lenny nodded. “You see Kendra before you leave?”
Lucas smiled. “Yeah. How do you think the Brits got hold of flyover pics of the campsite?”
“That was you?”
“No, course not. I wouldn’t be careless enough to leave a photo like that lying on the bedside table.”
“Of course not.”
“And I certainly wouldn’t write Uranium? on the back. That’d be stupid.”
Lenny smiled. It was always the quiet ones you had to watch.
“You keeping in touch with Kendra?”
“Nah, don’t think so. We might cross paths again—she’s a fun girl—but she’s not my type.”
“What is your type?”
“Not a spy. After that, it’s all details.”
They sipped their beers and chatted about nothing of consequence. When their drinks were finished, Lenny offered to buy another round.
“Thanks, but I got a roo to catch,” said Lucas, nodding toward the tarmac. Through the window, Lenny saw the familiar aircraft tail with the flying kangaroo on it. “Your shout next time,” said Lucas, as he slipped from his stool.
“Sounds like a plan,” said Lenny, standing too.
The two men took each other’s eye and shook hands, and then Lucas walked away toward his waiting aircraft. Lenny watched him go, and then sat back down and ordered another beer.
A guy in a Lacoste polo dropped a canvas travel bag at the base of the stool Lucas had just vacated.
“This seat taken?” he asked.
“All yours, friend,” said Lenny.
The man nodded and sat down, ordered a Mai Tai and then turned to Lenny.
“You from Florida?” he asked, looking at Lenny’s shirt.
Lenny smiled.
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Also by AJ Stewart
Lucas and Lenny Adventures
Temple of Gold
John Flynn Action Thrillers
The Compound *
The Final Tour
Burned Bridges
One for One
Miami Jones Florida Mysteries
Three Strikes *
Stiff Arm Steal
Offside Trap
High Lie
Crash Tack
Deep Rough
King Tide
No Right Turn
Cruise Control
Red Shirt
* Three Strikes and The Compound are only available to members of AJ Stewart’s readers’ crew. Click here for details.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Constance Renfrow. Your sharp eye keeps the bugs out and your story brain makes my drivel readable. This book is better than me because of you.
Thanks to Wayne Leininger for all the insights into the way embassies, diplomats and the various departments and foreign services work.
Thanks to all my beta readers who send me feedback.
Any and all errors and omissions—and the bits where I just changed it because reality didn’t fit the story—that’s on me.
About the Author
A.J. Stewart is the USA Today bestselling author of the the Lenny and Lucas adventures, the John Flynn action thriller series and the Miami Jones Florida mystery series.
He currently resides in Los Angeles with his two favorite people, his wife and son.
AJ is working on a screenplay that he never plans to produce, but it gives him something to talk about at parties in LA.
You can find AJ online at
www.ajstewartbooks.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Readers’ Crew
If You Enjoyed This Book
Also by AJ Stewart
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Jacaranda Drive Publishing
Los Angeles, California
www.jacarandadrive.com
This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover artwork by Stuart Bache
ISBN-13: 978-1-945741-21-0
ISBN-10: 1-945741-21-X
Copyright © 2019 by A.J. Stewart
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author.