Forever and a Day Read Free Page A

He flipped open the passport and handed Lars his wallet.
    Lars pulled out a business card with The Company’s logo and handed it to the guard who wasn’t examining his passport. A radio crackled. The red-haired guard spoke into it in French, telling the man on the other end everything was under control.
    “Now that you know who I am, may we at least open the door to my suite to assess the damage?” Lars asked, taking his passport. He returned it to his back pocket, along with his wallet.
    The first guard waved Lars’ card under his nose. “What exactly do you do for this international security company?”
    “Electronics. I program computers.” Lars cocked his head to one side. “Though I hate to admit it, I am quite the desk jockey. Coming here was my first vacation in over a year, but it will be ruined if my laptop was trashed.”
    “You live in Heidelberg?” the second guard asked. “German national?”
    Lars nodded. “Yes to both. You saw my passport.”
    The guards exchanged another glance. The redhead raised his eyebrows in a quizzical expression, and then used his own key card, obviously a master, to unlock the suite’s door. “Stay back,” he instructed Lars, “until we’re certain there’s no further danger.”
    It chafed, but Lars did as he’d been told and waited while the guards swept through his rooms. He heard a long, low whistle. That did it. He stepped inside. The balding guard hunkered next to a circular pile of shrapnel. Lars tightened his jaw, grinding his teeth together. Not a bomb. Not exactly. Compressed air, and enough shrapnel to kill him—if he’d been standing in just the right place. Even if he hadn’t, flying debris would likely have wounded him. Lars had used similar devices. They were handy because damage was localized to a small area.
    Once I was incapacitated, they would have let themselves in here and finished me off. Guess they did not factor hotel security into their equation. Whoever was behind this had probably fled as soon as the two security men showed up. Lars smiled sourly to himself and walked past one of the guards into the bedroom. Once there, he pulled his valise from the closet and started tossing clothes into it.
    “You are leaving, monsieur?” The balding guard came up behind him.
    Lars spun to face him. “Would you not do the same?”
    “We know where to find him.” The first guard pocketed Lars’ card.
    “Indeed.” Lars glanced from one guard to the other. “Might one of you be so kind as to call for a private car to take me to the Nice airport?”
    “Of course.” The older guard spoke into his mouthpiece.
    Lars grabbed his Dopp kit from off the bathroom ledge, dropped it into his valise, and zipped everything up. His next stop was for his laptop, which didn’t look as if it had been touched. He stowed it and its charger into a hard-sided computer bag. Stupid of them, he thought. They should have taken it the first time they were in here. Not that it would have done them any good. The hard drive was programmed to self-destruct if anyone unauthorized tampered with his computer.
    He slung his valise and computer bag over one shoulder and started out the door. The guards were taking samples of something and dropping them into sealed bags. One looked up. “Your car should be waiting. Will you be returning to the casino for your suit jacket?”
    Lars drew his brows together. “Under the circumstances, no. I am a bit concerned about my plane. Airport security is impeccable, but still…” He let his words trail off.
    The red-haired guard straightened. He met Lars’ gaze. Lars stared back, his expression guileless. “If we find your jacket, we’ll have hotel staff package it and ship it back to you.”
    Lars waved a dismissive hand. “You need not bother. I have dozens of suits. Besides,” he cocked his head to one side, “I have been gone from the casino for long enough, someone has likely stolen it by now.”
    The guard narrowed his eyes,