Laura 02 The God Code Read Free Page B

what you needed to do.”
    Victor only nods, and then starts to walk towards a small office labeled Inca Railway .
    “Hi, two tickets to Machu Picchu please.”
    “From Cusco?” The clerk asks with a friendly smile.
    “No, from Ollantaytambo.”
    “Passports please.”
    Victor takes his passport out of his pocket and turns to Laura, who has hers already in her hand. He hands both to the clerk, who enters their information into the system without even checking if the pictures in the passports match them.
    “One way or return?” The clerk asks without looking up.
    “Return, tomorrow evening, last train please.”
    “That will be US$220 please.”
    Victor hands over the money and waits for her to print the receipt. She enters some more information into the system, and the printer next to her computer comes alive. With a smile she hands the passports and tickets to Victor then comments. “Have a nice trip.”
    “Thank you, have a nice day.”
    Walking away from the office, Victor leads Laura to a row of taxies waiting in the main road.
    “?Habla Ingles?” Victor asks the first driver he reaches, who shakes his head.
    “I speak English, where do you want to go?”
    Victor turns to his right and eyes the man up and down. Average build, mid-50’s, with informal but clean clothes and dark black hair. The man strokes a short beard that fails to hide a deep cut on his chin.
    “Ollantaytambo”, Victor replies.
    “Two people?”
    “Yes, how much?”
    “US$100.” It is far more than the normal price, but haggling over a few pennies may cost them their lives. They need to get out of Cusco as soon as possible. Where there is one assassin team, there may be two.
    “Deal, name’s John, this is Sue.”
    “Name’s Amado, good to meet you. Any luggage?”
    “Just the backpacks, a day visit only.”
    Amado looks them up and down. Who goes to Machu Picchu with only two small backpacks? Tourists, never fail to amaze me. Shrugging his shoulders, he walks towards his car while commenting, “Follow me please.”
    Amado’s car is a white Toyota Yaris. He opens the back doors for them, then waits for Victor and Laura to climb in. Politely, he closes the doors for them, and gets into the driver’s seat. Amado pulls away, while reaching over and switching the radio on. A pleasant local instrumental music fills the car. Victor lies back into his seat and closes his eyes. It will take them one and a half hours to reach their destination. Laura elects to watch the scenery, peppering Amado with questions about Peru, Machu Picchu and local customs. She is delighted to find that Amado is extremely wise and loves to talk, and she thoroughly enjoys the ride.
    Chapter 2
    “Everyone with security clearance five and lower, out of the room now!”
    Norman waits impatiently as most of the 20 staff clear the room. He is the owner of Special Operations Incorporated, a privately owned company that runs covert and black operations for anyone with the right money, but mostly for the US, French, UK and South African governments. The same company Victor used to work for until he left them the previous year to work for himself.
    “We have a level three threat, on screen.”
    The six people left in the room turn their attention to the 100-inch plasma monitor on the wall, where a picture of Victor is brought up.
    “Victor was spotted 30 minutes ago in Cusco, Peru at a restaurant. Two agents on the scene, Noel and Sally were to intercept Victor. However, we lost contact with both. We are assuming they are no longer operational until proven otherwise.
    “Victor was one of us, but went solo. He took a mission from one of our oldest clients, having worked for them when he was with us. The client also hired us as backup in case Victor fails.”
    “Who was the client?” Ida looks at Norman as she speaks. Other than Norman, she is the most senior person in the room.
    “You do not need to know that.” Norman responds, giving her an annoyed look for