Hatch Read online

  Hatch looked over at Corbin. “Interesting how families operate.” Hatch then shared what little bit he’d just learned. “That’s a tremendous additional strain on a daughter, looking after her basically self-destructive father. It’s not as if he’s defenseless, like in a coma, where he can’t take daily care of himself.”

  “And he’s probably been a drunk since his wife passed away, right?” Corbin guessed.

  “How is it that the bottle is the answer for everything?”

  “Not the answer. Just that temporary solution so you can forget reality sometimes.”

  “Oh, I get it,” Hatch replied, “but this sounds like a potentially ugly scenario.”

  “Yeah, so she’s already lost a fiancé over her father’s antics, so who knows how much bitterness she’s holding on to.”

  “Well, if and when we find them, you can ask her.”

  “But at least it tells us that she’s single and that nobody’s waiting for her. And, if anybody did their research, they would have found that out pretty easily as well,” Corbin noted. “The best kind of kidnap victims are those where nobody is missing them.”

  “This is looking more dangerous all the time.”

  “Agreed.”

  They shared a knowing look. “We need intel as to where they were taken from,” Hatch stated.

  “I’ve got that.” Corbin looked down at his notes. “Security saw them enter their rooms at ten-thirty p.m., after being released from jail. The check-in desk manager confirmed also seeing them return late that evening. After that they never left, according to the security cameras, but listen to this. There was an outage at midnight.”

  “Of course there was.” Hatch stared at his partner without surprise. “And, gee, I guess, when housekeeping knocked the next morning, there was no answer.”

  “Not exactly. Marcus had had meetings with the local police and was due to report in that morning, but, when he didn’t show up, the authorities entered their rooms and found their belongings still there, but the pair of archaeologists were missing.”

  “Well, their things being there may or may not mean anything,” Hatch stated.

  Corbin nodded. “The cops figured that they had just booked it. Her purse was missing, and no electronics were found.”

  “Sure,” Hatch agreed, “but anybody could have taken that. I mean, if nothing else, you could steal them and sell them to somebody else.” He pulled out his phone, called Killian on a secure line. “Any chance you can get the contents of Marcus and Millie’s hotel suite gone through or an inventory of that and have it all set aside for us to pick up later?” He nodded, then disconnected.

  “Anyway, the cops believe that they booked it and that they’re already back in the US, so absolutely no search and rescue help for them will come from here.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Not only that, I believe they’re asking for extradition.”

  “Wow, that seems extreme for something like causing a verbal problem for the government,” Hatch replied. “It doesn’t rise to the grounds for extradition, unless what he did was much worse than we know.”

  “Agreed.” Corbin nodded. “I suspect that they’ll just go through the motions because they want to make a show of force, but, at the same time, they’re probably just glad to get rid of them.”

  “I can imagine,” Hatch murmured. “Some people suck so much that simply having them out of the country is a win, and it’s enough that you don’t have to deal with them anymore.”

  “That sounds about right in this case,” Corbin agreed.

  “Not good for the daughter though. And, if they have disappeared, which is what our government believes, then nobody is looking for them, and that’s just bad news all over again.”

  “Well, we’re looking for them,” Corbin noted.

  “Sure, but it’s not enough, and we both know it.” Hatch raised his eyebrows and tilted his head at his partner.

  “I know, but we’ll find them,” he replied, “and then we’ll sort out the rest of it.”

  “What about security cameras in the streets?”

  “Nope, none.”

  Hatch stared at him. “Great, a hell of a way to start.”

  “Not really,” Corbin countered cheerfully. “The city is trying to install cameras at various locations, and they’ve done some upgrades, but they’re pretty basic and, of course, not functioning at this point anyway. And yet …” Corbin stopped, then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s the hand we’ve got to deal with.”

  “What about anybody coming or going into their hotel that night?”

  “Nope. Nothing that anybody is willing to talk about anyway. However, one of the staff members didn’t show up today.”

  “Well, that’s where we start then,” Hatch stated. “Was he on night shift that evening the pair went missing?”

  Corbin gave him a fat smile. “Sure was.”

  “Good, let’s go have a talk with him.” Hatch frowned at Corbin. “How’s your Arabic?”

  “My French is great. My English is better. As for my Egyptian Arabic, well, … we have access to a translator, if we need one.” He added, “I also speak Spanish.”

  “I do too,” Hatch stated, “and Italian and, not that it’ll be any help, also Icelandic.”

  Corbin raised his eyebrows. “When the hell did you pick up Icelandic?”

  He shrugged. “I was bored for a few months, decided to add another language to my skills.”

  “Wow, well, you could have picked up Farsi or something useful for when doing future ops in the Middle East.”

  “I could have, right? But Icelandic tweaked my fancy at the time.” Hatch shrugged. “Well, let’s go have a talk, and hopefully this guy will speak one of the languages we know.”

  “If not, we call on the translator.”

  “Or, we can just use electronic translation,” Hatch murmured.

  “And maybe that too,” Corbin agreed.

  With that, they packed up what they needed for a quick visit and slipped out the back door of their room. “It’s an interesting location here,” Hatch noted and looked around.

  “I know.” Corbin glanced down at his arms. “The self-tanning stuff worked like a charm. No wonder the ladies use it.”

  Hatch nodded and looked at his much darker arms. “I spend a fair bit of time in the sun and still have a pretty good tan, but I used a little on my chest, just in case.”

  “Yeah, we have to blend in.”

  “We’ll blend in a little,” Hatch noted, “but mostly we’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

  “Not at first glance though,” Corbin added.

  And, with that, they headed out to the address they had for the hotel employee. They walked along the street, Hatch kept watch of their surroundings, as he went to knock at the target door. When no answer came, he looked over at Corbin. “Suggestions?”

  “Hey, man, this is your show.” Corbin stepped back, looking up and around.

  At that, Hatch tested the handle and pushed open the door. He stuck his head in and called out, “Hey, Akra. Are you here?” Again no answer. Hatch sniffed the air but couldn’t smell anything decidedly like decaying flesh. So, feeling emboldened, he stepped inside, then looked back at Corbin. “I’ll be right back.”

  Corbin nodded, leaned against the outer wall, casually noting if anybody was watching. And, with that, Hatch slipped inside, checked the main floor, and scooted upstairs. Nobody at home. He walked back down and outside again. “Nobody’s here.” He stood in front of the closed front door. “At least not now.”

  At that, they split up and started knocking on nearby doors, talking to the neighbors. Language was a bit of a barrier, but eventually the partners met up again, after checking everyone on the block.

  Hatch shared with Corbin, “Apparently he hasn’t been here for several days.”

  At that, Corbin nodded grimly. “Yeah, that’s what I got too. Doesn’t sound like he’d been here all that long eith
er.”

  “So, do you think he just got a new job or what?”

  “Makes me wonder. That’s a pretty easy job to get, I would think. He was a bellhop and just moved luggage back and forth.”

  “His residence doesn’t line up with the pay of that low-level job very well.” Hatch turned and looked at it. “There’s also”—he paused as he thought about it—“not much in the way of personal belongings inside. It looked to be pretty sparse. I didn’t check the kitchen.”

  With another look at Corbin, Hatch dashed back inside the small apartment and checked. A little bit of food was in the fridge, and some items were on the counter but no major supply of food. In the bedroom were no personal belongings at all. The bed had been slept in at some point and hadn’t been made, but nothing personal was here in terms of books on the tables or pictures on the walls. Nothing to show that he’d been there long-term—or even was planning on staying.

  As Hatch exited the apartment, he noted somebody on the far end of the street. “Don’t look now, but, at three o’clock, we may be under observation.”

  “I saw him earlier,” Corbin confirmed. “I suggest we split up and circle around and see if we can pin him in somewhere between us.”

  “Good idea.” And, with that, Hatch disappeared to the left, and Corbin headed to the right. Corbin was closer, but he also knew what the guy looked like. As Hatch went around, he tried to analyze the bits of features he had caught earlier. The trouble was, with everybody wearing the heavy Egyptian robes to counter the heat, it wasn’t that easy to tell people apart. Still, everybody had faint distinctions on their face and hands.

  By the time Hatch caught up with a man who he thought was the guy he’d seen, Corbin walked just ten paces behind the same guy. Corbin nudged forward a bit, and Hatch nodded. He stepped right in front of the man. “Hey, we need to ask you a few questions.”

  The man looked at him once, then bolted directly to the left, dashing inside a store, running right through to the back. With the two men pursuing him, and the storekeeper yelling at them, both burst out on the other end, only to find an empty alley.

  They looked at each other. “How far could he have gone?” Hatch asked.

  They opted to split up again, and Hatch went through a couple other stores, looking for the guy, but found no sign of him. As he came around to the front of the store originally used as a detour, he apologized to the storekeeper, who wasn’t mollified in the least, until money crossed hands. Then he was more than happy to have them use his back door as a way to access the alleyway. When asked if he’d seen the man before, he shook his head.

  Whether he had or hadn’t wasn’t really the issue. The store owner wouldn’t tell Hatch either way, and that would be the tale of everybody here.

  Hatch and Corbin were still outsiders. No matter how well they might have blended in at first glance, they looked like tourists to a certain extent—or at least Egyptians who didn’t deal with the locals. That would be yet another fine distinction for everybody here. Hatch turned to find Corbin standing here, shaking his head.

  “Great.” Corbin shook his head. “We’re off to a good start.”

  “And yet he’s nearby somewhere.”

  “I know, and he’s likely watching us too.”

  “Let’s pick a spot and see if we can do a little surveillance ourselves.” And, with that, they grabbed a snack and more bottled water and wandered around town, as they searched for both their stalker and the bellhop. “My best guess is our transient bellhop left the country—or at least the city. However, our stalker’s not leaving and could be anywhere.” Hatch sighed.

  “I know,” Corbin muttered. “I’ve been looking, but I haven’t seen him.”

  “Yet I feel him,” Hatch murmured.

  “Me too, so he’s here. He’s just got to make a mistake.”

  “I suspect he doesn’t make many of those.”

  “Which means he’s a pro and is somebody we really want to talk to.”

  “Next time he doesn’t get a chance to argue or to run,” Hatch murmured. “We’re still in the public streets though, and that’s something we’ll have to keep in mind.”

  Corbin nodded. “Yep. The rules and regulations and all that.”

  “Not only rules and regulations but the law. We’re here with our government’s blessings but not with the Egyptian government’s permission.”

  “Right, an important distinction,” Corbin muttered.

  At that, Hatch stopped. “We’re about to get company. I can feel it.”

  “I can’t see anything yet,” Corbin murmured. “How many?”

  “Two, and they don’t look friendly.”

  “Of course not,” he replied. “When do they ever look friendly?”

  Hatch scrunched up the napkin in his hand and tossed it in a nearby garbage can. “Let’s pick the place.” Then they walked to an alleyway and quickly split apart, where Hatch came face-to-face with one man.

  The stranger’s hand went up to Hatch’s throat and slammed Hatch against a wall.

  Hatch feigned a limp posture and got out of the hold; then his right arm came up, and he reversed positions with the stranger just as fast. “If you want to talk to me,” Hatch growled, his forearm pressing hard against the man’s throat, “then you can ask politely at least.”

  The man grunted at him and struggled to kick him.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Hatch applied more force, while pinning the guy in place, then he continued. “I don’t know why you’re following us or what the hell you think you want, but I don’t appreciate it.” And, with that, Hatch stepped back and released him.

  The man stared at him, but no give was in his gaze. “You’re not wanted here. You need to get the fuck out of town.”

  His accent was not completely local, but it was not foreign either. “Nice accent and almost a great use of English,” Hatch noted.

  The man narrowed his gaze at him.

  “I’m looking for someone,” Hatch stated.

  “Who?”

  “Daughter and her father.” At that, if he hadn’t been watching closely, Hatch wouldn’t have seen that tiny flicker in the stranger’s eyes. “Right.” Hatch nodded. “At least now I know that I’m on the right pathway.” Hatch crossed his arms, taking one more step back to give the man enough room to try to run or to at least attack him, if he had a mind to. Hatch didn’t take his eyes off his attacker to even check how Corbin was doing with his guy. But Hatch trusted his partner. They’d fought a lot of wars together.

  The man shook his head. “I don’t know anything about that.”

  “Too late,” Hatch replied. “Your face doesn’t lie, and it already told me exactly what I need to know. You know where they are.”

  “No, I don’t.” He casually leaned against the building. “But you guys are asking questions, and you’re entering places you don’t belong. You aren’t one of us.”

  “I could never be one of you,” Hatch replied, “but neither can she or her father. I want to know where they are. I want their safe release, and then we’ll take them back home again.”

  “Not happening,” the man stated bluntly.

  “And why is that?”

  “They know too much.” He shrugged. “Besides, the government is not happy with them.”

  “Maybe not, but you haven’t convinced me that the Egyptian government won’t try to get rid of them either.”

  “If it isn’t them, it will be somebody else. Marcus has pissed off a lot of people.”

  “I’m sure he has,” Hatch agreed calmly. “Yet Millie hasn’t.”

  At his use of her name, the man’s eyebrows rose. They studied each other with equal measure. “This is the only warning you’ll get,” the stranger snapped. “Get out of town.”

  “Or what?”

  The bigger man shoved his face forward. “Or you won’t get the chance.”

  “Look. I just want to get Millie and Marcus out of here. Show us where they are or tell us. It would b
e great if you just gave us a hint in whatever direction you know they’ll be,” Hatch noted, “and we’ll take care of the rest and just disappear.”

  The man laughed. “That’s not happening. I don’t know anything about it.” But he poked Hatch in the chest. “I can tell you that a hell of a lot more people are interested in what the two American archeologists know, and it’ll be way past your pay grade to get them out of here. You ain’t got that kind of money, and you sure as hell don’t have that kind of skill.” And, with that, he turned and sauntered out of the alleyway.

  After making sure that his attacker was gone, Hatch turned to look at Corbin—brushing dust off his pants as the other thug walked away too. “Did you get anything?”

  Corbin looked at him in disgust. “They aren’t talking.”

  “No, but we’ve certainly stirred things up,” Hatch noted. “I still want to find the hotel bellhop, but that’s probably a waste of time. What’s your take on him?”

  “I’m a little afraid that we won’t ever find him,” Corbin replied.

  “Did you ask your thug about the missing bellhop?”

  “No, but I think that’s probably how they found us. Our bellhop conveniently leaves his job once we show up in town.”

  “It would make sense. But my guy knows about Millie and Marcus’s current location—or at least knows who has them,” Hatch muttered. “I saw it in his eyes.”

  “Doesn’t mean he knows anything about why they were taken away though,” Corbin replied.

  “But he knew something, and he definitely knew more than he was telling,” Hatch stated. “Bottom line is, Millie and Marcus are in trouble, and my guy said we didn’t have the money or the skills to rescue them.”

  At that, Corbin whistled. “So, big money is involved, is it?”

  “Well, we’ve got a few things here to consider,” Hatch added, as they walked quietly out of the alleyway, keeping their voices low. “First, the archeologists found something, and the Egyptian government doesn’t want them to make it public. Second, they found something, and another faction wants access. Third, they didn’t find anything, but other parties want them to find something, and they’re being held until they do.”