He pulled out his phone and brought up the text he’d received from Wills. He selected Reply, then wrote:
U send advance team to Hyatt? If yes, how many?
He touched Send, then glanced toward the far end of the lobby. He expected to see Nate, but there was no sign of his apprentice. As Quinn scanned the large room, his phone vibrated. He thought it would be a reply from Wills, but the text was from Nate.
Look up
Quinn glanced up at the atrium that ringed the lobby, and spotted Nate a second later standing a few feet back from the railing that stretched between the columns.
It was a good position. Great, considering that Quinn was stationed at the opposite corner, one floor down. Together they had the whole lobby covered.
Quinn texted Nate back:
Anything?
Nate’s reply came twenty seconds later.
Man sitting near elevators w/paper. Woman at stairs south of you.
Nate had seen them, too.
Quinn’s phone buzzed again. Wills this time.
Leaving airport now. One person at hotel.
Quinn replied:
M/F?
Wills’s answer came only a few seconds later:
M
The man reading the newspaper, then. So that meant the woman was an unknown.
Quinn strolled over to one of the empty seats, putting a little more distance between himself and the woman. As he sat he called Nate.
“Hey,” Nate said.
“The man is with our friend.”
“And the woman?”
“Unknown. Perhaps not even interested in us.” Quinn paused for a moment. “Stay on the line. I’m going to walk back to the bar. Let’s see what she does.”
Quinn stood up, his phone still held against his ear. He smiled as if the person on the other end had said something amusing.
“Perhaps next time I’m in town,” he said, his voice loud enough for the woman to hear.
“I don’t have to play this game, too, do I?” Nate asked. “She can’t hear me.”
Quinn began walking across the carpet. “It’d be a big help to me,” he said.
“I’m sure it would.… Wait, she just looked at you.”
“I appreciate that. For how long do you think?”
“Long enough for me to see that she’s interested in you.”
Quinn left the carpet and stepped onto the marble tile. He held his position for a moment, pretending to listen.
“And now?” he asked.
Nate said, “She just sneaked a second peek … now she’s looking toward reception.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Quinn turned to his right and quickly moved up a short set of steps and into a hallway that cut along the eastern edge of the elevators and back to the bar where he was supposed to meet Wills. Within seconds, the lobby was out of sight.
“What’s she doing?” Quinn asked, all pretense gone.
“She’s still looking at the … hold on … She glanced back at where you were.… Okay, she’s looking around. Not hiding the fact, either.”
Quinn had a choice at the end of the hallway: either continue straight and enter the bar, or go left along another hallway directly behind the elevators. Along this new hallway were a set of public restrooms and several shops. Quinn turned left, heading for the men’s room.
“She’s on the move,” Nate said.
“Heading my way?”
“She doesn’t seem quite sure where she wants to go. She started toward reception, then stopped.… Walking toward the elevators now.”
Quinn stepped into the bathroom. It was a large facility with several stalls. A quick check revealed he was the only one present.
