Sun of the Sleepless by Patrick Horne Read Free Book Online Page B

was happening; just that the book seller had left and that something was going on. She glanced at Frans for a moment and then gazed directly at Rey, her real boss. Although Frans was running this operation, in a time of crisis it was her mentor that she looked to.
    Looking from the emotional girl back to the stall and then scanning for Akosua, Rey caught her gaze. He knew her well enough to see the imploring question burning behind her eyes, eyes that right at that moment looked for consent, eyes that seemed much brighter than usual, especially now that he was looking directly into them and could detect the difference in their shade.
    She was wearing ice blue contact lenses and her irides seemed to luminesce like a cat's eyes. Rey could still tell the meaning of her gaze; she wanted to act, she wanted to go in, check the containers and just grab the book.
    He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head but it was enough for her to see and she frowned slightly before nodding in acknowledgement and discretely moving away. Akosua still had to learn the virtue of patience.
    'Shit!' Frans exclaimed.
    Rey appraised the scene again and thought for a moment, 'This jig is up,' he said distractedly, 'let's fall back. We can't do anything now.'
    He jerked his head in the direction of the tram, the crowd, the police and the emotional young book seller talking to a stranger and occasionally swiping under her eyes with a forefinger.
    'Look at her, she's in a right state, I can't see her setting up shop again for the next few hours.'
    Frans sucked in air between gritted teeth, gave one last glance at the stall and then pursed his lips as he nodded, 'Alright, yes, we meet at the Brave Hendrik bar as we agreed. This afternoon at sixteen hundred hours. I'll update Akosua and put Plan B into effect.'
    Rey smiled knowingly, 'In and out, uh? Do you even have a Plan B ?'
    Frans raised his eyebrows and shrugged plaintively. He gently patted Rey's shoulder and walked off into the now sombre market. Rey sighed and turned to walk in the direction of the Central Station, the discordant rhythm of an approaching ambulance siren growing louder.
    That same afternoon, Rey had gone to the bar and had waited for Frans who had turned up twenty minutes late and they now they sat facing each other, considering the morning's events.
    Rey's chair creaked and squeaked as he sat back and rubbed his hands over his face to clear his thoughts. He looked around the bar at nothing in particular and breathed in deeply, 'Frans, cock-up just isn't the word for this.'
    Frans looked up as the waitress wandered over and placed a dark brown beer in front of him with a cheery but distracted, alstublieft . He smiled at her and nodded, ' Dank u wel !'
    'The trouble is,' Rey sighed irately, 'you're having too much fun crafting this little escapade. You've been spending too much time behind a desk. Instead of fucking about and creating an intricate web of events that, in theory, leads neatly to the retrieval of this bloody book, you should just be pragmatic and go and get it! It was right there, she had it at her stall!'
    Frans sucked in air through the side of his mouth and made a little rasping noise, 'Well, I suppose you're right,' he grinned impishly, 'so what do you suggest?'
    Rey nodded at the implicit hand-over, 'Alright, what is the current SITREP?'
    'I sent Akosua off to a very early lunch and told her to wait for new instructions. At the market, the book seller Miss Verker packed up her stall and left early as you guessed she would. I kept back and had a chat with a trader once she had left. It turns out she knew the woman who was hit by the tram. Sad. Anyway, she went home early to rest up.'
    Rey thought for moment, formulating a plan, 'Alright, well, if she knew this woman then she probably isn't going to be too bright and breezy for the rest of the week so -'
    His eyes drifted to look into vacant space, '- Yeah, get Akosua to get in touch with Verker and ask directly