BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1), Philip Duncan [bill gates book recommendations TXT] 📗

ready to get off as Decklan. She stood up in the aisle, grabbed her bag from the overhead compartment, and then handed Decklan his bag as well.

“Is this yours?” she asked.

“Yes, thank you, Rebecca.”

“Of course, Decklan,” she said, blushing.

It had become evident to Decklan that she had formed some kind of high school crush on him, but he could care less. His heart was still and always would be for his late wife.

They both scurried through to the front, with all the other passengers, until they found themselves standing in the Moscow airport, ready to go their separate ways. Rebecca leaned over and hugged Decklan tight and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Good luck and who knows, maybe we will see each other again.”

Decklan was caught off guard by the unexpected and unwanted affection, but for some reason it brought him a little comfort.

“Good luck to you too, and I hope you find your mother. Be safe and always keep your guard up,” Decklan said, unintentionally.

She looked at him funny, like he had just spoken a different language. Decklan was caught off guard by his own words as well. His protective instincts must have kicked in.

“Thanks, and I will! I promise,” she replied, as she turned and walked away.

CHAPTER 19

Despite the long flight and lack of sleep, Decklan didn’t feel as tired as he should. He was too focused and determined to get the job done that he came all this way to finish. He maneuvered through the airport, pushing past crowds of people and hearing the muttering of a language he didn’t understand. Here he was, all alone in a foreign land, and he couldn’t speak a single word of Russian. He kept walking through the airport, trying to find his way to the front, where he hoped to find a taxi that could take him into Moscow.

He finally managed to get outside, where a new crowd of people was taking up the sidewalk. Some were getting picked up by their families, while others were trying to accomplish the same task as Decklan and find a taxi. Failed attempt after failed attempt left him standing on the sidewalk longer than he had wanted or intended. He looked over to his left, and saw a taxi waiting without a passenger so he ran over to it as fast as he could and jumped in.

Thank the Lord, he thought to himself.

“Hello, where are you going, sir?” the cab driver asked.

Decklan was taken aback by this man's ability to speak English. He figured he would have to play charades in order to communicate where he needed to go. “You speak English?” Decklan asked.

“Yes. I learned many years ago. Figured it would help me with the American businessmen. Although you don’t look like the typical businessman I am used to picking up.”

Smart, Decklan thought to himself. “I’m not. Just here on vacation,” he replied, lying.

He could see the taxi driver smile in the rearview mirror, clearly not buying it.

“Moscow, Russia for a vacation. I would have to say that is a first,” he said jokingly. “Where is it you are going exactly?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn't answer you the first time. I need to head into the city. I’m looking for someone specific and I believe they live in the city,” Decklan replied.

“Sounds good. Off we go!”

It didn’t take them long to reach the main city, but traffic slowed them down to a halt once they arrived. It looked like New York City on any given day, where it was bumper to bumper and it took twice as long to drive as it did to walk. He didn’t know where to find Parker’s contact. All he had to go on was ‘look for a big blue door.’ He had no idea if that would be easy or hard to find in Russia. For all he knew, every house or building could have blue doors. He figured the taxi driver wouldn’t have the first clue what he was talking about if he asked, but he had nothing to lose.

“Any chance you know a place with a big blue door?” Decklan asked.

“Ah, as a matter of fact I do,” the taxi driver responded, to Decklan’s surprise.

Decklan couldn’t believe that actually worked. What were the chances the one taxi he got in had a driver who spoke English and knew exactly where he needed to go?

“That’s great. That is where I need to go, please,” Decklan said.

“Yes sir, we are about fifteen kilometers away,” he replied.

Although Decklan was fully American, which meant he was used to the empirical system, he understood the metric system well enough. Something he could attribute to his military days, like most other things in his life. So he knew they were about ten miles away, which could still take them an hour or more with the way traffic was moving…or not moving.

Just like he guessed, it was an hour later before they arrived.

“Here you go, Mr. Vacation,” the taxi driver said, laughing. “The blue door is up those stairs.”

Decklan laughed as well.

“Thank you,” he replied, handing the taxi driver a nice tip, grabbing his bag, and getting out of the car. He shut the door behind him, and the taxi driver drove back into traffic.

Decklan found himself standing in front of two large buildings with a narrow staired alley splitting the middle. He slung his bag over his right shoulder and headed up the stairs. After walking up about thirty steps, he finally saw the blue door.

“Holy shit, Parker wasn’t kidding,” Decklan said out loud, even though no one was around.

He was looking at a door so blue it looked like it was cut from the sky.

Not exactly inconspicuous. No wonder the taxi driver knew what I was talking about.

He stepped up to the door and knocked just like his brother had instructed.

Knock, knock…one…two…Knock, knock…one…two…Knock, knock…one…two…

Nobody answered. Decklan didn’t know what to do now. Parker hadn’t told him what to do if the guy didn’t answer the first time.