2020 Wipeout by Stuart Holland

Author:Stuart Holland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, terror attack, biological agent, virus threat
Publisher: Fiction4All

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Daniel Newton crossed the Bulgarian border just south of Elkhovo. It was mid-morning and the weather was mild and grey. His route would take him up the east side of the country, crossing the Romanian border at Ruse where the river Danube formed a natural frontier. Once in Romania he would skirt round the south of the country, stopping overnight at a hotel he had discovered in Alexandria. He called it a hotel but in reality it was little more than a guest house. It had one outstanding quality which was the hospitality offered by the owners of the establishment. Newton had formed a close friendship with them and always took them something from England. In return they afforded him the most comfortable room in the house, a room which was isolated in the roof of the building.

The rain started falling as he drove through the mountains leading to Sliven. It was lunchtime when he arrived at the town and Newton was glad to be able to park the van outside the hostelry he had frequented on many occasions. As was usual, he had scarcely entered the almost deserted public bar when the man standing behind the counter came running from behind it to shake Newton’s hand profusely. The men embraced in the customary ritual for the country and the barman led Newton to a table.

Newton spoke no Bulgarian and the bartender spoke only a few words of English. Fortunately the grubby menu was written in both languages so Newton made do by gesticulating with his finger at what he wanted. The beer took just a couple of minutes to arrive and the food followed shortly afterwards. Newton spent twenty minutes eating and drinking before returning to his van. As he did so, the face and upper body of a young woman dressed in black appeared in one of the upstairs windows of the hostelry. Newton did not notice her watching as he strolled casually back to his vehicle. The rain had stopped and the sky was breaking.

Newton knew he still had a long way to go that day and the next twenty miles would be slow. Passing through the mountain passes was always a tricky business with anything larger than a simple cart and Newton knew the van would find some of the hairpin bends almost impassable. He thanked his luck that the rain had stopped. It made the going easier for him. He was, by nature, a cautious driver. His many excursions around Europe had taught him that it simply didn’t pay to rush or attract attention from any of the countries authorities. The military police, secret police, and a host of other organisations could make the life of a travelling tourist sheer hell if they wanted to. Newton had long since adopted a strategy of remaining as inconspicuous as possible. His strategy worked.

It was mid-afternoon when Newton arrived at the border crossing into Romania. Mercifully the traffic at the border was light and Newton waited only a few minutes while his passport was checked.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.