The Winged Dagger (Matt Drake 32) by David Leadbeater

Author:David Leadbeater [Leadbeater, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Morocco was hot and humid and particularly dry. Drake had been hoping they’d visit a coastal town where the Mediterranean climate is balmy, but they ended up in a mountainous area with damp and steamy weather where oaks and junipers and Atlantic fir carpeted the hillsides. It wasn’t easy going, and it sure as hell wasn’t dry. Drake got soaked before they even came in sight of the souk.

The team, without Bryant, made their way among the slopes, cutting through trees and then climbing piles of rocks, following a ledge around a hillside and then wandering through a mile long valley, all the while closing in on a cluster of towns where they knew the souk was already underway.

Oddly, to Drake, it felt safe out here. Back in the US, in DC, he was a target. His enemy appeared to know his every move, his personal details. Out here... nobody even knew where he was.

He didn’t dwell on it too much. It was a strange feeling. He followed Dahl and Hayden and Kinimaka through the lush countryside, noting the forested areas that were being used for agriculture, the swathes of sand to the west, the twinkle of the sea far to the east. It wasn’t easy going, but it was better than being shot at.

They came first to a town that seemed to cling to the side of the mountain. It was hilly and sprawling and complex. Alicia didn’t fancy that one, said she didn’t want to sleep on an angle, so they hiked to the next town, which was only a mile away from the souk. This one sat on the edge of a forest and was far more amenable.

They all wore touristy travelling gear and carried backpacks. They hadn’t been able to bring or collect any weapons. Of course, they were en route to an arms market, so that shouldn’t pose a problem. They stopped briefly in the town, paid for rooms for the night and stowed whatever gear they thought they wouldn’t need. The arms market itself wasn’t on the radar of anyone not connected to that world. The authorities weren’t supposed to know, and those who did had been well paid. It was a criminal enterprise that Bryant had found out about only through his more unethical sources. Drake wondered how busy it would be.

‘Hey,’ Alicia said as they left the hotel and started towards the coordinates Bryant had supplied them with. ‘You think we need tickets?’

Kenzie laughed. ‘Your face is our ticket, bitch.’

Alicia frowned. ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

Mai got involved. ‘I think she means you look like you’d belong in a lowlife, villainous market populated by miscreants.’

‘Nope, I mean, she looks ragged as fuck. They’re bound to think she’s one of them.’

Mai pretended to wince. ‘That is a worse insult than I thought.’

Alicia grunted. ‘Keep it going. See where it gets you.’

‘But she has a point,’ Dahl said. ‘I don’t mean about tickets. I mean – about entry. Stay on your toes.

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