Michele Bravo Playing With Fire Chapter 7

Sydney is the largest city in Australia, but not its capital – that honor belongs to Canberra. It is located on the southeast coast of Australia, adjacent to the famous Botany Bay, where British explorer James Cook and his men first set foot on the continent, and where, several centuries later, the British founded their penal colony and “transported” people for the most minor of offenses.

The Airbus flew low over Sydney Harbor, on its descent into the airport. Michele yawned and stretched and wondered, a little sadistically, how Gus Keller was faring back in Economy Class. Well, serve him right for causing so much trouble.

She’d been a bit mealy-mouthed, she knew. She could have easily treated Keller as an equal, had him sit beside her in first class and so on, but she hadn’t wanted to be faced with the prospect of spending ten hours or more with him in such close company, so early on in the game. Besides, she’d had her writing to do and it would have been a bit embarrassing if he’d caught a glimpse of it…a cold-blooded art thief and assassin writing erotica..would probably have diminished her mystique a bit.

Miche collected her luggage – just one large suitcase on wheels, and rolled it out to the Meeting Point – a circular area full of comfy chairs, with a large incandescent chartreuse sign saying Meeting Point hovering just below the ceiling. People who were on package tours to the country met here – from the States, from the UK, from Japan and so on, and Michele saw several tour guides, each holding a staff with a banner on top revealing which tourist agency they worked for.

A few minutes after she arrived, Gus Keller walked up with his suitcase. She had expected him to , look a bit worse for wear with bleary eyes and a day’s growth of stubble, but he must have taken the time to shave, and his eyes looked bright enough.

“Good morning,” said Michele. “Not quite journey’s end, but almost. I’ve reserved us a suite at the Shangri La.”

Keller’s eyebrows rose, but he said only, “Good morning. I don’t suppose it will have a Jacuzzi?”

“Taxi stand through here,” said Michele, whose eyes had been scanning her surroundings.

They sat in silence as the cab drove them to the Shangri La. Keller leaned against the cab door, his eyes closed. Michele felt a twinge of conscience…18 hours on a plane in a cramped economy-size seat…poor guy…

Check-in at the hotel went swiftly. Michele had indeed reserved a suite – a suite with two bedrooms, one for her and one for Keller, with a living room in between. They rode up a high-speed elevator in silence, accompanied by a bellboy who carried their bags into Michele’s room.

“No jacuzzi,” noted Michele. “But that tub…you could hold a wargame in that.”

Seconds later, the sounds of running water was coming from the bathroom, and Michele was going through Keller’s suitcase. This was made easier by the fact that the new airline rules didn’t allow passengers to lock their cases – so all she had to do was open it up.

Michele was 99% sure that Keller was acting entirely on his own in his pursuit of her, but she just wanted to make sure. She searched the case for a gun, any electronic equipment like bugs and so on, and found nothing.

So, she mused, as she closed his suitcase. He was putting himself entirely in her hands.

So trusting.

So foolish.