EVA WAS TOO excited at the thought of meeting up with her sister again to stay angry with Lechaim for long. It was not that Eva disliked Lito Moreno. She had no reason to because she had never met him before. It was the fact that he was a rather shady character that made his presence today unwelcome. She was too polite to make her resentment obvious to Lito, but she was giving Lechaim the cold shoulder.
When Lechaim had invited Lito the previous day to accompany him to the airport, he quite forgot about Eva's disapproval of him. It was thoughtless on his part and he knew it. Fortunately, Lito was a charmer and Lechaim felt Eva warming to his friend as they drove along. Still, she would not meet Lechaim's eyes in the rearview mirror above his head until they were almost at the airport and then Eva stuck her tongue out at him. Lechaim laughed and knew Eva’s anger had passed.
Carlos could not spare the time, an urgent matter at work requiring his attention, so Eva had just her friend and the handsome Lito for company. The incomparable Leo had driven her husband to work earlier that morning so Lechaim was acting as her chauffeur and, she had to admit, he drove well. Watching him as he deftly handled the wheel, she could not help but admire the man. Why he had struck up a friendship with the man now occupying the front seat next to him had been a mystery though. But now, having met Lito in the flesh, she began to appreciate the attraction. Lito had been nothing like she had imagined him to be and his urbanity had come as a surprise. She was still considering the matter when Lechaim brought the car smoothly to a stop in the airport car park and the three of them got out. As Lechaim locked the doors, Eva pinched him on the backside and whispered, “I'll deal with you later!” He grinned, “That's sexual harassment, Mrs. Rega. I'll complain to your husband!”
“You would as well!” she grinned back and put her arm through his as they made their way towards the airport building. Lito, walking beside them saw the warmth that this man and this woman had for one another and he felt somehow cheated. Never in his life had he had such a display of friendship by a woman towards him. Certainly, he had savoured many women in the physical sense but this was something else - genuine affection and he was somewhat envious.
“Come on, you!” Eva said suddenly and put her arm through Lito's as well. This show of good fellowship lifted Lito's spirits and it also spelled, he knew, acceptance in her eyes. Lechaim, on the other side, gave her a sly wink in appreciation of the kind gesture.
When Angelina finally emerged from customs control and out into the main airport reception area, Lechaim saw that the ugly ducking of Buenos Aires had been transformed into a beautiful swan.
“Eva! Eva!” Angelina shouted as she waved to her sister. The two hugged one another and then the young woman turned to Lechaim. She, of course, recognized him instantly. “Captain Lewis” she said, a little awed by the man before her.
Angelina, Lechaim noted, had jet black hair, flawless skin, a delicate nose, pearl white teeth, and eyes that were dark and sensual. She was of average height and wore a cream outfit consisting of a plain skirt and coat with a white shirt and black high heel shoes that accentuated her long tapering enticing legs. Those legs, perfectly chiseled, had turned many a man's head and they certainly turned Lito's who was hanging back staring at her agog.
Lechaim, however, did not see her as the beautiful woman that she now was, but rather the pigtailed tomboy that had kicked a football around with him in a Buenos Aires park all those years ago. It would take him some time, he felt, to adjust to the metamorphosis that had taken place.
Angelina, for her part, remembered well the tall dashing blond Englishman that had been so kind to her as a child. Years later, when she saw him once again on the news, she knew that her girlhood image of the man had not been unrealistic. Now, here was the legendary Captain standing before her.
“Hi, kid!” he said and winked. “She blushed and said in a peeved voice, “I'm not a kid anymore!”
“No, you're a beautiful woman just like your sister!” Both women glowed at his compliment as he then reminded her, “And the name's Lechaim!”
She laughed, her former indignation forgotten, and then she became aware of Lito standing behind the big man.
“I'm terribly sorry!” Lechaim said. “This is a friend of mine. Lito Moreno!” Did he denote something passing between them or was it his imagination, Lechaim thought as he saw them both colour.
“Excuse please!” a voice behind him said and Lechaim turned to see who it was. Standing there were two young Japanese girls with packs on their back and cameras strung about them
“Yes!” Lechaim inquired. “What can I do for you?”
“You Captain Luwes...famous English person?”
It was Lechaim's turn to colour as he responded, “No! he is!” pointing to Lito who looked bewildered.
The nonplussed look in the eyes of the young tourist that had demanded his attention told Lechaim that the joke was lost on her. “Yes, I'm Captain Lewis!” he admitted.
“You sign please!” she said thrusting an autograph book into his hand.
When they were finally through the airport and settled in the car, Eva said, “Will Captain Luwes, honorable English person drive two sisters home?”
Lechaim laughed and they all joined in as he pulled away. Sitting with her sister in the back, Angelina found it hard to believe that she was now in the company of a man whose face had been plastered in all the newspapers in her country less than a year before. Lechaim's relationship with her sister's husband had been played up by the media at that time and reporters had pestered her parents and Carlos' parents for any information regarding the Englishman. The fact that Lechaim had rescued Carlos from a minefield on the Malvinas during the war had been made much of, as was the friendship that the two men had subsequently formed. For a few days then, Angelina had experienced what it was like to be a celebrity and now she was in the presence of one. And the handsome Filipino with him, how did he fit into the picture, she wondered. As she listened to the relaxed conversation about her, she studied Lito and found that her interest in him was not entirely impartial.
At that moment across town, John Devlin had finally roused himself and was searching around for a fresh bottle of gin under the bar when the man walked in.
“We're not open yet!” he growled, his head still befuddled from a sleepless night. That fucking nightmare again.
“Mr. John Devlin?” the dapper man asked.
“Who wants to know?” The effects of too much booze hadn't helped his disposition, which was sour at the best of times, and he was in no mood for conversation.
Sartori, of course, recognized John Devlin at once but he had to go through the formalities. “That's not important for now!”
“It is to me!”
Ignoring the man's antagonism which did not worry him in the slightest, for he had dealt with scum like this all his life, Sartori then said, “Mr. Devlin! How would you like to make a great deal of money?”
Who was this clown, John Devlin asked himself as he found the bottle he was seeking. “Who would I have to kill for it?” he probed as he poured himself a drink.
Sartori smiled patronizingly. “No one, Mr. Devlin! All you will need to do is impersonate someone.”
“Impersonate someone!” Devlin retorted impatiently. “What the hell are you talking about!”
The other man chuckled. “You are a man without principles, Mr. Devlin. If you were not, we couldn't use you. Just be satisfied that the stakes are high and the rewards are great.”
The insult ran off John Devlin's back. Money had been mentioned. That was all that mattered to him.
“It will mean, of course, leaving the Philippines.”
This fellow was nuts. “Why the fuck should I do that?” Devlin said threateningly.
“To begin with, for one million American dollars, Mr. Devlin! Are you interested? “Okay, you've got my attention!” If this wanker wanted to fuck around, what the hell, Devlin thought.