Page 99 of Tom Clancy Line of Sight

Seventy-seven steps later, they made a sharp left turn onto a landing, and then another right, and up yet another twenty-seven steps through a vine-covered archway gate. Aida pulled out a set of keys and opened the door on her front porch.

The apartment was small but clean, decorated with local art pieces, and full of comfortable and stylish furniture. Best of all, from her front porch was a view of the Adriatic Sea. A cruise ship was passing by, trailing a small wake, heading south for the Old Town.

“Can I get you something to drink before we leave? Water? Beer?”

“‘Leave’?”

Jack was surprisingly exhausted from the arduous climb. Nearly two weeks without a serious workout and overindulging in rich food and carb-loaded beer hadn’t exactly enhanced his physical conditioning.

“We’re going to tour the Old Town. It’s beautiful this time of day, and then I know a great place for dinner.”

49

Jack and Aida took a Dubrovnik city bus to the Pile Gate in the Old Town and crossed over the moat beneath the iron bars of the portcullis, just like in an old Hollywood movie. They climbed up the stone stairs beyond the gate and paid for their tickets for the wall walk, and they strolled the perimeter of the ancient port citadel.

The wide, towering walls provided picture-perfect glimpses of the glassy Adriatic Sea, the sturdy St. Lawrence fortress just beyond the western wall, and the city’s old battlements, Croatian flags snapping in the breeze. Tour boats, yachts, and cruise liners were at their slips or heading out, as rental kayaks bobbed up and down near the walls.

Directly below, Jack saw the smooth, tightly fitted stones of the city streets crowded with international tourists, Renaissance-era churches, and innumerable shops. He could definitely feel the Venetian influence on the architecture.

Aida explained that the Serbs bombarded the city at thebeginning of the war, and pointed out the original faded red roof tiles and then the newer, brighter ones that had been replaced after the shelling finally stopped.

“How long was the siege here?”

“It lasted from October 1991 until May 1992.”

“Eight months? The casualties must have been terrible.”

“Less than a hundred civilian deaths and less than two hundred military killed.” She added dismissively, “That wastheirwar.”

They descended the wall into the city and she dragged him through the crowds to a few of her favorite shops, but she could tell Jack was less than interested.

“Something wrong, Jack?”

“I noticed a lot ofGame of Thronesmerchandise in the windows.”

“They shoot some of the series in Dubrovnik. You can even takeGame of Thrones–themed tours if you want.”

“Don’t get me wrong. The city is beautiful, but some of it feels like a Renaissance version of a shopping mall.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. But shopping is what tourists do, isn’t it? And Dubrovnik is all about tourists.”

“I guess I’m just not a big shopper.”

“Hungry?”

“Starving. Where’s that restaurant you were talking about?”

Aida smiled.

They raced back to her place and messed up her bedsheets with rigor before she ordered up a hand-tossed pizza from a local restaurant while Jack opened a bottle of fine Croatian red wine.

This was definitely Jack’s favorite restaurant in Dubrovnik, but he wouldn’t be posting about it on TripAdvisor.

—

While Jack and Aida feasted on their delivered pizza and red wine, the grease-stained Croatian bolted shut the last case of handguns in the secret compartment wedged into the undercarriage of the Happy Times! tour van. He then wiped on a couple handfuls of manufactured road grime to camouflage the compartment just in case an honest cop decided to put a mirror to the undercarriage at the border crossing. He slid out from underneath and dusted himself off, satisfied that the medicines were as well hidden as the guns. The van was ready to go now.

Time to find something to eat.