Ana

CH 36

A short, plump waiter dressed in a white shirt, black jacket and bow tie stopped at their table and said, "Welcome, I am Han and I will be serving you tonight. I hope everything will be to your pleasing."  He went through a list of the nights specials and asked for their drink orders.

"We'll have a bottle of Romanée Conti. Can you also bring us an order of escargot and this cheese appetizer," Naomi said pointing at the menu.

The waiter perked up. "Yes, I see madam knows her wines. Very good, I will return shortly."

Soon they were sipping wine and tasting different cheeses from all over France. Naomi pulled Tom to her and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Thanks for bringing us to Paris. This is one of the best vacations I've ever had."

Heidi ignored the pang of jealous that tried to get her attention. She didn't have time for childish feelings at the moment.

"Don't thank me, thank Heidi, this was all her idea," Tom said holding up his wine glass in Heidi's direction.

Naomi held up her glass also. "A toast to Heidi, she gave mankind it's greatest gift and us a great vacation."

She touched glasses with them both. "Thanks."

Heidi made a casual sweep of the room with her gaze and noticed the room was not filling up the way she would have expected. She looked toward the entrance but no one was waiting to be seated. That was weird. This place should be packed for dinner with a long waiting list by now.

A man dressed like a waiter came over to their table and said in a southern American accent, "I'm so sorry, but your other waiter isn't feeling well, so he went home. Can I take your orders now?"  He held up a note pad while staring at them like they were escaped convicts.

Heidi didn't like this. Since when did waiters in expensive restaurants write orders on a note pad? While Tom placed his order Heidi took a good look at this guy. His clothing was a size too big for him and his left shoe had a few dark red spots of what looked like blood on it. The new waiter finished writing down their orders and went quickly back to the kitchen.

This would be time to check the front of the restraint in case they needed to make a quick exit and if she remembered right, she had seen a sign saying "Toilettes" near the front when they arrived.

"Excuse me. I need to use the ladies' room," Heidi said.

"I'll go with you," Naomi said.

Tom pointed at the black case. "Take that with you. Remember to keep it close at all times."

"Ok boss."  Naomi picked up the case. "Seriously, couldn't this have been made into a belt or at least an attractive handbag?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Yes, I suppose so."

Heidi got a good look into the shop area in front of the restaurant as she passed near the hostess station. There a few people in view but not many. "Just a second," she said to Naomi. She walked over the hostess that looked thoroughly bored and asked, "Where is everyone? It's not normally empty like this at night is it?"

The young woman stifled a yawn then said, "Yes, we usually have much more clientele than this. No one has even come up the lift for a while now."

"I don't like the sound of that," Heidi whispered to Naomi.

Naomi nodded in agreement and said, "I'll check with Ana and see what's going on." She moved a little away from the hostess and got that far away look.

A moment later her eyes went wide. "Shit! It's a trap. We need to get the hell out of here."

Before Heidi could react, she saw a man in a red shirt jump out from around a corner carrying a submachine gun. He pointed it at her and bellowed, "Don't move Heidi. Put your hands on top of your head and get on your knees."