Rainbow Six: Bloodlines

"EL LEÓN" - Chapter 4

FEBRUARY 24, 2018
CEUTA, SPAIN
Pub Tokio

     Caveira wore a baseball cap, and she pulled the brim a bit lower over her eyes. She eyed the clock on the wall next to the TV.

     Three hours past noon. Her contact would be there any moment.

     Taina sipped her carajillo - she preferred it with whisky - and sighed impatiently. People didn't make the woman nervous... she just preferred to be away from them whenever possible.

     A handsome, well-built young man who couldn't have been more than 20 years old kept eyeing her from where he sat with two friends at the bar. He had kept flashing her brilliant smiles, even a ridiculously exaggerated wink or two, over the last fifteen minutes. So far, she'd been able to ignore him.

     After Caveira's confrontation with Ela Bosak, Gold Team's handler, Ding Chavez, had made contact.

     Taina had expected the mission to be aborted. She was certain that her team would be pulled out of Ceuta after the Bosaks tangled with members of the Spanish military near Mount Hacho.

     What Taina did not know was that John Clark, the original Director of Rainbow, was still in the game... and still had friends across the chess board.

     Strings were pulled, and Chavez contacted Pereira with new orders: she was to meet a man at 15:00 at Pub Tokio near the waterfront. When she raised concern about mingling with the locals in broad daylight after fighting and taking prisoner members of a friendly government's military, Chavez had simply said not to worry.

     Taina found that quite odd.

     The fútbol game continued on the TV. To Taina's dismay, her admirer slid off his stool and made his way towards her. She could see his two friends cheering him on in what they thought were discreet voices.

     The waitress, a young woman with a cute smile, had rounded the corner of the bar and arrived at Taina's table first. "Can I get you another drink?"

     "Yes, please."

     Mr. Obnoxious strode confidently up to Caveira's table and flashed the waitress a wink. "Put that on my tab." He turned to Taina. "Let me buy you a drink."

     "No, thank you."

     The man didn't seem to get the hint. He pulled out the chair across from her and sank into the seat, flexing the muscles in his chiseled arms with gusto. "What's your name, baby?"

     Taina stared at him, her face devoid of expression. "I'm meeting someone."

     "So?"

     "You're in his seat."

     "I don't see a ring on your finger."

     The woman inhaled deeply. Her eyes seared into his. "I'm not interested."

     The man folded his arms defiantly, shooting a roll of the eyes to his friends over his shoulder. He turned back to Taina. "You're fucking typical, you know that?"

     The waitress was nearing the table with Caveira's drink. She faltered in her step upon hearing the man's challenge.

     Taina squared herself and leaned forward, her elbows making the table creak. "This is me asking: leave, or we're gonna have a fucking problem."

     "Girls like you are all the same." He lowered his voice. "You walk around like you're high and mighty. You want me to beg, or what? Get on my fucking knees?" He slammed the table with his fist, making Taina's empty glass jump. "Well, I'm not.