stakeout

Brendan and I rolled into Frankfurt on the 11:44 ICE from Braunschweig. Waiting for us at the main entrance was David Young, one of our team who had been in place for a couple of days, sussing the joint out. He led us to our hotel on a little side street, passing a variety of miscreants and unsavouries on the way. Our first hurdle was that the room had only been booked for two people, to throw off suspicion, so we had to smuggle Brendan in without raising any questions. This wouldn’t be a problem for men of our experience. We dropped our bags and went exploring, it’s good to know your way around town.

Check in was at 13:00, but we lingered in the fresh air knowing that our movements for the rest of the evening would be restricted. David and I entered first with our packs and I payed for the room and after dumping our gear and a brief moment of respite I went back down stair and around the corner to collect Brendan. We did a lap of the block to waste some time then casually walked back in. There was a tense moment when the desk clerk stopped us and asked which room we were in but we easily charmed our way past him and up to the fourths floor.

We set up our gear and got settled for a long night.

The atmosphere in the room was stifling. If we had a barometer it would have read storm. Around 17:00 Brendan was on watch at the window while David and I got some much needed shut eye when suddenly a commotion started. Before we knew it a man was out cold on the sidewalk, blood slowly gathering beneath his head. The ambulance arrived in due course and things settled down, but the tone had been set and we were on edge now.

As night settled the nocturnal creatures made their presence felt. The music began to pump out of the clubs, the ladies who had been loitering in the street all day drifted away and the whole street took on a pink and blue neon glow. Deciding we needed something to eat, David and I stepped out for some fresh air, leaving Brendan on watch. We found a kebab joint and ordered one for Brendan as well, when wandered back.

It was a restless night and I kept starting away with shouts and music drifting up from the street below, but it passed by uneventfully. Our last task was to make a clean escape. David and I again went first to check out and complete the ever present paperwork then waited around the corner for Brendan. His strategy was to put head phones in, crank it up and head out the open door to freedom. The addict right outside the door seemed to know what was going on and grinned as he passed by, all the while preparing his syringe.