Shelia stared at the embossed invitation, the paper was expensive, but contained no other information than what was printed on it. The lab had spent a whole day analzing it and came back with little more information than what was able to be deducted off of just looking at it.
A local print shop in Split had made them for Roman as per one of his assistants directions, and they were all mailed at the same time. From the Humanintel on the street, all the local diplomats had gotten one. Shelia's had been forwarded to her by the agency, after they had gone over it. One thing was clear, it was a strange trap, but a trap none the less. Why was he inviting every spy in the Adriatic region to party on his boat ?
The note read as follows.
Mr. Roman requests the pleasure of your company on Saturday at Dock 19, Split harbor.
For the grand arrival of his new boat the famous " Christina O", Casual attire is permited
and refreshments will be served. A short trip out to the islands and back will be taken.
Please plan accordingly. Ship leaves promptly at 5 p.m.
No need to RSVP, all persons holding this invite will be allowed on board.
Sincerly Roman
Shelia put the note in her bag, trap or no trap she was going to attend, the problem being, what was Roman planning, and who of the spooks now in Split would recognize her?
She was to meet up with the three brothers in a few hours out on Hvar, and she hadn't decided what to tell them yet.
Dave Coontail was still deep undercover and hadn't reported in yet, perhaps he had some intel on what was going on. The details on the ship were more historical than informative.
The 'Christina O' was originally built in 1943 as a Canadian convoy escort, purchased in 1954 by Onassis and converted into a megayacht, it became his residence. Many famous people have been guests on the ship including the 'James Bond' writer Ian Flemming, an ironic twist now that so many real spies were invited to attend a party on it's decks. After Onassis death in 1975 it changed hands many times, most recently it was dry docked in Greece where Roman bought it from a company that had restored it for a Persian firm that went bankrupt, and the boat came up on the open market for 35 million Euro's. Roman had just bought the boat, and it was sailing over to Split for the opening of the tourist season, and the annual boat show. The bay would be crawling with yachts of all types and sizes, making the meager customs officials overloaded, the perfect time to slip something thru the ports. As the brothers always said, " Overload the system and just slip on in" something they had done time and time again.
Shelia placed the photos of the boat and its layout in her purse and left the wheel house communication station on the yacht she was staying on, allowing the captain back in. Moving down to her cabin she removed the secret panel under the bed and pulled out the customized high pressure tranqualizer gun made for her and slipped it into her purse.
To no one she said outloud.
" Let the party begin"
Rick Loved the new boat, it was everything you could want in a Yacht, well ok, it was a little on the small side at only 115'. But beyond that it was a real work of mechanical genius.