“You are very kind,” the old lady said in English. “A kavalier.”
Cronley offered her the can of peanuts.
“A what?” he asked.
“You know, a man in armor on a horse. Thank you for the peanuts.”
“My pleasure,” Cronley said, and fed Franz Josef another peanut.
Finney’s knee signaled him again, and he saw Max Ostrowski walk across the room, take a table near the door to the restroom vestibule. Then he leaned a chair against the table to show it was taken and walked into the restroom vestibule.
Cronley saw an old woman wearing an absurd hat and two pounds of costume jewelry march regally across the room and enter the restroom vestibule.
Shit!
Whatever is going to happen in there is now going to have to be put on hold until the old lady finishes taking her leak.
“Let me taste that,” Cronley said, pointing to Schultz’s Slivovitz.
El Jefe handed him the glass, and Cronley took a small sip.
His throat immediately started burning, and he reached quickly for his beer.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” El Jefe said, chuckling.
Five long minutes later, Cronley asked rhetorically, “What the hell’s taking that old woman so long?”
Three minutes after that, the old woman finally came out and marched regally back across the café to her table.
“How long have you been in Vienna?” the old lady with the dog asked.
“This is the fourth day. We leave tomorrow.”
“You’re in the Army?”
“I work for the Army. I work with kitchen equipment.”
“You Americans do everything with a machine.”
“Yes, ma’am. We try to.”
Finney’s knee signaled him again and he saw Mannberg stand up and walk into the restroom vestibule. A moment later, Ostrowski followed him.
The waiter delivered the beer and the Slivovitz.
Finney paid for it.
Ostrowski came out of the restroom vestibule and sat at his table.
A minute or so later, Mannberg came out of the vestibule, laid money on his table, and, standing, drank what was left of his pilsner.
Then he walked out of the Café Weitz.
Ostrowski got to his feet a minute later and did the same thing.
I don’t know what the hell went on in the bathroom, but obviously Mannberg somehow found out Rahil/Seven-K wasn’t coming.
Shit!