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Seconds before the lift closed an arm jammed between the doors causing them to fly-open. Standing in the gap, a pallid-faced middle-aged man in a dark suit waited for a woman with distinctive henna dyed hair to catch-up. Dominic smiled at the man as they watched her arrive panting, out of breath. The couple huddled together in front of a glass wall in the lift whispering in a language Dominic did not recognize. Stabbing at the control panel, he caused the doors to close and selected buttons to the fifteenth floor asking which level they needed.  'Same,' the man answered.  The view through the glass looked out across the London night sky as they watched in silence absorbed by the sight of the moving traffic below. Ascending quickly juddering to a halt Dominic politely stepped to one side as the doors opened, allowing the couple to exit first. They seemed to be in a hurry, but Dominic thought nothing of this and not feeling tired strolled over to a plate glass window giving way to an expanded view beyond the twinkling lights of the city boundary. He paused to look out, searching the horizon; identifying familiar landmarks. The book deal agreed that evening with a prominent distribution company would, he believed; cause a major political storm when it went on sale, fulfilling his ambitious dream to be rich and famous. Married to his beautiful wife, Emma, and blessed with a son he loved dearly - it could only get better from here on.

  Out of sight, the same man who shared Dominic's lift had returned, this time alone. Advancing toward him with the stealth of a panther, the man in the dark suit made one final movement. For a split second Dominic would have seen his assailant's reflection in the glass, witnessed an arm lock around his throat, felt the pain of a Seberger silencer jammed into his temple. A muffled noise made by sub-sonic bullets travelling through the suppressor into his brain caused a now lifeless body to fold neatly onto the richly carpeted floor. The assassin's work was not finished. After searching through the dead man's pockets, he removed a key card to room 1504. Emma slept soundly under her silk sheets; she knew nothing of the pain. The assassin's powerful hands closed her throat in one firm grasp and suffocation quickly followed. Checking she was dead, he left the room heading out through a fire door at the end of the corridor and down a flight of back stairs. Rejoining his female partner waiting in a car opposite the hotel, in only few hours they would be in Calais, change their vehicle for the second time - ready to start the journey back home to the Czech Republic.

• TRAVEL GUIDES
  The Rough Guide to the First-Time Around the World - Edition 2

• China (Lonely Planet

• Brazil (Lonely Planet

• Argentina (Lonely