The Amsterdam Chronicles: Def-Con City Trilogy Part 1
Page 51
Karl waited at the front right hand corner, watching. He knew musicians would arrive around this time for rehearsals or drop off their instruments in the basement before they went out to dinner prior to the concert. They would be back on time to change into their black attire, then relax with a cup of coffee in the artists foyer in the basement before the concert began at eight fifteen.
Karl spotted what he needed, a group of five male and three female musicians heading for the side entrance. By the look of the instrument cases they were a mix of violinists and cellists. When they were about ten meters from the artists entrance, he took off, joining up with them at the rear as they entered the building. The security man gave a courteous "hello' to them all, including Webber, who looked like one of the staff in his black garb.
The musicians went around the far side of the high imposing security desk, through the door and down the stairs to the basement.
Karl kept close so as not to attract extra attention, which could happen if he took the door directly across from the security guard into the central corridor at ground level.
From the artists foyer in the basement, Karl went up the stairs the musicians usually took to reach the side entrance of the stage. There he gently opened the door to the grand concert Hall. Empty.
He took the small stairs up onto the stage and cut across to the left where the violinists and woodwind players would sit later, then casually walked up the stairs which ran from the stage floor up onto the first floor at the rear.
Passing the impressive organ on the right he opened the door at the top of the stairs cautiously. Again, no staff to be seen along the red-carpeted hallway. Directly to the left he opened an unassuming door which led up to a service room, then took the steel stairs that led right up to the attic. Halfway up he stopped to listen. Sound engineers or other staff could always be around carrying out their work.
No one could be heard. The attic was all his.
He would rest until midnight, then head to the Jordaan district to carry out the experiments.
The walk to the hotel took Wall less than ten minutes. The young male receptionist greeted him with a familiar smile.
Refreshed from a long shower and feeling clean once again Wall put on his boxer shorts and lay down on the bed. The image of the dead body on the bed stuck in his mind. Stranger than the man in the bathtub, this was the city of incredulities, with something new around every corner. Okay, New York had its surprises now and again, but here it was one surprise after another.
New York was probably going to be a lot more boring when he got back. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Five