by M. Lorrox
He looks at her and sighs. “Why am I the last to know? And why am I being told this, I’m your father, did you forget that?”
June looks down at the table.
Charlie places both his palms flat on the table. “Skip, I’m really sorry, it all just happened so fast. I guess I went into commander mode and commanded.”
Skip stands up. “I just don’t like the idea of June getting involved in all this. She hasn’t slept in days, and she needs rest, not this insanity. Besides, if I didn’t walk out here when I did, would I even be told about this?”
June stands and faces him. “Dad, I’m sorry, I woke up Charlie because I knew he’d know what to do, and it was the middle of the night.”
Skip shrugs. “I know, I know. I’m not mad at you, everything you’ve done and said makes sense, it’s just... Well, damn it, June, I’m worried about you.”
June throws her arms around him. “I know, Daddy.” She starts to cry. “Everything is so crazy, and if you weren’t here, I don’t think I could handle any of this.” She sniffs and rubs her nose. “And I’m changing, and sometimes I don’t know who I am anymore, and people want to kill me, and I’m so tired, and, and...” She trails off into her tears.
Skip holds her and pats her head. He sighs. “I’m here, darling, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Charlie clears his throat. “Skip, I’ll cancel the plans if you’re not comfortable with June’s involvement. I’m sorry I planned as much as I did without talking with you first. We have a fallback plan; we can just enact that instead.”
He considers allowing the assassins to blow up an empty hotel, and maybe getting away with it, then he shakes his head. “It seems like a good, safe plan, and I know you were just doing your job.” He squeezes June tighter and glances at Sadie, then Eddy. “Let’s give it a shot, but I’m staying with June. How long until, I dunno, until you need us?”
Charlie lifts his brow. “They’re moving fast. We should too.”
Skip nods. “Okay.” He releases June, then they both walk into their bedroom.
“I’ll get ready.” Eddy stands and starts to turn toward the bedroom when he feels a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Eddy, you’re on Minnie duty. Your mom has meetings, I’ve got this, and Skip and June are with me.
Eddy squeezes his eyes shut and draws his lips tight. Babysitting? He opens his eyes and emphasizes his shock with his hands. “Seriously?”
Charlie responds in kind. “Seriously.”
Schermer works with the FBI. A room on the fourth floor of the vampire hotel—that has windows facing the street and the other hotel—is converted into an operations headquarters. The FBI sets up some folding tables, brings in a bunch of equipment, and points binoculars and cameras out the window. When everything is set up and running, Schermer calls Charlie in.
He goes alone, is shown how to communicate with the undercover agent, then is left alone in the room. Hard drives spin and lights flash, recording everything from all the various sources. He texts Skip.
Meet at the elevator on 10
Skip and June walk out of the suite, over to the elevator, and wait. Charlie is up in a moment, then they go down to the fourth floor. On the way, Charlie pulls out his phone and writes a text to Skip, but he doesn’t send it. Instead, he holds his phone out so he and June can read it.
From here on, until back in the suite, NO TALKING.
They nod, and Charlie erases the unsent text as the elevator arrives. When the doors open, he steps out to make sure the hallway is empty. It is, and he leads them to the room.
Once inside with the door closed, Charlie turns to June and Skip. “You will not make any sound at all. You will write down on a notepad anything relevant, and I will relay the information to the operative. Nod if you understand.”
They nod.
“Great. Take a seat.” He motions to some chairs near a table covered with gear. There’s a shiny black box with various switches, flashing lights, and wires coming out of it, a microphone on an articulated arm is attached to one of the wires, a small speaker is at the end of another set of wires, and a pencil rests on a pad of paper in front of the chairs.
Charlie leans over the table, pulls the microphone to his face, and flips a couple switches on the box. Sounds of traffic and someone speaking Spanish come out of the speaker. Charlie flips another switch and a red light starts flashing.
He holds in a button on the box. “We’re all set, Bob, rolling now.”
Across the street, an undercover agent holds a cell phone up to his ear. “Sure thing, darling. I’ll ask about that too.” He walks a few yards to the front door of the other hotel and up to a bellman. He pauses as he does something on his phone, then he puts it in his pocket.
In the surveillance room, they listen to a continuous feed from a small microphone the Bob wears in his shirt. It ruffles when he walks, but his voice is otherwise surprisingly clear. “Nice day today.”
A different, more quiet voice comes through. “Yessir, it is.”
Charlie looks at June; she shrugs.
Bob’s voice comes through again. “I’m looking at places to hold a reception at. Tell me, do you do valet here? Or are there lots somewhere nearby?”
“We can hire out for valet services, that’s no problem. And there is plenty of available parking, uh, there’s a garage behind the building. We’d love to have your reception. Would you like to chat with someone inside about it now?”
June finishes a note and shows it to Charlie.
Charlie pushes the button. “Parking guy not the target.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
From the sounds coming through the speaker, it seems the man leaves the noise outside and walks into the hotel. There’s some murmur in the background, and a couple talking about a bus schedule.
“Karen, this gentleman is interested in having a reception at our hotel.”
“I am. My name’s Bob.”
“Hello, Bob, it’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. Do you have a brochure or something I could look over?”
“Yes, let me grab you one.”
June writes on the paper.
Charlie nods, and waits.
“Here you are.”
“Thank you, Karen.”
“Bob, would you like to say hello to the hotel manager? He’s just in his office, I can ask him to step out.”
“Oh, if it’s not too much trouble. But maybe before that, can you direct me to the bathroom? Seems like the metro took forever this morning.”
“Certainly, it’s down this hall a bit, around the corner, and on the left.”
“Thanks.”
Through the speaker, Charlie, June and Skip listen to walking sounds only long enough to wonder if the undercover agent is taking the audience with him while he goes to the bathroom.
“Hey, uh, Andrew? Hi. Can I leave this here for a minute? Gotta hit the head.”
“Sure, no problem.”
June writes something on the paper.
Charlie pushes the button. “No-problem-man could be target.”
Walking and rustling noise comes through the speaker. Then a door opens. Then whistling. Then splashing noise. Faster splashing noise. More whistling.
June scrunches her face. Charlie shrugs.
Then the door sound again. Then rustling for a bit.
“Sir? You were considering holding a reception here? I’m Luke, the general manager.”
“Hi, I’m Bob. Yeah, I wanted to check the place out. I’ve never stayed here.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s our fault, not yours.”
Laughter.
“It’s nice to meet you, Luke. So, how large of a party can you host? We’re not sure how many people to invite, but we’d expect at least fifty people.”
“
We can host up to two hundred. Is this a wedding reception?”
June tears off a sheet and starts writing.
“Yes, my step-daughter’s.”
“Congratulations! Has a date been set?”
“Not yet. We’re flexible, but it’ll probably be in the fall.”
June holds up the sheet to Charlie.
Charlie holds the button down. “Unlikely that he is the target.”
“We host events all year, and as long as we’re not double-booked, I’m sure we could accommodate you. Would you like a tour of the ballroom?”
“Hmm, maybe, let me check the time.”
Charlie looks at June. “That’s code for reverify. Is it him?”
June winces. Skip puts his hand on her shoulder. She shakes her head.
Charlie pushes the button. “Not the target.”
“You know, I don’t think I have the time this morning for that. Instead, I’ll probably try and come back with my step-daughter, so she can see the place too.”
“Very good.”
“This may be an odd question, but my step-daughter is a total night owl, and she’d probably stay wherever the event is being held. Do you have a pool or other, uh, amenities that are open overnight?”
“Well, most everything shuts down from ten pm until six am… But, we could always arrange extended hours.”
Laughter.
“I’m afraid that might be beyond our budget, but it might be something we could consider. Oh, I left a brochure back up at the front desk, does that have pictures I could show her?”
“It does.”
Rustling.
“You mentioned almost everything shuts down. Are there any lobby areas open, or the gym, or anything?”
“Actually, yes. We have an exercise room with some treadmills that’s open all the time and also a business lounge. Both just require the hotel room’s keycard to enter.”
“And the front desk is staffed at all times in case anyone needs anything. Right?”
“Of course. I’m sure they’d be very comfortable here. What else can I tell you about?”
“Nothing that I can think of, but do you mind if I look over the brochure for a few minutes before I leave? In case I do have a question, anyway.”
“Please do! Just ask at the desk if you’d like to speak with me again.”
“Thank you.”
Rustling, then paper sounds. A cart rolls by. One wheel squeaks.
“Pardon me.”
“No problem.”
Charlie looks at June. She shrugs.
Rustling again.
“Hey, me again. So, I’m thinking about having a reception here. I talked with the manager, but I had a couple more questions. Got a second? ...How many rooms in this hotel?”
“One hundred and twenty regular rooms, one hundred suites, and forty double suites.”
“And with plenty of notice, most could be available, right?”
“Every once in a while, a group rents out a large portion of the hotel, but it’s planned well in advance.”
June scratches on the paper.
Charlie holds the button. “Possible target.”
“Say, you look kinda familiar...”
“Actually, I was going to say the same thing.”
“Wait, Andrew... Andrew Brown? I’m Bob Dawson. I served in the Eighty-Second Airborne, toured in Iraq and briefly in Afghanistan. Any chance we crossed paths?”
Rustling.
“No, not Brown, Martin. I was in the engineer corps, in Afghanistan for about a year, in 2012.”
“I wasn’t there then... Who knows. Might have just sat across from you at a restaurant or something.”
“Could be... Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“I guess not, mind if I walk around and check out the amenities?”
“I could ask the manager back out to walk you—”
“Oh, I don’t need a chaperone. I’ve spent too long following other people’s orders. Know what I’m sayin’?”
“Yeah man, I really do. Go ahead, and stop back if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
Rustling.
Charlie looks at June. She writes on the pad.
Charlie holds down the button. “Could be him, not 100%.”
The operative at the hotel pulls out his phone and sends a text to another agent.
CHECK ANDREW MARTIN
Charlie, June, and Skip spend another fifteen minutes with the man as he works around the hotel, checking out the pool, then chatting with someone from maintenance, then asking another bellman for info on the bus route. No one else sounds to June like they could be the man called Blackjack.
The operative walks down the street toward the metro station and waits at a bus stop. Behind him, a man comes up the escalators from the metro dragging a large suitcase. The bus pulls up; the operative gets on and pays the fare. He turns off the microphone as the man with the suitcase walks into the front doors of the hotel.
When the signal clicks off, Charlie sighs and flips some switches on the shiny black box. “We’re done here. Grab the pad and the pencil. I’ll check the hall.”
It’s empty, and Charlie escorts the Tubmans back to the suite. Once there, he texts Schermer and goes back down to meet her.
June flops onto the couch. “I couldn’t tell, I dunno, it’s like, that one guy sounded about right, but there was something wrong. I don’t know how to explain it... What if they don’t catch him?”
Skip walks over and brushes some hair off her face. “I’m sure they’ll figure something out.”
Sadie tears out of the bedroom. “I’m glad you’re back, and I heard a bit; I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. I really have to go now. I’m late.”
Skip watches her get her shoes on. “Similar plan as yesterday? Go through the workbook with Minnie?”
“Not quite, but I left a note with instructions. Minnie will love the surprise; you’ll see. I really gotta go, but thank you so much Skip for helping with her; it really means a lot to all of us.”
He smiles as she opens the door to leave. “You’re welcome!”
Eddy pokes his head out of the bedroom. “Cool if I sign out of Minnie detail? I could use a shower.”
Skip nods. “Sure, I’ll take care of her. Send her out.”
June gets up and walks to her bedroom. “I think I’ll take a quick rinse too. Maybe it’ll wake me up some.”
“Okay.”
Minnie walks over to Skip. “I’m thirsty, can I have some juice?”
“Uh, sure.” He walks to the kitchen, opens the fridge, and grabs some juice. “Your mommy said that she has something special planned for your lesson today, do you know what it is?” He pours the juice into a glass.
“No, she didn’t tell me anything.”
He hands her the glass. “Well, are you ready to start today’s lesson and find out?”
“Sure!” She takes the glass with both hands and takes a sip. “Yuck!” She makes an equally offensive face.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s gross—so sweet.”
It’s juice...? Oh. He takes the glass away and laughs. “I’m sorry, I poured you some of my juice, not your juice.” He takes a sip and frowns. They put too much sugar in everything these days.
He pours some blood into a different glass and hands it to Minnie. “Here you go.”
She takes a tiny sip to taste it, then drinks it heartily. “Thanks.” She smiles at him with tiny little teeth wet and coated with blood.
That’s rather disturbing. Skip turns and dumps the sugary juice out and pours a glass of water. He drinks some and relaxes, leaning against the counter. “Ah, that’s better.”
Minnie finishes her drink and sets the glass down.
“Done!” She smiles up at Skip again.
He smiles back in her direction, but he doesn’t look at her teeth.
Sadie rushes to the ballroom where the House of Elders is meeting. Luckily, the Council Guard recognizes her and allows her to pass without question. She enters the ballroom as quietly as possible; someone in a military uniform is presenting on stage.
She finds an open seat in the back and takes some folders out of her bag. She checks the itinerary for the day; it says nothing about this presentation from the military. She glances through some other notes but still cannot find any information.
Sitting next to her again is Dr. Aharon Fugleberg. He leans over and whispers, “That’s General James Roland Riley. He’s in charge of the military’s Zombie Defense coalition. There’s been a breakthrough, so they changed today’s schedule.”
“Thanks, Aharon.”
“You’re welcome.”
She directs her attention to the general. He’s tall with broad shoulders, short brown hair that fades to gray at the temples, and deep set eyes that don’t catch any light on the stage. He’s wearing a formal uniform laden with medals, and he’s stiff in it. It’s clear he’s more at ease in Army Combat Uniform while pointing laser guided missiles than he is here in a political meeting with a laser pointer/presentation clicker.
“...with these new tactics, we’ve had better results on The Line the past few days. These measures demand additional resources and soldiers, but we expect a much lower penetration ratio. The new defense perimeter systems are being implemented along The Line where we can, but in a few places, we have to pull it back.”
A woman across the room from Sadie stands. The general motions to her. “Go ahead.”
“Thank you, sir. My name is Señora Diaz, and I sit on our War and Defense Cabinet. Can you tell us more about pulling back?”
He clears his throat. “Field officers in four locations were notified last night. Public announcements are beginning today. Civilian evacuation and force withdrawal will take place over the next two days.”