Pop Travel (26 page)

In a far tent, away from the blasting music, Blake waited. As he watched the guests mingle, he listened to the security comlinks through his earpiece, courtesy of Nate’s hacking expertise.
That geek has his advantages.

Most of the night had gone without incident. When he heard a guard at security headquarters mention a couple had gone into a locked maintenance closet two hours ago and still hadn’t come out, Blake smiled. The bozos finally detected his unwitting partner, Geri and her mark, Mr. Cooper. Security dispatched two guards to go check it out.

After searching the closet, the guards reported nothing appeared unusual or out of place. In the middle of the report, Blake heard a crash over the comlink.

The guard whimpered, holding back his laughter.

“Are you okay, Vincent?” he asked.

Blake huffed at their sloppy antics.

“Yeah. Get down here and help me check this out,” the other guard growled.

“We just stumbled into something. I’ll call you right back,” the first guy said to Security.

Blake sipped his water and smiled. Any minute, the real party would start. Knowing he would move soon made the waiting easier. That, and the hysterics he heard on the comlink from the discovery of the hidden passage. What a joke.

The head of Security came through the clearest, putting the evacuation procedure into effect.

“We have a code Yellow. When Kadir makes the announcement, move guests in waves to the trams in an orderly fashion and keep them calm. Transport personnel are prepped with departure information, ready to transmit.”

The Creator’s personal guards were told to escort him quietly out to a hovercart and take him to the manor house. He needed to be secured there until Security gave the
all-clear
signal.

Led past Blake by his guards, the Creator protested, complaining about the early time and how he wanted see what happened. Such a spoiled boy.

Blake shook his head. Time to move. He followed the Creator and his escorts at a safe distance. They would lead him to the house where he should find Geri and Cooper at some point.

Blake stayed in the shadows and watched the guards help the Creator into a hovercart at the end of the stables. When they drove up the road, headed for the house, Blake scanned the area. Only one android sitting in another hovercart to dispatch. The rest of the guards and androids were helping with the evacuation.

Blake glided up behind the security droid. As it turned to identify him, Blake Tasered it with his electrogun at the base of its neck. The android slumped, and Blake pulled it into the bushes. Taking off in the cart, Blake left the lights off and chased after the Creator and his guards, keeping their cart in his sights.

Ray had lost sight of Mr. Cooper and the agent, Geri Harper, but he didn’t care anymore. When he saw Ms. Harper with the detective, he had breathed a sigh of relief. He even drank a few cocktails to celebrate. The FBI still had his back.

Then Kadir halted the concert and made an announcement.

“Thank you all for coming. I regret to inform you it is time to go. There has been a security breach. Please do not be alarmed. You are not at risk. But we must request that you proceed to the tram in an orderly fashion for identification and transport home. So sorry for the inconvenience. The Creator trusts you enjoyed your time here at the Beasley Hills Plantation. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Good night.”

Ray’s heart sank. As the androids and guards started their sweep, gathering the crowd to prepare for inspection and exit, he stared with his mouth hanging open.
No, no noooo!

He yanked one of the guards’ earpieces off his head and screamed at Manny Ramos, head of Security.

“What the hell is going on, Manny!” he demanded.

“Mr. Saffioti? No need to worry, sir. Probably just a deer running through the laser fencing. The Creator has been secured. Nothing to be concerned about.”

As the serving staff walked among the guests, they continued to serve drinks, since moving them all back to the transport house would take a while. Ray grabbed a Scotch and stormed out, headed to the security house.

Beasley Hills Manor House
8:00 p.m., Friday, July 26

Geri suppressed her urge to turn a cartwheel and shout a cheer when they spotted the wooden protrusions barely visible in the dirt wall. The exit was within reach! Cooper told her earlier he hoped it would open up to the now-attached kitchen and not just open air. Either way, they surely would emerge past the inner laser fence surrounding the house.

Cooper climbed up and pried away the boards covering the opening. As he removed them, the layer of earth above sent clods plopping down on them.

“Watch out, Geri.”

“What?” She looked up and a particularly large chunk landed on her forehead. “Oh,” she said, brushing it off, spitting dirt out of her mouth. She backed away.
Thanks for the heads up
, she thought wryly.

Cooper dropped the planks as he got them loose, each followed by a small shower of clay and dirt raining down. When he had removed most of the wood, he scraped away at the dirt for a few minutes. Breaking through, he paused.

“It’s plastic coating! We made it!”

“I hope so. We don’t know where we are yet.”

“It’s the house. It has to be. I can feel it.” His voice rose with heightened excitement. Piercing through the plastic, he dug out more dirt. As soon as he had an opening large enough, he poked his head through.

He popped back down to tell her about it.

“This is it! Crawl space!” His excitement reminded her of her little nephew winning a rigged game at a carnival.

Cooper dug faster to make the hole bigger and scrambled up.

“Come on up, Geri! We made it!” He called down to her.

“On my way.” Relieved this messy part of the journey was over, she climbed the ladder and blew a kiss good-bye to the tunnel.

“You’ve been great, by the way,” Cooper said, giving her a hand up.

“Whew! Couldn’a done it without me, right?” she asked as she reached the top.

“Well, it might’ve taken longer, but I’m sure I would’ve managed.” He obviously hadn’t thought through that callous response before blurting it out.

“Really?” Geri smacked his arm.

“Ouch!” He rubbed it and corrected himself. “I mean, no. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“That’s bettah!”

As they scrunched in the two-foot-high crawl space, Geri longed to stretch out and breathe some fresh air. She wondered how long the feeling of imaginary bugs crawling on her skin would last.
Georgia has too many cockroaches!

After Cooper pressed his ears up to the subfloor and listened a minute, he nodded at her and chose a spot to go to work on. Everyone must still be at the party. She wondered if anyone had found the tunnel yet and poised herself at the hole, ready to deal with anyone who might come up.

Cooper’s enthusiasm amazed Geri. He sawed away at the flooring above and had an opening cut out in no time. After breaking it off, he finished carefully cutting through the linoleum floor. When he finished, he pushed it up an inch and peered into the dark. Darkness was a good sign.

“I smell spices,” he whispered with a wide grin.

Cooper stood up in his opening and used his flashlight to scan the room. Motion-sensing lights flashed on.

“I knew it!” he shouted.

“Shh!” Geri shushed and pulled on his pant leg. Still bent over in the crawl space, she whispered up to him. “Let me see!”

Cooper smiled down at her and nodded. He climbed all the way in and helped Geri up. She stretched. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, they widened and she covered her mouth. Stocked shelves filled with cans, boxes, and cooking supplies surrounded them. They were in the pantry!

“Well, shut my mouth! We did make it! Now what?” She turned to him, putting her hands on her hips, giving him an expectant look. As soon as he realized he was in over his head, she would take over. The backseat was not her preferred method of travel, but she had to admit, so far he had done an adequate job. Sneaking around, anyway. Confrontation would be another matter.

“Help me fix this, first.” Cooper found a broom and swept up the debris, then Geri duct taped the pieces back into place.

When they finished, Cooper peeked out into the kitchen. He reported the lights were all off. The room seemed to be deserted.

“They must all be at the party. We can either hide out and wait for them to come home or explore the house and try to find the lab”

“Lab? What lab? He has a dog?” Geri asked. She amazed herself with her acting abilities.

“And it looks like there are no cameras in there. That’s good.” Cooper passed right over her silly question.

“J.L.! What lab?” she asked again. She grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. Though she admired him for maintaining his focus, she would not be ignored. She knew he wasn’t used to having a partner but he could at least show some manners and listen when she spoke.

He blinked and stared at her.

“Oh. You’ve been here, so I thought you knew. They added a laboratory for him to work in here at the house. I hoped you might know where it is.”

“I had no idea. There wasn’t a lab in the original manor.” She gave him a smirk.

“Of course not. What about a basement?” he asked, plowing over her teasing. He was so intent.

“No,” she answered.
Not likely in Georgia, honey. Keep trying.

“An attic?”

Bingo!

“Why, yes. The top floor was an attic. But they told us it would be used for storage.”

“That’s got to be it. He would need a lot of room. Do you know where the entrance for the attic would be?”

“I believe it’s at the top of the stairs.” She furrowed her brow and put a finger to her lips. “Hmm. Possibly a door on the second floor with another set of stairs leading up to it.”

“Can you give me a quick layout of the house?” he asked.

“Let me see.” She took his spot at the door and cracked it open. The long kitchen had an island up the middle and barstools on one side. On the far wall were two swinging doors separated by a baker’s rack.

Geri pointed as she explained. “Through that door on the right is the sunroom, open to the hall and the back door. Across the way from that is a bedroom that has an adjoinin’ bathroom. The door on the left leads to the dinin’ room. It’s got a gorgeous chandelier, all crystal—”

“Stick to the floor plan, please,” he interrupted. She sidetracked, playing her part as an interior designer instead of an analytical agent.

“Of course.” She gazed into his eyes and pointed as she continued. “The dinin’ room is open to the foyer and front door. A wide staircase leads up to the second story from there. Just past the stairs is the parlor, which also has access to the bathroom. The bedroom, parlor, and dining room all have grand fireplaces with mantels displayin’ historic photos and knick-knacks from the original manor house. I just love…”

She noticed his impatient, narrowed eyes, ready to cut her off again and stopped herself.

“But I digress. Should I move on to the second floor?”

“Yes, please.”

“At the top of the stairs there should be a door that would lead to the attic where the next set of stairs would be.” She closed her eyes and used her hands as she remembered the upstairs rooms, then blinked them open to elaborate. “The mother’s room is on the right, which has a lovely sitting area and access to the splendid second-story balcony.”

“Uh, huh,” he said, looking at her with one raised eyebrow.

“Riiight. Pressin’ on. To the left is the Creator’s master suite, and down the hall is another bedroom. The mother’s room and last bedroom share a Jack-and-Jill bath. And that is all I know.” Geri let out a sigh, as if the description had taken some effort.

“Okay, good. It sounds like many of the rooms are connected,” he noted.

“Yes, they flow. The original house was…”

“Shh! I think they’re home!” he whispered and waved a hand at her.

Several sets of footsteps entered the house. Giving Geri a nudge toward the back of the pantry, Cooper squeezed behind the shelf next to the door. As she scooted to find a hiding spot, he turned off the light.