The Turn: Chapter Eighteen

The Turn

Chapter Eighteen

~Plan B or No Plan B~

Two Years before the Turn

Zara walked on the sidewalk casually with one ear pressed against a cell phone. She wore white Capri pants and a light blue Polo shirt. Her sandals were appropriate for the warm summer weather. A salmon and pink bag hung from her arm as she held the cell phone. She walked past a business building. Large sunglasses covered her eyes as she scanned the building. She pretended to talk to someone on the phone as she looked over the building. There were some guards at the door that dissuaded civilians from entering. She scanned the outside for surveillance cameras. She kept a mental note of their locations, hung up her fake call and then turned around toward the street.

Hand raised, she hailed a cab. A yellow cab sat a few blocks away, off duty. Seeing that there was the prospect of business the cab driver turned on his engine and drove forward. Zara pulled open the door and sat in the back seat. She set her bag down in the seat beside her and fastened her seatbelt.

“Hilton on 45 Avenue,” Zara said as she situated herself.

“Got it,” the driver said as he pulled away from the curb.

They reached a stop light about a block away. In doing what most cab drivers do, the driver engaged in conversation.

“So, what are we up against?” said the white haired cab driver.

Zara pulled out a note bad, “It would be great to get a blue print of the place. The front of building alone has at least ten cameras. There are two guards on duty at all times.”

Chaud looked in the rear view mirror, “Sound’s easy enough. What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to get me in,” Zara stated, “Naru will need a way to hack into the system somehow—”

“But it’s a closed system. No one on the outside can get it,” Chaud complained.

“Your problem, not mine,” Zara looked up, “unless you take back what you said about being able to do anything…”

Chaud sighed, “I’ll figure out something.”

“I thought I’d be nice to station him in the coffee shop across the street,” Zara stated.

“Sure, that makes things so much easier,” Chaud said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

“I don’t want to put all my hens in one basket.”

“I think you mean eggs…don’t put your eggs in one…never mind,” Chaud trailed off as Zara glared at the back of his head. He cleared his throat, “When do I need everything planned?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Zara stated casually, “at the latest.”

Chaud sighed deeply, “That isn’t a lot of time.”

“I don’t want to stay here longer than necessary,” Zara scribbled on the note pad, “This whole New Order thing stinks. I don’t like it. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

Chaud nodded, “Alright. Leave the details to me. I’ll have a plan put together by tonight.”

“I thought you wanted more time?” Zara teased.

“I came up with a plan in the course of this conversation. Unlike most people who say they can, I can actually multitask. I just like having more that twelve hours to put it all together,” Chaud stated, making the point clear, “We’re here. That will be $36.79.”

Zara dug in her pocket for the money. She found two twenties and tore the paper she had been writing on. After fitting the paper in between the two bills, she placed the money in Chaud’s open palm.

“Keep the change,” Zara stated before leaving.

“Thank you,” Chaud said just before the door slammed.

Zara walked actually up the steps of the Hilton. Chaud found himself another customer. Eyes watched them from across the street at a local café. A figure wore a light white shirt with black pants and white shoes. A wide brimmed had sat on his lap as he sat. His over coat hung from the back of his chair. He took one last sip of his coffee and was about to leave when he noticed a black limo drive by. It seemed out of place in this environment. Then again, it could be on its way to somewhere else. But still, there was this feeling. He left the payment on the table, donned his hat, threw his over coat over his shoulder and walked off down the street. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone.

IOIOIOIOI

Zara lounged on the king-sized bed. The contents of the open folder were strewn around her. The others weren’t around. She could care less where they were. That was how Tower Agents worked. They may arrive at their designated city at the same time but the moment the airplane pulled into the terminal, they were complete strangers to each other until the mission. That’s why it was good to have someone like Chaud, an Accomplisher. It was their job to know where everyone was and make everything happen. It was also preferred if the Accomplisher was not the leader.

A team consisted of many different possible jobs. Usually a team member’s job didn’t stray too far from their abilities. There was Zara, she was the leader. She led and planned. Then there was Chaud, the Accomplisher. He took the structure if the leaders plan and made it happen. Hina was back up. Her skills were useful for rescuing any team members and blasting through anything. Naru usually observed. He’d report on the goings on and make sure his team members were out of harm’s way. Vicky was the secret weapon. Yes, she looked meek and lacked confidence but when she was really needed she could pack a punch. Then there was Deontay, the tank. If everything went to hell, he’d barge in and make things better. Other teams might be set up differently but this was how Zara saw things. Chaud saw them the same way.

Zara glanced at the clock briefly. In was nearing nine-thirty. Despite herself she began worrying about Chaud. She looked back at the bed and started placing everything back into the folder.

There was a knock at the door, “Room Service.”

“I didn’t order any,” Zara answered.

There was a sigh, “Look, I just spent a long time cooking this. So, would you like to take it instead?”

Zara sighed and got up out of bed. She walked to the door and looked out of the peephole. After determining that there was no threat, she opened the door. Chaud wheeled the cart in as Zara closed the door.

“Where shall I put it?” Chaud asked still in character. He didn’t know whether it was safe to speak freely or not. It was always customary for the person who has been in a location the longest to start the conversation.

“What is it?” she glared at him.

Chaud opened one of the metal catering lids and exposed the requested blueprints, “Ta-da! Good isn’t it?”

“What do you have planned?” Zara stated, getting straight to business.

“Someone’s grumpy,” Chaud muttered.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chaud saw the hand coming but couldn’t react in time. Zara’s hand slapped him in the back of the head. The look on her face said it all, “You were supposed to be here sooner.”

“I don’t recall giving you a time,” Chaud answered. Another slap.

“You could have called,” Zara defended, “I didn’t know if something happened to you!”

“That isn’t suspicious at all; a random person calling another random person in a hotel in the middle of the night when they don’t even know each other. Yep, no red flags there,” Chaud was leaking with sarcasm.

Zara crossed her arms, “This whole thing just makes me feel edgy.”

“You’ve said,” Chaud nodded. He uncovered another lid, “Here is you’re new identity.”

Zara looked at the ID card and the stack of papers, “Inspector?”

“Congratulations,” Chaud smiled, “You are now a County Health Inspector for a day!”

Zara raised a curious eyebrow, “How did you pull that off?”

“Illegally,” Chaud shrugged it off as nothing, “Here’s a list of everyone else’s identities. Make sure to destroy that after you’ve memorized it. Vicky and I will join you on the inside. Hina is now employed in the business we’re inspecting. Deontay is an electrician and Naru, as you wanted, is a local café patron. You got that? Good. I’ll be leaving now.”

“What am I inspecting?” Zara asked as Chaud started pushing the cart toward the door, “Aren’t you going to tell me more about your plan?”

Chaud looked over his shoulder, “I told you your part. Just do what you need to do and we should be fine.”

“And a backup plan?”

“Hey, you gave me less than a day to think of something,” Chaud narrowed his eyes, “so no, there is no backup plan.

“What if something goes wrong?”

“Every man for himself?”

“Chaud,” Zara rolled her eyes.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t,” Chaud reached for the door knob, “Unless you want to give me an extra day?”

“No,” Zara sighed, “this seems simple enough. I guess it will be fine.”

“I could scrap one up real quick if you want me too,” Chaud said, seeing her concern.

“No, its fine,” Zara said with more certainty, “We should be in and out as fast as we can though.”

“Alright,” Chaud sighed, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

He left the room. As the door closed behind him he noticed a figure just a down the hallway.  He stood in front of the elevator. Chaud saw the man’s eyes from under his wide brimmed hat, but only a glimpse. The elevator door opened. The man dipped his head slightly at Chaud in greeting and entered the elevator.

Chaud gripped the carts handles, “Why would…?” he started but didn’t finish his thoughts.

He pushed the cart down the hallway with the feeling that he should start thinking up a plan B.