Chapter Twenty Ready, Set, Go! #2
“There are very powerful people doing some very bad things.” Yoko gave him just enough information for him not to question her sincerity, especially when she handed him the paper with the name of the company he would be working for, and the address of the temporary housing.
Just as he was about to mention Bonnie, Yoko told him about a job offer for her, as well.
“This is a lot to absorb.”
“I know. But I can tell you this: I was once in a terrible situation. These same people saved me and gave me my life back.”
Danny folded the paper and put it in his pocket. “When do I leave?”
“As soon as possible.”
“I’ll phone Bonnie the minute I get home.” He looked at Yoko. “This is better than lemonade.”
Yoko gave him an odd look.
“When life hands you lemons …”
“Ah. You make lemonade.” She nudged him with her elbow. “Come on. Let’s get back. We both have jobs we have to quit.”
Later That Day
Izzie waved at Regina as she arrived at the pub. Once Regina took a sip of her wine, Izzie told her what was in store for her. Regina blinked. And blinked. And blinked some more.
“Wait. Tell me again.”
Izzie ran through the plan again.
“You’re telling me that I have to move to St. Augustine?”
“I am strongly urging you to move. Sunnydale is in a lot of trouble, and we don’t want you around for the fallout.”
“Who’s we?”
“That part isn’t really important. You will hear about it in the news in a matter of a week or so. It’s in your own best interest, believe me. The doo-doo is going to hit the fan.”
Regina stared into her glass. “Wow. I have to admit, the place was getting stranger by the day.” She turned to Izzie. “What about Jeremy? He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“He’s fine.” She checked her watch. “In about an hour, he will be heading toward St. Augustine.”
“Him, too?”
“We thought it would be good for both of you to have someone you knew. An emotional support pal.” Izzie grinned.
“And I am going to be working as an apprentice for a landscaping company?”
“If you want to.”
“Wow. For sure. Wow.” She kept blinking.
“What you have to do now is go home, grab whatever you need for a week. We’ll send someone over to pack and ship your things. You’ll have temporary housing, so the sooner you can find a place to live, the sooner you’ll get all your belongings.”
“Wow. And Jeremy is going, too?”
“Correct. Maybe you guys can share a place.”
“Well, I am his pretend girlfriend,” she said, and giggled.
Izzie handed Regina a piece of paper with all the information she needed. “Now skedaddle.” Izzie got up, paid the check, and gave Regina a big hug. “Let me know when you arrive in St. Augustine.”
“Who are you people?” Regina asked one last time.
“Good people. Let’s leave it at that!” Izzie gave her an open smile.
Arizona
5:30 PM
Theresa, aka Terry, arrived at the security checkpoint at Sunnydale wearing her wig, hat, and tinted glasses. As per the usual, the guard phoned ahead, notified Henry, and let “Terry” pass through.
When Henry opened the door, she almost doubled over laughing.
He stood in the doorway wearing a pair of lime-green knickers, a green and white argyle sweater with matching knee socks.
On the top of his head sat a green tam-o’-shanter.
A golf club was in his left hand. “You look like you just arrived from Scotland!” She tried to contain herself.
“Don’t tell me you had this in your wardrobe? ”
“Well, yes, to be perfectly honest. Once a year, me and a few fellas get together and play a few rounds in these getups. It’s for charity.”
“You look dashing.” Theresa gave him a big hug. “Where’s Frida?”
Frida did a little shuffle into the living room wearing a traditional red and black Norwegian folk dress. At this point, Theresa was in stitches. “This isn’t a costume party, but I appreciate the effort.”
“We’re undercover, don’tcha know?” Frida grinned.
“You two are hilarious.” Theresa’s face hurt from smiling.
“So, give us the skinny,” Henry said in a hushed voice.
“First, I have to put my suitcase in the trunk of your car,” Theresa said. “Everything is going to happen very quickly, so I need you to be on your toes.”
“How’s this?” Frida did a spin.
“I appreciate the good humor and assistance, but this is really serious. I mean, really serious.”
Frida and Henry’s faces went blank. “Henry, you asked what were we going to do about Aunt Dottie? Well, this is where the rubber meets the road.”
The three of them walked to the parking lot, and Theresa fetched her suitcase. Henry proceeded to roll down the car windows. Once everyone was settled, Henry asked, “Where to?”
“The side of the care center,” Theresa replied calmly.
“Well, alrighty, then!” Henry backed out of the parking space and drove to their destination. “Now what?” he asked.
“We wait,” Theresa said, as she looked out the side window.
When Kathryn arrived, she used the stolen key card to gain access to the elevator.
She pressed the button to keep the door open in order to save time, then prepared Aunt Dottie for her journey.
Kathryn gently slid her out of her bed, put her in a wheelchair, and strapped her in.
Then she removed the syringe she had prepared from a padded envelope and went to her desk.
Several minutes later, Turner came stomping in. She was surprised to see Kathryn at her desk so late in the evening. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I wanted to check the stockroom report. Something didn’t seem right, and now I am having trouble with my computer. Can you take a look?”
Turner grumbled and pounded toward Kathryn’s desk. “What’s the problem?” she huffed.
Kathryn gestured toward her chair. Once Turner sat down, Kathryn grabbed her into a chokehold and stabbed her in the neck with the needle. “You, lady, are the problem.”
Turner’s eyes rolled back into her head.
The last words she heard were, “Strike that. You were the problem.” Kathryn wrapped duct tape around Turner’s chest and secured her to the rolling office chair.
Kathryn quickly shoved the chair down the hall.
Again, she used the stolen key card, gained access to the elevator, and hit the down button.
Kathryn checked Turner’s pulse. It was hard to believe such a nasty thing could have a heart.
Kathryn swiftly moved across the concrete floor toward the rear ambulance-size door. She sent a text to Annie and Pearl:
Turner has been neutralized.
That was Annie’s cue to text Theresa: NOW
Theresa swung the car door open and shouted to Henry as she slammed it shut behind her. “Go!”
Henry took off like the wheelman of a high-stakes action film, as stones and sticks were kicked up behind the big Caddie.
Theresa bolted toward the main entrance and was buzzed into the building by Annie, who was waiting at the second inside door.
She waved Theresa on. Aunt Dottie was dozing in her wheelchair.
“Get the elevator,” Annie instructed Theresa, then took hold of Dottie’s chair.
They moved as quickly as they could without dumping the moving chair over.
When they got to the lower level, Annie said, “Keep looking straight ahead.” Annie didn’t know how Theresa would react to slipping past a morgue. Some people can be squeamish.
Theresa had her eyes on the open door that led to the lot, where Henry’s car was waiting.
The taillights of Pearl’s vehicle faded in the distance as it carried the wicked witch of Sunnydale to her final destination.
It wasn’t death. It was worse. Janet Turner would open her eyes to the inside of a tent in the hottest, wettest part of a jungle.
She would be able to hear and see everything around her, but she would not be able to swat the mosquitos from her face.
She would be paralyzed from the neck down for a very long time. Even longer.
Meanwhile
Florida
8:30 EST
One of Pearl Barnes’s associates arrived at Sunnydale in a Suburban.
The man claimed to be with IT and was called by someone named Izzie to check out her computer.
The guard phoned Izzie’s number that she had forwarded to her cell phone.
She gave the guard the “all clear,” and he raised the gate.
The man drove to an intersection, where he made a turn onto a narrower road, which led to Edith’s cottage.
Once he was in place, he signaled Izzie, who phoned Clayton.
“Edith, I am in the office. I think there’s been a security breach.”
“This technology will be the end of me,” she shouted into the phone. “I’ll be right there.”
The minute she walked outside, Yoko and Izzie grabbed her.
Yoko put her in a sleeper hold until the man could move her to the back of the large SUV.
Once Clayton was prone, Yoko injected her with the pesticide.
The man bound Edith’s wrists and ankles as the dangerous liquid was absorbed into her body.
She, too, would awaken in a tent just like her sister, and in the exact same condition.
Washington, D.C.
9:00 PM
Two well-dressed men in their early forties approached the large, marble reception desk. The man behind the desk recognized them immediately. “Good evening, senator. Congressman. How may I help you?”
“We’re here to see Nikki Quinn. She is expecting us.”
“Certainly.” He phoned her office, nodded. “Take the elevator on the left.”
When the elevator reached their floor, it opened to a tastefully decorated reception area. There was no one in sight. Footsteps approached, and a striking woman appeared.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Nikki Quinn. Thank you very much for meeting with me so late. I’ve been trying to wrap up a few things before I leave town.”
“No problem. We do some of our best work after hours.” Gerber’s attempt at humor fell flat.
“Please, follow me.” Nikki ushered them into her private office. “Have a seat.” She indicated the sofa and club chairs. “May I interest you in a drink? I believe you gentlemen are partial to Macallan.”
Gerber sat up straight. “Yes.” He was slightly taken aback.
“I do my homework. I like to know who I’m dealing with.
” Nikki raised an eyebrow. She got up and went to the outer office, where she prepared the concoction of ketamine with the scotch.
She mixed it thoroughly and placed the tumblers on a tray, along with the bottle.
She went back into her office with a warm smile on her face.
She set the tray on the coffee table and handed each of them a glass.
“Aren’t you going to join us?” Hawthorne asked.
Nikki reached over to the sideboard, where a half-filled tumbler was sitting. “I’m a little ahead of you. It helps me unwind.” She raised her glass. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Tell me more about Sunnydale. Are either of you involved in any of the company’s finances? Administration?” She knew it would be a conflict of interest if they were. She simply wanted to hear how they would answer the question.
Gerber was the first to speak up. “No. No. But we do have an interest in the care of people who live in our districts.”
“Understandable.” Nikki nodded. And waited. She could tell Hawthorne was the more nervous of the two.
“Yes,” Gerber continued. “What’s important to our constituents is important to us.”
In a pig’s eye, she thought to herself.
“Let me tell you a little about my clients.” At this point, she could make up any story she wanted. They were on the hook. “They are looking to invest five million dollars.” She waited to see how Gerber was going to react.
He kept his cool, but it was not easy. He could barely speak, dazzled by the sum of money she proposed, and his head was getting a little foggy.
Hawthorne shook his head several times. He shut his eyes tight.
“Are you alright?” Nikki asked.
“Uh, yeah. I th—th—think so.”
“Easy there,” Gerber slurred slightly.
It was just a matter of a few more minutes before the two men were in la-la land. Hawthorne hit the floor, and Gerber toppled over him. Nikki buzzed the office next to hers, where Jack and Harry were waiting.
Within seconds, they were in Nikki’s doorway. “Did someone call for a trash collection?” Jack smiled devilishly. Harry lifted Gerber and flung him over his shoulder in a firemen’s lift. Jack did the same with Hawthorne. Nikki walked ahead of them and opened the door for the rear elevator.
Once outside, they carried the men to their van, hog-tied them, and threw them in the back. Their next stop was the tunnels of Pinewood, where they would learn their fate.
Tempe Executive Airport
Henry followed the signs to the hangar. Wide, open doors revealed a Gulfstream jet.
Annie and Kathryn were standing by. A wheelchair and a ramp waited for their precious cargo.
Kathryn leaned into the car, eased Aunt Dottie out of the front seat, and placed her in the wheelchair.
She was in a semi-conscious state. Theresa crouched down to meet her at eye level. The woman looked up at her.
“JoAnne?”
Theresa’s eyes welled up. “No, Aunt Dottie. I’m JoAnne’s daughter.”
The older woman’s eyes searched for more answers. Theresa repeated what she just said. The older woman managed a little smile. “You look just like your mother.”
“Come on, ladies. Let’s get you guys home,” Annie said, as Kathryn wheeled her up the ramp.
It was a tearful send-off, but a happy one. Everyone got their final laughs about Frida and Henry’s disguises, and all promised to keep in touch.
As Henry and Frida began to drive away, the tune of “Mustang Sally” came over the radio. Henry impulsively turned up the volume. “Whaddya say we go to Vegas?” He patted his new best friend on the knee.
“But look at the way we’re dressed!” Frida remarked.
“Then we’ll fit right in.” Henry chuckled, and put the pedal to the metal.
In Flight
Annie had arranged for a nurse to fly with them. She came prepared with an IVP and fluids that Dottie desperately needed. Halfway into the flight, Annie handed the phone to Theresa. “Time to let your sister know about the family reunion.”
Theresa thought she was in a Coen Brothers movie. Biz arre. Funny. Absurd. “I should probably call my husband, too, before he thinks I ran off to be a cave dweller.”