No News is Bad News #2
Stepping inside, he saw her custom-made bed.
It was simply beautiful; it looked like it cost more than his van to make.
She had described it perfectly to him. He stood there for a few moments, staring at it, then moved toward the windows.
The blinds and curtains were drawn; he peeked out and got a view of the swimming pool in the back.
Looking down, he saw a trellis with some kind of plant weaving its way up toward the window.
He turned toward the bed, instantly he remembered her back on the island…
He tore his eyes away, his heart still beating hard, and moved toward an open, arched doorway.
Walking inside, he was stunned by the bathroom’s spaciousness and beauty.
Turning toward the sinks, he walked over and saw the huge copper tub.
She had told him she wanted them both to be in here together…
he felt himself getting light-headed; he closed his eyes tightly and held out a hand to brace himself against the side of the tall tub.
Putting his hand to his forehead, he recalled her smiling at him from the tub he had made her; she was so happy…
He fought to push her image out of his mind.
With every attempt, another vision of her slipped in.
It was a losing battle; her energy, her love of the house, was woven through every arch, tile, and wall stud.
He remembered his timeframe and forced himself to concentrate on that.
Better, he thought. He took a deep breath and caught the lingering, faint scent of her perfume.
When he opened his eyes, they fell upon a yellow rubber duck perched on the tub’s soap dish, looking up at him.
“Oh, hell…” he muttered, starting to reach for it before quickly pulling his hand back.
She wasn’t kidding about the duck. Xander shook his head and pulled himself away from the tub and her duck.
He slowly walked the rest of the bathroom, stopping by the impressively large shower; he peeked in, and another vision of her showering with him assaulted his mind.
With another shake of his head, he managed to stumble toward her closet.
He found the light switch and walked into the huge, expansive closet.
Everything was neat and organized on shelves, hangers, or racks.
Her shoe collection was impressive. He walked past all of it and came to a shelf stacked with more footwear.
This eight-foot-tall shelf section held boots of all types.
Xander knew it had to be here somewhere as he probed, pushing and pulling on the shelf. Chen’s voice came from behind him.
“Push with both hands on the side of each frame there.”
Xander did as he was told and heard a click as the bookcase-type shelf slightly moved outward.
“Pull it by a shelf,” Chen suggested.
He did, and the whole bookcase holding all the boots glided silently open, revealing a steel vault door with a keypad next to it. Chen walked up and pointed to the keyboard. “Watch.”
Xander watched the code and did his best to commit it to memory. When Chen was done, he heard a soft series of clicks.
“It’s locked now,” Chen said, then pointed to the pad. “Enter the code to unlock.”
“Shit. OK, hold on a sec.” Xander closed his eyes and mentally pictured Chen punching the keypad. He started entering the code, and another series of soft clicks indicated that the door unlocked. “How do you go in? There’s no handle.”
Chen reached out and gave it a push, then moved Xander back as the door silently opened. Lights flickered on inside, and Xander got a look at the thickness of the door.
“Ten-inch-thick door. Hermetically sealed against smoke or gas; the room has its own filtration system. It’s rated fireproof for an hour.
It is bombproof to a point. The supports underneath are nine fireproofed steel I-beams buried in six feet of high-strength concrete.
Inside is a communication system independent of the house.
As you see, water, food, couch, and entertainment enough for a week. ”
“Wow. If there is ever social unrest, this is the place to be,” Xander muttered.
“Yes. This cost twice what your home in Oregon is worth.”
“Ok, I am impressed. Uh… she told me about it, but I didn’t realize the scope of this thing. What’s in those cabinets there?”
“I don’t know. No key. Maybe some of Halo’s personal belongings?”
“Oh. Uh, I better get moving,” Xander said.
“I’ll secure the area. Go on ahead.”
“Thanks.” Xander got out of her room as quickly as he could. Standing in the long, exposed hallway, he felt like he could finally breathe. He took several large breaths and proceeded to check out the rest of the house. When he was finished, he met Chen at the front door, who was waiting.
“You have nine minutes. Go ahead and reconnoiter the backyard.” Chen pointed toward the back of the house. “Come around the side opposite the garage. I’m locking up.”
“Roger.” Xander reached into his pocket and handed Chen the small black piece of paper. Then Xander made his way out back.
He felt less anxious now that he was outside, checking the back of the house and the surrounding area. The view at night must be fantastic, he thought, as he turned to head back up front. Checking his watch, he had four minutes left.
Pulling into JJ’s garage, Simo was watching his watch and pointing at it. Xander put the Cadillac in park and quickly got out. He looked at his watch. Exactly on time.
“You are one minute late,” Simo growled at him.
“Mine says exactly on time. I will sync mine with yours,” Xander said, showing Simo his watch.
“I’ll let you slide this time. Sync it now,” Simo demanded.
“Got it.”
“Inside,” Simo ordered, pointing.
Xander walked in and stood in awe at the weapons laid out on the kitchen table. He heard Simo's voice from behind him.
“Tools of my trade. First, you will answer my questions as fast as you can.” Xander nodded. “How many burners on Halo's stove?”
“Uh, six.”
Simo continued, firing off questions. “Gas or electric?”
“Gas.”
“Laundry room, second door. Where does it lead?”
“Outside… uh, backyard.”
“Weight room. Where is the TV remote?”
“Don't know.”
Simo shook his head at him. “Treadmill. Cup holder, left side.” Xander nodded.
“Master bath, copper tub. What's in it?”
Xander's face turned red, and he flustered. “Uh… yellow rubber duck.”
Simo squinted his eyes at him and shook his head slightly. “Master bedroom: what color sheets?”
“Black.”
This went on for another ten minutes, with Xander getting the majority correct. Finally, Simo gave him a nod and pointed to the weapons on the table.
“There is your .45. Take it. Do not load the magazine until we are done here and I tell you.”
Simo picked up the first weapon. “M4A1 assault rifle with a Close Quarter Battle Receiver and a sound suppressor.
No need to wake the neighborhood. The barrel length is 10.
3 inches. This weapon is outfitted with the M68 Close Combat Optic.
It's non-magnifying; it has a red reticle.
Point and shoot. No, you don't get one. This is a just-in-case scenario.” Simo showed him how to operate and hold the weapon for firing.
Then he ran him through the house, demonstrating how to follow a team member and clear rooms.
Coming back, Simo had Xander place the assault rifle back on the table. “Shotgun. Remington 870.” He showed Xander the basic operation. “This tactical knife style straps to your ankle. Do it now.”
Xander did as he was told. When he came back upright, Simo was holding a black wooden box about a foot and a half long. He held it out to Xander with a wicked smile. “I'd hate to be that next guy…” Simo chuckled as Xander took the box from his hands and set it down.
Opening it up, he saw a slightly curved blade about a foot long with a six-inch black ray skin-woven handle. “Wow,” Xander said, smiling at the blade. “Thank you.”
“Hell, you bought it.” Simo chuckled and handed him a Kydex combat sheath for the blade. “It's Chinese, decent quality. Normally I'd say it's too fucking big, but I've seen you use one.”
“Thanks, but where the hell am I going to carry it?”
Simo clapped him on the back. “Guess you will have to be stylin' like me.” Simo pulled out a tactical shoulder harness and handed it to Xander. “.45 goes here, long knife here, spare magazines to the side. Put it on.”
Xander slipped the shoulder harness on, and Simo holstered Xander's .45 and slid two magazines into the opposite side. “Your knife goes upside down; you need to practice the release as you draw with your fighting hand. How does it feel?”
“Good. So, I get to wear a sports coat, too?”
Xander saw Simo reach down and pull out a black sports jacket. Thank God it’s not an Armani, Xander thought as he accepted it. “Fits good.”
Simo handed him a night-vision monocular.
“Inside pocket. Play with it tonight.” Simo turned and picked up a box, took the top off, and showed Xander.
“Flashbangs. Pull the pin… toss, cover your ears, and close your eyes. These have five-second delays. Do not try to count; just pull and throw. Understand? And no, you don’t get one. ”
“Got it.” Simo put the lid back on the green-and-black box and set it aside.
“Ok, last thing. Hand-to-hand. Martial arts… you know enough for the street. With Joel's mercs, the first strike, kick, whatever, is going to be a kill shot. Military-trained soldiers are not trained to dance around. It’s get in and kill as fast and efficiently as possible. There are no tap-outs or second chances. Do not try to fight any of those guys if it comes to it; you will lose. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Simo reached into his jacket and pulled out a key, showed it to Xander, then handed it to him. “This is the master key to Halo's. Keep it on you at all times…”