OUTCAST Ops: The Poseidon Initiative

SIXTEEN

Tanner Wilson and Danielle Sunderland approached the main entrance of Amir’s hotel. They’d parked a block away so as not to be associated with a vehicle. Danielle eyed her tracking device and gave Tanner a nod. It’s in here.

Tanner keyed his radio and transmitted to Liam.

“If you’re not busy come to the hotel and meet us in the lobby.”

The message was pseudo-coded in case someone managed to break the encryption on the secure frequency. Difficult, but not impossible. Given that they’d been chatting during the scooter chase, however, Tanner decided to exercise the caution that was hard-coded into his DNA. Liam would know now to come to Amir’s hotel, and that Tanner meant for him to patrol the perimeter for any sign of trouble while they were inside.

Tanner and Danielle walked up the circular drive and into the lobby, then took the elevator to the second floor of the ten-story hotel. Tanner looked ahead as they walked while Danielle consulted the tracker. About halfway down the empty hallway she stopped. She jerked a thumb at the nearest room door on their right.

“I think it’s in here.”

“You think? We don’t need to be busting into random rooms.” Tanner was known for being sharp with his people, but he was also known for getting results.

“I know that. The tracker does give altitude — which is lucky enough as it is — but it’s plus or minus about ten feet, which means it could be this floor, or the one above.”

“What about the first floor?”

“Looks like it consists of all common areas.”

Tanner put his ear to the door while Danielle continued to consult the tracking device.

“I don’t hear anything in there and it’s too early for most people to be asleep, unless there’s a jet-lagged traveler in there.”

Danielle didn’t respond, but only kept her nose buried in the device.

“Something else wrong?”

“Maybe. The other problem is that this place seems to be built on a small rise — you saw how the driveway is raised from the street and the first entrance is out onto that?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t have the blueprints, but since the tracker’s elevation is from ground level and reads 30 feet, and floor one starts ten feet high…”

“Third floor.”

“Right. Plus or minus ten with the error factor, though, which means it could either be two, three or four.”

Tanner exhaled heavily. Then they heard the elevator open, a group of people talking loudly getting off. Tanner grabbed Danielle’s hand and they started to walk like a couple toward the elevator.

“Three represents the average reading, so let’s try that first.”

They passed the group of oblivious twenty-something revelers and took the stairs one flight up. Walking down an identical-looking hallway, Danielle stared at the tracker until it indicated she was next to the transmitter. A sliver of light shone from underneath the door.

Again, Tanner touched his ear to the door and listened.

“Don’t hear anyone,” he said, slipping a hand into his pocket.

“Lights on in the room.” Danielle pointed under the door. Tanner shrugged. They both knew many people left their room lights on.

“Let’s try it.”

It was an electronic key card lock by the largest manufacturer. Tanner removed a palm-sized electronic device from his pocket.

“What is it?”

“Arduino microcontroller. Hooks up to the DC power socket, here…” Tanner plugged a wire from his device into the barrel socket. “This should read the 32-bit key from the lock’s memory and bounce the key back to the lock.” He pressed a button on his microcontroller. “Got it. Now I just…” They heard a BEEP and exchanged quick grins. He turned the handle and the door opened.

Then they heard the elevator chime.

Tanner pushed his way inside the room, hyper-alert as his eyes scanned the new surroundings. He checked the bed. Empty and neatly made. Bathroom: clear. He waved Danielle in and she softly closed the door and latched it.

Tanner pulled his PM9 and did a more thorough search of the room, checking the closets, the balcony, and under the bed.

The room was clear.

“No used towels in the bathroom,” Danielle noted.

“Place looks barely used,” Tanner agreed. “Let’s find the transmitter.”

Danielle looked at the tracker and set it down on the bed. “It’s in here. It’s not accurate enough to tell us exactly where.” She went to the furniture and started opening drawers. Meanwhile, Tanner moved to the closet. A single garment hung from one of the hangers — a suit jacket.

“I think this is what Amir was wearing.” He searched the jacket and felt smooth plastic in the breast pocket. He withdrew his hand and held up the business card he’d given the Hofstad operator.

“Jackpot,” he said without the enthusiasm that usually accompanies the word.

“On the plus side,” Danielle said, moving to the nightstand drawers, “it does appear as though he just forgot it, not that he was onto it.”

“Right. And he hasn’t checked out of the room yet which means, at least at the time he last left, that he was planning on meeting us later tonight.”

Danielle moved to the second nightstand and removed a bible from the drawer. She rifled through its pages and put it back. Tanner moved to the bathroom and checked the drawers there while Danielle parted the balcony curtain to look outside.

“Nothing in here,” Tanner called.

“Balcony’s clean. He must be taking the samples to his contacts somewhere in the vicinity. We should probably just head back to our hotel and wait for—”

That’s when they heard a BEEP as a key card activated the room door lock.