"Do we need to reserve to come in?"
Apparently not; we just had to turn up and fill out a form. I figured that if I did get a phone call at four, I'd have only half an hour at the most to hide her. I had to assume the worst-case scenario, which was that they knew Kev's mobile number and were waiting to intercept it and listen to me giving Pat directions. I wanted Kelly away from that area and safe. Also, I couldn't be sure about Pat. He might call the police when he got the card. Or he could be part of a trap. I had to be careful, but at the same time I was desperate to see him.
I could see her looking around. It didn't look that bad. We walked out.
"You can come with me now, but I have to go on my own later, OK?"
She looked pissed.
"Whyyy?"
"Because I have to do stuff, OK? You can help me now, though."
At last I got a smile.
"Oh, OK-. You won't be long, will you?"
"I'll be back before you know it."
Kelly and I started walking around, doing recon without her realizing it.
"What are we looking for. Nick?"
"A store with cameras and telephones."
We covered the whole mall, eventually finding a store on the first floor. I bought a battery charger for the mobile phone.
Kelly decided not to buy another present for Melissa after all;
she'd just pick up the friendship bracelets from home. I didn't comment.
At five of four I took the phone from my pocket and turned the power on. The battery and signal strength were fine. I was ready.
At ten after four it started ringing. I pressed Receive.
"Hello?"
"It's me."
"Where are you?"
"In a phone booth."
"At five o'clock, I want you to come to the Landmark Mall in Alexandria. I want you to enter via JCPenney, go to the center hub, take the escalator to the third floor, and go straight toward Sears. OK so far?"
There was a pause as it was sinking in.
"OK."
"On the left-hand side there's a restaurant called the Roadhouse.
Go into the Roadhouse and get two coffees. I'll see you there."
"Seeya."
I turned the power off.
Kelly said, "Who was that?"
"Remember I talked about Pat? I'm going to see him later--that's good, isn't it? Anyway, are you ready for Kids Have Fun?"
She was going whether she liked it or not. If Pat were setting me up, this place would soon be swarming with cops.
I filled out the form with the names we were using at the hotel. Kelly was studying the obstacle course with padding and plastic balls to break your fall. There were video areas where a huge variety of films were being shown, a juice dispenser, rest rooms. It looked very well organized. The place was packed. I could see hosts who were playing games with the kids and doing magic tricks. Seeing as she'd been doing nothing but watching children's TV for God knows how many hours, Kelly should be into all that. The downside was the danger of her talking, but I had no choice. I paid my money, plus a twenty-dollar deposit for the magic key to reclaim my child.
I asked her, "Do you want me to stay for a while?"
She was dismissive.
"You can't stay. This is just for kids."
She pointed at a warning sign that said: be careful, parents.
DON'T GO NEAR THE PLAYTHINGS BECAUSE YOU MIGHT TRIP
OVER THEM AND HURT YOURSELF.
I squatted, looking into her eyes.
"Remember, your name's Josie today, not Kelly. It's a big secret,
OK?"
"Yeah, OK." She was too busy looking into the play area.
"I'll be back soon. You know I'll always be back, don't you?"
"Yeah, whatever." She was dragging herself away. Her face was toward me but her eyes were looking the other way. A good sign, I thought, as I headed off.
I took the escalator to the third floor. I got myself tucked in the corner table of a cafe and ordered an espresso and a Danish.
I knew that if Pat was late, he wouldn't move into the rendezvous.
The SOP--standard operating procedure--was that he'd wait an hour. If that didn't happen, it would be the same routine tomorrow. That's the great thing about working with people you know.
I looked at my watch. It was two minutes to five. Looking down the escalators, I could see the JCPenney spur joining the hub. On my floor I could also see the entrance to Sears and the Roadhouse.
At about two minutes past I saw Pat below me, walking in from the direction of JCPenney. He was sauntering along, casual and unhurried, wearing a brown leather bomber jacket, jeans, and running shoes. From this distance he looked unchanged, just a bit thinner on top. I looked forward to laying into him for that.
He'd been at JCPenney right at five; I also knew he would have been putting in his own anti surveillance drills enroute, driving into the parking lot early to check it out, even sitting in his car to time it right. Pat might have his head in the clouds, but when he had to perform, he was shit-hot. At the moment my only worry was not about what was in his head but what might be up his nose.
He walked onto the escalator; I looked away. I wasn't interested in him now; I was watching everywhere else, checking to see if he was being followed. By covering his back I was protecting my own. I had the easy part, being the third party, aware. The biggest problem would be for the surveillance operators who were following him, trying not to get spotted by me.
In an urban environment it's always best to meet people where there's a lot of pedestrian traffic. It looks normal, people meeting people. The downside is that if there is any surveillance on you, they can blend in a lot easier, too. However, it is chaos for them because you can walk in and out of stores, stop at a counter, move on, then turn around and go back to another counter. So if you're going to RV with somebody to talk, go shopping.
Pat came up the last escalator, standing ahead of a group of teenage girls. They got off and turned left into the BaskinRobbins.
Pat went right. There were only four escalators, two up, two down. I couldn't see anyone who looked like an operator.
I watched him go into the Roadhouse. I gave it another five minutes, checked again, made sure the girl saw me throw my three dollars on the table, and left. Once on the Sears spur I got on the right-hand side of the walkway, which gave me a better view of the Roadhouse on the left, and that in turn gave me more time to tune in and look about to see if there were any men in Victoria's Secret looking out of place as they flicked through the ladies' lingerie.
I still couldn't be sure about Pat. But I didn't get nervous about that sort of thing; it was a drill--I'd done it so many times. looked at it technically, in terms of "what ifs?" What if they lift me from the direction of Sears? What if they come out from the stores on each side of me?
"What ifs" stop you freezing like a rabbit in the middle of the road when the lights hit you. They get you out of that initial danger. In this particular case, I'd draw my weapon, move out of the danger area through Sears or the escalators, and make a run for it. I entered the Roadhouse and saw Pat closer up. Age was getting to him. He was only forty, but he looked eligible for some kind of pension.
He was sitting at a twin table on the far left-hand side, with two cappuccinos in front of him. There were about a dozen other people talking, eating, and yelling at their kids. I went over, pulled out the five-dollar bill that I had ready in my pocket, put it on the table, and said, with a big flashy smile, "Follow me, mate."
If he were intending to turn me in, I was just about to find out.
I was sponsoring the RV so he didn't say anything, he just came with me. We went over to the far wall to where the rest room sign was; as we went through the door we came into a long corridor, with the rest rooms at the end on the left-hand side. I'd reconned this already with Kelly. To the right was an other door, which led into Sears. These were shared rest rooms, and that was why I'd chosen them. I opened the door, let Pat through, and followed him into the baby wear department. We took the escalators down, putting in angles and distance. It might not work all the time, but it was the best I could do.