I came across a Wal-Mart a couple of blocks short of the Metro. I ducked inside and wandered around, looking for the items I'd need to set up the camera.
As I moved down the aisles, I found myself doing something I always did, no matter where in the world I was:
looking at cooking ingredients and cans of domestic cleaner and working out which would go with what to make chaos.
Mix this stuff and that stuff, then boil it up and stir in a bit of this, and I'd have an incendiary device. Or boil all that down and scrape off the scum from around the edge of the pot, then add some of this stuff from the bakery counter and boil that up some more until I got just a sediment at the bottom, and I'd have low explosive. Twenty minutes in Safeway would be enough to buy all the ingredients for a bomb powerful enough to blow a car in half, and you'd still have change from a ten-spot.
I didn't need any of that today, however. All I was after was a two-liter plastic bottle of Coke; a pair of scissors; a roll of trash bags; a mini Maglite flashlight with a range of filters; a roll of gaffer tape; and a tool kit with screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers--twenty-one pieces for five dollars, and an absolute rip-off; they'd last about five minutes, but that was all I'd need. That done, I grabbed some coloring books, crayons, and other bits and pieces to entertain Kelly. I also put a few more dollars in Mr. Oreo's pocket.
I entered the Metro and found a bench. Lights at the edge of the platform flash when a train's approaching; until then most locals sit chatting or reading. There was nothing else to do so I started a connect-the-dots picture in one of the coloring books and waited for the lights.
The rain had stopped at Pentagon City, though it was still overcast and the ground was wet. I decided to do a quick check of the target while I didn't have Kelly.
Cutting across the supermarket parking lot, I headed for the highway tunnel and Ball Street.
I was soon on the same side of the road and even with the building. A small concrete staircase surrounded by dense shrubbery led up to the glass doors at the front. They opened into a reception area, and then another set of doors that probably led into the office complex itself. A security camera was trained on the front doors, looking down from the right-hand corner. The windows were sealed, double-glazed units.
Inside, the building on both floors seemed full of PCs and bulletin boards, the normal office environment.
I couldn't see any external alarm signs, nor any signs saying that the property was guarded. Maybe the alarm was at the rear. If not, whatever detectors there were, were probably connected to a telephone line connected directly to the police or a security firm.
I got to the end of the road, turned right, and headed back to the hotel.
The room was like a sauna. Kelly's hair was sticking up all over the place; she had sleep in her eyes. Her face was creased and had some crumbs stuck on it. By the look of it she'd been halfway through a cookie and fallen asleep.
As I dumped all the supplies on the side she said, "Where have you been?"
"I've bought tons of stuff." I started diving into the bags and dragging things out.
"I've got you some books, some coloring books, some crayons..."
I laid them on the bed and stepped back, waiting for some form of appreciation. Instead, she looked at me as if I were crazy.
"I've done those."
I thought a coloring book was a coloring book. I'd quite enjoyed doing my connect-the-dots.
"Never mind, I've got you some sandwiches and Coke, and you're to drink as much as you can because I need the bottle for something."
"Aren't we going out to get something to eat?"
"There's some cookies in there ..." I pointed at the bag.
"I don't want any more. I hate it in here all the time."
"We've got to stay in the hotel today. Remember, we've got people who are looking for us at the moment, and I don't want them to find us. It won't be for long."
I suddenly thought. Shit what if she knows her home number and starts using the phone? While she was pouring out some Coke with both hands around the bottle that seemed as big as she was, I stretched around the back of the small cupboard between the two beds and pulled out the tele phone jack.
I looked at my watch. It was 4:30; the best part of five hours to go until Pat made contact again.
I wanted to get the camera sorted out. I wanted it working at first light; I might even be able to get in an hour of filming before last light today.
Kelly got up and looked out the window, a bored, caged-up kid.
I poured myself some Coke and asked, "Do you want some more of this before I dump it out?"
She shook her head. I went into the bathroom and poured the remainder down the sink. I ripped the wrapper off and with the scissors I'd just bought I started to make a cut at the top where the bottle started to curve into the neck. I also cut at the base so I was left with a cylinder. I cut a straight line up it and pushed the resulting rectangle of plastic down flat to get rid of the curve. I cut a circle, first by trimming off the corners of the rectangle, then developing the shape. That was me, ready to burgle.
I came back into the room and checked the cords and made the camera ready for use, by battery or power lines.
"What are you doing, Nick?"
I'd been hoping she wasn't going to ask, but I should have known better by now. I had a lie all prepared.
"I'm going to make a film so you can say hello to Mommy, Daddy, and Aida because you said you were bored. Here, say hello."
I put the camera to my eye.
"Hello, Mommy, Daddy, and Aida," she said into the camera.
"We're in a hotel room, waiting to come home. I hope you get well soon. Daddy."
"Tell them about your new clothes," I cut in.
"Oh yes." She walked over to the wall.
"This is my new blue coat. Nick got me a pink one, too. He knew my favorite colors are pink and blue."
"I'm running out of tape, Kelly. Say goodbye."
She waved.
"Bye, Mommy; bye, Daddy; bye, Aida. I love you."
She came skipping over to me.
"Can I see it now?"
Another lie.
"I haven't got the cords to plug in to the TV But I'm seeing Pat soon, so maybe he'll get some for me."
She went back to her glass of Coke a very happy bunny.
She picked up a crayon and opened the coloring book, and was soon engrossed. Good; it meant I was able to put a tape into the camera without her seeing.
I picked up two plastic coffee cups, got the rest of the kit together, put it all in the video bag, and said, "Sorry about this, but..."
She looked at me and shrugged.
I made my way up to the roof. The rain was holding off--the aircraft and traffic noise wasn't.
The first thing I wanted to do was get into the elevator housing; I needed to know whether I could get direct power.
I got out my circle of plastic and put it in the crease of the green door. I pushed and turned it, making it work its way through the twists and turns of the doorframe until it hit against the lock itself. The door was there to keep people out for safety reasons, not to protect something of value, so it was a simple lock to defeat.
Once inside I turned on my mini Maglite, and the first thing I saw was a bank of four power sockets.
I looked up at the ceiling. The shed was made of panels of quarter-inch mild steel bolted onto a frame. I got the wrench and undid two of the bolts enough to lift up a bit of the roof.
Then I got the power cord from the camera, pushed it through the gap, and ran it down against the wall. It didn't look out of place among all the other shit. The small gap I'd created wouldn't let in much rain, so there wouldn't be a flood that somebody had to come up and investigate. I plugged the cord into one of the sockets and hoped I'd remember there was juice coming out the other end when I started to mess around with the camera.