The Perfect Crime

Chapter 23: WOODSTOCK MILITARY SCHOOL

Sometimes what you're looking for is right under your nose and you don't even know it.
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When Alea had first heard of Woodstock military school, she had expected it to be a camp —with tents and bonfires— situated in the middle of a remote desert.

In reality, Woodstock military school was five storeyed buildings forming a pentagon around an expansive training area. There were no old sweaty men commanding young sweaty men to do a hundred push ups like Alea had envisaged.

A security guard in an army uniform handed Alea and Gabriel visitor's passes and led them towards the first storeyed building —the administrator block according to the guard.

The interior of the building was just as elegant as the exterior. The red carpeted floor was something out of a five star hotel, there were fancy paintings altruistically placed all over the walls and the sweet smelling air conditioning was to die for. Alea was grateful more for the air conditioning than anything else. California was hell on a map. It's like God was trying to give the world a taste of hell.

The receptionist —a petite blonde with crudely applied pink lipstick, a black micro mini skirt and a white button down shirt that was at least two sizes too small— pasted a plastic smile, showcasing a perfect set of milky white teeth. She took one look at the sweaty couple and pulled out two bottles of mineral water. She uncapped them and placed them atop her desk.

"You could use the refreshment. Take a seat. Our proprietor will be out to see you soon." The receptionist spoke while typing furiously at her computer. The pecking sound of the computer was making Alea's ears bleed.

"Thank you very much." Gabriel picked one of the bottles and guzzled down the whole thing, spilling water on his shirt.

"Want another?" The receptionist leaned forward exposing her very voluptuous, very round breasts. They were fake. They had to be. That was the only explanation for their being so round. Alea began to notice all the other fake things about the receptionist. Her hair was most certainly a wig, her nails were clip ons. The receptionist was basically a blonde version of Kim Kardashian.

"No. I'm fine thanks." Gabriel replied and threw his empty bottle in the bin next to the receptionist's desk.

"So," The receptionist asked Gabriel. "first time visiting California?"

Alea was instantly annoyed and she knew why. The receptionist was obviously flirting with her man. She was even staring at his chest and groin as though she were sizing him up. Unlike her brother, Alea had never been good at hiding her anger. She squeezed the open water bottle so hard that the water spilled over onto the receptionist's desk.

Alea pulled out her handkerchief and began to clean the desk.

The receptionist stopped her. "No, don't worry about the desk. I'll get it cleaned up."

Alea pocketed her handkerchief and made a big show of guiding Gabriel by the waist to the seats opposite the receptionist's desk. Next time, she would learn to steer clear of other people's men. Alea saw Gabriel smile out of the corner of her eye. That little shit. They were going to have a stern talk about certain flirtatious receptionists when all this was over. Alea took a seat and watched the receptionist clean her desk. Was she being possessive? Definitely not.

"When I heard that Marcos' daughter was paying us a visit, I had to come and see for myself. What a pleasant surprise!"

Alea turned to see a large matronly woman in a navy blue pantsuit, her greying brown hair tied up in a bun on top of her head, walking towards them. She shook Alea's hand firmly and smiled, the skin around her eyes crinkling.