Side Effects

Chapter 35

We were as ready as we could be, and my stomach was still tied up in knots. Judging by the constant tapping of her foot, I could tell that Alaya was as well, but right now all we could do was wait. We were camped out in the lobby of the hotel, hoping that Tim, or someone that looked suspicious like him, would be here soon. The vendors started setting up at 8am, and the public would be allowed in at noon, so we got down to the lobby at 11am, since we didn't think they would pose as a vendor. That would require paperwork, and a cover story, while coming in as a customer would allow him to make a quick sweep through the convention, and then leave after he did what he meant to.

Not that we could be sure.

Alaya and I were sitting to the side in the lobby, with a perfect view of the front door through a fake rubber tree plant, and we would see anyone walking towards the conference. Esme, Viola, and her two security guards were in the business center, a little room that was right off the lobby, but through a door and out of sight. That was important, because while Alaya and I were dressed in business casual clothes, the rest were dressed to mimic federal authorities. That was thanks to Alaya's latest idea.

We'd gone out to eat the previous night in the little seaside town of Mystic and had a delicious meal right on the water at a place called Red 36. None of us were starving, but we knew we needed food to get us through the next 24 hours. We also limited ourselves to a single drink, because we wanted to avoid hangovers.

And that was when I realized we had one more issue. "What happens if we get Tim, or whoever, with the taser? I know your guards can take him to the ship, and we go get my sister, but before that we have to get him out of the hotel. There is a good choice that people are going to be freaking out, potentially calling the cops and stuff."

"Shit," muttered Esme. "We didn't really think that one through."

We sat in silence, looking over the menu while thinking about the options. Finally, Alaya spoke up in a tentative voice. "What if everyone looked like cops? I mean, your guards already look like them, but could you two as well? If you all looked like a little task force, I can't imagine anyone who wasn't a real cop thinking you weren't FBI agents or something. Certainly, no front desk clerk is going to grow balls big enough to challenge someone who might be the FBI."

Esme smiled, and then pulled out her wallet, flashing her military ID. "Technically, I'm still in the reserves, and I could flash this easily enough, say I'm NCIS or some bullshit, just like the TV show."

Viola was grinning along with her. "I have my diplomatic ID as well. I'm sure we can look enough like your FBI people and get the target out of there before too many questions are asked."

"And once we have them, I think I know how we can make them talk," Alaya said with a nasty grin. After she explained her plan, we all had that same smile, because it was both believable, and almost foolproof. Of course, we still had to get Tim, or his stand in, and my sister. But I had faith that we would.

We were all breathing sighs of relief after that, and maybe that helped our stomachs decide that yes, they did need some food. Luckily, being on the water, the restaurant had some amazing seafood selections, and we quickly loaded up on clam chowder, spicy fried shrimp, scallops, and lobster. While we'd gone there feeling uneasy, we left in a much better mood and with much fuller bellies.

But as we sat in the lobby, the nerves came back. Alaya and I both had cold coffee by our side, as it was doing nothing but making our stomachs upset whenever we tried to drink them. It was getting closer and closer to noon, which meant that at any time we could be seeing someone who hopefully looked sketchy coming in. That wasn't really the truth though, because I had little hope that I could spot someone who might be here to spread the virus unless it was Tim.