Gunning For Gibson

Chapter 2

     Daniel and Alfred arrived to the hotel less than fifteen minutes after leaving his house. Daniel took his time and obeyed traffic laws for a change just to make sure Alfred wasn't made any more uncomfortable than he already was. The mystery surrounding his profession was not being received but that was too damn bad. He didn't have clearance and the old man didn't exactly broadcast what kind of law did for a living. Even with the possibility of the whole client/attorney privilege, just telling Alfred what he did was a federal offense. Alfred had called ahead and both his secretary and the kids were waiting in the lobby when they arrived. They were a lot bigger than the last them he had seen them, and Daniel was very nervous as he approached. Both of them were dressed very casually, jeans and shirts kids their age would usually wear. Emma was even wearing a little bit of make up, something Daniel didn't exactly expect. Stephen was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and listening to something on a small music player. He had rebel written all over him, something Daniel would have to nip in the bud or he'd be paying for it much, much later. As he approached them both, Daniel cleared his voice and spoke.

     "Emma, Stephen," he started, "It's nice to see you again."

     Emma looked back up at Daniel. "That's a really ugly tie."

     Daniel looked back at it and then at her. "It was a gift."

     "Well that person needs to be shot." Emma replied.

     "I'll take that under advisement." Daniel said as he restrained himself. He took a deep breath and then continued. "I made a reservation at one of the finest Italian restaurants in the city. I hope you guys are hungry."

     "Can't we just go out for a burger?" Stephen asked.

     "Yeah, there's a Hoopa Burger just down the street." Emma said with a hint of excitement. "I've always seen the commercials but I've never been to one. Can we go?"

     Daniel paused for a moment and realized his mistake. He had booked a classy joint for two kids who were going to be bored to tears. It wasn't the first impression he wanted to make. Daniel realized right off the bat he was going to have to approach this differently.

     "All right," he conceded, "Hoopa Burger it is."

      The kids squealed with delight as he led them both to his car. The kids hopped into the back, Alfred took the passenger seat and his secretary went back into the hotel as per his instructions. The Hoopa Burger was less than two minutes away and as he pulled in, Daniel could tell that he was completely overdressed for it. As he got out of the car, he removed his jacket and purple tie and then rolled up his sleeves and followed the kids inside. As he looked at the menu behind the cash registers, he couldn't find a single item that wouldn't contribute to high blood pressure and an expanded waist line. He motioned to the kids. "Go ahead and order anything you like."

     "Awesome!" Stephen said as he walked up. "I'll take a double bacon monster burger, a chocolate shake and curly fries!"

     "I'll have the lady bing burger." Emma then said to the cashier. "And I'll also have a medium diet soda and onion rings."

     "And would you like?" the cashier then asked the two men behind.

     Daniel looked up at the board and sighed. "I'll take what he's having." He said as he pointed to Stephen. "But I'll have a vanilla shake instead."

     Alfred looked back at the board. "I'll have the single burger with a side order of salad and a cup of tea."

     Daniel started to regret not letting Alfred order first but his training had always told him the best way to get friendly with someone is to order the same food and use that as a springboard to get cozy with your asset. After paying for the food in cash, the kids ran off to wait while he stood there with Alfred.