> "I have a secret desire to see Rebecca go away for a very long > time," she whispered conspiratorially. "Then again, maybe I just > don't care anymore."
> "And maybe she told you exactly what she wanted you to tell us."
> "Ooh, that's a good one. But sorry, I haven't talked to her for > three or four days. No, the truth is, I can't tell you anything > that you don't already know, so why keep my mouth shut? I can sit > here and spill my guts all day, and you won't know anything more > than when you came in."
"On the contrary, Ms. Ericsson," Isaac said casually, "I now know that you were an accessory to attempted murder."
"I told you that I found out after the fact."
"But you hid information from the police and FBI until we came looking for it. I think there's enough evidence to get a conviction."
"What would the point of that be?" Zenya asked, "Even if she were convicted she probably wouldn't serve more than a year or two. Besides, look around, she can afford a good lawyer."
"Even if she were to walk, we could probably publicise her trial enough to hurt business."
Amanda put her hands on her hips and sighed, "What kind of an idiot do you think I am? I've seen enough movies to recognise this routine. If you tell me what you want, I might just give it to youy. It would save us all a lot of time."
"Where is Rebecca?" Jordan asked.
"I don't know where she is now, but she's staying at the Marriot in Alexandria, room 1202," Amanda said, "Now, wasn't that easy."
"Thank you, Ms. Ericsson," Zenya said, "By the way, don't leave town. We might need you to testify."
Jordan and Zenya left Amanda's office and made their way back toward the entrance to the building. When they were out in the parking lot jordan said, "In a peverse way, I'm kind of curious what is in room 1202 of the Marriot."
"Certainly not Rebecca," Zenya replied. "What do we do now?"
"We're going to visit the headquarters of Orion Environmental Services."
"Orion Environmental Services? Who are they?" Zenya asked as they got int the car.
"The company across the street. I think it might be worth it to keep an eye on this parking lot for a short while."
Jordan drove out of the parking lot, circled the block, and pulled into the Orion lot. He then pulled out his cell phone and dialed Martin's number.
[Reed.]
"Jordan here. I need you to check out Room 1202 of the Alexandria Marriot. I'm not sure what you'll find there, but I'd expect a nasty surprise."
[Don't worry, I'll be careful.]
"Be sure to," Jordan said, and then he was interrupted by a tug on his sleeve.
"There," Zenya said pointing to an Accura pulling out of the Crosstech parking lot.
"Gotta go. Good luck and keep me posted."
Jordan hung up, started the car and pulled out of the parking lot about a block behind Amanda.
"After all the times we've been tailed, it feels good to be doing this," Jordan said.
***
[Rebecca and Cliff]
Cliff heard the gun shot, felt the tire blow out and swore under his breath.
"Are you OK, Rebecca?" Cliff asked knowing that Ted would probably kill him if anything were to happen to his wife and child.
"No, damn it, I'm not," Rebecca chuckled, "I never considered Leo to be the type that would blow up his own car. He seemed to manly to damage an automobile."
"The chopper is just up ahead. The ride will be a bit bumpy, but I don't think we'll have any problems making it."
"Good. I'm really dissapointed in myself. These people don't seem to be suffering nearly as much as I had hoped they would.
NRPG:
This took longer than I had hoped to finish, for that I apologize.
The question is where do we go from here? Is this the point at which Rebecca dissapears again? We'll hear from her in a few months in connection with Jordan's sister's pregnancy. Does she have any more parting shots?