Chapter Twenty: Part Three
There was no sign of trouble when they arrived at the mayor’s apartment and they went about their normal routine, setting up in the now-familiar space for his afternoon and evening gig.
Natalie and Dom sat next to the mayor and chatted merrily with him and his wife like the old friends that Kate suspected they actually were. The evening passed without a drama, except for the experience of an unfortunate and very intoxicated reveller who was about to urinate on a convenient bush in front the mayor’s building as he stumbled his way home.
After looking around to check the coast was clear, the drunk was about to lower his zipper when the bushy shrub in front of him rose up to become some kind of monster. Standing frozen to the spot in wide-eyed horror and making high-pitched squeaking sounds, his bladder problem quickly became a laundry challenge. When the apparition groaned and lurched for him with branches for arms, he remembered how to run, suddenly feeling very sober.
Juan-Carlos smiled darkly to himself, the whites of his eyes were the only human thing about his painted face as he dissolved back into the garden. With a sly grin, JC thought afterwards that the zombie groan and reach might have been a little cruel, but it sure did break the monotony of standing watch. His earpiece sounded briefly with Harold’s and Edison’s chuckles as they acknowledged his antics.
Edison, Dom and Natalie followed the girls back to their apartment and stayed for a cup of coffee, ensuring everything was as it should be. Rick called Kate to say goodnight right after Dom closed their door. It ended up being a two-hour call; Silvio was a topic only in the first few minutes before the lovers found far more interesting things to discuss.
~~~~~
The following evening, the senator’s security detail was sharp and alert and his gig passed without incident. Rick reluctantly left Kate and the girls after they’d fallen asleep to take care of some necessary business details at the lab. After Dom and Mason had made some calls, the rest of the week’s gigs had been cancelled without fuss or publicity. The venues where the gigs were to be held were simply too hard to secure discreetly.
~~~~~
Early the following morning, Kate talked with Natalie on the phone. Natalie was not sure that Silvio’s silence was a good sign, explaining that given the degree of his graffiti attack, he should have vented more by now; and that his silence meant that he either had found a new distraction, or that he was building in his rage. Rick was spending at least the next three days and nights with the girls, going over details of the new firm with Kate. They had decided it was best to keep everyone in one location to keep Silvio’s focus on a single target, making his detection far easier. Rick called to announce his arrival only moments after Kate had hung up.
By the time Dee emerged from her bedroom, only his shoes remained by the door. Good for you, love, she thought with a smile. When Kate and Rick emerged a few hours later, both of them looked happy and relaxed. Dee and Carrie loved Rick’s company, and within hours, a new normal evolved as the apartment took on a relaxed and productive vibe.
The girls listened as Kate and Rick spent their Thursday discussing their business plans, options and challenges. When the two were in the middle of a particularly intense exchange, Dee looked at Carrie and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She marvelled at Kate’s capacity for processing huge amounts of data and loved that Rick’s mind was so similar in that regard. They reached decisions and argued points at lightning speed. To Dee, it felt like they had barely opened a subject before it was settled and the next topic was open. Carrie just smiled and went into her kitchen to experiment with some new menu ideas that they would taste test for a late lunch.
With their gigs cancelled, there was little to do until after the official launch of the new company at the lab on Saturday evening. Dee and Carrie took the time to catch up on some movies, enjoying some much deserved ‘couples-time’ together through the afternoon as Kate and Rick continued making their plans.
When Rick cooked a stir-fry for their evening meal, it felt like they had become the four amigos. That evening, they all snuggled on the couch for a silly Mel Brooks comedy on DVD. The girls enjoyed Rick’s boyish delight in the movie as much as they enjoyed laughing at the movie itself.
Friday was essentially a copy of Thursday, except for Rick and Carrie cooking together. Kate and Dee half-expected Rick to come running out of the kitchen at any moment, vowing to never set foot in there again. When the two presented a magnificent dinner, Carrie just smiled and winked at them.
When they were alone later that evening, Kate told Rick that he was one of a very select few people that Carrie tolerated in her kitchen. ‘We work in exactly the same way, Kate. Carrie is methodical and passionate when she cooks, as am I. It was fun and I enjoyed getting to know her one-on-one.’ Carrie had said much the same thing to her earlier in the evening. The lovers explored and celebrated each other before eventually falling asleep, snuggled in close together.
~~~~~
The next morning, Rick watched Kate take a phone call lasting less than two minutes whilst she was still dripping from her shower. When she’d hung up, Kate leaned back against the basin and looked at him silently, her eyes wide.
‘Should I ask what’s happening?’
Shaking her head in disbelief, Kate said, ‘That was Douglas McDonough. He just gave us the job we were doing for him when my old company went down. Rick, we have a two-hundred and forty-two room eco-resort to fit as invisibly as possible into a mountain-side, including a hydro power station and heaps more.’
‘I’ve heard of him but don’t think I’ve met him. When is the bid due?’
‘No bid, he just gave us the job.’
Rick then witnessed first-hand what Dee and Carrie often laughed about. Kate was far more excited about a new project than she was about the grand opening of their company later today, even if it was ‘her’ party. When Edison knocked on the door just after ten-thirty, Rick let him in. Dee and Carrie hugged him in greeting before setting out coffee and a few light snacks. Kate already had two large sketchbooks out, along with a dozen pieces of paper filled with writing. She was drawing out a basic topographical layout of the site and filling Rick in on the project.
After watching her for half an hour, Edison said to her gently, ‘Kate, you know that everything is set up at the lab for this, don’t you?’
Remembering that she had a lab again, Kate looked at him with an almost embarrassed look on her face, and they all laughed with her as she closed the books. ‘Why didn’t you remind me, Rick?’ Kate asked.
Dee fielded her question. ‘Kate, you light up from the inside when you get your teeth into something juicy and new. I can’t blame Rick for not wanting to stop you. I didn’t want him to either.’
The grin on Rick’s face said that Dee had it exactly right, as she normally did.
Edison said, ‘May I suggest that you two belong at your lab?’
Rick smiled and nodded. ‘Thanks, Edison. That’s a good idea. Is JC there already?’
‘He’s still outside. César and H are there.’
‘Let’s go then.’
When the pair had dressed and were ready to leave, Edison turned to Dee and Carrie. ‘Same as before; don’t open the door unless you’ve told JC,’ he said, pointing to a small walkie-talkie. ‘I’ve left his clothes in Kate’s bathroom. At about three-thirty, he’ll come up here to clean up after Sean takes over; he was the fellow who did the door locks. You know both of their voices well enough to recognise them?’ Carrie nodded. ‘I know Giselle has the van today, so JC will drive you.’
Dee and Carrie were guests of honour tonight. Giselle, Suzette and Luka were managing all aspects of the actual function.
Edison drove Rick and Kate twenty-five minutes further out from the city, entering an industrial estate mostly tenanted by technology enterprises. The building was unremarkable from the outside and looked somewhat like a large, three-level, white box, its sides broken only by two rows of mirrored windows on the upper levels. On the door, a conservative and simple sign displayed ‘Ironwood Engineering Solutions’, but offered no other details.
Kate and Rick were too excited about the new project to think about the opening tonight. Eric and his son were already there and had just finished redesigning a part of the humidity-trap that was proving a little fragile during transportation. Kate told them about the new job and they immediately became engrossed in the new venture. Kate and Eric worked as best they could from memory to set up the initial brief for the rest of the men on Monday as his son brought up all of the topographical and geological information on the site he could source.
‘You know, Kate, half the guys will remember their parts of this project,’ Eric said after half an hour, smiling broadly. ‘God, it’s good to be back together Katie, I mean, Boss.’ She had to punch him in the arm for that crack before kissing his rough cheek.
When Kate next looked up from the touchscreen table where they were working, she realised that Giselle and Corey had been setting up around them for some time. They were diplomatic enough to not mention that they’d already said ‘hi’ earlier in the day. They had also seen Kate’s focus at the time and understood. When she started asking about the function, they replied together, ‘Kate, you’re an engineer now!’ Kate followed their gaze to see a huge and very cheeky smile on Rick’s face. She poked her tongue out at him like a petulant child and giggled, returning to the workstation.
~~~~~