We made our way back to an upper floor. Roger had managed to get a piece of paper and a pen off one of the carts and was making a list. "This is what we'll need to get through this level - er - dream." He was cool, almost excited.
Helen had led us up to an elective surgery room. "I know this is the next step, but what are we to do in here?"
Roger replied, "We need a scalpel, a clipboard, and the extension cord from one of the spare power supplies."
Sue rejoined, "Here we meet one of the main characters, so we have to play this cool. Helen you are going to distract him and put up with his advances. Don't lead him on, but give him your phone number."
Roger added: "987-6413."
Sue told me, "You are going to be looking at the x-rays. Try not to let anyone get a good look at you. Get that clipboard and act like you're making notes, but don't let anyone see it. Roger and I will get the scalpel and the extension cord."
Roger finally told us, "Enter the room 2 by 2. Sue and me first, then you two. Helen, you move around the doctor and manage to 'bump' into him, dropping something for him to pick up. Joe, move directly over to that x-ray display and keep your face to it. OK? Let's go."
With that, the scene moved off like a play. Helen played coy with the gullible and handsome doctor, while Sue and Roger moved to their positions. I got the clipboard and started making notes as I reviewed each x-ray in turn. I couldn't see much of what was going on in the room, as I was facing away from the action. I could hear Helen giggle and carry on, but nothing from Roger or Sue.
"Doctor, can I help you with anything?" A nurse was at my elbow. I pretended to be studying some line on the x-ray. "Doctor, is something wrong?" She grabbed my arm to pull me to face her.
At that point, something sparked in an electrical arc near the wall across the room. Instead of looking, I turned the other way and made my way to the exit.
"Sorry, so sorry. Looks like I've got to get another one of these. Be back real quick." Roger took a smoldering cord in his hand as he moved across the room, coming out just as I did. Helen was already there and Sue came out shortly.
"Now - this way, quick." Roger led us into an alcove while two emergency personnel entered the room we had just left. "Over here. Follow me." Roger almost sprinted down the hall and to the left, then into an office.
We were all close behind.
"Those emergency technicians were there to check out the smoke and have to find an empty hall way." Sue explained. Timing is key right here." She locked the door behind us.
Roger was around to the back of the desk. "Let's see, it's top drawer, top left drawer, bottom right drawer - OK. Jackpot." From that drawer, he took a comic book and a girly mag, placing the latter inside the former, and rolling it together with piece of surgical hose. He also took a ball-peen hammer, which he handed to me. From the trash, he extracted the daily paper and then pulled the liner, dumping the contents back into the trash receptacle. Pointing to Helen, he said. "Take that smock. It has an ID badge in the pocket. Make sure you don't lose the ID badge. We'll lose the smock in another area, so hold on to it."
To me, he said, "Sit down on that couch and pull your legs up to your stomach, then wrap your arms around them. Good. OK, get up. Let's go."
I was puzzled, but we all followed him through the adjoining secretary's office. Sue again locked the inner door behind us. Roger stopped to flip the desk calendar to June 16th and remove that page, then turn it back the way he found it. "You wouldn't believe what this does, but we need the distraction in about an hour from now."
With that, he moved to the outer office door and looked both ways. "Too early."
Sue said, "There's a janitor who has to see us, or one of us when we enter the hall."
Roger peeked out again and then quickly left and then re-entered, locking the door loudly. He whispered, "Get ready -- three - two - one." We heard the lock on the other side being opened and Roger silently opened the lock and door to the hall from the secretary's office and then motioned us all outside quickly - he then pointed to the stairs and put a finger to his lips to do so quietly.
He went the opposite direction and dropped the June 16th calendar page in the middle of the hall, continued to the elevator bank to push the button on the center set, then walked in his cushioned shoes in a natural gait back to the stairwell and quickly entered with the rest of us. Sue led us up one flight.
All of this seemed counter-intuitive.
When we got to the next floor, we found the nurse's lounge empty and were able to talk.
Roger spoke first. "I always hated that part. If you run with these shoes, you give yourself away - they make a louder squeak. And any other shoes leave a mark which the janitor finds."
Sue continued. "The janitor is having an affair with the secretary, who is also making moves on the doctor. The janitor is neurotic and jumps to conclusions easily. He's also superstitious. Seeing that date on the floor of the hallway means their date has been discovered. So he assumes the doctor took the elevator down. The janitor is a bit more than nervous, so that is why we took the hammer."
Roger added, "Oh, that reminds me. Put it in the cupboard under the sink. It's safe there and no one interacts with it that way."
I did as he told. Rising, I then asked, "What's next?"
Roger replied, "We wait exactly 15 minutes and then head out the other door."
I looked at Helen and she seemed to be taking this all in stride. Sue was also cool, but perhaps that was because of her post-grad work under the Precept who seemed a bit domineering.
All I knew is that this was going to be a very interesting day.