Chapter 43

 

Neil Gordon waited until he saw Adam enter his father’s den. He closed the door and reached for his cell phone. As he hit the “on” button, he heard John call his name.

“Neil, I need you to help me with something.” It was John and he was standing at the door to the main building.

“In a minute, John. I have to make a quick call.”

“Now, Neil,” John said with a firm tone. “You should know that personal calls are not permitted in the West Wing during Mister Hampton’s visits. Put that phone down and give me a hand. The water system is out and we have to bring in at least four five-gallon bottles of water as backup for drinking and for the toilet tanks.”

Neil placed the phone on John’s desk and reluctantly headed for the door.

John saw the look on Neil’s face and added, “Look, as soon as we get the water in here, you can take a break and make your call, but you’ll have to make it fast and from the main building.”

“Thanks, John. It’s important or I would wait until my shift is over.”

“Okay, then, let’s get this job done.”

They made their way to the faux panel under the main staircase. John pushed the panel and slid it one side. He flipped the light switch and a dim light filled the room. It was a credit to Milton’s housekeeping that the bottles of water and boxes stored there were free from dust and cobwebs as one would expect. The bomb that the Assassin planted was immediately above their heads, expertly concealed by slats of wood.

They each picked up a bottle. They were heavy and it took them a few minutes to carry them down the hall to the door. John had to put his bottle down to unlock the door. “John, why don’t you just prop the door open with one of the bottles?”

“Can’t do that. Mister Hampton would have my head. The door must be closed and locked at all times. It can’t remain open longer than sixty seconds. If the sensors detect any threat, the “wing” acts as one big “panic room”. All doors and windows lock down and can’t be released until either Milton or Mister Hampton deactivates the system. Fortunately we’ve never needed to use it, although it’s tested every month.”

“Wow, I’ve never heard of anything like that. I guess if you’ve got the bucks you can get the best protection that money can buy. Where should I put this bottle?”

“We’ll put them against the wall over there, for now.”

John hoisted his bottle to his left shoulder as he shifted his body to hold open the door. As he did, the keys slipped from his fingers and fell silently to the plush carpeting. His foot kicked them behind a wastebasket as he moved quickly to the wall.

“Boy, these mothers can be hard to handle if you don’t get a good grip on them.”

“You got that right.”

“Let’s get two more. Then you can take that break.”

They stepped through the door and it closed automatically behind them. They picked up two more bottles from storage and when they arrived back at the door, John began a frantic search for his keys, patting each pocket several times.

He turned to Neil and asked, “Do you have the keys?”

“No. Why would I have them? You must have dropped them somewhere. I’ll go back to the storeroom and look around.”

“I think that we would have heard them if they dropped on the concrete floor. They probably dropped out of my pocket in the office.”

“Well, I’ll check the storeroom anyway. We’ve got nothing to lose.”

“You do that, Neil. In the meantime, I find Milton. He has a backup set. God, how could I be so careless? This is so embarrassing. It has never happened to me before. I’m very careful about the keys.”

They went in opposite directions. Neil to the storeroom and John towards the kitchen, where he knew Milton would be planning the next day’s meals.

Neil checked his watch. Perspiration began to appear on his forehead as he realized that it was almost eleven minutes since Adam Hampton III had gone into his father’s den. What if he finishes early and leaves. What can I tell the man? He may want his money back and half of it is spent already. I should have kept my phone with me. I’ll never make that mistake again. He looked around the storage area, but couldn’t find the keys, so he returned   to the West Wing door to wait for John.

John rushed up with the backup keys in hand. He pushed open the door and scanned the floor. He quickly retrieved his keys, helped carry the remaining two bottles in and turned to Neil.

 “Go ahead, kid. You can take a break now, but be back in five minutes. Oh, by the way, don’t say anything about this key thing to anyone. It’ll be a secret between Milton, you and me. Okay?”

“Sure thing, John. Mum’s the word. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Neil picked up his phone and walked to the bathroom down the hall. Only John knows that I made this phone call. If a bunch of cops or process servers come bursting in here, he is sure to connect the dots, but if I can keep his secret, he can sure keep mine.

Neil’s thumbs keyed in the pager number. He waited a minute and dialed again. Finally, he made the third call. There, my part is done. He looked at his watch; it was almost 8:48 and the two Hamptons were still together. He had made it. 

He urinated, washed his hands and headed back to the West Wing much more relaxed than five minutes earlier and very pleased with himself. This was the easiest money I’ve ever made. I’m going to buy my mom a real nice present.