In the light of the setting sun
Anniversary
It was Ian’s and Lila’s anniversary this weekend, and they went to the Desert Rose to celebrate.
Day Turns to Night
Happy Lunar New Year!
Went to Chinatown’s Central Plaza to enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration. Lots of fun! I especially loved watching the Shaolin martial arts display!
If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend taking time to wander through L.A.’s Chinatown, which has great atmosphere, wonderful architecture, and a friendly vibe.
Sunset
12 Days (pt. 10/12)
“Are you ready to find out the truth?” a man’s voice whispered.
Lila whirled around, binoculars held like a club in her hand.
Ian moved quickly to locate the source of the voice and after a brief struggle put the stranger into a chokehold. The man thrashed about and then went limp.
“Light,” Ian said in a low voice.
Lila fumbled in her handbag, pulling out the small LED flashlight she kept in there. Flipping it on, she shone it in Ian’s general direction.
Ian winced. “A little lower with the light, please.”
She dropped the angle of the flashlight and peered at the man being held by Ian.
“Mitchell,” she whispered. “You got here fast.”
“As did you,” Mitchell said quietly. “If you look up, you’ll see a plane approaching the airstrip over there.” He inclined his head toward the area south of the towers.
They glanced up in the darkening sky and saw a small airplane approaching. It came in quickly for a landing while they watched.
“If you’ll release me?” Mitchell addressed Ian, who still maintained his hold.
Ian stepped back, allowing him his freedom. Mitchell nodded toward the plane. “You’ll want to see this.” He motioned to the binoculars Lila clutched in her hand. Lila immediately put them up to her eyes.
In the gathering dusk, she could make out two men unloading what seemed to be a heavy box. They struggled to carry it over to a 4-wheeler that looked more like a golf cart with seating and a roof for shade. Task accomplished, one of the men returned to the plane with its engine still running and prepared to take off, while the other man drove away on a dusty track toward the towers.
Lila quickly passed the binoculars to Ian. He sized up the situation and turned to Mitchell. “Drugs? Weapons?”
“Anything can be a weapon depending on how it’s used,” Mitchell replied cagily.
“Get to the point,” Ian said.
“A drone; competition to the one that you saw recently. This one has the capability to direct a high-energy laser beam at an identified target. Before this, you needed a turret-sized mechanism to deliver the hit.”
“Is that what was used at the exhibition that killed Regelmeister?” Lila inquired.
“Yes, it had a self destruct function activated. Costly to lose the equipment, but with the bounty earned from a targeted hit and the opportunity for a public test trial of the equipment, well worth it.”
“Wouldn’t someone notice a laser beam?” Lila asked skeptically.
“Not a nearly invisible pinpoint of light.” Mitchell continued, “Drones will soon be ubiquitous in our environment. No one will question seeing a police drone or military drone overhead for surveillance in almost any city. Now, with the proven ability to target with great accuracy, there’s a lot more at stake. For instance,” he paused, “who owns the technology?”
12 Days (pt. 9/12)
Ian and Lila raced from the exhibit hall to try to catch up with Mitchell. He was nowhere to be seen.
“I’d like to know exactly what he meant by three towers,” Lila said thoughtfully as they walked slowly toward their car. As they got closer to it, she saw a white piece of paper underneath the driver side wiper blade. Leaning over, she lifted the wiper blade and pulled the paper from beneath it.
Smoothing the paper flat against the side of the car, she studied a simple hand drawn map in black ink with two lines indicating what appeared to be a road, a dividing line with CA / NV written on either side of it, and three towers off to the side of the road. There was a small compass in the right corner of the paper that indicated the towers were on the north side of the road.
Lila wore a puzzled expression as she tapped the paper a couple of times before turning to Ian. “You know where this is, don’t you?”
“Not really. I mean, I can tell that it’s close to the California-Nevada border, but aside from that…” Ian’s voice trailed off and he shrugged.
“It’s in the Mohave Desert next to the interstate. I see it every time I’m driving to Vegas,” Lila said with conviction.
“You’re sure you can find it?” Ian looked at her skeptically.
“Absolutely. You’ll know it when you see it,” she said confidently.
Clutching the map, Lila hopped in the passenger side and looked up at Ian expectantly. “Let’s go!”
Twilight was falling over the desert when less than three hours later Ian pulled onto the shoulder of northbound I-15.
Lila pointed to the other side of the freeway at the three glowing towers. “There they are,” she said triumphantly.
Ian gave a low whistle. “Nice work. Let me see the map one more time.”
She passed it over to him.
“It fits,” he agreed, and gave the map back to her.
Easing back onto the road, he continued until they reached the exit for the tiny town of Primm situated near the Nevada border. He took the exit and drove across the road to the southbound on-ramp for I-15 where he merged back onto the interstate.
As they closed in on the area near the three towers, Ian pulled as far off the road as possible.
“Lucky there isn’t more traffic,” Lila commented in a low voice.
Ian nodded, all his attention focused on the three towers. “Can you get the binoculars from under the seat?” he asked Lila quietly.
She reached under the seat and grabbed the digital camera binoculars.
Ian reached up to turn off the dome light so that they wouldn’t be illuminated as they opened the car doors. As they exited the car and began walking toward the towers, they heard a voice behind them.
12 Days (pt. 5/12)
Lichen spread across the stone steps leading down to the rock-strewn beach.
“Gorgeous.” Lila stood for a moment admiring the view of the sun setting behind them before quickly gazing around for the next sign of where they should go.
She saw what looked like a map tied to the metal railing with string that she tugged loose.
Ian crowded in next to her to hold the map flat against the wall.
“Los Angeles?” Lila rolled her eyes. and quirked her eyebrow at Ian. “After driving all the way up here, we’re supposed to drive right back down?” She squinted and tapped at the map. “Where is this place?”
Ian leaned closer. “Looks like LACMA,” he said referring to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Ian yawned hugely. “How about we head over to Trader Joe’s and pick up some food – I know you’re hungry – and then stop over at a motel in Seaside.”
Lila nodded. “Sounds good.”
They drove over to Trader Joe’s and picked up some wine, cheese, bread and chocolate before wending their way over to the motel.
The next morning they headed down to Los Angeles.
12 Days (pt. 4/12)
Lila and Ian walked despondently through the rest of the museum before ending their visit next to the exhibition of Google Maps with Street View.
“I wonder how many people have been caught in compromising positions by this,” Ian said gesturing at the car kitted out with a camera and computer.
Lila raised her eyebrows. “More than one, I’m sure.”
“C’mon.” Ian held out his hand to her. “Let’s walk across and get some coffee at the Starbucks across the street.”
Lila took his hand and they walked the short distance together to the coffee shop.
Fishing around in her purse for the Starbucks gift card she had received from a friend, her hand encountered a tightly folded piece of paper. Her eyes widened and she quickly handed the square of paper to Ian before completing her transaction.
The seated themselves outside on the patio at a distance from the other patrons, and Lila turned eagerly to Ian.
“Well, what does it say?”
“Nothing of interest,” Ian said deadpan and then grinned. “I waited until we could look at it together.”
“Aw, you’re such a thoughtful guy.” Lila leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“I know,” Ian replied cheekily. “Anywho, here it is.” He unrolled the paper and held it down so they could both read it.
“This is just like a scavenger hunt,” Lila murmured. The paper instructed them to drive to a public beach just north of Monterey.
“Bit of a drive,” Lila commented.
“We can make it there in about an hour,” Ian said confidently.
Grabbing their coffee and treats they walked quickly back to their car and headed south.
Ian pulled into the public beach parking lot just north of a hotel. Lila hopped out of the car to join him in walking over a log that crossed a stream and allowed them access to the beach area.
Strolling on the beach hand in hand, Lila kept glancing around trying to identify the person directing them.
A man approached them and gestured to his family who appeared to be from somewhere in South Asia. “Please could you take our photo?” He pointed to the ocean view behind them.
“Sure,” Lila agreed readily. The man showed her how to use the camera and after taking the quick photo, he thanked her, and gratefully gave her his business card, before taking back his camera and promenading away with his family members. Lila stuffed the business card in her purse.
After a few minutes of waiting around, Lila turned to Ian disappointedly. “Looks like whoever it was, isn’t going to make contact.”
They stood a minute enjoying the view before turning to make the trek back to the car.
Lila pursed her lips after settling into the passenger seat. “Where do we go next?”
Ian shrugged. “How about heading into Monterey for some sightseeing?”
“All right,” Lila said unenthusiastically. “I’m hungry. Maybe we can stop somewhere and pick up something to eat,” she said while digging into her purse for some mints to stave off the hunger for a little longer. Her hand encountered the business card the South Asian man had given her and she drew it closer to look at the small print:
STATUE OF LITTLE BOY WITH SAILBOAT
Lila looked puzzled and held it out for Ian to see. His eyes brightened. “I think I know where it is.”
“Great, because I have no idea. Oh, and food,” Lila reminded him.
They arrived a short time later at a lookout area. Ian parked the car and walked purposefully up to a statue depicting a boy holding a sailboat. “See?” Ian asked triumphantly.
“Very good,” Lila applauded him. “Now, where’s the next clue.” She walked carefully around the statue examining it for clues. Tucked in between the boy’s arm and sailboat was another piece of paper. Lila sighed. “I’m getting a little tired of this. And I’m ready for dinner.” Nonetheless she plucked up the paper and smoothed it on the boy’s back.
WALK NORTH TO THE STAIRS AND OVER TO THE BREAKERS
“O—kay,” Lila drew out the word. She pointed to the sun disappearing into the horizon. “At least we’re getting some good views. Sunset is coming.” They began walking toward the stairs that would take them down to the beach.
Keep on Moving
Lots of things to do. The key is to keep on moving forward.