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12 Days (pt. 9/12)

3_towers

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. 8/12)

buildings
Buildings within buildings

 

Lila and Ian drove over to the mid-Wilshire area where Ian managed to find street parking some distance away from the museum.

“Saved ten bucks,” he remarked with satisfaction.

“Yeah, but if we have to make a quick escape that could cost us,” Lila remarked.

They briskly walked over to museum, paid their admission, and identified the building in which they were to meet the mystery person or persons.

Lila glanced at her watch. “Fifteen minutes. Let’s get set up.”

They walked into the main exhibit area and casually moved apart as they studied the artifacts that included footage from the 1920 silent film, Der Golem [The Golem], something that captured Lila’s attention immediately. She stood entranced in front of the screen, forgetting momentarily to pay attention to those around her.

“Interesting movie,” a man’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

She swung around nearly braining the guy with her handbag.

A thin, dark haired man in his late 50s stood slightly behind her. At her startled reaction he held up his hands in a gesture to indicate that he meant no harm.

“Yes, it is,” she replied cautiously.

“I find the golem to be a physical representation of the creative process. We create something without knowing how it will change once it is released to the world.” The dark haired man smiled grimly. “Unfortunately this can have,” he paused, “unintended consequences.”

Lila smiled. “That matches perfectly with my motto: expect the unexpected.”

Mitchell inclined his head, acknowledging her riposte.

He held out his hand. “Mitchell Harvard.”

Lila decided to play along to see where this was going. “Lila.”

Ian wended his way over to where they were standing. “I haven’t had the pleasure,” he said pleasantly.

“Mitchell,” the man held out his hand to Ian, who shook it briefly.

“I take it you’re also an admirer of silent film?” Ian queried.

“I find the subject matter particularly intriguing.” Mitchell’s gesture encompassed both Ian and Lila. “Are you early film aficionados?”

Lila laughed. “I’ve attended a couple of UCLA sponsored silent film showings, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.”

“I guess you could say we’re here to learn more about it,” Ian said carefully.

“Certainly this is a fine example of German Expressionism. Also, I think the message that one’s creation often outgrows one’s ability to control it is particularly poignant.”

Ian quirked his eyebrow at Mitchell, “And yet it can be combated by a single person, as in the film. Was the golem evil or merely misunderstood?”

“Can’t it be both?” Mitchell posed the question.

Lila mused, “First the golem saves many people, but later kills someone. Does the second action negate the first?”

Mitchell smiled politely. “Perhaps we come at this from different perspectives. I find that evil may often hide behind the face of good.” He looked around the room, noting that they were currently the only ones at the exhibit.

Lila pressed him. “Do you have a specific instance in mind?”

“Suppose a group knows that someone has created a weapon with the intent to use it for an evil purpose. The group members decide that they are willing to do anything to stop that plan. What is your responsibility if you find out about this situation?” Mitchell asked tensely.

The lights went out in the room and Mitchell pulled Ian and Lila closer to him. “Mohave Desert. The three towers. 3 p.m. tomorrow. If you are the sort who would indeed do something.”

The lights came back on suddenly, and Ian and Lila blinked to clear their vision. Mitchell had disappeared.

12 Days (pt. 7/12)

peace
“On their way…”

Stopping off at their place first, Lila determined to do some research before they left.

“It looks like LACMA is running an exhibit on the Golem legend.” Lila paused. “This makes me think about our trip to Krakow. I really loved those bread circles covered in poppy or sesame seeds. Mmm…” She fell silent with a blissful look on her face.

Ian waved his hand near her face. “Earth to Lila. Time for another trip to Europe.”

“Yes!” Lila’s eyes brightened. “Let’s go in July. Don’t you have some time off coming up?”

“Okay, back to the subject,” Ian said gently. “Golems. What do we know about ‘em?”

Lila turned determinedly back to the computer. “Let’s turn to our favorite source, Wikipedia.” She pulled up the site and read silently for a moment. “Okay, so it’s a lump of clay that is essentially magically made alive. A relative of the rabbi who originally made a golem way back in the 1500s said that when the rabbi saw the golem growing too huge, he ended up getting injured while trying to put the kibosh on it. Sounds like at first the golem was pretty useful, but after awhile it got out of control.”

“What does a golem have to do with a drone?” Ian asked quizzically

“Maybe,” Lila said slowly, “it has something to do with this larger legend about Rabbi Loew making a golem to protect the Jewish community in Prague during the late 1500s. There’s even a World War II era legend about a Nazi going up to the attic where this original golem is supposedly stored to try to stick a knife in it, but then the Nazi operative mysteriously ends up dead.”

Lila took a breath. “Wasn’t the company that produced the drone called Magen?” She quickly typed in the word and searched. “That means protector in Hebrew. The company has an office here in Los Angeles that we should probably visit.” She tapped her fingers on the table, thinking. “Todd Regelmeister, the defense guy who was killed, he could have been a threat to someone. We need to find out more about him.”

12 Days (pt. 6/12)

Ian and Lila parked in front of their place and made their way to the front door.

“Pearson is going to be thrilled to see us,” Lila pointed out.

“I’m sure,” Ian replied dryly, carefully opening the front door to block any attempt by the cat to escape. As expected, Pearson greeted them meowing vociferously, and demanding an explanation for their absence.

Walking in, instead of almost tripping over Pearson as she usually did, Lila managed to skid across the bamboo floor on an envelope pushed under their door by someone. After catching her balance, she reached down and picked up the envelope.

Pearson nearly crawled up her pant leg in his excitement at their return, so she stumbled over to the kitchen table and took a seat. He promptly climbed into her lap, kneading it, before settling in with a loud purr. Ian sat beside her at the table.

Lila thoroughly examined the unmarked envelope before slitting it open with her fingernail. Pulling out a single sheet of heavy cream-colored paper, she placed it on the table where they could both see.

GOLEMS. 2ND FLOOR AHMANSON BLDG. 15:00.

Lila looked quickly at her watch.

tacos
“Can you guess which meal is Ian’s?”

“We only have a couple of hours. Let’s grab some tacos and head over.”

“Sounds good,” Ian agreed.

They walked up the street to their favorite taco place where they got their usual orders of fish and shrimp tacos with drinks.

Appetites satiated, they prepared to drive over to LACMA.

12 Days (pt. 5/12)

day_4

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.

TJs1Ian 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)

street_ViewLila 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.

day_5

“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.

statue2They 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.

12 Days (pt. 3/12)

day_3
Cooking in the 1960s @ Computer History Museum

 

Ian and Lila entered the Computer History Museum cautiously and watched their reflections on the glass surfaces to see if anyone followed them into the building. From what they could see, they were alone.

After paying the admission fees, Lila and Ian meandered their way over to a series of laptops set up in the entrance hall leading to the main exhibit. Volunteers wearing nametags sat beside the computers, available to assist visitors with the Hour of Code event taking place that day.

Lila seated herself in front of one of the computers on display and smiled broadly at the older female volunteer sitting across from her. “Great day to try coding, eh?”

The woman returned her smile. “Would you like to try one of the programs?”

Lila scanned the menu interface on the computer screen. “Maybe Python,” she replied, suggesting one of the many programming languages.

“By the way,” Lila mentioned offhandedly while navigating the program’s software, “a friend of mine was supposed to leave a note for me. Did anyone leave something for Lila?”

The woman’s face wrinkled up and she turned to the elderly man sitting next to her. “Do you have a note for the young lady? Lila, right?” she confirmed, asking Lila once more.

The man looked thoughtful. “I believe so.” Creakily he stood and walked to a small round table that stood apart from the others. Picking up a manila envelope, he walked slowly back to Lila and held out the envelope to her.

Lila smiled her thanks and quickly finished the short programming assignment on the computer. Ian rose from his seat beside her and together they walked toward the first exhibits. As soon as they descended a set of stairs that placed them out of view of the hall tables, Lila tore into the envelope. On it was written:

GO TO THE KITCHEN COMPUTER

Lila looked puzzled. “Kitchen computers?” She turned in a slow circle and seeing nothing that fit that description, tugged on Ian’s hand and pulled him along with her through the exhibit, following the direction of the arrows painted on the floor.

They finally reached a section representing computer inventions from the 1960s. Lila stopped stock still, pointing toward a picture of a woman standing next to a computer embedded into a kitchen counter. “That’s it,” she said in a hushed voice to Ian.

Feigning intense interest in the kitchen setup, Lila watched the reflections on the glass case while Ian strolled over to examine a nearby exhibit. Together they waited.

Within a few minutes Lila felt someone bump her arm as she leaned in to look at the exhibit. Quickly she looked up, however it was only in time to see the silhouette of a person vanish around the corner. She immediately turned to Ian and motioned toward the route the individual took. Ian nearly ran around the corner following the lead, but soon appeared again. He shook his head in answer to her questioning look.

12 Days (pt. 2/12)

upAbove
“Up above the world so high…”

 

Lila sat there for several minutes thinking about this new information. Pearson continued to purr and knead his claws on her leg.

“Ouch,” she exclaimed as his claws cut through the material in her pants to the skin underneath. Carefully dislodging the cat, she set him gently on the floor.

The time until Ian arrived home passed quickly. Lila settled into the couch to read a research article that she was co-writing with a friend of hers to boost their academic street cred. Hearing the door creak open, she set aside her laptop and petted Pearson, who had nestled in next to her leg.

“Hey,” Ian greeted her tiredly.

“Hey, yourself,” Lila replied. She hoisted herself up off the couch and followed him into the bedroom, where she sprawled on the bed to watch him change out of his work clothes and into his workout gear.

“So how did your day go?” Lila asked casually.

“It was okay,” Ian said dismissively. “Nothing special. How about yours? Did you get your paper proofread?”

“Not quite. Still working on it.” Plucking at the quilt cover, Lila inquired nonchalantly, “When did you see that drone demo last month? Was it the 23rd?”

“I think so,” he said sitting on the bed beside to lace up his running shoes. “Why?” He turned to look at her.

Lila announced bluntly, “Someone got murdered that day.”

That got Ian’s full attention. “What do you mean?” His eyes sharpened on her.

“The guy visiting from HQ, Todd Regelmeister. There was an explosion during the exhibition that apparently killed him.”

“It’s tragic,” Ian paused. “But that doesn’t mean it was murder.”

“I got this in the mail.” Lila passed over the paper that she had brought in with her.

Ian studied it carefully and handed it back to her. “Who do you think sent it?”

“I don’t know, but it seems to have something to do with that project you were working at the time.”

“You know I can’t talk about that,” Ian remonstrated.

She held up her hand in a stop gesture. “I know, I know. I’m just saying, maybe you can think of someone who may have wanted to stop that project or keep that company from moving forward with its design.”

“There are lots of people who would fit that bill,” Ian said looking pensive. “Every competitor they had would’ve killed…” His voiced trailed off. “I see what you mean. I’ll give it some thought.”

The doorbell rang at that moment and Ian rose up to answer it. The FedEx employee handed him a standard paperboard express envelope and pushed the signature pad at Ian. Before signing his name, Ian examined the address on the envelope.

He closed the door and walked back into the bedroom where he sat beside Lila. Opening the envelope quickly, he fished out a single sheet of paper and read aloud the writing on it:

San Jose. Computer History Museum. Hour of Code.

Ian looked at his watch. “That’s tomorrow.” He quickly pulled up the details on his Smartphone. “How about a trip to San Jose this weekend?”

“Sweet.” Lila perked up. “I’ll bring my article and edit on the way.”

“Looks like we’re in for a December surprise,” Ian said, smiling slightly.

Lila leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Always an adventure.”

“Pack your bag and catch a few hours of sleep before we head out,” he suggested.

Lila reached for her mobile phone, which sat on the bedside table. “I’ll call Josie,” she said referring to the cat sitter, “ since I’m figuring we’ll be gone at least through Sunday.”

Ian took Lila’s hand in his. “How about making an early anniversary weekend of it? We can stop in Monterey on the way back.”

“Nice idea.” Lila returned his smile. “Never a dull moment with you.”

12 Days (pt. 1/12)

crow
Who talks?

 

Lila trudged her way up the stairs toward her front door where she nudged aside the usual conglomeration of fliers and other useless items thrown onto the doormat. Reaching into her large handbag, she scrabbled around finding nothing but a bunch of old wrappers, receipts and packets of instant coffee mix.

Rolling her eyes and muttering epithets under her breath, she glanced around to see if anyone was watching before reaching up to run her hand along the piping that ran next to the door and up to the roof. She pulled loose a magnetic key holder from behind it, quickly removed the key, and unlocked the door, hurriedly replacing the holder to its former position.

Sighing, she pushed open the door, and deftly sidestepped her cat Pearson, who as usual was waiting at the door to greet her. Lila dropped the mail she had tucked into her elbow onto the table and plopped down into a chair. Pearson stared fixedly at her lap, waiting patiently for her to notice. She leaned back to make a place for him, and he leaped up to walk in a circle, kneading and purring before settling onto her lap.

One of the letters on the table caught Lila’s eye. It had her name written in wide black letters in black marker, with Ian’s name scrawled underneath in blue ink. Hesitantly Lila reached for the letter, examining it carefully before ripping the flap open with the tip of her finger.

She drew out a piece of paper with a series of numbers printed on it. On the left side of the paper was the column title “Expenses,” while on the right appeared the word “Contractor.”

The figures were astounding; it was more money than she would see in her lifetime she was sure. Some of the names looked familiar to her – she had worked on projects for a couple of the organizations. As she scanned the list, she noticed a phrase written with a bold flourish at the bottom of the paper:

WHO PUSHED
THE BUTTON?

She wrinkled her forehead confusedly. What did that mean?

Pulling off the top sheet of paper, she found a printout of a news article beneath. The main gist of which was that a minor contracting firm had gone out of business due to putting all its money in a project to develop small drones for deployment in hostile environments to gain atmospherics before troops or civilian groups moved into the area.

Apparently there had been a fatal accident with one of the drones exploding directly over the seat of a senior official during a product demonstration. Lila pulled out her Smartphone and keyed in the official’s name. Immediately she pulled up a list of conspiracy theory sites from which she randomly selected an entry.

A few minutes later, Lila gazed into the distance and scribbled a name beneath the phrase:

Ian?