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.
“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.
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.”
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:
“Okay, so that’s a bad thing,” Lila said halfheartedly.
“Yes, and the worst part is that we have very little time to delay the catastrophe.” Sergey pointed to Ian and Lila. “You two are familiar with things that go bump in the night and this is definitely going to be a big bump.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Lila asked.
“We need you to go down to the research facility and spend the night there to give us a reading on the situation.”
“You want us,” Lila gestured to herself and Ian, “to spend the night at someplace that you think is the source of the next disaster of the week?”
“Exactly.”
“Sure, why not?” Lila got up from the couch and once again moved toward the door. “Can’t be worse than the place we used to live. Ghosts wandering up and down the stairs and hiding out in the attic.”
Ian nodded. “What’s the address?”
Sergey handed Lila a piece of paper on which he had written a series of numbers followed by the address of a parking garage.
“What’s this?” Lila pointed to the numbers.
“It’s the access code for the building connected to the parking garage. Take the elevator to the third floor. You’ll need to enter the first code at the elevator, and this second code at the access door to room 331. Also, you’ll need these.” Sergey produced a couple of ID badges with their names and photos.
“Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you.” Lila commented as she tucked the badges in her handbag.
“We like to be prepared. We could only hope that such dedicated professionals would be willing to take the case and run with it.”
“Well, luckily you were right.” Lila looked at Ian. “Let’s go.”
Charlie remained by the couch and Sergey walked them to the door. “Good luck to you,” he said gravely and shook each of their hands.”
Lila walked into the stairwell and shook her head. “We are so trusting.”
“Trust, but verify,” Ian stated as he dialed his supervisor. “John, we just had a conversation… Really. You’re sure?” He hung up. “Before I even had a chance to say anything, John told me to take as much time as I need to help ‘our friends.’ Very strange.”
Lila looked down at the address with surprise. “I know this place. It’s where I did a summer internship when I was in high school.”
“You were already an intern in high school?” Ian asked incredulously. “You were a go-getter.”
“I was very advanced.” Lila grinned. “It’s a small contractor who works on special projects. They’re close enough to the Air Force Base to be convenient, but far enough away for deniability.”
They made it home quickly, then took only enough time to feed Pearson and pack up some treats and hot drinks for their evening’s adventure/sleepover.
They parked at the garage and made their way to the elevator, punching in the series of numbers given to them by Sergey. The elevator opened directly into a small room with a guard sitting at a desk. “ID’s,” he said in a bored voice.
Ian and Lila both handed over their badges and the guard buzzed them through a thick metal door.
“Ladies first.” Ian waved his hand for Lila to precede him through the door.
“Gee, thanks.” Lila said dryly.
“Hey, you wanted to do this,” Ian pointed out.
Lila led the way hesitantly through the entrance and they slowly strolled down the hallway looking for room 331.
”Smile, you’re on camera.” Ian murmured so only she could hear.
“I know,” Lila smiled. “I saw the display on the guard’s desk.”
Finally reaching the door, Lila entered the code and received a red flash on the keypad. Trying the door, it refused to open. “What the…” she began to gripe.
“Try it again,” Ian encouraged her. “Breathe.”
Lila once again pushed the series of keys and this time the small keypad light flashed green and unlocked with an audible click. Lila pulled down the handle sharply and pushed open the heavy door.
“That’s what I see all those billboards for, right?” Ian pointed outside to Sunset Boulevard.
“Yes,” Lila replied. “I wanted to go last year, but you were out of the country — again.”
Ian flashed her a smile. “Occupational hazard.”
“I know, that’s why I was hoping this year,” she gestured toward the piece of paper, “we would be able to go together.”
“We still don’t know who sent this note, or what they really want.” Ian’s voice trailed off as he took a closer look at one of the photos. “I know this guy.” He pointed to the photo of a red haired man with a big grin. “I’m not sure where, but…” Ian paused. “Wait.”
He stood up and walked over to a box in the corner and began rifling through a bunch of papers. Picking up a dented Altoids box and flipping it open, Ian pulled out a stack of business cards. “I knew it!” he said triumphantly. He showed Lila a card with the man’s photo and company name on it. “We met last year at a disarmament meeting.” Ian looked puzzled. “So what does he want with a hayride?”
“A hayride?” Lila ventured to guess sarcastically.
“Hardey-har.” Ian joked. ”I mean besides that.”
“A visit to purgatory obviously. Here, check out this website.” Lila pulled up the Haunted Hayride website and showed it to Ian.
“Wow, ‘one of the most paranormally active sites in all of California,’” Ian recited from the website. “Sounds like our kind of place.” He gave a quick grin.
“I’ve been wanting to go for ages, but just under different circumstances.” Lila’s mouth twisted.
Pearson jumped onto her lap and settled in for a nap as Lila began sorting the photos and info pages into piles. “Did you see this one?” She showed Ian a picture of blond girl who looked to be about twelve. “Why would they — whoever they are — have photos of kids?”
Ian’s eyebrows rose. “I don’t know, but maybe,” he paused to rearrange the photos, “these go in families.” He nodded. “Yep, check it out. One set of parents per two to three kids.” He looked over at Lila’s laptop and nudged her shoulder. “Let me take a look.”
She picked up Pearson and moved to the chair beside him so she could watch the screen after he seated himself and began typing. “Russian families spying?” Lila read aloud his search query. She looked puzzled and then her face cleared. “Like in that Magnum episode when he meets up with the woman who was a plant. Her family had been stationed undercover in the U.S.”
Ian pointed to the screen. “Or a few years ago, those ten spies that got sent back to Russia. Eight of them had kids. What better cover than being a nice family?” Ian sat back in his chair. “When I saw this guy,” Ian touched the red haired man’s photo, “he looked much older than in this photo.” He turned to Lila. “What’s his name?”
“Sergey Ivanov.” Lila read, and then quickly began sorting the photos by name. “Good idea,” she muttered, “each of these is tied together by last name.” After she finished, they had four families and one individual.
“I’m hungry,” she announced, “and I think better with food.”
“Tacos?” Ian inquired.
“I’ll get ready.” Lila pushed back her chair, set down Pearson, and went to change out of her work clothes into something more casual.
As they left the building and walked up the street toward their favorite taco place, Ian had the feeling that someone was watching him. He took a casual look around as they were crossing the street, and murmured to Lila, “Don’t look now, but we’ve made some new friends.”
Lila’s eyes widened subtly and her breathing sped up. She pulled Ian to a stop in front of several shop windows, using the reflections to spot whoever might be following them. She took a quick breath as she saw a dark haired man who appeared to be studying an apartment building across from them.
Lila was digging in her embroidered handbag for her keys, when she looked up to see a cardboard box leaning against her front door. Shaking her head, she walked toward it. “More eBay stuff,” she grumbled. Lately Ian had been on a buying spree in a quest for the perfect Halloween outfits for them.
She reached down to pick up the box, and nearly fell over as the weight from her backpack sliding off the one shoulder almost pulled her off balance. Reaching to the ground to steady herself, her hand encountered what felt to be a flat package. She grabbed it and heaved her way up, finally using her keys to unlock the door and stumble inside.
“Oof.” She nearly face planted on the floor as she tried to avoid tripping over their cat Pearson, who sat squarely in the middle of the doorway looking peeved about having been home alone all day. Lila finally came to a halt and managed to close the door without stepping directly on Pearson before throwing herself down in a chair and putting down the assorted packages, purse, and backpack with a series of heavy thuds.
“Sorry, buddy. Got caught at work.” She addressed the cat, who decided that she had gotten the message and came over to jump in her lap and demand the attention that was his rightful due. Lila petted him absentmindedly while turning over the envelope that she’d picked up right before entering. Written in Cyrillic were a couple of words that made her blood run cold:
