The car ahead pulled away with a screech of tires. The cabby edged forward. The man in gray scowled down at him, then bent over and snapped off the radio. ''I've been wanting to do that for half an hour.''
''Hey, boss. Why you do dat? Dat fine music. Relax my nerves,'' the cabby said, still pounding his palms on the wheel to the now-silenced beat.
''Where you going?''
''Dentist downtown. Old fart in back, bad tooth. Hurting bad. Said he'd pay me double if I went fast. Dat before you guys made me park. You cost me, boss.''
''It's gonna cost worst if we don't find who we're looking for. Let me see your license.'' The cabby grabbed for his papers but fumbled getting the license out of the protective plastic envelope that kept it displayed for passengers. As he muddled on, there were shouts between the two security cars and the black-and-white parked beside the roadblock.
NELLY?
THEY HAVE INTERCEPTED ONE OF THE MESSAGES.
INTERCEPTED OR JUST COPIED?
I CANNOT TELL. BUT THEY KNOW THAT A MESSAGE IS OUT THAT THEY DO NOT WANT OUT… AND THEY KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM.
The cabby finally fished out the license, but the guard only glanced at it, dividing his attention between it and someone shouting at him from one of the cars. ''What's your name?'' he said, handing back the paper and directing the question at Kris. The black-and-white took off south.
''Old fart don't speak the English good like me,'' the cabby said and fired a stream of Arabic at Kris. She groaned, held her hand to her swollen mouth, and mumbled. Her words were lost as the first car full of SureFire Security gunned by, following the black-and-white.
''Saeed ab Towaan,'' the cabby said.
''Move along,'' the man in gray said as he turned and ran to the last car left, hurried along by shouts from a Corporal.
''Wait for them to go,'' Kris whispered.
''I was planning on that,'' the driver answered, his English suddenly as good as Kris's. He waited until there was no cross traffic, then accelerated away smoothly… and punched the radio for a different station, one that Kris actually liked, once he dialed down the volume.
Several cars whizzed by them, trying to make up time for the traffic stop. The cabby settled into traffic, then glanced back at Kris. ''So, where do you want to go?''
''The elevator,'' she said, spitting out the wad of yarn.
''One quick trip to the beanstalk coming up,'' he said, signaling to change lanes. ''I assume you know what that was all about.''
''I probably do,'' Kris said.
''But Uncle Abu said you probably wouldn't tell me anything.''
''If I were you, I'd listen to your uncle,'' Kris said, fidgeting out of her vest and pulling her arms out of the gown's so she could untie the raincoat and maid uniform.
''Yeah, but old farts are always scared. When you're young, you got to live a little.'' He was smiling as he said that.
''Take some advice from a young fart. Pay attention to the old farts, and you may get to live a little,'' Kris said as she lay out her brown uniform and began wiggling out of the gown.
''So it is that bad,'' the fellow said, but his seriousness didn't stay long. ''Hey, you're the first gal to strip in my cab. Abu told me it had happened to him, but I thought he was just spinning a tale. Hold it, you're ruining the view,'' he said as Kris slipped off the seat, hiding in the foot well.
''Sorry about that,'' she said as she pulled the dress over her head.
''Oh boss, this just isn't fair. I risk my handsome young neck to help this pretty infidel gal, and I don't even get to sneak a peek.''
Kris settled the dress around her and began buttoning it up. ''Who told you life was fair?''
He eyed her in the rearview. ''At least you got good boobs.'' Kris failed to stifle a laugh. But then, if most of the women around him had been in those baggies, hers probably were the best he'd gotten a glance at. She finished buttoning up her uniform.
''That's kind of wrinkled,'' the driver said. A glance down, and Kris had to agree. If she ditched her raincoat on her way in the back, her slovenly uniform might very well get nabbed by the hotel's equivalent of a Top Kick and ordered back home. Problem was, she'd never convince the shrew that her home was the Presidential Suite.
Time to rethink matters.
Their arrival at the elevator station postponed that. Kris found herself looking at a three-digit cab bill and only a few coins in her pocket. The kid laughed as he pushed away her offered credit chit. ''Uncle Abu warned me you probably wouldn't have money for the cab. It's on him,'' he said pulling cash from his pocket. ''Here's your beanstalk fare.''
''I can't take that,'' Kris stammered.
''And I'm not running that card through my cab. Neither one of us needs the notice, and you need to get back up in the sky. We're Arab, Princess, not stupid. But you're making me wonder about your people.''
''We're not stupid,'' Kris said, taking the money. ''We're just proud and stubborn.''
''And maybe not used to living on our streets,'' the cabby said with a seriousness that belied his youth. ''I'll tell Uncle I got you to the beanstalk safe and sound. You figure you can handle it from here?''
Kris glanced up at the towering elevator. ''I've gone up enough of these. I should be able to take care of myself.''
Chapter 17
With a laugh, the kid vanished into traffic.
Kris threw the shawl around her head and half covered her face. She lowered her head like anyone going to a job she hated and waited patiently in line to feed cash into the turnstiles before merging into the herd heading up. Four o'clock was close enough to a shift change to give her plenty of company. For the half-hour ride, she kept moving, made three trips through the coffee shop, and didn't spot anything like a tail. She did ID a transit cop busy helping a plumber work a stopped drain in the ladies' room.
She also came up with a plan that just might get her back to her suite.
Following the herd off the ferry, Kris took an elevator out to Circle One, the huge promenade that was the station's largest deck. A slide car took her from Stop One up to Stop Twenty-two, a three-minute walk from the Hilton. Kris had Nelly order Jack to meet her in the lobby, Number 3 door.
JUST PASS THE MESSAGE TO HIM. NO TALK. NO REPLY.
DONE.
ANY EXTRA ACTIVITY ON THE POLICE NET?
NO. CORRECTION, YES. IT IS GETTING MORE ACTIVE ALL SCRAMBLED. GIVE ME TEN MINUTES, AND I CAN READ IT.
I'D NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THREE MINUTES, OR IT'S HISTORY. DON'T WORRY, JUST LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S A LOT OF POLICE ACTIVITY CLOSE TO US.
Kris kept her head down and her pace even as she walked by the first door into the Hilton. It was clear. But the long, lonely walk across the lobby to the elevators offered too many chances to notice her and intercept. Kris kept walking.
Three out-of-breath security guards in gray were just coming to a stop at the main entrance to the lobby as Kris walked past. By the time they started looking around, all she presented was her back.
The third entrance's wide arch led directly to the elevators. Two SureFire Security types were getting themselves comfortable in the doorway when Jack, Klaggath, and three of Kris's security types burst past them. Kris took a sharp right into their ranks. Jack and the agents did a rapid about-face and surrounded Kris in a comfortable box. They charged back through the grays so fast the guards hardly had time to get their mouths open before Kris was past them. Kris spat out the cheek expanders and stuffed them, along with her scarf, in the pocket of her brown raincoat as Jack took it off her and Klaggath wrapped her in a royal blue one with a large diamond crown pendant on the right lapel.
She was almost to the elevator before running footsteps came up behind her, and a harsh whisper said, ''We need to talk to that maid.''
Kris whirled; Jack and Klaggath turned to stand between her and the grays. Another agent summoned an elevator. ''What maid?'' she demanded in her mother's most irritated voice.