Andrews?"
"You can start by calling me Dan. Mister makes it sound like I'm even older than I feel, some days."
She laughed, and said "Okay, Dan. Agent Gallery told me you were pretty relaxed about all this, I should have listened to him. What's up?"
"We'll be wanting some breakfast this morning before we head in to the office. I was thinking the caf here in the hotel would be good, unless you think it's too small, or too crowded."
"No, sir, it'll be just fine. The morning rush is over, and it's pretty empty now."
"Great. We'll be heading down in, oh, twenty minutes, thirty at the outside."
"That'll be fine, sir. We'll be ready. Thanks."
"No problem."
With that, I hung up the phone, and decided that the girls wouldn't mind sharing the bathroom with me while I shaved. After retrieving my vest and pistol from Lucy's room, I went into the bathroom to shave and brush. Since the girls were in the shower, giggling, I doubt they even noticed I was there.
After I'd dressed, I stuck my head in the bathroom to see Robyn and Sandra toweling each other off, with a little groping tossed in. I let them know that we'd be having breakfast in the hotel caf in about fifteen minutes; both protested it wasn't enough time, then made a face at me when I answered "Fine. Go hungry, then!" – knowing full well that neither would pass up food after all the activity of last night.
Back in Lucy's room, I found her putting the finishing touches on her makeup. I told her where and when we'd be having breakfast, she smiled and said that was fine, with her – it gave her time for another cup of coffee. I smiled back, and poured each of us a cup as I told her about watching Sandra and Robyn heading for the bathroom, and how I'd found them after making arrangements for breakfast. She laughed when I told her about telling them to be ready, or go hungry – she knew better than I did that neither of them would willingly skip a meal. How they ate so much, and still stayed so slender, was a mystery to both of us.
Lucy and I were just finishing our coffee when the youngsters swarmed into the room. At my suggestion, all three had selected comfortable blouses and pants; even covered up that way, they were all a treat to see.
By then, enough time had passed that I knew it was okay to head off to get something to eat – Robyn and Sandra weren't the only ones feeling hungry that morning. They waited patiently as I opened the door a bit and checked the hallway before opening it all the way. We made our way to the elevator, and stopped only once on the way down to pick up an older gentleman. At the main floor, I spotted a couple of FBI agents, and the troop of us made our way to the caf. I let Lucy and the girls find us a booth while I waited near the door for Agent Jones to let me know which one she was. I wasn't disappointed when a few seconds later, an apparent businesswoman got up to walk toward me. At 5'6" and maybe 120 pounds, dark red hair and nicely curved, I doubted anyone would take her for a gun-toting FBI agent.
She looked every bit the attractive business exec – other than the all-but-issue purse she was toting that held her pistol in a convenient inside pocket. I saw several guys watching her, but she didn't seem to notice them, for some reason.
When she got close, I stuck my hand out, and said "Good morning, Agent Jones."
She looked surprised, but took my hand and shook it before asking "How did you know it was me?"
"Educated guess. I figured the only one of your crew to approach me would be the agent in charge. You sure didn't sound like a guy on the phone, and that purse is all but a giveaway that you're carrying. Too bad that none of the fashion houses make purses that are designed for carrying a weapon."
She grinned at me wryly and said "Believe me, Dan, I wish they would, and am afraid they will – it would be nice to have some more choices, but I'm afraid I'd spend too much of my salary on them if they did!"
Both of us laughed at that before she told me "Agent Gallery said you were good; I'll have to apologize for doubting him about that, too."
She followed that a moment later by saying "Dan, I'm sorry to ask, but Clara was very clear about it: are you wearing your vest?"
I grinned at her, and said – in my best little-boy tone – "YES, mother!" – and getting a grin in return before I told her "I'm also carrying my little purchase from last night."
She smiled at me, and said "Good. My people have already heard how you did, and seen the results. They're impressed, and they don't impress easy. Hell,*I'M* impressed – I only wished I could shoot that good. We're going to have to get you out on our combat range some day – I'll bet you could give our course record a pretty good run."
I thanked her, and then it was down to business as I told her "As Agent Gallery requested, Lucy and the girls will be staying at the office while I'm out. Lucy knows why, and I'll be telling the girls over breakfast. You can see I managed to convince them to dress for the occasion. If there's anything else I need to tell them, this would be a good time to let me know."
"No, that's it. I'm sure our office people will appreciate them being dressed appropriately. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yeah, there is. Last night, I was told that Mike could smooth out the trigger on this thing for me – it's feeling a little gritty. If he can, I'd like to clean the action on it a bit, too – it's a little mushy when it trips. He might like a little warning before I get there, I'm thinking."
She nodded, and said, "I'm sure he would. I'll make sure he gets a heads up. Anything else?"
"Nope. After breakfast, we'll be heading straight for your office."
"That's fine, thank you. My people are ready to leave whenever you are."
I nodded, and thanked her as I headed for where Lucy and the girls were waiting for me. I looked over the menu, and quickly made my choice; when the waitress arrived a bit later with coffee, all of us were ready to order.
As we were waiting for our meals to arrive, we chatted about a number of things before I managed to ease the conversation toward the FBI.
As I'd hoped, Robyn and Sandra were anxious to know what we'd be doing there. Lucy and I shared a look before I started telling them about what the day held for us all – that I'd be going with the FBI to TechoDynamics office while they and Lucy stayed with the FBI. I went on to explain that the FBI liked the idea of all of them staying together while I was out, then brought up the idea that there might be something for them to do there. They perked up at that idea, and I suggested that maybe the people at the office could even show them some of the stuff that FBI agents learned. They seemed to think that was a*great* idea, and actually started to look forward to spending some part of the day at the FBI offices.
Lucy leaned over to give me a hug and kiss, whispering "You are *such* a devious turd. If you'd told them that they WILL do that stuff, they'd have fussed; but when you hinted that it might not happen, well, you had them cold." before kissing me again.
About then, the waitress showed up with our order, and Lucy and I listened as the girls wondered about the different things they might be able to do that day.
When we'd finished our meal, the waitress was prompt to clear away our dishes, then return a few moments later with our check – I got to it before Lucy did – and coffee refills for Lucy and me. When we'd finished our coffee, I left the money for the meal with the ticket on the table, and nodded to Agent Jones, who stood up and led the way out of the caf. Out in the lobby, I saw a number of people not paying the slightest attention to us as we headed for Lucy's car. I saw a car leave the parking lot ahead of us, and another behind us after we'd pulled into traffic. Both kept direct visual contact on us, despite the vagaries of city traffic, even though they were careful to change position so as to try and stay inconspicuous.