Nick almost didn’t recognize Gina when he saw her at the Langham that afternoon. He’d visited his drinking buddy at his security office and returned the lighter, but the man’s schedule prevented him from offering a guided tour; however, Nick was assured that he was welcome to enjoy the museum on his own.
He retraced his steps down the narrow corridor from the office and again found himself in the main entry lobby. The museum was indeed laid out as Gina had explained, with four main exhibit rooms opening off the lobby. For no specific reason he headed first for the room titled New World Neighbors. Walking among the maps and dioramas of early colonial settlements, Nick managed to set aside the purpose of his visit and admire the displays in front of him.
However, as he entered the room titled Growing Technologies for a Growing Country, Nick’s mind was once again on the business at hand, as he surreptitiously took note of cameras and museum personnel.
“Can I help you find a particular exhibit?” a voice asked.
“No, thanks, I—” He stopped mid-sentence as he realized it was Gina who had asked the question, and was now grinning at him. “What are you doing?” he demanded in a low voice.
“I’m working.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think I even want to know. You look like... like...”
“I hope I look like I work here,” Gina replied. “More or less.”
And she did—more or less. Like the official museum volunteers, Gina was dressed in black pants, white blouse, and red vest. Her ‘hair,’ which in this case was a blond wig, was pulled back into a tidy ponytail.
She continued, “My vest isn’t quite right, but it was the best I could do on short notice; I should be able to rectify it tomorrow, though.”
“Tomorrow? You’re going to come back here again tomorrow?”
“Well, of course,” Gina said matter-of-factly. “How can I be seen and recognized as a regular volunteer if I don’t come to work every day?”
Nick gaped at her. He heard her words but they didn’t seem to make sense. Usually, Gina—in fact, anyone with her particular skill—was all about blending in. Being able to go unnoticed was her stock in trade; her livelihood, and indeed, her survival, depended on her not being seen, much less recognized.
And here she was, apparently bound and determined to be both seen and recognized.
He took a deep breath to steady his rising pulse and said in a low voice, “Sounds to me like you’re working on a plan. A plan, I might add, that we have not discussed. Don’t you think that would be a good idea—to discuss it, so we can both be on the same page?”
Nick’s employees knew enough to scatter and cringe at that particular tone of voice, but Gina was a different matter.
She simply shrugged. “Yeah, sure, we can discuss it. How about tomorrow? I don’t work at the theatre until four, so I can come by beforehand. Make it around noon, though, so I can come here for a while in the morning.” For the first time she seemed to notice the thunder in his look. “Hey, don’t worry; I’m not really doing anything here, just laying a little bit of groundwork. I’m not actually planning to take the thing, if that’s what you’re thinking. And if we don’t end up using my plan, there’s no harm done. Just chill.”
Chill, she said. Chill? It came back to Nick now why he’d once vowed not to work with Gina again. Not only did she take reckless chances, but, if those chances didn’t work out, he didn’t want to be responsible should something happen to her. Here she was, pretending to be an official docent of a museum—the museum which was the target of their latest job. What was she thinking?
