Part 5 of the Hotel Heist

    It's not perfect, but this is what I have.  Let me know if there's something you don't really like, it's definitely open to change.  

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            The man was middle aged and dressed in a simple, fitted suit.  He gazed around at them with confident yet gentle eyes.  Nobody knew what to say, and nobody knew what to do.  Monica looked up cautiously from the floor.  As she adjusted her position, she brushed up against Nichole’s leg.  The sudden touch of her friend snapped Nichole back into focus.  She lifted her gun and pointed it at the man’s head.  Following her lead, the rest of them all pointed their weapons at him as well. 

                Instead of looking unnerved, the man simply smiled.  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” 

                “And why is that?” Nichole shot back, “give us one good reason.  Right now, you’re in the way of our escape.”

                “Well, first of all, I know exactly what went happened in room 312.  I’ve been watching you ever since you first stepped over the threshold of my hotel.”  The elevator hummed quietly as it climbed. 

                Jennifer made a small sound of recognition, “you…you’re the doorman.  You were standing by the door of the hotel when we walked in.”  All the rest of the girls looked at her in surprise.  Monica frowned a bit, trying to recall the appearance of the doorman they had passed on their way in.  He was certainly the right height and build, but there was no way to know for sure.    

                The man inclined his head slightly.  “You caught me Jennifer.  You have quite the eye for detail.”  Jennifer flinched at the use of her name, and glared at the man.  “You shouldn’t be so surprised.  I said I’ve been keeping an eye on you all day.  You do remember introducing yourselves to each other, don’t you?” 

                All the girls looked at each other quickly before turning back to him.  Anna stepped forward and asked rather forcefully, “If you know our names, don’t you think it fair that we know yours?”

                Natalie took this moment to chime in, “and where exactly are you taking us?” 

                The man held up his hand, stopping their questions.  “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, and some things you don’t.  But first, I’d appreciate it if you took your weapons out of my face.”  Reluctantly, they all lowered their assorted guns and knives.  Just then, the elevator dinged and shuddered to a stop.  “Ah, here we are,” the man smiled again, suddenly very chipper.                 

                The doors opened to reveal a huge, beautiful room.  Dark tiles covered the whole floor, and a sweeping view of the city could be seen out the tinted windows that dominated all four walls.  Tasteful yet eclectic pieces of furniture were scattered about the room.  A huge flat screen TV commanded the attention of one whole corner of the room.  The red, plush couches that surrounded it looked extremely attractive to the exhausted girls. 

                With energetic steps, the man strode into the room, turned on his heel and opened his arms to gesture at the room around him.  “Welcome to the headquarters of my pet project.”  He grinned, “You may call me Mr. Lindsey.”  The girls began filtering into the room, gazing around in astonishment at the splendor. 

                “You should consider yourselves lucky,” Mr. Lindsey continued, “No other people have ever been allowed in this room before.” His voice suddenly grew darker, “You’re also among the only people who have seen my real face.”  The openness of his face closed off and he exuded an air of terrifying anger and regret.  The tension in the room was nearly too much for the drained group of girls, and they began shifting uncomfortably, waiting for Mr. Lindsey to reach his point. 

                “So,” he continued lightening up a bit, “I have need of your services.  You work for me now.” 

                “I work for nobody,” Jennifer spat out, and Nichole nodded emphatically in agreement. 

                Mr. Lindsey looked as though he expected such a reaction.  “You don’t really have much of a choice.  It’s either take my offer, or be arrested.  It’s up to you.” 

                “You sound awfully secure in your convictions.  What exactly makes you think we’ll do what you want?” Natalie inquired. 

                “Ah yes, a good question.  You see, at this very moment, police are making their way to your apartment, Natalie.  They’ve been looking for the three of you for quite some time.”  He nodded at Jennifer, Natalie, and Laura.  Natalie looked as though she was about to faint.  “Especially you younger two…something about a connection with a gang shooting and five dead men?”  He raised his eyebrow slightly as Laura squeaked in fear. 

                Finally, Natalie was able to choke out a sentence, “but…how did they find me?  There’s no way that they could trace any of our actions back to my apartment…” 

                Mr. Lindsey looked at her steadily.  “I believe it has something to do with a tipoff from a certain Bloomsburg Security employee.”  At this, Laura’s legs gave out and she dropped into the nearest chair.  She put her head in her hands and started shaking.  Natalie’s eyes glazed over as she realized how big of an enemy she had made out of her former employer.  Now they were using Laura’s own brother’s skills against them.  “Yes…you three have quite the collection of dangerous enemies.  A sociopathic killer, a murderous gang hungry for revenge, and an extremely powerful businessman with nearly unlimited resources at his disposal.”    

                Laura whimpered slightly and Jennifer sighed.  Natalie cleared her throat and asked quietly, “so they have all of my stuff?  All of my equipment?  My computers…” 

                “No.”  At this answer, Natalie looked up.  Mr. Lindsey answered her confused look, “I had all of your belongings removed from your apartment and delivered here.”  He nodded at Jennifer, “all of your things are here too, as well as Laura’s.” 

                As the three girls tried to absorb all the information they had just been given, Mr. Lindsey turned to Nichole, Monica, and Anna.  “Now you three…”

                Before he could continue, Monica spoke up, “perhaps before you enter the next phase of your tirade you should consider letting us patch up our injured.”  She motioned to the pool of blood around Jennifer’s leg and the streams that stained Anna’s shirt.

                Mr. Lindsey seemed slightly taken aback, but conceded that Monica had a wise point.  He went to a cupboard and pulled out a large first aid kit.  He tossed it to Monica, and she immediately began tending to Jennifer’s leg.  Laura stood up and went to wash her bloody hands at a sink in the room’s kitchen area.   

                After they all finished cleaning up and settled down, Mr. Lindsey continued where he left off.  “So yes, you three.  I have noticed that none of you really have homes to return to.  Nichole, you sold your parent’s property and have been traveling around for years.  You seem to have no desire to settle down, but you can’t live out of hotels and motels forever.”  Nichole glared at him, but didn’t dare contradict what he said.  She knew it was true.  “And Monica,” Monica looked up, slightly unnerved by being the center of attention, “You don’t want to return to your parent’s house.  If you do, you will have to return to a life of social events and fancy clothes.  A life I know you want to avoid at all costs.”  Monica frowned slightly, and looked down at her hands, lost in thought.  “And last of all, Anna.”  Anna raised her head proudly, guessing what was coming, “You cannot return home.  Even if you wanted to, they would not take you back.  You have shamed your family and now they want nothing to do with you.”  Anna showed no outward sign that his words had affected her, but in reality, the words hit her in her most vulnerable spot. 

                “And so you all can see,” Mr. Lindsey concluded, “You need me.  I have a place for you all.  A place to call home and a place that is completely hidden.  All I need in return is the knowledge that you will help me with a couple jobs here and there.  That’s all I ask.”  As the girls looked around at each other, weighting their options, Mr. Lindsey added one more comment:

                “Of course, you could all always just choose jail.”