Revolution (43 page)

    “You mean the Underworld?” Nicole asked.

    “What’s the Underworld?” Peter asked.

    “That’s the term people in New Washington use for the command bunker under the city. I’ve heard it’s like a city under a city. I wouldn’t mind checking it out myself,” Brenton said.

    “But like I said before, I don’t see how we’re going to get clearance to go down there,” Rayne said. “I hear only military personnel and top government officials are allowed.”

    Nicole smiled at him as if she had a lascivious secret.

    “What are you grinning at?” he asked.

    “I know something you don’t know,” Nicole said, smiling mischievously.

    “Now you have me intrigued. What are you talking about?” Rayne asked, sitting down next to Brenton on the bed.

    Peter only had time to put on his pants, so he was still bare-chested. He put his arm around her shoulders. She responded by putting her soft hand on his lower back.

    “I have a secret, but you’re going to have to torture me to get it,” she said, giggling.

    “Oh, you mean, like this?” Peter said, tickling her rib cage.

    He moved up her body, tickling under her arms until she was laughing uncontrollably. Nicole’s laughter was contagious and Peter started laughing as well. She screamed with delight like a six-year old. Rayne let up on his assault.

    “Are you going to tell me now?” he asked.

    “All right! All right! You got me! How did you know I was so ticklish?” she said between bursts of laughter.

    “Oh, I don’t know. Call it an educated guess.”

    “I can get us into the Underworld,” Nicole said, becoming serious.

    “You’re kidding me.” Peter said.

    If she’s telling the truth, I can’t believe my luck. No one could be this lucky in one day.

    “I know the Security Director for the Underworld, Tom Burke.” Brenton said. “He was the former Security Director for my company, Cryotech International. He left a few years back when the government offered him a better deal. I’ll give him a call and he’ll get us some passes.”

    “You can really do that?” Rayne asked, astonished.

    “Absolutely. We’re still friends. He’s a good guy. He’ll hook us up.”

   
This is too much to believe. She can “hook us up” with passes to the most secure place in the world? It doesn’t seem possible.

    “I’ll give him a call right now,” Nicole said, getting up with the sheet wrapped around her body.

    Walking over to the phone on the night table, she dialed some numbers.

    “Can I speak to Tom Burke please? It’s Nicole Brenton.”

    A pause.

    “Yeah, sure.”

    Another pause.

    “Hello, Tom? Hi, it’s Nicole. What have you been up to? Yeah, me too. Listen, I have a rather unusual request.”

    Another longer pause.

    “Okay, here it is. A close friend of mine and I would like to check out the Underworld. I was wondering if you could give us a quick tour?”

     A pause.

    “His name? Malcom Getty. He’s the son of the billionaire industrialist, Connor Getty. You’ve heard of him?”

    A long pause. 

    “Oh, no. We don’t need to go into any of the classified areas or anything. We just want to check out the general setup,”

    A short pause.

    “You can? That’s great. When do we want to go?” She turned toward Rayne and raised her eyebrows.

    “You want to know when?” Peter asked.

    “Yeah, when do you want to go?” Nicole asked, impatiently.

    “How about tonight?”

    “Can we do it tonight?” Nicole asked. “We can? Eight o’clock? Where should we meet you?”

    A pause.

    “We’re staying in the Frump Tower,”

    Another pause.

    “Okay, great, we’ll meet you in the lobby at eight o’clock. Thanks a lot, Tom. I really owe you one. Just let me know if you ever need a favor.”

    A longer pause and a small laugh from Nicole.

    “Okay, Tom. I appreciate it. I’ll see you then.” She hung up the phone and smiled at Peter. “It’s all set up. Eight o’clock tonight.”

    Rayne glanced over at the clock on the night table.

   
It’s 7:15 now. That means less than an hour from now I could be inside the nation’s most secure facility. Campion would never believe it.

    “Malcom, you look dazed. Are you all right?”

    “Sure, I’m just excited. I’ve always wanted to see the Underworld.”

    “You know, it might not be as exciting as you think.”

    “I doubt that. “ Rayne said, suppressing a grin.

    “All right, I’m going to take a shower,” Nicole said, taking long, confident strides toward the bedroom door. At the last moment, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You can go after me.” She peeled the thin sheet off her body and dropped it to the carpet.

    Despite his intimate knowledge of her, Rayne couldn’t help checking her out again. Nicole saw his eyes widen involuntarily and she laughed as she left the room. At that moment, Peter thought he understood the Greeks’ obsession with Helen.

   
It all makes sense. I can see why men would want to do anything for her. This guy, Tom, probably thinks he’ll get a chance to seduce her if he helps her out. What normal man could resist her?

    Rayne didn’t bother putting on the rest of his clothes because he anticipated taking a shower when Brenton was finished. He didn’t have long to wait. He thought she must have been excited for their upcoming tour as well because she returned in less than five minutes with a towel wrapped around her voluptuous figure.

    “Get going, Malcom. We don’t want to be late. He’s doing us a favor,” Nicole said as she took long strides across the carpet toward the walk-in closet.

    Rayne showered quickly, trying to calm his racing mind.

    Can this really be happening? Do I really have a chance of completing my mission tonight? I better hurry before something goes wrong.

    Peter got ready fast. In less than fifteen minutes, he was showered, shaved, dressed, and almost ready to go. He slicked back his hair with gel and put on Getty’s gold, horn-rimmed glasses.

   
The disguise is complete.

     Nicole took a little longer. She sat down at her boudoir, staring into the mirror to apply makeup to her already beautiful face. When she was done, she looked even more dazzling than before.

    As if reading his mind, she said, “I’m almost ready, Malcom.”

    “Oh, that’s okay. No rush,” Rayne said, giving her a casual smile and sauntering out of the room.

    As soon as he was around the corner, he felt like he was going to have an anxiety attack. His heart was beating in his chest like a jackhammer.

   
I can’t believe I’m this close! I have to calm down before I give myself away!

    Rayne returned to the bathroom and looked in the mirror again. Straightening his tie, he thought he would have fooled himself if he didn’t know better. Leaving the bathroom, he walked back down the hall to the bedroom. Brenton was nowhere in sight. He heard muffled sounds emanating from the walk-in closet.

    “Nicole?” he inquired.

    “I’m in here, Malcom. Putting on my dress. I’ll be right out.”

     Peter started pacing. He couldn’t help himself.

   
Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down. It’s no big deal. I’m going down into the bunker I’ve been trying to get to for the past three days. It’s no big deal. The fate of the government and the country may rest on what I’m about to do. It’s no big deal. Millions of people may be affected. No big deal.

    “Are you ready, Malcom?” Nicole asked.

    Turning, he saw her come out of the closet. She was wearing a tight black evening dress, which accentuated her gorgeous curves. It was all he could do not to stare again.

    “Sure. I’m a little excited. I’ve always wanted to see this place,” he said.

    “Well, so am I! I’ve never been there either. Very few people have!” Nicole exclaimed, walking up to him and placing her arm in his. “Shall we?” she asked.

    “You’re the boss, Madame,” Rayne said, imitating the pompous voice of one of the attendants from room service.

    Nicole laughed and they walked arm-in arm out of the bedroom. Rayne tried to blank out his mind so he thought about absolutely nothing. He concentrated on the carpet, the walls, and ceiling. He studied the furniture.

    Brenton disengaged herself from his arm when they reached the door. Opening it, she took the lead into the hallway.

    “Tom is going to meet us in the lobby,” she said. “From there, we’re taking his car to another location in the city. I don’t know where. He wouldn’t tell me. I think it’s classified, or something.”

    “Oh, okay,” Peter said, studying the paintings on the wall as they walked toward the elevator.

    Nicole pressed the “down” button when they reached the elevator. The doors opened and they stepped in. Peter felt a slight lift in his stomach as the elevator began a fast descent.

    “Wow, Malcom, you really must be anxious to see this place. You’re breaking out in a sweat,” Nicole said, observing the perspiration forming on his brow.

    “Oh, really?” Peter said, feeling his forehead and realizing his efforts to calm himself weren’t working.

    “Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal. Everybody gets excited about something,” Nicole said, laughing and putting her arm around him.

    “You’re right,” Peter agreed, placing his hand against the small of her back.

    Brenton removed her arm as the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and they stepped into the spacious ground-floor lobby. The lobby was two stories high and furnished with expensive, comfortable looking couches and chairs. A walkway cut through the living room environment to the glass front doors. Glancing right, Rayne saw a long check-in counter on the opposite wall manned by a virtual army of hotel concierges.

    As they walked down the center aisle, Rayne observed the many patrons lounging in the comfortable chairs and couches; they were talking, smoking cigarettes and cigars, laughing occasionally.

   
They’re going to be surprised in about fourteen hours. Assuming this works.

    “There’s Tom. By the front doors,” Brenton said, pointing to a tall, thin gentleman wearing a fifteen-hundred-dollar gray suit. The gentleman spotted Nicole and walked toward her. They met and shook hands.

    “Good to see you, Tom.” Nicole said. “Tom, this is Malcom Getty of Cryogen Inc. Malcom this is Tom Burke, Security Director of the Underworld.”

    “Nice to meet you, Malcom,” Tom said, reaching out and shaking Peter’s hand.

    Rayne manufactured a fake smile and gave him a firm, confident handshake.

    “Nice to meet you,” Peter said, immediately sensing something wrong.

   
What is it about this guy that is sending up red flags in my brain? He looks more than just familiar. He looks like someone I know intimately.

    The man in the suit had slicked-back, thinning black hair and wore gold, wire-rimmed glasses. He had a long, thin face and a perfectly straight nose. Peter’s face turned ashen when it suddenly came to him.

   
It’s the same man who interrogated me.

    “Malcom, are you all right? You don’t look so well,” Nicole asked, placing her arm on his shoulder.

    “No, no, I’m fine. I must be coming down with something. I’m feeling a little out of sorts.”

    “Do you feel well enough to take the tour?” she asked.

    “Oh, sure, absolutely,” Peter said, looking away from his former interrogator for a moment. Garnering all his willpower, he turned toward him with a fake smile plastered on his pale face.

    “I’m sorry, Tom. I must be coming down with some sort of stomach flu. It just hit me quite suddenly.”

    “That’s okay, Malcom. Maybe it was something you ate,” Burke suggested.

    “I guess it’s possible. Our last meal was room service,” Brenton said.

    “Room service in the Tower is usually pretty good,” Burke said, narrowing his eyes as he studied Rayne’s face. “Malcom, I can’t help getting the feeling that we’ve met before. Is that possible?”

    “You also look quite familiar,” Peter said, feeling his heart beating so hard in his chest he thought it was going to explode.

    “I’m usually quite good with faces,” Tom said. “Right now, I can’t remember where we’ve met before. Give me some time and it will come back to me.”

    “Now that you mention it, it is possible that we’ve met before,” Rayne said, hoping a ruse would allay Burke’s suspicions. “Maybe it was at one of President Frump’s fundraisers.”

    “Well, wherever it was I’m sure I met you before,” Burke said. “But let’s get going. There’s a lot to show you. Follow me, we’ll take my car.”