John called Luke and arranged to meet the family at the end of one of the bus lines. Nobody should expect to see them on that line and one of the other members of John’s agency was going to watch for anyone checking out John and the Cole’s as they left the bus line, walked two blocks to the parking garage, and then headed to the floor where John would be waiting in a disguised panel truck.
The family arrived and John got them into the back of the panel truck. It was marked with a painting company’s information, a real one that was paid to loan their name and logo to a truck when the agency wanted it. He had a passenger besides the family, Alex Bohannon, who worked part time for the agency and was an information security specialist. He also was trained in the use of weapons. They hunkered down and John drove off. He headed a little west until he heard from the other member of the agency, George, that there was no one following them. Then John headed to the hideaway.
The place that had been chosen by Craig was an AirBnB that was near the Cherry Creek Falls Trailhead. It was well East of Seattle and the rental was done by a shell company that Craig used for secrecy. There was a very nicely appointed cabin there that had a pretty nice view all around it. The truck came with six cameras that would be placed in the proper locations to make sure that the surrounding area was covered. There was also plenty of firepower in a hard case in the back that would allow the proper defense of the cabin, should it become necessary.
John got the family out there and he and Alex immediately set out to put the cameras in the right places. They made sure to cover everything. Alex had mentioned that it would have been nice to have some pyrotechnics, but in this area, that was not recommended or allowed.
They settled in for the evening and Maria cooked up an easy dinner of spaghetti from the supplies that had been put into the van. It was delicious.
—————————- Sunday, 8 March, 2019, the hideout, Washington
The night progressed slowly and quietly. John and Alex took turns in 4 hour shifts from 10pm to 10am. But nobody could sleep as soon as Maria started teaching the kids how to make eggs over easy with bacon. The smell filled the cabin and made everyone’s stomach growl.
It was about 11am when John got a call from Craig.
“John, we have some news.”
“Roger.”
“It appears that the Vilmers have been at a relatives house over in Port Ludlow since their release. There’s no threat there. So now the cops and the feds are stumped. We don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to send Barry out to relieve you because Jasmine called and said that she had some information for you.”
“Okay, two questions. When will Barry get here and what kind of information does Jasmine have?”
“Barry will be there in about 30 minutes and Luke then has to make the call about protection. The feds are even thinking that the whole thing may be a prank. As to Jasmine. I have no idea. She just said it was important and she would only talk to you.”
“Roger. I’ll head home and get a change of clothes and then go see Jasmine when they open.” I knew that the strip club where Jasmine was a manager didn’t open until about 3pm.
“If there’s anything else you need once you talk to Jasmine, let me know.”
When John arrived at the strip club, there was a new bouncer out front. John told him he was there to see Jasmine and he asked John to wait. He cleared it with Jasmine and let John through.
John headed down the hall and walked into Jasmine’s office where she was sitting behind the desk. There were two other women in there, both strippers by their outfits. They were sitting on the couch and Jasmine was behind her desk. John headed for the chair in front of the desk.
“John!” Jasmine jumped up from behind her desk and rushed over to hug him.
John returned the hug and then held her at arm’s length. “Jasmine. You are looking very good.” She was dressed more professionally than he had ever seen. She was wearing a nice pair of slacks and a blouse that was not a revealing one. Her makeup was much more subdued. It appeared that she had turned over a new leaf.
“Thanks. I’m now a partial owner, so I don’t dance any more, just manage.”
They headed toward either side of the desk. “That’s great. I didn’t know that Marcus was looking for new owners or giving up a share.”
“Well, he wants to slowly get out of the club, so I’m buying in as I make enough money to pay for a share of the club. Right now, I have 15% and we’re doing very well.”
“Very nice.”
“Did you look at the club as you came in? I made sure to update everything so that it’s very nice, easily cleanable, and feels more accessible.”
“I didn’t see it, but I will on the way out.”
“Good.” She pointed over to the two on the couch who worked for her. “Now, these two overheard something that I think you should know about. They are Rose and Violet. They’ve worked here for about six months.”
John turned toward them. They smiled fake smiles and nodded hello. They were a little squeamish.
“Alright,” he began, “why don’t you tell me what the information is and how you came about hearing it.”
They looked at each other and the one on the left started. She was dressed in a see through coverup with a tiny g-string and partially see-through bra, all in red. “I’m Rose.” Of course, she was. “Vi and I were having a party with these three guys last night. We were in a hotel room partying when one of the guys took a phone call.” She looked at Vi, who nodded. “Vi and I were with the other two, but the guy on the phone was just around the corner and close enough that we heard him. He said ‘Part 1 worked fine; the cops are chasing their tails. Send the second half of the money and we’re done.’, and then he hung up. We had heard about what was going on with the cops and figured we should tell someone.”
John watched them closely. He knew that Jasmine had rules about the girls hooking out of the club, so he was surprised at how easily they told the story.
“But not the cops?”
They looked around the room sheepishly. “Uh, not really, no.”
“Okay. Questions. First, how did you meet?”
They looked at each other and then over at Jasmine. “First, here at the club, and then at a dance club downtown. We went to the hotel after partying for a while.”
John glanced at Jasmine who had a hard look on her face and then back to the strippers. “Secondly, any names?”
“They called themselves Gary, Mike, and Bob.”
“Pretty common. Now, which hotel and room number.”
The two strippers again exchanged a look. Rose took a deep breath. “It was the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, Room 502.”
“Anything else you want to tell us?”
“No.” They both shook their heads.
John looked over at Jasmine. She stared at the two and spoke. “You two know the rules. You violated them, although you think you put another meeting location between here and where you went. I don’t want you girls hooking out of the club.”
They both looked like small children who were being grounded. That was when John realized that the two of them were probably barely 21.