Chapter 4: Bonus Space

Getting into the Symposium wasn't a problem for the Chameleon. It was being held at a public hotel. The lobby was busy. People were coming and going, carrying luggage, meeting their friends, standing around and chatting, asking the staff for directions. With so many people, it wasn't difficult for the Chameleon to blend in. The Chameleon was already an expert at that.

In theory, the Chameleon would need an invitation to get into the meeting room where the Symposium was being held, but there were ways of getting around that, too. It was prudent not to move too quickly, though.

The victim had already entered, along with the one the Chameleon intended to replace. The two of them were together right now, but at large functions like this, they would eventually separate, talk to other people, mingle in different parts of the crowd. When they were apart would be the time to strike.

But, when The Chameleon finally entered the meeting room, it became apparent that, for once, things weren't going to plan.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

The International Science Symposium took place at the Ashton Hotel. Lee stood next to Dr. Volkov as he shook hands with various colleagues after giving his speech. It felt a little strange not having Amanda with him, but he knew that she was needed elsewhere for now.

Lee hoped that his plan hadn't frightened the Chameleon away. It was true that Dr. Volkov would be safe if the Chameleon had fled, but Lee was still hoping that he and his team would catch him. It was really a question of whether or not the Chameleon would be willing to vary his usual routine.

Suddenly, Lee stiffened as he saw one of Dr. Volkov's friends, Dr. Worthy, approach. He looked much more jolly than in the pictures Lee had seen before now that he was grinning behind his white beard. But, that wasn't what was disturbing Lee.

"Congratulations, my friend! That was an excellent speech," Dr. Worthy said, reaching out to give Dr. Volkov a friendly embrace. Already on his guard, Dr. Volkov took a step back.

"Now!" Lee yelled to Scofield and Corbett. They moved at once, grabbing hold of Dr. Worthy.

"What are you doing?" the man cried. He struggled hard, but they managed to wrestle the carefully-concealed dagger out of his hand.

"Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Chameleon," Lee said.

"How did you know?" the Chameleon said softly. His voice was deadly calm and devoid of expression. The British accent had disappeared. Lee couldn't pinpoint what kind of accent the Chameleon spoke with, but he noticed that his voice wasn't as deep as it had been before.

While Lee took a closer look at the Chameleon, the man in the beard glared back at him. One corner of his fake whiskers had been jarred loose during the struggle. Lee couldn't resist the temptation to pull the false beard the rest of the way off.

"Well, what have we here?" Lee said.

The face beneath the beard was more feminine than he'd expected.

"I take it back. Is it Miss, Mrs., or Ms. Chameleon?"

As expected, there was no answer.

"I look forward to seeing what you really look like back at headquarters," Lee said. "You two had better take her. Get a couple of the guards from outside to accompany you as backup."

Scofield and Corbett hustled their prisoner from the room while the other guests of the Symposium stared and murmured.

"Your plan worked well, Mr. Stetson," Dr. Volkov said. "I thank you."

"You're welcome," Lee said. "Parker and Lang will stay with you while I go check on the real Dr. Worthy."

As Lee made his way upstairs, he realized that he was still holding the fake beard. He shoved it into his pocket. Of course, he'd have to keep the beard for evidence. He was looking forward to seeing what the Chameleon looked like once she was out of her Dr. Worthy disguise.

Lee showed his ID to the guards standing outside Room 201 and gave them the password they'd worked out ahead of time, "Santa's Little Helper."

After they had confirmed his identity, he tapped on the door, then stepped back so that Amanda could get a good look at him through the peephole.

"What's the password?" she asked when she opened the door.

"Silex," Lee said with a grin, giving her the second security password.

"Come on in," Amanda said. "Everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. We've caught the Chameleon."

Amanda smiled. "I knew you could do it!"

"How is everyone here?"

"Everyone's fine."

Although Dr. Volkov had brought his friends and family with him to the Symposium as he had planned, they had been taken to this suite almost immediately upon their arrival. Lee's plan had been to keep them all in one place under guard until after the Chameleon had been caught or the Symposium ended. As Amanda had said, if you cover and control a space, your opponent can't. Covering all of these people as individuals moving through a crowd would have been too difficult, but gathering them in a single location and covering the location was much easier. That way, they could be certain where Dr. Volkov's real friends and family were, and they would know that anyone they found who looked like one of them was an imposter.

The Agency could have put them under guard at Dr. Volkov's home, but Lee had hoped that, seeing them arrive at the hotel, the Chameleon would proceed with his . . . her plans and be caught in the act. Not being able to find and incapacitate Dr. Worthy before impersonating him might have caused the Chameleon to abandon her mission, but the KGB wouldn't have been very forgiving if she'd failed. They hadn't left her with much time to rethink her strategy, and Lee was counting on her overconfidence to convince her to go through with it.

Although Dr. Volkov's guests had been disappointed about not seeing his speech in person, they understood that his welfare depended upon the Agency's ability to keep track of them and had cooperated with Lee's plan. To help make up for the disappointment of not being able to attend the Symposium, the Agency had made arrangements with the hotel to provide them with a lavish feast while they waited for the Symposium to end. The hotel had an excellent chef, and much of what he provided seemed to consist of traditional Thanksgiving dishes, so it was like Thanksgiving all over again. Dr. Worthy was currently enjoying a large slice of pecan pie and laughing with Dr. Rollins and Danil Volkov about something.

Lee explained to Amanda what had happened downstairs and how they had caught her when she tried to approach Dr. Volkov.

"Did you say her?" Amanda asked. "The Chameleon's a woman?"

"Yep," Lee said. "That does explain how she's been able to impersonate women in the past. When she dresses up like men, she uses makeup and fake beards." He showed Amanda the beard he'd taken from the Chameleon and explained about her Dr. Worthy disguise.

"You see," Amanda said, "with a beard like that, it's difficult to tell it's a woman underneath it."

"I guess so."

"So it's also possible for a woman to play Santa Claus."

"It's possible, but all the same, I'm glad you won't have to do it." Very glad indeed, Lee thought privately.

He still hadn't told Amanda about Evelyn McShane, and hopefully, she'd never have to hear about it. That afternoon, he'd had a quiet word with Bob Pearson, suggesting to him that he ask Ogilvy about Evelyn's old costume, supposedly for the "helper" he was going to try to recruit. Upon obtaining the costume, Bob was then under strict orders to get rid of it. Some things were just not worth having around, especially in the wrong hands.

"I have to go back downstairs in a few minutes," Lee said, "but then we'll bring Dr. Volkov up here to join his family. Suppose that I could steal a little of the pie before I go?"

"Help yourself. The Volkovs told me I was welcome to have some earlier, but I just couldn't. The food looks good, but after all that turkey both at home and at the office . . ."

"Yeah, I know," Lee said, grinning. "I was thinking of making a pot roast tomorrow night."

"I love pot roast!"

"I know. I thought you might like to have some, too."

"We've got room for it in our fridge now."

"I though you might like to have some with me at my place."

"You're inviting me for dinner?"

Lee nodded. "Someone's got to help me eat it up, and I think you're just the person," he said jokingly.

"Always glad to help," Amanda said. "I'm looking forward to it."

As Lee left the room, he reflected that he was very thankful for was that Amanda was his partner . . . and that she good at word games, too.

The End

Author's Note: Jestress's new vocabulary words, as defined by Webster's New World College Dictionary:

Atomy – (noun, archaic), "an atom; tiny thing"

Djins – (plural noun, alternate spelling of jinn or djinn from Muslim folklore), "a supernatural being that can take human or animal form and influence human affairs"

Silex – (noun), "silica, esp. in the form of flint or quartz" or "heat-resistant glass made of fused quartz"