Chapter 4 Not Just a Manager
After thinking up an acceptable cover story, and changing their clothes to match it the girls made their way to the Rite Aid. It made them all sick to think that someone who worked to help people would be involved with a life taking drug. After seeing a now hiring sign on the store's billboard the girls decided on a cover story. The cover they had decided on was to have Alex pose as a teen looking for a job while Sam and Clover where just friends of hers that just happened to be there at the same time. The girls had chosen outfits to complement their story and made sure they had their necklace communicators. Alex was dressed somewhat casually but nicely to give the idea that see wanted to leave a good impression, as were Sam and Clover. Alex wore a skirt, a button up dress shirt and a pink vest. Sam wore the same just with jeans. Clover opted not to wear the vest and wore a sleeveless button up. As they neared the front entrance Sam explained the plan to them again. "Ok Alex you'll hold his attention while Clover and I will slip behind the counter and look around his office in the back," she explained. "How will I hold his attention long enough?" Alex asked. "Just ask the same questions you would if you were actually applying for the job," Sam replied. "I'm glad we're stopping here I seriously need some more face cream," Clover said with a smile. "Yeah so do I," Alex agreed. "Just try not to get too distracted, alright," Sam said with a weighted sigh in her voice. The girls walked into the drug store casually. It was the usual fair. Isles of cosmetics and non- prescription drugs with a large pharmacy counter in the back of the store. As they made their way to the back they looked around as if they were normal customers.
Alex approached the counter, while Sam and Clover discretely examined the products near the counter. There was only on person behind the desk who was presumable the manager. Behind him was a wall with several ads on it and a large blue, door with a narrow window in it that presumably led to the back. The manager seemed a little taller then Alex because the pharmacy was elevated slightly from the floor she stood on. He had red hair, a goatee, and looked to be in his thirty's. His dress consisted of a tie and a dress shirt. He was busily working on a computer when Alex approached him. "Excuse me; I'm here to apply for the part time job," she said with false sincerity. The man looked up, "Ah good! I never expected to see results so quickly," the manager said with a grin. Alex cringed at the sight of his green teeth. "I guess drugs will do that to ya," She thought to herself. Sam saw the manager take the bait; she signaled to Clover and the two of them walked over to the counter inconspicuously. The moment the manager's eyes switched direction away from them they made their move. Sam and Clover leapt silently over the counter and then slipped silently through the door into the halls behind the counter.
Sam and Clover quickly got away from the window and breathed a sigh of relief glad not to have messed up. The hallway had white plaster walls and blue carpeting. There were several doors lining the walls; three on the right wall and two on the left. Sam scanned the area. "Ok, he's probably hiding something in his office so that would be the logical place to look," Sam said. "Yeah there are usually too many people around the other rooms to hide anything there," Clover put in. The girls walked down the hall until they saw a door marked manager. They opened it and slipped in. The office wasn't very spacious but windowless. Against the left wall were two large file cabinets and a tall plant. There was a water cooler and two other tall plants on the right wall. The desk set in the center. On it was an assortment of things that would be associated with an office. "I'll look over the desk. You check the file cabinets," Sam instructed Clover as she walked over and sat down at the desk. Sam started rifling through the papers that were sitting there as Clover opened the file cabinets. "Man this place really could use something to liven it up. Do you think I should put something in the suggestion box?" Clover said jokingly. "Nah. Besides it's not like we're going to be here very often," Sam replied. "Yeah, but this place is so not colorful. You can't help but feel sorry for the employees." "True, but we're not here as decorators." Clover shrugged and kept working through the files quickly. "Man she can be so cranky when she's working," she thought. There was nothing suspicious just information on customers after she finished looking through the files she took them all out and examined the interior of the drawer. Then she put the files back.
"Ya know I've got some applications in my office. I'll go get them," the manager said trying to turn away to go to his office. Alex was starting to get nervous. She was running out of things to ask him that would stall him long enough for Sam and Clover to finish. She'd asked about benefits, pay, and general information about the job. The man turned away and went for the door. Alex reached for her necklace. "Guys I can't stall him he's coming your way," She whispered frantically into the speaker. Sam and Clover exchanged worried glances when they heard Alex's warning through their ear ring receivers. Their eyes quickly shot around the room looking for places to hide. The door knob turned with the girls still unhidden. The door creaked open and the manager stepped in. Alex listened nervously to her ear ring communicator. She heard the door open, foot steps and rustling of papers. The manager noticed one of the file cabinet drawers open. "I keep telling my secretary to close this when she's done," the manager complained as he closed the file drawer that Clover had left open. Then he walked out. Alex raised a confused eyebrow. She was sure she would have heard the yelling of the manager and the scrambling of her friends. The manager stepped back out with the papers that he had talked about. Back in the room two of the tall plants rustled. Sam slipped out from behind one of them and Clover from another. "Remind me to write God a thank you note for inventing tall plants," Clover said. "Yeah that went well," Sam agreed. Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her friends' voices. Then she turned her attention back to the manager who had just emerged from the door. She accepted the paper with a smile and thanked. Sam's voice came in over the communicator. "Alex where is the manager?" She asked. Alex walked out of ear shot of the manager so he wouldn't hear her. "He's working at his computer again," she answered. "Good, we're just about ready to get out of here. We'll tell when we need another distraction," Sam explained. Alex nodded, "Gotcha!"
"I can't believe we couldn't find anything. I bet you that guy lied to us," Clover griped as she finished searching the last cabinet. "Or maybe this guy is just very thorough," Sam replied. "Hey wait I got something," Sam said suddenly as she pulled a file from the desk drawer marked confidential. "It's just a file. So what?" Clover commented "If every file in a pharmacy is confidential by law then why would they need to mark this one?" Sam said. Sam opened it. In it was an assortment of papers one was a map of Manhattan with a number of red dots marking various place. Another was a map of the harbor with a specific dock circled. "Something tells me this has nothing to do with the pharmacy," Clover said. "Alright I'm going take pictures of these. Because if we just take them the guy will notice," Sam said while taking out the camera sunglasses. She positioned the first map and snapped a photo. Then she took a picture of the harbor map. "Ok then we'll figure out what these are, after we get back to the hotel." Sam took off the sunglasses, closed the file, and put it back. "Ok let's go," Sam said heading for the door. "Wait look at this note," Clover said grabbing a sticky note from the desk. On it, in ink, was scribbled a brief message that read, "Pick up package at harbor at 10:00 PM tomorrow night." They would have written it off as nothing but in light of finding the harbor map it started to make sense. Sam snapped a quick picture of it and Clover returned to the desk. The girls slipped back into the hall and called Alex.
"We're ready for that distraction, these dull halls are giving me a head ache," Clover said over the communicator. "Ok I got it," Alex replied. She walked up to the manager and started asking questions about the application. Sam and Clover opened the door a crack. Once they verified that the manager was indeed distracted they tipped toed out and leapt silently over the counter again. Clover and Sam slipped into an isle out of the manager's sight an Alex joined them. "So what did you find?" Alex asked. "We took some pictures of some really weird maps," Clover replied. "Let's get back to the hotel and develop these pictures," Sam said. The others nodded in agreement. Sam and Alex went for the door but Clover seemed to have disappeared. They soon found her at the counter paying for a tube of face cream. "Hey I told you I needed some," She said with smile. The others decided it wasn't a bad idea and bought a couple tubes of their own. Then they stepped through the doors into the humid night.
After thinking up an acceptable cover story, and changing their clothes to match it the girls made their way to the Rite Aid. It made them all sick to think that someone who worked to help people would be involved with a life taking drug. After seeing a now hiring sign on the store's billboard the girls decided on a cover story. The cover they had decided on was to have Alex pose as a teen looking for a job while Sam and Clover where just friends of hers that just happened to be there at the same time. The girls had chosen outfits to complement their story and made sure they had their necklace communicators. Alex was dressed somewhat casually but nicely to give the idea that see wanted to leave a good impression, as were Sam and Clover. Alex wore a skirt, a button up dress shirt and a pink vest. Sam wore the same just with jeans. Clover opted not to wear the vest and wore a sleeveless button up. As they neared the front entrance Sam explained the plan to them again. "Ok Alex you'll hold his attention while Clover and I will slip behind the counter and look around his office in the back," she explained. "How will I hold his attention long enough?" Alex asked. "Just ask the same questions you would if you were actually applying for the job," Sam replied. "I'm glad we're stopping here I seriously need some more face cream," Clover said with a smile. "Yeah so do I," Alex agreed. "Just try not to get too distracted, alright," Sam said with a weighted sigh in her voice. The girls walked into the drug store casually. It was the usual fair. Isles of cosmetics and non- prescription drugs with a large pharmacy counter in the back of the store. As they made their way to the back they looked around as if they were normal customers.
Alex approached the counter, while Sam and Clover discretely examined the products near the counter. There was only on person behind the desk who was presumable the manager. Behind him was a wall with several ads on it and a large blue, door with a narrow window in it that presumably led to the back. The manager seemed a little taller then Alex because the pharmacy was elevated slightly from the floor she stood on. He had red hair, a goatee, and looked to be in his thirty's. His dress consisted of a tie and a dress shirt. He was busily working on a computer when Alex approached him. "Excuse me; I'm here to apply for the part time job," she said with false sincerity. The man looked up, "Ah good! I never expected to see results so quickly," the manager said with a grin. Alex cringed at the sight of his green teeth. "I guess drugs will do that to ya," She thought to herself. Sam saw the manager take the bait; she signaled to Clover and the two of them walked over to the counter inconspicuously. The moment the manager's eyes switched direction away from them they made their move. Sam and Clover leapt silently over the counter and then slipped silently through the door into the halls behind the counter.
Sam and Clover quickly got away from the window and breathed a sigh of relief glad not to have messed up. The hallway had white plaster walls and blue carpeting. There were several doors lining the walls; three on the right wall and two on the left. Sam scanned the area. "Ok, he's probably hiding something in his office so that would be the logical place to look," Sam said. "Yeah there are usually too many people around the other rooms to hide anything there," Clover put in. The girls walked down the hall until they saw a door marked manager. They opened it and slipped in. The office wasn't very spacious but windowless. Against the left wall were two large file cabinets and a tall plant. There was a water cooler and two other tall plants on the right wall. The desk set in the center. On it was an assortment of things that would be associated with an office. "I'll look over the desk. You check the file cabinets," Sam instructed Clover as she walked over and sat down at the desk. Sam started rifling through the papers that were sitting there as Clover opened the file cabinets. "Man this place really could use something to liven it up. Do you think I should put something in the suggestion box?" Clover said jokingly. "Nah. Besides it's not like we're going to be here very often," Sam replied. "Yeah, but this place is so not colorful. You can't help but feel sorry for the employees." "True, but we're not here as decorators." Clover shrugged and kept working through the files quickly. "Man she can be so cranky when she's working," she thought. There was nothing suspicious just information on customers after she finished looking through the files she took them all out and examined the interior of the drawer. Then she put the files back.
"Ya know I've got some applications in my office. I'll go get them," the manager said trying to turn away to go to his office. Alex was starting to get nervous. She was running out of things to ask him that would stall him long enough for Sam and Clover to finish. She'd asked about benefits, pay, and general information about the job. The man turned away and went for the door. Alex reached for her necklace. "Guys I can't stall him he's coming your way," She whispered frantically into the speaker. Sam and Clover exchanged worried glances when they heard Alex's warning through their ear ring receivers. Their eyes quickly shot around the room looking for places to hide. The door knob turned with the girls still unhidden. The door creaked open and the manager stepped in. Alex listened nervously to her ear ring communicator. She heard the door open, foot steps and rustling of papers. The manager noticed one of the file cabinet drawers open. "I keep telling my secretary to close this when she's done," the manager complained as he closed the file drawer that Clover had left open. Then he walked out. Alex raised a confused eyebrow. She was sure she would have heard the yelling of the manager and the scrambling of her friends. The manager stepped back out with the papers that he had talked about. Back in the room two of the tall plants rustled. Sam slipped out from behind one of them and Clover from another. "Remind me to write God a thank you note for inventing tall plants," Clover said. "Yeah that went well," Sam agreed. Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her friends' voices. Then she turned her attention back to the manager who had just emerged from the door. She accepted the paper with a smile and thanked. Sam's voice came in over the communicator. "Alex where is the manager?" She asked. Alex walked out of ear shot of the manager so he wouldn't hear her. "He's working at his computer again," she answered. "Good, we're just about ready to get out of here. We'll tell when we need another distraction," Sam explained. Alex nodded, "Gotcha!"
"I can't believe we couldn't find anything. I bet you that guy lied to us," Clover griped as she finished searching the last cabinet. "Or maybe this guy is just very thorough," Sam replied. "Hey wait I got something," Sam said suddenly as she pulled a file from the desk drawer marked confidential. "It's just a file. So what?" Clover commented "If every file in a pharmacy is confidential by law then why would they need to mark this one?" Sam said. Sam opened it. In it was an assortment of papers one was a map of Manhattan with a number of red dots marking various place. Another was a map of the harbor with a specific dock circled. "Something tells me this has nothing to do with the pharmacy," Clover said. "Alright I'm going take pictures of these. Because if we just take them the guy will notice," Sam said while taking out the camera sunglasses. She positioned the first map and snapped a photo. Then she took a picture of the harbor map. "Ok then we'll figure out what these are, after we get back to the hotel." Sam took off the sunglasses, closed the file, and put it back. "Ok let's go," Sam said heading for the door. "Wait look at this note," Clover said grabbing a sticky note from the desk. On it, in ink, was scribbled a brief message that read, "Pick up package at harbor at 10:00 PM tomorrow night." They would have written it off as nothing but in light of finding the harbor map it started to make sense. Sam snapped a quick picture of it and Clover returned to the desk. The girls slipped back into the hall and called Alex.
"We're ready for that distraction, these dull halls are giving me a head ache," Clover said over the communicator. "Ok I got it," Alex replied. She walked up to the manager and started asking questions about the application. Sam and Clover opened the door a crack. Once they verified that the manager was indeed distracted they tipped toed out and leapt silently over the counter again. Clover and Sam slipped into an isle out of the manager's sight an Alex joined them. "So what did you find?" Alex asked. "We took some pictures of some really weird maps," Clover replied. "Let's get back to the hotel and develop these pictures," Sam said. The others nodded in agreement. Sam and Alex went for the door but Clover seemed to have disappeared. They soon found her at the counter paying for a tube of face cream. "Hey I told you I needed some," She said with smile. The others decided it wasn't a bad idea and bought a couple tubes of their own. Then they stepped through the doors into the humid night.