Chapter Nine

Steve folded (his hand wasn't great anyhow) and left the circle under the ruse of a trip to the restrooms. He had to double back to the other side of the opposite hill and, with no one watching, he covered the distance in just seconds.

As he'd hoped, Jaime was waiting for him. Grateful for the opportunity he gathered her into his arms in the darkness between two concrete pillars for a lingering kiss.

"Checking up on me?" he asked, unwilling to break the embrace.

"That too," Jaime confirmed. "I've got some leads..."

"Oh?"

"See if your new friends remember someone named Artie. Word is he used to stay here before he went to the Armory. Now...I think he's our Number Seven."

"Sounds like the action's on your end," Steve noted. "All I've got tonight is a bad game of poker. I'll see what I can find out for you."

"Someone's altering records, too," Jaime said, detailing what she'd found out so far. "I'm gonna tell Sarah I want to work an overnight at the Armory to get my feet wet; then I might get to see what actually goes on up there."

"Maybe I'll head over there tomorrow, too."

Jaime shook her head. "You've really got an 'in' with these guys and I wouldn't give that up just yet. Might be useful. Besides, I've got a real bad feeling about that place..."

"Maybe you're right." Steve knew that arguing with Jaime when she'd made up her mind was futile. He didn't tell her that his real intention was to be first in the Armory line the next day. She'd find out soon enough; there was no point in worrying her now.

Steve had no success in getting information about Artie. Of course, Benny and Harley remembered him but as for a last name or any other details...he had nothing. They weren't evasive or troubled by the question, but his search for answers had drawn a blank. He hoped that Jaime was having better luck.

"There's really no reason for you to do that," Sarah argued the next morning. "We have plenty of overnight staff and besides, I need you here."

"I'll do both," Jaime suggested. "I'd really like to get a clearer picture of all the services we offer, to make me better able to -"

"It'll only burn you out - and break your heart. You're still too fresh, Sweetie, and it's just too ugly. I'm afraid I can't allow it. Not yet, anyway."

"One night - just to see how it works -"

"There's nothing you need to see there and I've already explained to you how it works Maybe in a few weeks, when you're a little more experienced."

"Alright,"Jaime sighed, only pretending to agree.

When she took her place outside the Armory just before 4:00, Jaime could barely hide her dismay - Steve was first in line. She raised an eyebrow at him as he signed in; any discussion would have to come later. Seeing him there, though, made her even more determined to spend the night inside.

Meanwhile, Steve hung back a moment then followed the other men as they shuffled vacantly down the hall to the supply closet. He lingered just long enough among the rusty cot frames to end up alone. As he picked one up and headed for the door, a familiar voice stopped him.

"First time here, I see. Need to make some money...?"

As soon as the men had been checked in and the throng began to turn away to find other arrangements for themselves, Jaime copied the ten men's names in her notebook and moved around the side of the building until she found an underground entrance. It turned out to be the Armory's bomb shelter, and another door led directly up into the first floor hallway. Jaime hurried up a second set of stairs and peeked in a window at the far end of the meeting room that (at night) was also the mens dormitory. By this time, the men were set up, the cots side-by-side and end-to-end in the tiny, airless room.

There were only nine of them.

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