8. Dinner and a Movie
Logan tossed his keys on the mail table, and withdrew Eva's notes from under his sweater. The corners were a little bent, but the folder was otherwise fine. He had walked out of the library fully expecting White to nab him, his heart pounding against the brown cardboard file. Remarkably, he made it off the campus unmolested. Now he was home, and secure.
He took off his jacket and hung it up, thinking he should get started on the file right away. He was cautiously optimistic. A woman had sacrificed her life for these documents, but maybe they contained answers to the big questions. They could mean freedom for a lot of people. The phone rang, and he grabbed it, hoping it was Max.
There was an unfamiliar voice. "This is Jason."
Logan tensed. He didn't know anybody named Jason. The phrase "this is Jason," was an S1W code phrase meaning: "big trouble, help urgently required."
"Go ahead, Jason," he replied, snatching up a pen.
"My mother is in town," said the voice. "I can't meet you for a movie, tonight."
"I see," said Logan, writing down the word 'mother,' and underlining the first four letters. 'Moth' was Asha's code name. He also wrote down 'town,' which indicated a warehouse the S1W sometimes used as a staging ground, and 'meet,' which was plain English. He made a note of 'vie,' from 'movie,' and 'tonight.'
The message was clear enough. Asha had a meeting this evening that was going down sideways, and her life was in danger. She needed some help. He was willing to go, but he still wasn't sure why he was the one summoned.
"Maybe I should send your mother some flowers," he said.
"No," said the voice, sounding young and shaky. "But everybody likes popcorn." He hung up.
Popcorn. Logan got up quickly, and went to the kitchen. At the counter, he pressed a discreet button. With a grunt, he pulled out the entire sink. The drain pipe was flexible, and stayed attached.
"Popcorn," meant firearms, so he'd better have one of his own. He reached into the hidden compartment. He chose one of the guns he allowed the S1W to store in his home, feeling as he always did, sad to take a weapon to hand. Logan hated guns, but in the present political climate, he couldn't afford to be squeamish while the soldiers, cops, and gangsters were armed to the teeth. He knew in his heart, though, that he paid a heavy moral price. He went back to his desk, tore off the page he had been writing on, as well as the next one. He was going to have to dispose of them. He was almost out the door, when he remembered Eva's notes.
"Dammit!" he said. He gathered them up, returned to the kitchen, and put them in a large Ziploc-style bag that he had been carefully recycling for about three years. He took out a big packet of frozen peas, tore them open, and poured them in the bag until they completely covered the book. Logan wasn't partial to peas; like everybody else, he lined up at the market and bought whatever was on offer. He didn't mind wasting good food in this manner. He mainly fed the peas to Max, who didn't seem to care what she ate. He zipped the bag, and hid the whole shebang at the back of the freezer. Better than nothing.
A few hours later, Logan drove Asha to her apartment. "Thanks for your help," she said, as she got out of the car. She had a cut on her lip, and a bruise across one cheek.
"Anytime," Logan replied.