Chapter Three
Secret Plans
I
"Where are you going?" John asked his sister as she was doing some final primping in front of the mirror near the front door.
"I'm just going out for a little while," she said, grabbing up some books and papers from the table under the mirror.
"Who are you going to see?" he persisted.
"Why do you think I'm going to see somebody?"
"Because you're acting as goofy as a fifteen-year-old that's going out on a study date, especially with all those books you're carrying."
"Just because I'm off on Spring break doesn't mean I can stop studying."
"So you're heading for the library?"
"Yeah, and the Sentinel," she admitted.
"The Sentinel? Why?"
"Because there's some stuff in the morgue I want to check out."
"You could use Dad's computer here. It's connected to the Sentinel's network."
"And try to get some work done with you and Lee around? Forget it."
"We wouldn't bug you."
"Oh, yes, you would. You're doing it now."
"I'm just curious. That's all. And I still think you're going to see some guy," John insisted as he playfully cornered his sister against the door.
"Maybe. Maybe not," Dani teased as she pulled at John's arm. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."
"You're not going out with that Jacques guy, are you?"
"What's it to you, Mr. Nosy?"
"Look, Dani, I'm serious. I don't trust the guy. I think he's up to something."
Dani shrugged offhandedly, "I wouldn't know about that," she said, thinking about the project she and Jacques were working on. "Who knows, maybe it's something the Green Hornet might be interested in," she hinted mysteriously as she pried her brother's arm from the door.
"What do you mean, the Green Hornet?"
"That's none of your business. Especially after Dad reamed your butt about going off in a certain black car," she teased as she forced the door open.
"Dani!" John yelled as she slammed the door in his face.
John turned around to see Lee watching from the stairs with a wide smirk on his face. "Is she always like that?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, she's my sister. That's what sisters do. They bug their brothers."
Lee laughed. "It looks like you were trying to bug her."
John ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Maybe," he admitted with a careless shrug, "But that's what brothers do. They bug their sisters."
His grin growing bigger, Lee shook his head. "And to think I always wanted a sister or brother."
"Yeah, well, I always wanted to be an only child. Hell, that's the problem being a twin. I never even had a chance to be an only child. I always one of two."
"I bet you'd miss her if something happened to her."
"Yeah, I would. That's why I don't like her messing around with that French dude. I bet he's going to be nothing but trouble."
"I wonder what she meant with that crack about the Green Hornet."
"Damned if I know. She could've been just ribbing me about the way Dad bawled me out."
"Yeah, but I doubt it," Lee answered thoughtfully.
"Oh, great now you're going to act all mysterious too," John growled.
Lee's smile broadened, "Talking about secrets, let me show you what I've been working on in the old barn out back."
"You got some more ideas?"
"Lots, especially after I took a look at the old plans. I think there's a lot of stuff we could do using them as a guide," Lee said leading the way to the back yard and the old barn.
Dani felt a shiver go down her back as Jacques looked over her shoulder. There was a feeling that they were doing something that was forbidden. It thrilled and frightened her at the same time.
"So mon petit," Jacques said into her ear as he gazed into the computer screen in front of her, "What have you found about our esteemed Monsieur Archer?"
"I remembered something I had read a few years ago about some kind of protest taking place up north near White Pine," she explained as she scrolled through the morgue's directory. "One of my friends was really into the environmental movement. She was upset because Archer had bought some land that they had been planning to buy for use as a wildlife preserve. She was worried he'd turn it into a ski resort or clear cut the forest. I remember her asking me to go to the protest with her. I was about to, but it blew over before I could. Archer wound up donating most of the land for the preserve anyway."
"But," she continued, "He did keep part of it for himself." She had found what she wanted. It was a spread from the glossy Sunday Living section of the Sentinel. "This," she said pointing to a picture of what looked like a modernist's vision of an old-time hunting lodge. The building was a rustic combination of weathered wood and natural rock that seemed to grow out of the earth, rocks and trees that surrounded it.
"I've never heard of this place before," Jacques commented.
"You wouldn't. Archer doesn't invite a lot of people there. It's very private. We were only able to do this spread because it was right after the protest. Archer wanted to show off how environmentally sensitive he was, and how he was going to do his best to preserve the history of the area, including this hunting lodge. It was done by one of Frank Lloyd Wright's students at Taliesin. There's even rumors that Wright did a lot of the work on the plans."
"Do you think this might be where Monsieur Archer is hiding the painting?"
"There's a good chance of it," she said hopefully. "You see you haven't heard of Archer going there, but that's because it's been snowed in for most of the winter. Now that it's Spring the roads up there will be opening up. This would be the best time to check it out, before the house is opened for the season. I bet only a caretaker would be around there now, if there's anyone at all."
"Do you have any maps of the area, or plans of the hunting lodge?" Jacques asked.
"Sure do," Dani said with pride, "That's one thing about the lodge being so famous, there's a lot of write ups. Including this," she said pulling out a large coffee table book from the stack piled on the floor near their feet. "This book has a lot of the plans that were done by the students at the Taliesin workshops in Wisconsin and Arizona," she explained as she flipped through the pages, "Including the White Pine hunting lodge," she said triumphantly when she came to the right page.
Jacques smiled. "Tres bien, mon petit. This will be very helpful," he said appreciatively.
"But . . . "
"But, this tells us nothing about the grounds. We will have to know about the grounds around the lodge and about the security arrangements Monsieur Archer has added."
"Couldn't we find that out once we're up there?"
"Dani, you must understand, a job like this requires a lot of study and deliberation. A job to be successful must be well-planned," he explained.
Dani frowned thoughtfully. It never seemed to her that her father did any planning when he went out on any of his jobs. At least she didn't think so, but then, she realized her father rarely, if ever, discussed what he did as the Green Hornet, even now that she and her brother know his secret.
"I'm worried that if we take too long to plan, we might lose our chance. Once the roads up there are completely clear I'm sure Mr. Archer will have people up there opening it up. You know, cleaning and fixing things up, stuff like that."
Jacques thoughtfully crossed his arms across his chest, a move that briefly reminded Danielle of her father. "You do have a point there. If we delay too long, we may lose our opportunity." He sighed. "I do not like having to do things without careful planning, but sometimes we must take advantage of whatever chance throws our way."
Smiling eagerly Danielle pressed, "So . . . "
"We will go up there, to this White Pine Lodge," Jacques completed for her. He found Danielle's eagerness refreshing. The distance between their ages had never been more evident than now. Life had not yet had time to harden the girl or make her cynical. She was so different from the women he had come to know as he jet-setted from one European city to another. She was like a breath of spring air. Too bad . . . , he thought.
"But, Dani, we will only go there to observe. This may seem to be grand adventure to you, like something out of the cinema, but you must understand that in real life bullets kill. One does not get up after dying."
"I know that, Jacques. I'm not a kid," she said defensively.
"I know, mon cher," Jacques answered, hating to have to rein in her excitement. He smiled encouragingly, "But do not worry. We will do fine. Shall we start on our little escapade a few days from now?"
Danielle nodded eagerly. "I've already called my friend, Elaine, that's the girl I was telling you about. Well, she still lives up there, and I've set it up for us to stay with her while we check out the hunting lodge. It'll be a good cover, you know. We'll be just visiting an old friend and seeing the wildlife preserve. Maybe I'll say I'm doing some work for the Sentinel, maybe a spread on the coming of Spring to the preserve."
"I thought you had no interest in the newspaper business."
Danielle shrugged if off. "Well, I'm not really into the reporting side of it. I like to be more hands-on. I don't want to just tell the story. I want to take an active part in things. That's why I'm going for the public defender's office after I graduate. I want to make a personal difference in people's lives, not just write about it," she explained. "But I am a Reid, and well, someone has been giving me some lessons in photography. This would be a great chance for me to try it out."
"You are lucky that you know that your work will be published," Jacques observed wryly.
"You might think so, but being my Dad's daughter means that I have to be extremely good, better than anyone who just comes in off the street. It's expected of me."
"Because you are a Reid."
Danielle nodded, suddenly realizing what being a Reid meant to her and about the choices she had been making in her life.
II
Britt found John and Lee bent over a workbench in the old barn going over a bunch of papers in front of them. He caught a brief sight of a large piece of paper with smudged blue lines on it. Must be blueprints, he thought. It was times like this, watching John and Lee working together that he most missed his friendship with Lee's father, Kato. He had spent many hours with Kato going over some Green Hornet scheme or just something as mundane as the wording of an editorial.
In the years since Kato left, Casey had become his sounding board when it came to the Daily Sentinel, but there was something special about having another guy to tell your troubles to. Even if the only visible communication was over a beer and consisted of nothing but grunts, shrugs and an occasional jab to the shoulder. A woman needed words and feelings, a guy didn't.
He wondered what the two young men were up to. The old barn had seen its share of covert plans. It was basically used as a storage place. When something couldn't fit up in the house's attic, or wasn't good enough to put in the house, but too good to throw away, it wound up in the barn. Old bikes, baby clothes and doors- who knows what those were doing there- shared space with old tractors and pieces of the various cars the family had owned, and wrecked, over the years. Christmas bikes and dollhouses had been put together in the barn. So had the Black Beauty.
"What are you two up to?" Britt asked.
The papers were instantly, and guiltily, covered up. Yep, Britt thought, they are definitely up to something.
"Nothing, Dad," John said quickly as Lee shoved the papers into a large folder.
Yeah, right. "I've been looking all over for you," was Britt's sole comment.
"What about?" John again as Lee standing next to him tried to look innocent.
"I wanted to tell you I liked that editorial you wrote about the gang war that erupted a few days ago. It was very well written."
"Thanks, Dad."
"I wanted to get some of your input before Lee and I go out tonight."
"Tonight?" Lee echoed. "Are we going out tonight?"
"Yes," Britt answered, "That is unless you have other plans."
"No," Lee answered slowly, "At least nothing that can't be canceled."
"You might be careful about that," Britt told him. "I lost more girlfriends that way."
"Yeah, but you wound up with Mom," John interjected.
"That's because she was the only one who could put up with my double life. Anyway, Lee if it might interfere with your plans . . . "
"They're not that important," Lee answered, "There's this girl I've been seeing. She and a bunch of her friends are working on some play based on what happened at Tiananmen Square back in '89. Her brother was one of the people killed there when the army attacked the pro-democracy demonstrators. She wants me to play him in their production," he explained with a grimace.
"Anything to get out of the drama?"
Lee nodded, "You bet."
"How'd you meet her anyway?"
"I put in an ad in the college newspaper, for somebody to help me with my father's books. At least the ones that are in Chinese. I can speak Chinese very well, except Hui Ying says I have terrible American accent, but anyway I wanted somebody to help me go through the books, because I'm not very good at reading Chinese. I'm thinking about donating them to the Chinese library in my father's name. I wanted to know which ones would be good to donate and which ones I'd like to keep."
"And this girl answered your ad?"
"Yeah, I kind of like her, but she's awfully political. I guess I should understand especially with her losing her brother that way, but it gets tiring after a while," Lee admitted.
"Right...," John broke in, "After all, who wants to talk politics when you can neck instead."
Lee rolled his eyes and jabbed John in the shoulder.
Shaking his head, Britt sighed. "All right, I want you two to tell me what happened a few nights ago when you took the Black Beauty out. Why did you think the Green Hornet had to move that night instead of waiting? Who told you the meet was going to be that night?"
"It was Jester Wiezel. I was talking with him at the Old Timer's bar when he mentioned there was going to be a major inter-gang meeting that night," John answered.
"You were there as the Green Hornet?"
"No, I like to hang around there a few times a week. Sometimes I can get a lead on a good story there."
"Did you approach Wiezel or did he approach you?"
"He approached me. He said he heard that sometimes the Daily Sentinel can reach the Green Hornet."
"And you told him . . . ?"
"I told him that I didn't know anything about it. Maybe in the old days there was some kind of connection, maybe someone on staff had a line to the Hornet, but not now. But I did tell him that I was willing to pay a few bucks for information if it sounded promising."
"And he took your money?"
"Yeah, and I got the information about the meeting."
"And it was too late for you to tell me about it?"
"Yeah, you and Mom had already left for the party by the time I got home."
"So you thought you'd check it out as the Green Hornet."
"Yes. Look Dad, I know you're pissed about me not telling you but the meeting was going to happen in about an hour, and I knew you would want the Green Hornet in on it."
"I understand even if I don't approve," Britt said. "So you two got there and a fire fight broke out as soon as you got there?"
"Yes."
"Do you think it was a setup for the Green Hornet?"
"From what I've heard since I don't think so. The Knights were planning on a take over as soon as they heard about the meet."
"Sounds like the Knights. They're ambitious, but not too smart."
"I'm sure they realize that now, as least what's left of them. The battle pretty much wiped out their entire gang."
"I don't like this. The gangs have been pretty well stable for the past few years. The minority gangs stay on their own turf and the old Families stay on theirs. They fight things out among their own groups every once in awhile, but usually the balance of power is fairly well maintained. But now that one of the old guard took out a black gang leader, things are going to get messy," Britt commented thoughtfully.
"So you think there might be someone or something that's stirring things up," Lee guessed.
"Exactly," Britt replied. "That's why the Green Hornet is heading out tonight. Lee, I want you to make sure the Black Beauty is ready and fully loaded."
Lee nodded his understanding. "There's one thing Mr. Reid," he said.
"What's that?"
"Well, the Green Hornet's hat was shot off . . . "
"I'd rather forget about that," John muttered to Lee. He had hoped that Britt would forget John's near miss as well.
"What about it?" Britt asked.
"I could've sworn the gunshot came from overhead, say, from the roof of a building nearby."
John frowned in thought. "I think you're right," he answered. "I was too busy ducking at the time to really think about it, but now that you bring it up, I think you're right. The Knights were at ground level, between us and the building where the meeting was taking place. The gunshot came from above. It also sounded like a high-powered rifle. That's different from what the Knights prefer. They usually use close-in weapons like sawed off shotguns, knives, chains."
"Could it have been from a guard posted on a rooftop by one of the other gangs?" Britt asked.
"Maybe," John admitted.
"Or it could have been a trap for the Green Hornet," Lee suggested.
"If it was a trap for the Green Hornet, why didn't they try to reach him sooner? An hour or two is not enough to make sure that the victim shows up."
"Now that I remember it," John said, "Wiezel did do a lot of complaining about being in jail for drunk and disorderly for about a week. I gathered he couldn't raise bail to get out any earlier."
Britt nodded thoughtfully, thinking about his plans for the night. "I see, so maybe that was the first chance that word could get out to the Green Hornet."
"The Green Hornet's hard to reach most of the time," Lee commented.
"He is," Britt admitted wryly, "I guess the Green Hornet's going to have to be more visible if he wants to stay on top of things. Especially if there is somebody intentionally stirring the gangs up." He was thoughtfully silent for a few moments. "Do the Knights sound like good ones for the Hornet to question?" he asked John and Lee.
"Could be," John answered. "There's not many of them left and if they're made to think it was a set up, they might be more willing to talk."
"Except for one thing," Lee said.
"What's that?" Britt asked.
"We ran over their bikes when we made our getaway," Lee said.
Britt shook his head. "That's not good. That's not going to make them very receptive to the Green Hornet," he commented.
Lee grinned, "I didn't think the Green Hornet worried about things like that."
"I think it's more like Kato enjoys having a reason to bust a few heads."
"If you can't get them with honey . . . " Lee said.
"And Hornets aren't known for making honey," Britt said.
III
That evening after dinner, Britt and Casey saw John and Lee to the front door. Behind them the pick-up truck John had borrowed from his father was filled with John's things.
"So John, you sure you want to stay at the townhouse?" Britt asked.
"Yeah. I figure it's time I get out of your and Mom's hair," John answered.
"I guess it doesn't go over real well with the girls when you tell them you're still living with your parents," Britt kidded.
"You might say that," John admitted.
"Of course I noticed you waited until after dinner," Britt said.
"Considering neither of us can cook," Lee commented, "You'll probably be seeing a lot of us near dinner time."
"I'm always happy to have you boys over," Casey said.
"Just don't bring your dirty laundry," Britt said. "That's one thing I draw the line at."
"Don't worry Lee told me he finally figured out that the colors don't get washed with the whites. I'm sure he'll teach me too," John said with a laugh as he slapped Lee on the back.
Arm in arm with Britt, Casey watched John and Lee drive away from house, trailing Lee's car behind them on a trailer. "I'm going to miss him," she said quietly.
"John?"
"Yes."
"We both knew he wasn't going to be around very long."
"I know, but I'm going to miss hearing his big feet thumping down the stairs in the morning."
"We'll see him every day at the Sentinel," he reminded her, lovingly squeezing her close to him.
"So you think he'll be able to settle in at the Sentinel?"
"I think so. I'm sure we'll have a few arguments every once in awhile, but he does have a lot of good ideas."
Casey sighed, laying her head against Britt's shoulder. "The house is going to feel so empty after Dani goes back to law school."
"At least we'll have the whole place to ourselves instead of wondering when someone's going in pop in at the worst time," Britt answered, tipping Casey's chin up. His eyes were smokey blue grey.
Tilting her head, Casey smiled and draped her arms over his broad shoulders. "When are you going out in the Black Beauty tonight?"
"I'll leave the house around ten," he answered before kissing her.
Running her fingers through his thick silver-grey hair, she savored the taste of his lips. "Dani's out with some friends and won't be back until late."
"So we'll have the house to ourselves for a few hours," Britt said, pulling her closer to him.
"Uh huh. Reminds me of the times we would get home early from the Sentinel just before it was time to pick up the kids from the babysitter's." Casey began to loosen the buttons of his shirt.
"Remember the times we would wait until everyone left the Sentinel?" Britt said as his hands worked at loosening her bra.
Casey nodded with a giggle as she ran her hands through the silver hair on his naked chest. "I also remembered the times we had to rush to cover up when the cleaning lady came in."
Britt laughed. She could feel the rumble through her fingers. "I'll never forget the look on Dunigan's face when he came into my office and found us there making love." One hand had slipped under her bra, while the other pressed her hips closer to his.
"How can you forget that, when it just happened last week?" she commented with a laugh. Britt removed his hands from her body just long enough to allow her to slip his shirt down from his shoulders and down his arms. He pulled her close to him in a passionate embrace.
Casey shuddered in his arms for a moment, fighting the wave of fear that suddenly overtook her. He is always like this before a job as the Green Hornet, she thought, as if this might be the last we will be together. She sighed. Come home to me. Come home, safe. If there had to be a last memory, making love to him was the one she wanted to have.
She kissed him deeply, their lips lingering before separating for a breath. Britt slipped his hands under her jeans. Tossing her hair back, Casey gently freed his hands from her body and slid her hands up his arms and on up to his shoulders. The game was not over yet. She wanted to take a few more moments to admire her lover, to imprint him on her memory, forever if it needed to be.
He was still a strikingly attractive man. His hair was silver-grey and thick, his eyes a deep Mediterranean blue-green that could go stormy grey or ice blue depending on his mood. Laugh lines crinkled his eyes and deep creases ran from a narrow-nostriled nose to a wide, thin-lipped mouth. A strong square chin completed a rugged face that had seen its share of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. His body too, reflected that.
He was well muscled with broad shoulders, and a flat belly, but never one to spend hours in the weight room, he did not have bulging vein-covered muscles. When he moved though, she could see them smoothly flexing beneath his deeply tanned hide. He was not soft and sculpted like a member of a boy band or an action movie hero. His body was of a long-lived fighter, strong because it needed to be. The scars of a fighter covered his body. Old bullet wounds dimpled his torso and wide back as did knife wounds and the welts from the surgeries that had been done to keep him alive. Britt hated to go without a shirt in public because of them, but Casey found that they only made him more ruggedly handsome.
She pressed her body to him, kissing him.
"I love you, Casey," Britt whispered huskily into her ear, "I'll always love you."
"I love you too," she whispered back.
I just hope Dani doesn't come home early, Casey thought before losing herself in their passion.