CHAPTER FIVE
Don startled awake at the sound of knocking on the door. He glanced at the clock. It was 6am. Before he could get to his feet Colby had answered the door. He didn't even have time to ask the man and woman on the other side who they were before they breezed past him and closed the door. Don got to his feet.
"You must be Don," the man said, walking over and offering his hand. "I'm Jimmy Dean, this is Kate. We're Charlie's friends."
Don shook his hand and nodded. "Charlie's mentioned you," he said, speaking quietly to avoid waking anyone up. David had woken at the sound of the knocking as well, but everyone else was sound asleep.
"Good. Then you know we're the good guys," Jimmy Dean said brightly. "We don't have much time; we'd like to get you all into a safe location as soon as possible."
Don took a moment to inspect the two strangers who stood in front of him. Jimmy Dean was a blonde with an Australian accent. He was slightly taller than Don, and lanky in build, though Don suspected he was capable to beating just about anyone in the room in a fight. He was dressed casually in jean and a button-down, with a well-worn leather jacket over top. His eyes were bright and blue, and he was well-tanned, like he'd just come from a vacation to an island somewhere. It didn't look like a fake tan.
Kate was only slightly shorter than Jimmy Dean, and built slim but curvy. She was dressed in comfortable yet sophisticated clothes, and everything about her, from her long auburn hair to her low-heeled boots worn over jeans screamed expensive to Don. Her eyes scanned the room before meeting his, and she smiled. "You look nothing like your brother," she said, her accent slightly British.
"So I've been told," Don said with a shrug. "How do I know I can trust you?"
Jimmy Dean took out his cell phone, and dialed a number. "Talk to you brother," he said into it before handing the phone to Don.
Don took it and held it up to his ear. "Hello?"
"Don? It's Charlie. They're fine. It's Jimmy Dean and Kate. Just go with them." Charlie sounded hurried and like he was walking somewhere.
"Are you ok?" Don asked.
"Yes, fine. I'm trying to catch the train. Anyway, I don't have time to talk, but I'll see you soon, ok?" The call was disconnected and Don handed the phone back to Jimmy Dean.
"Alright then," he said with a nod.
It took less than half an hour for everyone to wake up, be introduced, and grab their already packed bags. Jimmy Dean insisted that everyone only bring one bag. Clothes can be bought, he insisted. Or washed.
There was a shiny red SUV parked outside and Kate unlocked the door and climbed in the driver's seat.
"Half of you in here," Jimmy Dean said, motioning towards the car. "I'll take yours and we'll follow." He held his hands up expectantly and Don gave him the keys to his car. "We'll be ditching this car pretty quickly though," Jimmy Dean continued thoughtfully as he did a quick sweep of the car and peeked under it. "There could be a tracer or something…"
Don snorted incredulously. "Why would someone…Never mind," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Nothing makes sense."
That earned a laugh from Jimmy Dean, who climbed into the driver's seat. "Get in already," he said. Don climbed in the passenger seat, while Lauren and Alan got in the back. David, Colby and Marjolie climbed in with Kate.
"You left you car unattended," Don pointed out. "Anyone could have come by…"
"It has a built in scrambler," Jimmy Dean said, starting the car and throwing it into gear. A few moments later they had turned away from the other car and were rapidly speeding down the street.
"Shouldn't we stay together?" Alan asked, sounding a little panicked in the back seat. He was holding onto the door as Jimmy Dean took a corner a little sharply. Don could swear they had ended up on two wheels for a moment there.
"It's better if we split up," Jimmy Dean replied. "In case we're being followed. We'll meet up again soon."
"Is Charlie meeting us somewhere?" Don asked.
"Maybe," Jimmy Dean replied shortly. "He's still in Europe. Probably will come back stateside, or we'll leave the country."
"I don't have a passport with me…" Alan said worriedly.
"That won't be a problem," was the wry response. "Don't worry about a thing."
"Right," Alan muttered. "I'll just sit here."
"Where are we going?" Don asked.
"You'll see."
"I really don't like-"
"Yeah, I got that," Jimmy Dean snapped in response. They were on a busy street now, and he flipped on the sirens with delight. "Awesome," he said.
"Yeah, you really shouldn't do that," Don muttered. He was really not liking not being in control. He watched in irritation as the cars in front of them moved out of the way.
Jimmy Dean's cell rang and he picked it up while steering the car and shifting with his other hand. "Yeah?" He listened for a moment, then closed the phone and dropped it in the cup-holder. He skidded into a sidestreet and parallel parked behind another SUV. This one a lovely bright blue. "Get out," Jimmy Dean ordered, climbing out of the car himself, scanning the surroundings quickly, and then climbing into the other car. Don, Alan and Lauren followed.
"This is all very exciting," Lauren offered when they were on their way again. "I've never been out in the field before."
"Neither have I," Alan said. "And I'd just as soon not be."
Don tried to watch the streets as they flew by to get a sense of where they were headed. He'd driven through this city so often he was pretty familiar with most areas, but Jimmy Dean was taking so many turns and driving so fast, that he soon gave up and instead tried not to panic at Jimmy Dean's ridiculous driving.
"You're being pretty conspicuous, you know," Don told him. "With the driving."
Jimmy Dean dismissed him with a snort. "There's never any police around when you need them, really. You're more likely to be pulled over when you're driving one kilometer over the limit than 50. Besides, I'm well trained in tactical driving. No cop can catch me."
"Let's not test that theory, shall we?" Don said.
"You sound just like Charlie," Jimmy Dean said brightly. "He doesn't like my driving either, though he tends not to have any complaints when we're being chased."
"Does that happen often?" Alan asked from the backseat.
"No, not really," was the casual response. They slowed down as they drove through an industrial area. They were surrounded by warehouses and storage sheds, some looking fairly dilapidated. Some looked nearly new. A garage door opened soundlessly and Jimmy Dean drove into one of the warehouses. The door slid closed behind them. He drove further into the building, the way circling downward until they reached an underground parking lot. There were several cars parked; two were fast-looking sport cars, three were SUVs, one was a motorcycle. Kate, Colby, David and Marjolie were waiting for them. Jimmy Dean parked their car and they all piled out.
"Problems?" Kate asked.
"No," Jimmy Dean replied, motioning for the group to follow them as they walked to the elevator. Kate and Jimmy Dean walked fast, and Don didn't have a moment to take in their surroundings before they were ushered into an elevator. Kate pressed a hand against a scanner and a moment later the elevator hummed to life and began to go up.
"Just so you're all aware," Jimmy Dean said casually. "This is a very secure compound. From now on none of you is to go anywhere without my or Kate's consent. You're likely to get trapped somewhere if you try. You're not prisoners. It's just the way the building works."
"If you try to use the elevator without a hand-scan, it'll trap you between floors and release tear-gas until you pass out," Kate said with a pleased grin. "And then it calls one of us to clean up the mess."
Don couldn't help glancing around him at the innocent-looking walls of the elevator. "Great," he muttered.
"But at least you know no one can get in," Kate said helpfully.
"Unless they over-ride the security codes, I suppose," Jimmy Dean agreed. "Which is highly unlikely, seeing as Charlie's the one who created the security in this particular building."
"Charlie and me," Kate corrected. "The tear-gas was my idea," she informed David and Colby who were staring at her like she was some sort of superhero. "Charlie was going to be boring and just have it stall between floors."
Jimmy Dean's cell rang again and he answered it with a clipped "Yeah?" Don watched him as his expression changed from one of indifference to one of worry. "You're sure? Yeah, ok. Check in with one of us within the hour, would you?" He disconnected the call and dropped the phone into a pocket.
"Problems?" Kate asked casually.
"They're having a problem leaving Prague," Jimmy Dean said shortly.
"Charlie and Anna?" Don asked as the elevator dinged to a halt. The doors slid open to reveal a surprisingly tidy hallway lined with doors.
"Yeah, they'll be fine," Jimmy Dean said, leading them straight down the hallway towards the door at the very end. He swung it open to reveal a large office-like room, with windows over-looking the street on two sides, and several work-stations. A young man got to his feet and walked over, smiling cheerfully.
"Everything alright then?" he asked pleasantly with a Spanish or Italian accent.
"Peachy," Kate said in response. "Charlie and Anna are having problems in Prague."
The easy smile vanished instantly and the young man turned back to the computers he had just left. "They got on the train just fine," he said, shrugging and sitting back down. His hair was slightly long and tied back in a ponytail, and he was dressed almost a little too casual, with ripped jeans and a plaid shirt. "I've been jamming the security videos." His smile returned and he looked at the newcomers. "You must be Charlie's friends and family," he said with a quick wave. "I'm Michigan. I work with Charlie on occasion."
"Your name is Michigan?" Alan said dubiously.
"No, it's just what everyone calls me."
"I've seen you in one of Charlie's classes," Colby said.
Michigan grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Codebreaking. You must be Colby. Charlie was my professor before I was recruited." He shrugged and typed a few things into his computer. "I still take classes on down-time."
"So what do you do here?" Alan asked.
"Surveillance," Michigan replied as his computer buzzed at him. He picked up a headset and pressed a button. "Michigan. Speak. Oy, heard you're having issues."
Don listened and watched with interest as a map appeared on a giant screen on one wall, and a red line snaked its way across the screen.
"The train," Jimmy Dean told him as he walked up to the screen. Michigan was still talking in the background, and Don turned his attention back to the conversation.
"Uhuh," Michigan said as he typed away. "No, that's not a good plan. Yeah, Professor, but it's just going to get you in trouble once you're there. Uhuh." The map changed, this time zooming in and showing streets. "Yeah, turn left," Michigan was saying. "Left again. Right. There should be a rotunda, take the third. Yeah. You've got it? Ok." The map blinked off and Michigan took off his headset. "I'm practically an OnStar service," he muttered. "They're fine," he told the group in general. "Just trying to ditch some fans."
"I'll show you some rooms," Kate said cheerfully, but not before Don caught a meaningful look between Jimmy Dean and herself. Don suspected that all was not well at all.