Chapter Twelve

The Code

"You do know the drill, right?" Ella asked the question more to Linus than Rusty. Ella Van de Kamp didn't know either me. Well, she knew them… but she didn't know them. She wasn't in love with Rusty Ryan. In fact, Rusty Ryan wasn't even her type. Linus was more of Ella's type. Awkward, inexperienced… someone she could twist and mold and manipulate…

Rusty Ryan who?

Linus nodded enthusiastically while Rusty rolled his eyes. Had she really just asked him that question? Yes, he knew what he was doing! He had been doing it for years! Years before her, even… and she had the tenacity to ask him if he knew the drill. Humph.

"Good," she sighed, adjusting her completely-too-short-skirt. "I'll be right back, then."

Lily, aka Ella, walked into Mr. Hollings office after giving a slight rap on the door with her knuckles. Hollings was sitting at his desk, his pen furiously rushing across a stack of papers in front of him. The squat man slouched in his chair, his round face covered by thick-rimmed glasses. "Mr. Hollings, your two o'clock appointment is here," Lily announced as she approached his deck.

Hollings looked up, looking only half aware of what was going on. "Excuse me?" he asked, frustration in his voice.

"Your two o'clock appointment, sir. With…. a Mr. Henry Jameson and his associate Geoffrey Lime," Lily recited one more time. He continued to look at her dumbfounded, so she consulted the fake date book she had been cradling in her arms. "They're from the Big Business Security Corporation."

"I don't have a two o'clock," he growled, checking his agenda.

"It's in the computer, sir. Maybe a secretarial mistake?"

"Who makes my agendas?" It was more of a command for then answer than an actual question.

"That would be Mary, sir."

"Mary who?"

"Fitzgerald."

Hollings leaned back in his chair, a hand stretching up to his chin. "Ah, yes. Fitzgerald. Wouldn't be the first mistake I've encountered from Mary." Lily smiled to herself on the inside. Yes, it was the first mistake he had come across from Mary Fitzgerald. She didn't exist. "Lauren…"

"Ella, sir."

"Right, Ella. Get me the pink papers for Mary Fitzgerald. I won't tolerate anymore mistakes from one of my assistants."

"Yes, sir. And what should I do about Mr. Jameson and Mr. Lime?"

"Tell them I'm far to busy."

"Yes, sir." Shit!

Lily turned to walk back out, walking quite a length to the door.

"Ella?"

Lily pivoted. "Yes, Mr. Hollings?"

"You say they're from the…"

"Big Business Security Corporation."

"Do they know where they are?" Hollings leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "My security system can't be beat."

"Right, sir."

"Better yet, throw them out. It's an insult towards me that they even think they can offer me something better."

"Yes, Mr. Hollings." Double shit!

Lily turned towards the door again, her stride increasing as she tried to come up with a reason to get Linus and Rusty in the office.

"Ella?"

She pivoted once more. "Mr. Hollings?"

"Come to think of it, with all the modern advances in technology these days… it couldn't hurt to hear them out, right?"

"It couldn't hurt at all, sir."

"Right. Send them in."

"Yes, sir." Crisis averted.

Her pace towards the door quickened even more, almost breaking out into a run with her heels. She just wanted to get out before he changed his mind again.

"Ella?"

Now it was just getting annoying.

"Yes… Mr. Hollings."

"Don't forget those pink papers for Mary. And…come back in. Bring a pen and some paper to take notes on what these guys have to say. If they do have something interesting enough to invest in, I want to make sure I can get it at the best price."

"Right."

Her hand was on the handle. She hesitated, thinking that he was going to call her back again. When he didn't, she exited the room. Rusty and Linus were seated on the other side. Linus was sitting on her chair, forcing his upper lip to twitch as he watched the fake mustache placed there precariously teeter with the movement. Rusty sat on the corner of her desk, the long wig he was wearing falling down onto his shoulders. He took a lock between his fingers and started twisting it between his digits. He wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses identical to Holling's, making his eyes appear bigger and wider than normal.

"Give me a second," she gasped, falling against the door.

Rusty stood, holding a hand out to her. "Are you okay, Lily?"

"My heart's just racing a little fast, is all. And my name is Ella!"

He walked closer to her, so no one but the two of them could hear. "Your name is Lily. I'm Rusty, and you're Lily. Stop trying to run away from me," he whispered, trying to coax her out from her fantasy of Ella Van de Kamp.

"Mr. Hollings will see you now, gentlemen," she replied, ignoring him. She had decided that, after the other night, that was the best course of action to take. A childish, selfish action, but the right action. For now.

The two men in their disguises followed her back into the office. Rusty noticed the wide expanse of the room, a large round table at one end and an ostentatious oak desk at the other. A practice putting green took up a strip in the middle of the room, but Rusty thought it as too cliché to be relevant to be a portal into the banker's personality. As he continued to follow Lily… or Ella, rather… through the office, Rusty noticed three plasma screened television sets hanging on the wall. One portrayed the dealings of the New York Sock Exchange. The other two showed sports scores.

The man likes money and gambling. Two things Rusty could relate to.

Across the room, opposite the television sets, was a wall of windows that peered out over New York's Financial District. Then he saw it. The vault. The arch-like metal door behind his desk, half hidden with a bookcase as to hide it but also to welcome all challengers.

The man also likes nice views and positions of power. Two more things Rusty could relate to.

He followed Lily until she broke away from them and walked to the other side of Hollings' desk, where she stood astute with a notebook rested against her forearm.

Rusty looked to Linus, and decided that he better take the lead. He stretched his hand out across the desk, smiling as warmly as he could. "Mr. Hollings, I presume? My name is Henry Jameson, and this is my partner Geoffrey Lime. The word on the street is that you have the strictest security system in all of New York."

Hollings laughed to himself, then slowly indicated for the men to take a seat. "That would be correct, gentlemen. In recognizing so, I would wonder what it is exactly that you think you have to offer me…" He wasn't looking at the two men in front of him, however, he was staring at Ella's long legs in her too-short skirt. Lily's legs. Legs that Rusty had dreamt about. Legs that Rusty had loved….

"Only the best, Mr. Hollings," Linus interjected, preferring to remain in an alerted stance instead of Rusty's casual one. "Upgrades in today's market…"

"Which market would that be?" Hollings interrupted, looking to Ella to make sure she was catching every word. Every very unimportant word. Really, she was just doodling on her notepad. What would Rusty look with some devil horns and a pointy, little beard?

Linus was a t a loss for words. He had practiced his speech in the mirror over and over again - even several times in front of Lily - but nothing had prepared him for an interruption. That's what Rusty was for. Although, there was just something about the way that Hollings was staring at Lily like a piece of meat that brought about something in him… Certain emotions bubbled past reason, and Rusty's mouth took actions of its own. "Mr. Hollings, I'm sure you're a busy man. I'm going to put this plain and simple for you. You're security system is a fucking piece of shit."

Hollings seemed taken aback, as did Lily. While Hollings started to laugh heavily, thinking Rusty was making some sort of joke, Lily scowled fiercely at him.

"Is that what you think? Let me tell you something, I would wager you anything…"

"How much would you wager me, Mr. Hollings? Talk is cheap. Put your money where your mouth is. Show me the damn system at its best, and we can start with that vault right behind you. I've seen the plans to the vault, Mr. Hollings, and I have also seen some major flaws in your system."

Hollings' smile disappeared from his aging face, his fingernails digging into the armrests of his chair. "How….? Ella, I think it's about time you showed these two men out of my office…"

"Yes, sir," Ella sighed, knowing well that they had not yet gotten the code to the vault.

She turned to head to the door, instructing the men to follow her. Linus stood up first, frowning. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Shut up, Lime. Stop being such a pussy… the man has a right to know that his system is shit!" Rusty retorted.

Linus threw his hands in the air as Lily turned back to watch with wide eyes. "Oh this is just great… all this time an energy I've put into coming up with names… faces… identities… you're going to throw it all away just to prove a point?"

"Gentlemen…" Hollings grunted, his hand lingering over the red button located on the bottom side of his desk. The button, Lily knew, alerted the authorities.

She rushed to Hollings side. "Sir? What could they be arguing about?"

"What we're arguing about, Baby Doll, is that my so-called partner here is too much of a fruitcake to tell when a good plan is in place!"

"Gentlemen, kindly remove your selves or I'll call the police!"

"Who are you calling a fruitcake, asshole?"

"You, you fuck nugget!" Rusty replied.

Fuck nugget? Lily laughed, but Hollings didn't seem to notice. After her little slip, she saw Hollings hand move towards the button a little more. Luckily, the sedative she had put in his coffee a little earlier was taking effect. His hand shook unsteadily, unable to push the button if he wanted to.

"I've had enough of you!"

"Same here, pal…" Rusty yelled. He was about to push past Linus and head to the door, but Linus pulled his fist back, thrusting his arm forward until it collided with Rusty's eye. Rusty threw himself over the desk, depositing him in Hollings' lap right before he lost consciousness. In his fall, he had managed to kick Lily in the head.

He sprang to his feet as he heard her scream, instantly hunkering down to her side. "Ella? Lily? Are you okay?"

She rubbed the side of her head furiously with the palm of her hand as Linus helped her into the sitting position. Her wig had been knocked off, so she remained seated behind the desk and out of view of any of the security cameras located in the office. "I'm okay. I think." She put her wig back on, and stood. Lily turned to Hollings and pretended to care about his lack of consciousness, while the boys ran out the door.

As Ella returned to her desk when all the havoc was over, she noticed a note on her desk. She read:

Phase Two: complete.

-R.R.