V
The next day Wilma and Buck were sitting in the transportation hub waiting for the shuttle to take them back to station Mast.
"I do believe we are being followed" said Buck.
"Yes I see him, I think he was one of the men in the meeting" she replied.
"I guess they don't want Winifred to leave DuoSol."
"Then I guess she will not be leaving. How long before the shuttle is here?
"20-25 minutes" Buck replied.
"Good, can you arrange a diversion in about 10 minutes?"
"I think I can do that."
Wilma stood up and walked over to the restroom door and entered.
Buck stood up when Wilma did, then gave an elaborate stretch. He ambled toward the area where the passengers were disembarking from the shuttle that had just arrived with a fresh group of guests for the resort. Buck mingled with the people, crossed to the other side of the group, and went to a small closet he had seen earlier. This was where the maintenance staff kept the tools and supplies for the plants. Buck put on the cap and vest hanging there and picked up a small tool cady. He walked over to the planters and started to clear away the dead leaves and debris, piling them up at the base of one of the trees. He slipped his hand into his pocket and took out what appeared to be a piece of candy wrapped in paper with the ends twisted. This is dropped in the pile of leaves at the base of the tree and pushed down so that it was buried. A quick glance around told him everybody was focused on the guests getting onto the tram. Next he took from his pocket a small but powerful lens. This he surreptitiously placed on top of the pile directly in line with a sunbeam coming through the oculus. Soon he saw what he was looking for, just a wisp of smoke. He bent down and started to rummage through the cady but in reality he was blowing on the small fire that was already starting. He stood up, pantomimed looking for something in the cady and the vest, shrugged his shoulders like he knew he didn't have something, picked up the cady and walked back to the maintenance closet. Just as he reached to wall the fire caught hold and people started to notice. That's when the fire reached the paper around the "candy" which was really a small smoke bomb. Soon the entire area was filled with dense smoke. People were running and screaming. Everyone's attention was focused on the area where the fire was.
In the restroom, once she had ascertained that she was alone, Wilma took off her glasses. She carefully snapped them between the bridge and one of the lens. She carefully slid a small metal disk that was attached to the front bridge off and placed on the counter in front of her. Next she snapped the bow of the glasses and extracted a thin metal bar from the center of the bow and placed that on the counter also. She put the glasses in the sink, next she released her hair from the bun and shook it out, took a comb from a pocket, got it wet and combed out her hair. In doing so her hair returned to its natural dark color and shine. With a wet cloth she washed her face to remove the makeup. Just as she was removing the baggy outfit, revealing a generic flight suit underneath, she heard the commotion coming from the main room.
"Right on time, thank you Buck" she told herself. She disposed of the clothing in the trash evacuator and returned to the sink. She quickly braided her hair but as she did so she slipped first the disk and then metal bar from the bow within the braid, hiding them completely. Now she turned on the tap and let the water run over the glasses. The water activated material in the lens that caused them to completely disintegrate. One more look at her reflection in the mirror. "Sure wish I had a lipstick at least" Wilma waited a few more minutes in the restroom emerging only when she heard the first call for boarding the shuttle. She walked confidently out of the restroom, head held high headed for the boarding ramp. As she moved along she passed the man who was watching her. She noted his very surprised facial expression. Obviously he was expecting someone else to come out of that restroom.
Buck had retreated to the area of the maintenance closet in the chaos created by the smoke bomb. The security bot had emerged from further along the wall and applied foam on the area in the planter that was smoking putting out the small fire. Soon the smoke was pulled up and out of the oculus and the area quickly cleared, and the normal boarding routine resumed. Once the first call for boarding was made, he moved closer to the ramp. Buck spotted Wilma coming towards him and he walked up to meet her. They entered the shuttle, arm in arm, just as the ramp was being retracted and the door closed. The shuttle's engine hummed and the ship rose up and out of the oculus.
The End