Solo chuckles again, then clears his throat. “Anyway.” His tone shifts to all-business. “We sticking to the same plan, then?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Varsha answers. “Rizwana, Andres, and Tomas – that’s the decided order.”
“Copy.” He pauses for a couple of seconds, and we then hear him talking to someone on the other side.
“Sorry about that,” he says to us after a short while. “Alright, so where were we?”
“We confirmed the kill order,” Jayce states.
“Ah, yes.” There’s a rustle of fabric against leather, footsteps clicking against hardwood floor, followed by the shutting of a door.
“Alright, so Waleed informed me earlier that he’s got your names added to the event’s invitees list,” Solo informs us. “Mine was already in there, of course, so all he had to do was confirm my RSVP.”
“Just making sure: he managed to get us inwithoutfreaking out the person responsible for the guest list?” Alex inquires.
“You underestimate the power our client holds over the entirety of this shindig, Alex,” Solo says.
“Touché.”
“So…” There’s another rustle, followed by the groaning of leather. “I’ve acquired a softcopy ofImperia’sblueprint,” Solo tells us. “I’m emailing it to you as we speak. It’s for reference only, by the way; you don’t have to store it into memory or anything.”
“Do we wanna know how you got your hands on it?” Varsha asks.
“Eat the damn mangoes and forget about the seeds, V,” Solo answers.
“That’s…hardly accurate.” She clicks her tongue and pulls her phone out of her denim jacket. “Anyways… Password,” she tells him, then taps on the latest notification she’s gotten, which in turn opens the encrypted email Solo has sent her.
“The capital of Nauru, times ninety-four, times omega.”
yaren×94×omega
Varsha types in the password, then flips her phone sideways before showing us the black-and-white blueprint.
“Give me a verbal rundown, Solo,” I say, then take Varsha’s phone from her.
Her and Alex come to stand next to me, and as I zoom into an area on the blueprint, I notice that they’ve moved the ballroom up to the first floor.
“Threat level is intermediate,” he says. “The place may look like it was built to be some sort of a palace, but it’s got none of the surprise factors of one. The layout is pretty standard, too – nothing we need to concern ourselves about. The security is top-notch, as it is to be expected, but they are quite easily persuadable if you’ve got the right words to say, the right tools on hand, and the perfect amount of status.”
“Escape routes?” I ask.
“We’ve got 3 exits,” Solo begins. “The first one, of course, is the entrance itself. The second one is on the ground floor as well – in the kitchen, northwest side. It’s got a digital lock system and is supposed to stay shut unless an emergency hits, but the staff has disabled it for their random cigarette and coffee breaks, so you’ll find it open at all times. It leads to 17thAve, so you guys will have to take a bit of a turnaround to get to the parking lot – on foot – to reach your vehicles. Not the best bargain if, God forbid, you’re being chased, but it’s still a solid option. And then, finally, we’ve got the third exit…” He trails, and that’s not exactly a good sign.
“What is it?” Jayce asks.
“Avoid it if you can, because the third exit is on the second floor – inside the manager’s office. It’s a massive glass window, basically, which opens to a metal platform, followed by a set of metal stairs that’ll lead you directly to the hotel’s parking lot.”
“But we’re to avoid it because the room itself is heavily guarded, I presume,” I tell Solo.
“Bingo. The manager has a team of security that’s always stationed outside the office. He’s Chase and Miranda’s puppet, and not only takes care of their illegal biddings, but also manages the hotel’s finances. So yeah, he’s kept well under protection.”
“What’s his name again?” Jayce asks.
“Manav Dheer,” says Solo.
“You have any idea why they moved the ballroom to the first floor?” I ask him.
“It’s because the area where it used to be before has now been turned into a seating room for international meetings or some shit. Chase wanted a room that’s big enough, and also good enough to transform into a patriotic bullshit dungeon to cash in any foreign dignitary that visits Riverside and holds a meeting with him.”
