Yoko almost felt guilty that she was stealing ten minutes of Danny’s lunch break. She decided to bring him coffee the next day. Maybe a donut to go with it.
She watched him walk into the building and calculated how long it would take him to walk to the far end, get her lunch from the kitchen, and return. She figured she had a sliver of time.
As soon as he was out of sight, she casually walked toward the area where the trucks were parked. She remembered it was the truck on the left that had the marks on the bumper. Several feet separated it from the other parked vehicle. She looked around as if she were looking at the scenery, not looking for anything specific. Even though it was a facilities yard, there were ample trees, birds flying overhead, and a clear blue sky. It was rather nice for an industrial area. She spotted two guys leaning against the building, smoking cigarettes.Do people still do that?The men must have been no older than thirty. That was plenty of time to have heard all the ads and seen all the horrid commercials with sickly, dying people. They looked over in her direction. She grinned. “Those things are going to stunt your growth!”
Both young men laughed out loud. “Too late for that!” They flagged her off.
She was confident they thought she was simply a coworker taking a stroll.
Yoko walked to the rear of the yard, where she had climbed the chain-link fence the night before. She dodged between the trucks and made her way toward the front bumper. Her front flap pocket contained a small plastic evidence bag, a penknife, and an emery board.
Looking toward the building, she began to scrape the paint flakes into the bag when Danny’s head popped into view. She dropped the bag and placed her foot on top of it.
“Nice looking rig,” she called out to Danny as he started walking toward her.
“Yeah. They spare no expense when it comes to the rigs around here.” He handed her a brown bag and held a white one in his other hand.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. The lunch counter didn’t look very appetizing today, so I got myself a couple of dogs. The company spared no expense on the appearance of the place, and the quality of the tools, but the food is rather meh.”
To Yoko’s surprise, Danny sat on the front bumper of the rig. “It’s a nice day today. Figure I might as well enjoy it. I mean, we work outside, but we don’t get to relax.”
Yoko wasn’t sure which way she should move. She had to get the plastic bag out from under her shoe. As she opened her lunch bag, she intentionally dropped a napkin. “Sometimes I am such a klutz.” She bent over and scooped the bag up with her napkin. That was a little too close for comfort. She shoved the crumpled napkin and the plastic bag in her side pocket.
Danny handed her one of his napkins. “I always get extra. Mustard ends up everywhere on me. I guess I’m just a slob,” he said, and chuckled.
Yoko didn’t think Danny was anything close to being a slob. He was well-groomed, and his boots were always clean. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Tell my girlfriend, Bonnie.” He laughed.
Yoko sat next to him. A little small talk wouldn’t hurt. They barely spoke while they were working. Between the sound of the motor on the cart, the leaf blower, and the trimming tools, it was always too noisy.
“How long have the two of you been together?”
“About a year. I met her at the courthouse, believe it or not.”
“Don’t tell me she’s your parole officer?” Yoko asked quizzically.
“Ha! No. She was carrying a load of binders and dropped them. I stopped to help her. Our eyes met, and you know the rest of the story.” He actually started to blush.
“Sounds like there’s a little magic going on.” Yoko smiled.
“I’d like to think so. We want to get married next year. I’m taking online courses for business management. To be honest, I’m tired of heaving mulch.”
“I don’t blame you. Not my favorite part of the job, either.”
Danny checked his watch. “Time to get back to the rock pile,” he said, snickering.
Yoko decided she liked Danny. She didn’t want him to be collateral damage. The Sisters kept a list of people who would need additional assistance after the mission was over. It didn’t happen all the time, but when there were innocent, unintentional participants, there would be a way out for them. The recipient would never know who was actually behind these “new opportunities.” They were only told to “Don’t ask, don’t tell. Be happy.”
They hopped in the wagon, and Danny drove along the paths to check the other side of the complex. Once again, Yoko took copious notes. It would be first on their agenda the following day.
Myra returned to Sunnydale with her suitcase. The security guard immediately opened the gate, waved, and smiled.
She pulled up to the main entrance and sent a quick text to Izzie.Here.
The valet darted over. “Welcome back, Ms. Regan.” Raymond opened her car door.
