I located a country club on the map, but when we drove by, there was no clear line of sight to the main gate. We drove back down Roscomare. Four golf carts were already parked near the gate. I looked around for a sniper perch. There were hills on the opposite side of the road which faced the gate, but from this vantage point, I couldn’t see any trees or even tall shrubs to hide a sniper up there. I pointed.
“Them hills might make a good perch if we can find some cover,” I said. “Drive up there and let’s get a better look at the view from height.”
Mars passed the guard gate one last time before getting into a left turn lane. He made a turn onto a small, paved road calledStratford Circle, stopping at a sign which read: Getty View Park. I grinned. Setting up in a park wasn’t ideal for many reasons, but a ghillie suit should hide me, even in daylight. Mars drove into the park and up a hill, going as high as he could before the road hit a dead end. He parked the car and we got out. I dragged in a huge gulp of fresh morning air, loving the scent of the hills at the break of dawn. Birds chirped all around us and in the east, the sun was just now beginning to peek above the horizon.
“This way,” Mars said, breaking my reverie; I turned to see him striding into the brush. I followed my friend, glad that I’d worn my heavy boots to work as he veered off the hiking trail. We climbed as high as we could then stopped and looked around. The sound of the 405 Freeway was a low hum and the view of the wide thoroughfare far below us was already busy with traffic, even on a Sunday. We walked in the opposite direction of the freeway, until we could see Roscomare.
As I thought, there were no large trees or bushes up here, only lots of scrub brush and low-lying plants. I absently wondered when the last major fire had come through here, suspecting it might’ve been the previous year when the Getty had been threatened by the large wildfire. The Palisades fire had destroyed the majority of Pacific Palisades and a large part of Malibu including many iconic restaurants and businesses as well as residences.
The huge J. Paul Getty Museum on the west side of the freeway was easy to see from here and sat at a higher elevation than where we stood right now. Mars pointed it out as he looked through binoculars. He handed them to me, and I looked down at the men who were setting up the valet stand. The fact that we were in an elevated position, far enough from the hiking trails which no doubt ran throughout the park and had a clear view of the valet stand’s location, was more than I could’ve asked for.I handed the binocs back to my teammate and looked at the ground. It was covered with stones and small brush, but I found a semi-level pad which would do.
“This is it,” I said to Mars.
“Agreed.” He rubbed both arms through his long-sleeved shirt. “Come on. I’m freezing my arse off. Let’s get a cuppa.”
I nodded, glanced one last time at the gate in the distance, and followed him back down to the car.
Chapter Eight
REX
When we got back to the office, the rest of the team was filing out. “All done with your plannin’?” I asked Mickey as he walked down the hall toward us with Nash at his side.
“Yeah, how’d you make out? Find a place to set up?”
I slapped him on the back. “Yeah. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do in a pinch.”
“’E’ll ‘ave to wear a ghillie suit, but it’ll work,” Mars added.
Both men grinned. “Just like old times, huh, buddy?” Mickey asked.
I grunted then looked past the two as Candy and SAC Bradley came out of the room. They came down the hall and stopped in front of us.
I took Bradley’s hand as he greeted me. “Figure out where you’ll set up?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“Good.” He turned to Candy. “Let me know if you need anything from my end, Sorensen.”
“Will do, sir.”
Bradley looked at all of us. “Good luck, men.” We nodded, then he turned and strolled back down the hall, headed toward his office. I watched him until Candy spoke up.
“How’d it go?”
“Like I was just tellin’ Hampstead and Way, we found a place. There’s no cover but a ghillie suit’ll hide me well enough.”
Candy nodded. “Good.”
Mars chuckled.
“What is it?” Candy asked.
“Nothing,” Mars replied. “’E seems a bit put out, that’s all Captain.”
Candy narrowed his eyes. “Put out by what exactly?”
“The ghillie suit, Captain. It’s been a while,” Mars said.
