Questions for Answers

Chapter Twenty Three

Michael pulled out his walkie-talkie and spoke in code to his son, "The baby bird has hatched. I repeat the baby bird has hatched. Find the nest."

Richard heard that and immediately knew what to do. At this point, the auction had already begun, so he wanted to slip out without drawing too much attention to himself. He slowly got up and put his head down as he exited through the side door. Richard knew the phrase "the baby bird has hatched" meant that Jeremey had completed his job. He also knew that "find the nest" meant to go to the trucks out back. Avan, a guy from their crew, had stayed outside to keep an eye on things, so Richard knew he'd have the area clear for him. Also, the security system had been disabled, so he knew the alarm wouldn't go off when he opened the back door.

As he exited, he saw Avan guarding their trucks. He went over to him and they began unloading it. He grabbed the empty bag he'd placed into one of the trucks and filled it with the explosives. He then geared up by putting on a helmet, and vest, and equipping himself with a calico. As he was about to enter back through the building, Avan put out his hand to stop him, "Hey, once you get done placing those explosives, you need to find a different way to enter. If you come back through that side door, they're gonna see you in your gear and the jig will be up."

Richard nodded, "I know, I got this." He removed Avan's hand and before even entering the building again, placed some of the explosives on the cars that belonged to Elijah and his crew. Once he was finished, he went back inside the building. He entered all of the back rooms and placed the explosives inside. He looked around and realized where he was and knew that he had access to the backstage area.

He crept around the corner and slowly opened the door to what appeared to be where all the auction items were being held. He hid behind a random table when he saw a woman come back and pull an item from the inventory. Once she made her way back to the stage, he came out of hiding. He quickly remembered that his father had told him about the item that Elijah himself would be presenting. It was an AM/FM pop-out radio.

He assumed the coast was clear and tiptoed over to all of the auction items. It didn't take him long before he found the radio and took it back with him to his hiding spot. He unscrewed it and carefully placed a small explosive inside, and screwed it back on. He went back over, placed it where it had previously sat, and left the backstage area. He had a button that would detonate the explosives at any time, so he was in control of the situation. He radioed his father on the walkie and let him know he was finished.

So while Richard was finding another way inside, the rest of the crew got up one by one and headed outside to gear up. Richard found a window that didn't sit too high and began climbing up. When he reached it, he pushed it with force and was able to slip in. He hit the ground, but he was fine. He just needed to figure out where he was. The plan was to stay out of the auditorium until everyone was in full gear. Once Richard received the go-ahead, he would detonate the explosives and deal with the remaining crowd.

He needed to make sure he wasn't too far away because the explosives wouldn't work otherwise. He jogged down the long hallway and looked side to side, completely ignoring what was in front of him. In an instant, he collided with a young woman holding drinks and caused her to spill them all over herself, knocking her down in the process. His eyes widened as he helped her off the ground, "I am so sorry, I didn't see you."

When he got a good look at her, he couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she was. She noticed he was staring and visibly became uncomfortable. He noticed and snapped out of it, "Uh, what are you doing here?"

She wiped off her dress, "I was supposed to be serving these drinks to the guests. Thanks to you I can't do that anymore."

He sighed and shook his head, "You need to get out of here. Like now."