Local Rum and a Walking Stick

 296.

The two groups converge at a long dinning table of deep red Honduras mahogany. Matching high-back chairs surround an elegant centerpiece in a room specifically designed for private opulence. On one side Goldson, his counsel, Bess, looking every bit the part of a savvy and experienced international entrepreneur, and Sharkey are to be seated. Opposite them The Senator, his wife, and aide try to relax as the ice slowly breaks. Goldson, still standing to allow the others to be seated, smoothly segues from a casual conversation with one of the wait staff into an informal introduction.

"We would like to thank the esteemed Senator from South Carolina for taking the time out of his busy schedule to come down to our secret island paradise for a some well deserved R&R. Around a few days of recreation and relaxation we'll try to find a few minutes to discuss one or two matters that have special importance to us all, quite possibly to the extent that they might be called game changers…" He begins.

Drysdale monitoring their every move and monosyllable from one floor below, mutters a "you can say that again," to which The Queen to his right, their four eyes watching all forty-eight camera feeds, adds a "right."

Goldson introduces the seated members of each party, all sipping the house special cocktail of local rum loaded with fruit, including special meritorious attention to Sharkey, "He being the conduit between the old and the new." To this lavishness Sharkey simply raises his goblet, smiles and nods towards his host with an appreciative, yet mysterious, grin. In a gracious act of chivalry he also raises a silent toast to his partner Bess, sitting demurely to his immediate left. All of this to critical acclaim by the team of special agents watching on screen, in real time and with bad intention, one floor below. 

"Remember, outside of Davis and Saunders, the rest of us are to stay in the shadows, our cover is our cover, we are here for the security of the Senator, not to video-bomb or steal a scene. I can't emphasize enough the importance of 'selling' our mission to the Senator and Goldson. Let's be patient, but alert and aware," I reiterate.

To this end we have established a viewing protocol, already known as Rule One: No more than three people at a time in the surveillance war-room.

I ask Mustang to join me in a walk-about of the hotel, along with the resort's Head of Security. We go upstairs to invite Goldson's body guard as a formality but he rejects the offer in order to keep his sentry assignment outside the only door to the dining area.

We are walking outside between the Hotel and one of its many outdoor recreation facilities, this one a splash-lit spa/pool/jacuzzi/lounge area when I hear Julie on my com earbud.

"Mongoose One, call me immediately on a secure line."

I apologize, ask Mustang to carry on, and as quickly as one good leg and a walking stick will allow, hustle back to the war-room.