Clint was down in the Business Center of the hotel, waiting on a fax. Viki had gone down to meet him because she had an idea on finding Karen. It was now after 4 o’clock and maybe room service would be delivering a tray to Karen, if she were in the hotel. She quickly informed Clint of her idea and then asked him to meet her at the Room Service department. ‘Now, where would Room Service be, anyway?’ she asked herself. Seeing a bellman, she asked him where the kitchen was.
“Which kitchen, Madame?”
“The one that provides all the room service to the guests in their rooms.”
“But all the restaurants have room delivery service. If the guest chooses from the room menu, the order is channeled to the restaurant that makes that dish. If there are more restaurants involved, it is prepared in steps.”
“So there’s no way to know where my sandwich came from?” asked Viki.
“Was there something wrong with the food sent to your room, Madame? I am so sorry, let me assure you . . . ”
“No you don’t understand. There’s nothing wrong. I just wanted to talk to one of the waiters that brought my sandwich.”
“Did he act improperly? If so, we will get to the bottom . . .”
“No you don’t understand. I just want to talk to him. Oh, never mind, I’ll talk to the manager.”
Viki was even more frustrated upon learning that the manager was in a meeting with the secretary of the Shah of Uruguay. Heading back to her suite, she was disappointed. It wasn’t until she was almost at their rooms that she remember Clint was supposed to meet her somewhere else. She gave up and thought surely he would come back to the room.
Lying on the love-seat, she kicked off her shoes and put a pillow behind her head. ‘Just a few moments of shut-eye,’ she thought.
“Knock, knock,” said a loud voice. Startled, Viki raised up and tried to orient herself. The sun was going down, it was a lot later than when she laid down. Staying barefooted, she cautiously went to the door and peeked out the peep hole. It was Mark.
“Viki, it’s me, Mark.”
Unlocking the door, she opened it and let him in.
“I was just resting. What time is it?”
“Well, it’s only 7pm, but I thought I’d come check out things here. Larry seems to be fast asleep, I only lightly tapped on his door.” Looking around the suite, “Are you here all alone?”
“Yes, but I do wonder where Clint is. He’s been gone for a couple of hours. I can’t imagine where he’s got off to.”
“He didn’t tell you where he was going? Strange.”
“Well, Mark, it’s a long story. Clint and I were going to do some sleuthing of our own. We decided to meet at the Room Service Area, but I was told there wasn’t one. So I came back to the suite.”
“Where was Clint, then?”
“He was in the Business Center, waiting for a fax from our banker in the states.”
“Well, maybe he decided to stop at the craps table. Or roulette, he seemed to be doing well the other night.” Mark said with a grin.
“I don’t think he would do that without at least finding me first, Mark.”
“Let’s go down to the Business Center, then to the area you went to and then split up and look among the gaming tables.”
“Let me get my jacket and put on my shoes. What else is going to go wrong in this place!”
None of their search attempts proved successful. Clint was nowhere to be found, like he had dropped off the face of the earth. None of the bellmen had seen him, the Business Center said he had left about 4:15. Viki was growing more and more concerned over his absence. Clint never did that. He was so considerate and punctual. She had a bad feeling in her bones that something was wrong. Mark and Viki went back to the Buchanan suite and decided they had nothing to do but wait. Suddenly, Mark hit his head with his hand.
“Of course! Kipling has him. That has to be it! I’m going now to Kipling’s quarters. I’ll let you know immediately if I find out anything.” he leaped out of the chair and headed for the door.
“Please, Mark, find him. I’ll be waiting.”
“It will soon be time to wake Larry. If I don’t get back by 8:30, wake him up, please. I’ll be back to get you both before 9.”
“Yes, I’ll let him get as much sleep as possible.”
Viki continued to pace in the suite. It was a nervous habit, one she often did when the kids were out late or she was afraid of missing a print deadline. It was working off some energy, but she was really beginning to feel tired. ‘That nap didn’t help at all. I’m exhausted,’ thought Viki. She called Room Service and ordered a pot of coffee and thought about calling the kids. ‘No,’ she thought, ‘I can’t do that. They’ll want to talk to their father and I won’t be able to explain his absence or pretend I’m not worried.’ There was no one she could turn to now. Larry needed his sleep desperately. Everyone else was unreachable. Being alone, was the hardest thing Viki ever did. Fortunately, she was never alone often, and only when she chose it. Her life in Llanview was full and happy and she liked it that way. The evil Ivan Kipling was changing every thing.
“Knock, knock,” again came the warning sign. She thought it must be Mark. That was quick, maybe it was good news to come so quickly!
Opening the door, Viki was a little bit more than shocked to be looking at Clint in a waiter’s uniform! She took several steps back, but couldn’t say anything.
“Madame, I have brought your coffee. Where do you wish it?”
“Why, Mr. Waiter, er, er, over here, I guess.”
Clint pushed the cart all the way into the room and shut the door quietly.
“Honey, you won’t believe what I found out!”
“Oh, Clint, I’ve been so worried. How could you put me through this!” Viki’s voice was a little sharp and she was trembling.
Noticing that her bottom lip was quivering, Clint took her in his arms and held her very close. He could smell the fragrance of her perfume. He always liked the way Viki smelled. Most of the time, she didn’t have to wear perfume, she still smelled wonderful. Their embrace was long and tender. Finally, Viki allowed him to loosen his grip and he started over again.
“Viki, I’m sorry. I tried to find you, I couldn’t. Then this maitre ‘d caught me in the hallway in the back of one of the kitchens and gave me the third degree. Well, the only thing I could come up with was that I was looking for work.”
Viki’s laughter was light and sounded so good to Clint. He hadn’t heard her laugh in way too long. She couldn’t believe what she’d heard and told him so.
“But Viki, you wanted to find Karen and I couldn’t think of a better way than to be a waiter that delivers room service.”
“Wow, that is remarkable. I mean what are the odds that someone would think you’re waiter material?”
“Now wait just a minute, Viki. I’ve done my share of manual labor. I’m not ashamed of it, either. I can sling hash and fry eggs with the best of ’em.”
Laughing again, “I know that darling, I was just thinking about you pretending to be French. Your idea of speaking French is ordering crepes Suzette.”
“Well, I didn’t pretend to be French. I told them I was an American and had lost all my money at the craps tables. He believed me. They must have been short, cause he didn’t hesitate. Took me to a locker room, got me a uniform and showed me the room service layout.”
“My, my, aren’t you industrious? But, the important thing is, did you find Karen?”
“I think so. I’m not sure, though. I delivered a tray to room 671. There were two thugs there that looked like bodyguards. When I asked where the third person was for the 3 meals, one of them told me to mind my own business.”
“What did you do then?”
“I was stalling for time, setting up the table, rearranging the silver and such. Then I heard a woman’s voice from the bedroom say something about being hungry and was the food there yet. I saw that the lunch dishes were still in the room and offered to get them out. I told them I would come back with another tray, because that one was gone.”
“Then what?”
“They told me not to bother. But I went back later when I thought the woman might be out in the sitting room. I was hoping their guard would be off.”
“Did you see her?”
“No, the woman wasn’t with the men. They were eating and the third set up wasn’t on the table. They were making her eat in the bedroom.”
“That’s a start but it doesn’t prove anything, honey.”
“I’m not finished! While I was there, cleaning up the first tray, the phone rang. I don’t know who it was, but the guy who answered, definitely said the name Karen to somebody. I know she’s there, it’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Yes, that would be hard to swallow. So she’s possibly in room 671. Let’s go get Mark and storm the room.”
“Viki, I don’t think that would work. For one thing, there are two of them and I think they have guns, by the bulges under their coats. I mean, who wears a coat in their hotel room?”
“Too dangerous. And now I remember how much Ivan seems to know about the kids. We can’t trust him. We have to play along a little longer.”
“I think things are beginning to look up. Everyone’s safe and we haven’t done anything bad yet, there’s always hope.”
“Let’s drink the coffee. I’m exhausted. This has stretched my last nerve.”
“Oh, Viki, I have to go finish making my deliveries,” teased Clint.
“I don’t think so, man, you are mine,” replied Viki as she pulled him to her by the buttons on his uniform.
“Watch it, Madame, this is my uniform.”
“Ooh, I just love a man in uniform. I like maroon on you, too. And the little gold braids. You look just like Harold Hill in “The Music Man”.
“But I can’t play a note, Viki.”
“You are playing my heartstrings now, Uniform-boy.” Viki kissed his lips and his nose and nibbled on his ear. He responded by hugging her tightly and started walking toward the bed.
“You’re not gonna make me bite these buttons off are you, Clint?” purred Viki.
“No way, I had to pay about 20 bucks deposit on this costume. I’ll gladly take it off. But I can bite your buttons off, if you want.”
“My Gucci? No thanks, mister, the buttonholes work just fine!”
All of a sudden it was a race as to who could get all their clothes off first. Viki finished first and yanked back the comforter and sheet, before climbing in.
“Oh, Clint, by the way . . .”
“Yes, Viki.”
“You don’t have to be gentle.”
With that they began making love with a aching, burning passion. It was so easy and so nice, they were always so comfortable with one another. Sure, they’d had other lovers in their lifetime, but neither had been really satisfied by anyone else. Their lives were meant to be lived together, loving and growing as one.
It was 8:30 p.m. and suddenly Viki awoke. She silently crept out of bed and into the bathroom.
Calling room to room, she waited for Larry to answer. When it rang 15 times, she began to worry, but finally he picked up. Being so sleep deprived, he was still groggy. Viki told him he had 30 minutes to get ready and they would meet him at his place to wait for Mark.
Then Viki hurriedly took a shower and dressed before she woke Clint.
“Clint, darling, we only have about 15 minutes before we leave to meet Ivan.”
“Not so soon!”
“Yes, hurry! We don’t want Mark walking in on us getting dressed.”
“I locked the door, honey.”
“I know, but let’s not keep Ivan waiting, no use in getting him worked up.”
Viki had finished dressing and had curled up in the overstuffed chair. The coffee was really cold by now and looked pathetic in the stainless urn. ‘Oh, for a microwave,’ thought Viki.
Viki put feet up under her and tried to get comfortable, all the while admonishing Clint again to speed up things. Something hard was in the chair. Reaching behind her, she pulled out a man’s wallet. ‘Now who’s could this be? It doesn’t look like Clint’s,’ thought Viki.
Looking into the wallet, she noticed a driver’s license with Mark’s picture on it. Only the picture didn’t say Mark Hopkins or even Jean-Claude DuBois. It said Tim Ryan!
As Clint came out of the bathroom, he saw the strange look on Viki’s face.
“What’s wrong, Viki? Have you seen a ghost or something?”
“Definitely something, Clint. Take a look at this! I’m afraid we’ve trusted in the wrong man!”
Viki handed the wallet to Clint and he sat down to go through it.
“Well, it seems the young man has at least 3 names. But Tim Ryan is the only name in this wallet. The only thing connecting him to the man we know as Mark, is his picture. It’s undeniable proof that Tim and Mark is the same person.”
“What does it mean?”
“It could mean a lot of different things, Honey. Undercover agents carry fake ID’s all the time. They rarely use their own identity, it would be too dangerous. We’ll just have to confront him and get one more issue resolved.”
Viki relaxed a little and began to rub Clint’s neck and shoulders. This kidnapping business was turning out to be very perplexing!
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