April 4: A Different Perspective by Mackey Chandler Read Free Book Online Page A

what a wise choice they'd made. A couple times Otis caught Keith giving him a thoughtful examination. When they were back in Keith's van he finally spoke.
    "You're working for somebody else too."
    Otis didn't say anything. I am, sort of, he reflected. They just don't know it yet. Certainly several players would gladly pay him to do what he was if they only knew. Wiggen's own party and even the off-worlders who would be hurt when she lost the office, now or later. If he could get that to translate to gratitude after the fact - that was a whole different question.
    "No answer?"
    "You didn't ask anything."
    "Does John know about it?" he asked, refusing to play that game. He meant John Trumble, the CEO of Safety Associates.
    "No, I got recruited on the plane. But John would approve. He's made his politics plain to me and this mission fits them. I have the authority to sign the company to contracts and I have my own morals to serve too."
    "You figure you're on the side of the angels then?"
    "Always. Have you ever known me to do something dirty? Illegal maybe, but actually wrong ?"
    "No," he sighed, "and when you spiked that gun it just reassured me you were the right kind of fellow to support. Contacting the FBI reinforces it. I wouldn't have done half of the things you requested today for somebody else. I hope you know that."
    "It will work out fine," he assured him. "The most important part is wrapped up already. Now it's just tinkering with the details."
    "Something to do with Wiggen?"
    "You'll know tomorrow." Otis promised him with a wink.
    When they pulled in at the Sheraton Otis pulled out the two silenced pistols and laid them on the console.
    "You might hang on to those for us. Might upset them at the airport if I forgot and tried to board with them."
    "Sweet Jesus, man. What if I get stopped on the way home?"
    "I guess you better be an exemplary driver this once."
    * * *
    Otis didn't want any further entertainment and just ate in the Sheraton. It was good, but overpriced like most hotel food. His expense account would cover it. He was more aware of value because he hadn't had much money growing up. It had been a struggle for his mom and dad, both working, to stay in something like a middle class lifestyle with two kids.
    After dinner he walked around outside. Across the street and in front of an office building, there was a decorative terrace with a small fountain. It appeared most everyone was gone for the day. There was no foot traffic at the main door and the parking lot was almost empty. He walked slowly giving himself time to examine it. He walked up to the rail around the fountain and worked his way around three quarters of the way until he was standing sideways to the building Wiggen would enter in the morning. It was directly across a huge parking lot and street from here, with his Sheraton sitting on the left. There were coins in the fountain and he dug in his pocket finding a few dimes. While he picked them out, he peeled off the sticky back on a web cam that looked like a bolt head. When he gripped the rail to lean out and toss the coins, he  firmly pressed the camera on the vertical aluminum support. It was a good three hundred fifty meters from here to the only entry that looked possible for Wiggen to use in the morning.
    They would likely jam cell phones right around Wiggen as she moved, but if they jammed data wireless it tended to be a tight bubble around her, not this far away. He sat on the edge of a planter and accessed the camera from his phone, zoomed in on the door and centralized it. Then he carefully erased the address the phone had automatically recorded. After a bit he planted a second camera. Not so much as a back-up, but it was better than throwing it away and he didn't want to take it back to his room. There were several public wireless nets hot on the plaza, so he set the cameras to different ones.
    Back in his room he made a pile of pillows and got comfortable. He had several new books in