Pop Travel Read online

  “I smell spices,” he whispered with a wide grin.

  Cooper stood up in his opening and used his flashlight to scan the room. Motion-sensing lights flashed on.

  “I knew it!” he shouted.

  “Shh!” Geri shushed and pulled on his pant leg. Still bent over in the crawl space, she whispered up to him. “Let me see!”

  Cooper smiled down at her and nodded. He climbed all the way in and helped Geri up. She stretched. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, they widened and she covered her mouth. Stocked shelves filled with cans, boxes, and cooking supplies surrounded them. They were in the pantry!

  “Well, shut my mouth! We did make it! Now what?” She turned to him, putting her hands on her hips, giving him an expectant look. As soon as he realized he was in over his head, she would take over. The backseat was not her preferred method of travel, but she had to admit, so far he had done an adequate job. Sneaking around, anyway. Confrontation would be another matter.

  “Help me fix this, first.” Cooper found a broom and swept up the debris, then Geri duct taped the pieces back into place.

  When they finished, Cooper peeked out into the kitchen. He reported the lights were all off. The room seemed to be deserted.

  “They must all be at the party. We can either hide out and wait for them to come home or explore the house and try to find the lab”

  “Lab? What lab? He has a dog?” Geri asked. She amazed herself with her acting abilities.

  “And it looks like there are no cameras in there. That’s good.” Cooper passed right over her silly question.

  “J.L.! What lab?” she asked again. She grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. Though she admired him for maintaining his focus, she would not be ignored. She knew he wasn’t used to having a partner but he could at least show some manners and listen when she spoke.

  He blinked and stared at her.

  “Oh. You’ve been here, so I thought you knew. They added a laboratory for him to work in here at the house. I hoped you might know where it is.”

  “I had no idea. There wasn’t a lab in the original manor.” She gave him a smirk.

  “Of course not. What about a basement?” he asked, plowing over her teasing. He was so intent.

  “No,” she answered. Not likely in Georgia, honey. Keep trying.

  “An attic?”

  Bingo!

  “Why, yes. The top floor was an attic. But they told us it would be used for storage.”

  “That’s got to be it. He would need a lot of room. Do you know where the entrance for the attic would be?”

  “I believe it’s at the top of the stairs.” She furrowed her brow and put a finger to her lips. “Hmm. Possibly a door on the second floor with another set of stairs leading up to it.”

  “Can you give me a quick layout of the house?” he asked.

  “Let me see.” She took his spot at the door and cracked it open. The long kitchen had an island up the middle and barstools on one side. On the far wall were two swinging doors separated by a baker’s rack.

  Geri pointed as she explained. “Through that door on the right is the sunroom, open to the hall and the back door. Across the way from that is a bedroom that has an adjoinin’ bathroom. The door on the left leads to the dinin’ room. It’s got a gorgeous chandelier, all crystal—”

  “Stick to the floor plan, please,” he interrupted. She sidetracked, playing her part as an interior designer instead of an analytical agent.

  “Of course.” She gazed into his eyes and pointed as she continued. “The dinin’ room is open to the foyer and front door. A wide staircase leads up to the second story from there. Just past the stairs is the parlor, which also has access to the bathroom. The bedroom, parlor, and dining room all have grand fireplaces with mantels displayin’ historic photos and knick-knacks from the original manor house. I just love…”

  She noticed his impatient, narrowed eyes, ready to cut her off again and stopped herself.

  “But I digress. Should I move on to the second floor?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “At the top of the stairs there should be a door that would lead to the attic where the next set of stairs would be.” She closed her eyes and used her hands as she remembered the upstairs rooms, then blinked them open to elaborate. “The mother’s room is on the right, which has a lovely sitting area and access to the splendid second-story balcony.”

  “Uh, huh,” he said, looking at her with one raised eyebrow.

  “Riiight. Pressin’ on. To the left is the Creator’s master suite, and down the hall is another bedroom. The mother’s room and last bedroom share a Jack-and-Jill bath. And that is all I know.” Geri let out a sigh, as if the description had taken some effort.

  “Okay, good. It sounds like many of the rooms are connected,” he noted.

  “Yes, they flow. The original house was…”

  “Shh! I think they’re home!” he whispered and waved a hand at her.

  Several sets of footsteps entered the house. Giving Geri a nudge toward the back of the pantry, Cooper squeezed behind the shelf next to the door. As she scooted to find a hiding spot, he turned off the light.

  The crack under the door let in the kitchen lights that blinked on. Cooper and Geri stayed frozen.

  Surprisingly quiet, the new visitor flung open the pantry door, triggering the lights. Someone breezed through the pantry with a quick walk-through, then shut the door on his way out.

  “First floor is clear. He can come in,” the guy called out in a gruff voice as he stomped out of the kitchen. Geri guessed he was one of the Creator’s personal security guards.

  Cooper peeked out the pantry door and crept into the kitchen. Geri moved to the door, watching him crouch and shuffle past the island counter to the dining room’s swinging door. As he cracked it open, Geri snuck up next to him. They eavesdropped on the Creator and his guards talking in the foyer.

  “So they’re in the tunnel now? Lucid! Where does it go?” the Creator asked.

  “We don’t know, sir. Keener and Vincent are in it now,” a guard replied.

  “Wow. Maybe I could check it out after you catch them. I wonder who it is. Finally, some excitement around here.”

  “We need to get him secured in the lab,” the first guard said.

  “No! I don’t want to go in there!” The Creator complained like a six-year-old child.

  “You don’t have to work, but it’s the safest place. You need to stay there until this incident is taken care of,” the second guard said. He had to be the darker-skinned guard who could pass for Hasan’s older brother. He sounded like him and seemed the more diplomatic of the two.

  “Fine.” The Creator dropped his shoulders. “But let me get my plate, at least.”

  “Make it quick,” the first guard said.

  The Creator plodded toward the stairs.

  “Oh, man! I’m starving! I barely got to eat anything. I’m gonna grab a quick snack.”

  Cooper spun around and pointed for them to hurry back to the pantry.

  As the door to the pantry closed, footsteps jogged into the kitchen and stopped short.

  Geri bit her lip. Did we make it?

  “I’ll just be a minute! I’m gonna make a sandwich,” the Creator called to his guards.

  The pantry door opened and the lights flickered on.

  “Hey! I know you’re in here,” he whispered. “Come on out and let me see you. I promise I won’t tell.”

  No, we didn’t. Cooper and Geri had been discovered. They peeked from their hiding places. Geri had been under an apron hanging on a hook. Not a lot of options in a pantry.

  “Come on, Hasan. Paris is fit to be tied. Let’s go!” a guard said as he entered the kitchen.

  “I’m getting the bread and some peanut butter. Hold on!” Hasan yelled back to him. “Help me,” he mouthed to Geri and Cooper and backed out with his supplies.

  asan sounded so odd after calling him the Creator for so long. But listenin
g to the kid whine and back sass his guards, the distinction of the Creator soon wore off.

  “Sir, please stay close. We need to protect you.”

  “I’ll be fine. Paris said it was safe, right?” Hasan asked.

  Cooper scrunched his face when Hasan started to whistle. He sounds happy. Something is wrong here.

  The guard interrupted Hasan.

  “Okay. Paris just finished his sweep of upstairs and said it’s clear.”

  “Fine. We can go up now. Just let me put this stuff back.”

  “Hurry it up.”

  Cooper backed away, and Hasan reentered the pantry. As he set the bread and peanut butter on a shelf, he nodded up and raised his eyebrows toward the second floor. It looked like the kid wanted Cooper and Geri to follow him.

  Cooper cocked his head at him like he was nuts.

  “Sameel! Let’s go!” came a loud yell from farther in the house.

  “Move it!” the guard Sameel said to Hasan.

  “Sorry! I’m coming!” Hasan pleaded at them with his eyes one more time and shut the door.

  When the three men cleared out of the kitchen, Cooper and Geri tiptoed to the dining room door to eavesdrop. Hasan and his guards went upstairs.

  “Do you think he’s in trouble?” Geri asked in Cooper’s ear.

  “I don’t know. But we can’t go back, there are two more guards coming this way in the tunnel,” Cooper whispered, thumbing behind him.

  “Then let’s press on.”

  “Take it easy. Maybe we’re walking into a trap. Why would Hasan be eager for help from complete strangers who just broke into his house? I want to go slow. We need more information.”

  Geri shrugged and nodded.

  Cooper peeked into the dining room. Empty and quiet and, to his relief, no surveillance cameras. He waved for Geri to follow. They scooted to the foot of the stairs and could hear the guys arguing at the top.

  “Now, Hasan!” One of the guards barked.

  “Hold on! I’m not going in without my plate!” Hasan said and opened a door.

  “Why can’t you just use Gamelink?”

  “No way! I told you before. I will never use it again with Big Brother watching.”

  “You have five seconds.”

  “Got it!” Hasan said and shut the door.

  “Good. Now up you go.”

  “Hey, what about my mom?” asked Hasan. He was stalling.

  “Jackson has her. They’re on their way.”

  “What’s their ETA?”

  “Five minutes.”

  At that, Cooper and Geri looked at each other. Cooper pointed up and they crept to the landing.

  “And where will she be secured?” Hasan asked.

  “Her room.”

  “Make sure she eats something.”

  “Sure. Now get going!”

  “Fine. Let me see, now. Did we change the code this morning?” Hasan asked.

  “I told you we changed it. Don’t tell me you forgot.”

  “Oh, yes. How silly of me.” Hasan chuckled, then said the code nice and loud as he punched the buttons. “Four—Seven—Zero—H—X—Nine—A.”

  The door unlocked and they opened it.

  “I suppose you’re going to lock me in?” Hasan asked.

  “Of course.”

  The door closed.

  Cooper and Geri stole up to the second floor and peered around to make sure the guards had all gone. Scooting down the hall into the back bedroom, Cooper kept the door slivered open to hear.

  “Did you get the code?” Geri asked.

  “Yeah. Those clues were pretty obvious. He really does seem to want our help,” Cooper said.

  Geri shrugged.

  They waited and listened for the guards to come back down.

  Hasan trudged up the stairs with his guards close behind. When they reached the door to the lab, Hasan put his eye to the spotter and his hand on the scanner to unlock it. His shoulders sagged as he entered his lab prison and he didn’t look back.

  “We’ll be checking on you.”

  “Whatever,” Hasan said, and the door latched. He looked around at the all too familiar surroundings. Across from him were his personal transmission and receiving stations. Beyond that, in the front corners of the room, stood the transport platforms with their perfect, glowing, hexagonal bases and their shiny, steel, cylinder docks. And all around him were the lovely windowless walls.

  The buzzing of the lights annoyed him, exaggerating the silence of his loneliness. His inventions gave him access to the world, but he was never allowed to go anywhere. He shook his head. Life isn’t fair.

  But today was the day. He was no longer alone. After being a pampered inmate in his paradise compound for so many years, his plan could finally play out. Opportunity had shown up in the guise of a couple of… What? Crazy fans? Spies? Not that it mattered. These two strangers were his crack in the glass, for him to shatter through.

  Hasan turned the corner and showed the camera watchers his obedience. In the lounge area, he opened a closet and pulled out some spare clothes, a pair of jeans, a green hoodie, and tennis shoes. After changing in the small bathroom, he plunked onto a couch. He smiled and waved at the nearest camera, settling in to playing games on his plate. I hope those people got the message.

  Cooper cracked the guest bedroom door to listen. Geri gripped his shoulder, huddled up beside him. Soon after the three men went up, two sets of heavy steps trod back down. Next, the door opened and closed and Cooper heard the locking mechanism clank into place. The men continued down, but stopped halfway, as a conversation started. New, female voices mixed with Hasan’s guards. The older woman sounded ticked off.

  “That must be Hasan’s mother,” Geri whispered in his ear.

  Cooper nodded.

  The men said they were going to the security building to help with the search and told the woman guard to watch the house. When Hasan’s guards left, the mother and her guard came up.

  “Please wait here until I check the other rooms for you, Mrs. Rakhi,” the female guard said.

  Cooper glanced at Geri. They had to get out of there. Leaving the room, Cooper led them halfway back down the hall, around the corner from the stairwell, just out of view from Hasan’s mother and the spare bedroom’s doorway. The guard made her way through the rooms and back, opening and closing doors along the way.

  “You’re good. Please stay in here until I come back. I don’t want to have to lock you in,” the guard said.

  “Where else would I go?”

  “Thank you. Call if you need anything. I’ll be right out front.” After shutting the mother’s door, the guard scampered downstairs.

  Cooper and Geri crept to the locked door leading upstairs and punched in the code. It worked. Taking off his shoe, Cooper placed it in the doorway so it wouldn’t lock them in, just in case, and closed it as far as he could. At the top of the stairs, he gave the lab door a few light knocks.

  Yes! Hasan rejoiced at the sound. Keeping a straight face, he pretended nothing had happened, hoping Security hadn’t picked up on the sound. As he rose from the couch, he stretched and yawned. Then he went over and spoke to a camera.

  “I’m going to sit in the stairwell. I hate being watched.” Hasan did this frequently when he wanted a break from his work and the constant supervision. The only cameras in the whole house were inside the lab. Hasan had demanded some privacy in his living space.

  He opened the door and put a finger to his lips to keep Cooper and Geri quiet until he slipped out. When the door latched, he raised his hands.

  “Welcome! My friends! You’ve come to save me, right?” He hugged them both.

  “Save you?” Cooper asked, pulling back.

  “Don’t you want to know who we are?” Geri asked.

  “That’s not important now. Just get me out of here. We don’t have much time!” Hasan said and dashed to the bottom of the stairs.

  “Wait! We aren’t here to rescue you. I came to talk to you abo
ut pop travel.” Cooper took hesitant steps after him.

  “Why do you need to be rescued?” Geri asked.

  “Look. I’ll explain everything when we are safely away from here. So if you want to talk to me, you’ll have to help me escape. I hope you have a getaway plan because Keener and Vincent are in your secret tunnel.”

  Hasan and Geri both looked expectantly at Cooper.

  “I’ve been winging it for days now. I’m open to suggestions. How about the back door?”

  “It’s under surveillance. But it will have to do. We need to get to the transport house.” Hasan had a couple of ideas. Ever since the corporate jerks started putting extra pressure on him, he had been planning multiple ways to escape for the past year.

  “What about the laser fencing?” Cooper asked.

  “We can take a hovercart. It has a switch for the fence.”

  “Okay. But no running off. I want to make sure we stay hidden for as long as possible,” Cooper said. “Let’s see what we have out here.”

  He cracked open the door and looked through. Seeing no one, he motioned for Hasan and Geri to follow him. When they heard voices downstairs, they stopped at the landing and listened.

  The two guards in the tunnel had emerged. The girl guard, Jackson, met them in the kitchen and listened to the men complain to her about the condition of their suits from having to squeeze through a tight section of the passage. They hadn’t seen anyone while they were down there.

  Hasan followed Cooper and Geri the rest of the way down the stairs. After slipping into the parlor, across the hall from the dining room, they continued through the bathroom and into the back bedroom.

  When they left the back bedroom, Hasan tugged on Cooper’s jacket sleeve and pointed to the back door.

  Cooper gave him a stern look and waved them over to the sunroom.

  Hasan didn’t care what the guards had to say, he wanted to get out of there.

  “I know they came in here. Where are they?” Vincent said in a deep, booming voice.

  Hasan silently laughed, holding his belly as he pictured the big gorilla in a muddy monkey suit with his scowling face, angry that he had to traipse through the dirt and come up empty-handed. Ha!