Killing Rain

the door, then opened it without a problem. Just wanted to make sure that nothing was going to stick as a result of my handiwork. It would have been embarrassing to have to call for Dox to come let me out. I looked at the dent I had made at the intersection of the door and jamb. It was virtually unnoticeable. Even if someone put his eye right up to it, all he would see inside was darkness.
    I went back inside, closed the door, and put my eye up to the jamb.
    Perfect. I had a clear view of the area to my right, which included the urinals and stalls. Every time I heard someone come in, it would be a simple matter to visually confirm who it was.
    I repeated the operation on the knob side of the door. When I was done, I had a view of the entrance and sinks. I checked from the outside and confirmed again that the door opened and closed without a problem, and that the second hole, too, was unnoticeable.
    I slipped an earpiece and lapel mike into place and checked the illuminated dial of my watch. Almost six o’clock. Dox and Delilah should be arriving anytime now. I wouldn’t be able to use the gear to communicate with them until they were in the building—fifteen floors of steel and concrete would block the signal for sure.
    At just after six o’clock, I heard Dox’s soft twang. “Hey, partner, it’s me. Are you there?”
    It felt good to hear him. “Yeah, I’m here. The men’s room on the fourteenth floor.”
    “Well, that’s a nice coincidence. I was just going to use that very facility. Can you hear me? I’m on my way in.”
    A moment later, I heard the restroom door open, then footsteps on the marble. Dox moved past my position. The goateewas gone, and I was pleased at the way its absence changed his appearance.
    He stepped up to one of the urinals and started to use it. Looking over at the open stall doors, then to his right, he said, “Looks like you’ve got a good spot. Where are you?”
    “The closet. To your right.”
    “Ah-hah, I should have known. Hey, man, no peeking.”
    “Don’t worry,” I said, surprising myself with a rare rejoinder, “from this far, I can only make out large objects.”
    He chuckled. “That’s a good one. Say, you don’t hang around in men’s rooms habitually, do you? You seem awfully good at it.”
    All right, I should have known better than to try to one-up him. “Where’s Delilah?” I asked.
    “She grabbed us a table in the dreaded Long March Bar.”
    “Crowded?”
    “Not yet, but it’s filling up. No sign of our friends. I sure hope they show. If they don’t, I’ll start to worry something might have happened to them.”
    “Yeah, that would be too bad.”
    He zipped up and headed over to the sink, winking at my position en route. “Ooh, look at these fancy soaps. I like this place. Ordinarily I’m not terribly fastidious about washing my hands after urination, but tonight I believe I’ll make an exception.”
    I checked through the other hole and watched Dox lathering his hands. “Damn,” he said, “I can’t get used to the way I look in these clothes and without my trusty goatee. You think Delilah meant it when she said I have good bones?”
    “I’m sure she did,” I said, feeling a little impatient. “Look, you might want to hurry. If our friends show up, you don’t want to accidentally pass them in the hallway. Even without the goatee that was hiding your good bones.”

    He dried his hands with a towel and tossed it in the basket. “Okay, partner, that’s a fair point. I’ll be in the bar, keeping your girlfriend company. Seriously, I’ll be right here, talking into your ear the whole time. If you need me, I’ll come running.”
    Even in the midst of all the annoying palaver, it felt good to hear him say that. “Thanks,” I said. “I know you will.”

TWENTY

    A FEW MINUTES LATER , I heard Delilah. “Hey, John. Just checking the gear.”
    “I hear you.”
    “Good. We’re in the bar. We’ve got a nice table in the far corner. You can talk to us anytime. We’ll monitor the transmitters and let you know what’s going on. Any problems, just let us know.”
    “Okay,” I said.
    Dox said, “We’ll switch off now so we don’t bore you with our pretend conversations about strategic partnership opportunities in Asia and how we’re getting traction with our paradigm shifts and inflection points. Unless you want to listen in, just to make sure I’m behaving myself with your girlfriend.”
    “Please, shut it down,” I