Run into Trouble

come out of the trees. She stepped close to the guard and launched into a confusing story about where she had been and where she was going, speaking loudly so that the man wouldn’t hear any noise inadvertently made by Slick.
    Slick was just a couple of steps away when the guard sensed something and spun around, his right hand reaching for his gun. Melody grabbed his arm and pulled on it with all her weight. Slick hit him on the head with his pistol. The man went down in a heap. Slick pulled the gun out of his shoulder holster. The man moaned.
    “He’s just stunned. Put this in his mouth.”
    He handed Melody a handkerchief. She stuffed it into the mouth of the semi-conscious man. Slick produced a roll of tape. She securely taped the guard’s mouth shut with pieces of tape handed to her by Slick, making sure he wouldn’t be able to loosen the tape by moving his jaw.
    Slick taped the man’s arms behind him and then taped his legs together. He picked him up by the shoulders; Melody grabbed his feet. They dragged him into the trees and dumped him in the fetal position. He wouldn’t be seen from the building. Slick handed the guard’s gun to Melody.
    “You can cover me with this.”
    The gun was similar to Slick’s. Melody checked to make sure it was ready to fire. Slick took a look around; nobody else was in sight outside. He walked toward the windows, bending over so that he wouldn’t be seen from inside. He peeked through the windows from several angles and then jogged back to Melody, still keeping his body low.
    “No sign of Drake. Looks like business as usual. I saw Casey; he’s doing most of the talking. There are several men in uniform, probably staff to the Chairman. I’ll bet they’re armed.”
    Melody said, “We need to get inside. The door on this side is adjacent to the room they’re in. Too close to them, especially if Drake’s not there. The building has several floors. If we go around to the right up the hill, maybe there’s a door to the floor above them. I’d rather be above them than below them.”
    Slick approved the plan. Since no other guard had shown up, they headed up the hill in the cleared area. Melody wished she were wearing her running shoes. She was in danger of losing the ones she had on because of the rough ground, but she didn’t say anything to Slick. Once they were past the line of sight from the windows, they followed a sidewalk close to the building. Walking on the concrete was easier. As they came around the corner of the building, they saw the door they were looking for. The window near it was dark.
    Slick tried the handle. It was locked with a simple lock. He had a couple of thin metal strips attached to his key ring. He opened the door in less than a minute. They went inside and found a light switch by feel. A number of ceiling lights came on. The room was large, with all kinds of equipment in it, including blankets, bed linen, pots and pans, and other kitchen utensils. It had a stove and sink. There was also electronic gear of some sort. The room was furnished with a long table with chairs around it. Half a dozen cots were lined up along the far wall, made up for sleeping with military precision. Schematic drawings of what looked like a submarine covered another wall.
    Melody was attracted to several manuals she saw sitting on a bookshelf. They looked familiar. She walked over to one and glanced at the cover. She gasped and opened it up.
    “Slick. Look at this.”
    Slick ambled over and came as close to showing emotion as Melody had seen from him. “If I’m not mistaken that’s Russian.”
    “This is identical to a manual Drake and I saw on the sub.”
    “Proof that Big G is dealing with the Russkies.”
    “Worse. It’s proof that Big G made the attack on Malibu. This was a training room for the crew. They slept here; they studied here.”
    “Ah, the light dawns. Casey faked the attack to aid his quest for power.”
    “I remember now. A helicopter flew along the beach just before the attack. It must have been communicating with the sub, telling it when to fire to catch the tail-end of the runners. Killing one was acceptable to Casey, because it helped rouse the public to demand security.”
    “I wonder if those generals and admirals downstairs know about this.”
    “I doubt it. They’re trained to defend their country, not attack it.”
    The only inside door leading from the room was to a bathroom. The training center was isolated from the rest of