Chapter 3

~Chapter 3~

Lexy was having a ball. Dinner had been a hit, (she had known hotdogs would be a favorite), and she had even been able to get a nervous smile from Mr. Depp with her “Elizabeth Swan” imitation.
Now she hung on his arm as they wandered through the guests. Actually, it was more like Lexy did the wandering and pulled an annoyed Mr. Depp behind her.
“Daddy! This is Mr. Johnny Depp. You know the movie star?”
The President cast a cautious glance at his impulsive daughter, which was ignored, and then greeted the other man.
“Ah, Mr. Depp. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My daughter loved your work as “Jack Sparrow” in those pirate movies.”
Depp nodded courteously.
“Thank you, Mr. President. The pleasure is all mine.”
Half smiling at the uncomfortable look on the actor’s face, Matt pried him away from his daughter and started to lead the relieved man off towards the bar.
“I was wondering if I might talk to you about your role of “Edward Scissorhands”. I was most intrigued by it.”
Deprived of her captive company, Lexy turned to find another victim of her admiration and almost ran right into Mr. Ben Rucus.
He greeted her with a charming smile.
“Miss Gold, it is an honor to meet you. Senator Madeck sends his best wishes, and his utter disappointment at not being able to attend tonight.”
Lexy smiled distractedly, she couldn’t remember who “Senator Madeck” was, and Rucus wasn’t really her type. That and the cane was a definite turn-off.
“Thank you, Sir. Tell the Senator he was sorely missed. I hope you are enjoying yourself.”
Rucus’ smile was civil, but not exactly pleasant.
“Oh yes, and I believe the event of the night has yet to happen.”
Lexy’s eyes roved over the guests.
“Yes, I always enjoyed the old stories where they had big parties. I think they are just to die for, don’t you?”
“Yes, to die for.”
Catching a glimpse of Miss Lohan nearby, Lexy started in her direction.
“Please excuse me. I hope you have a great time.”

The Security Bunker was abuzz of activity as the Secret Service agents tracked down everything they could about Shale Madeck, Ben Rucus, Trissex, and anything else they could think of. So far nothing major had been uncovered.
Josh Taske sat at a workstation looking at a mosaic of pictures from Madeck’s hotel room and the stills taken from the security tapes of Rucus passing through security. Something about the man’s cane still bothered him.
“Vale, time?”
Lucy looked up from her chair next to the door.
“Seven forty-five, Sir.”
Josh nodded, “Fifteen minutes until her speech. What are we missing?”
Lucy was confused, “Excuse me, Sir?”
Josh spun around in his chair, absent-mindedly spinning a small black-handled knife through his fingers.
“Rucus is Trissex. That much I am certain. But why hasn’t he tried anything?”
Lucy shrugged, “Why should he? It makes our job easier.”
“Trissex doesn’t work that way. He doesn’t go to this much trouble to just do recon. He is here because of a target, but who?”
“The President?”
Josh shook his head.
“Trissex is crazy, but not insane. He wouldn’t risk a hit here and now when he could easily snipe the President at a press-conference or even just walking to his car.”
“Another senator maybe?”
“Maybe. But who has dug up enough skeletons to get Trissex sent after him? Trissex is one of the best assassins out there; you don’t, and can’t, hire him for a hit just because another senator has different views than you.”
Lucy scanned the guest list again.
“Then perhaps a celebrity?”
Josh snapped the knife shut and set it on the desk.
“Trissex would poison them and make it look like an overdose.”
Lucy rubbed her temple wearily, “Then we are out of options.”
Josh shook his head and turned back to the computer screen.
“No, we are missing something.”


After scanning the crowed for half a minute, Matt Gold finally located his daughter laughing with a group of girls near the back of the performance hall. He hurriedly approached them and pulled Lexy away.
“Daddy!” Lexy complained.
“It’s almost time for your speech, Hon.”
Lexy made a face and started for the stage under her own power.
“Oh fine. But you owe me.”


Rosas entered the Bunker and saluted Josh cheekily.
“The Eaglet is about to squawk, Captain!”
Josh looked up, “Roger that. At ease, Soldier.”
Rosas grinned and relaxed his rigid posture.
“So, this whole assassin thing’s a false alarm, right? We aint really gonna be blown up by some killer with a love ‘fer the Devil, are we?”
Josh looked up suddenly.
“Blown up? That’s it! Rosas, I want Rucus brought in, NOW!”
Rosas nodded and started to mutter orders into his Comm.
Lucy looked quizzically at Josh.
“What is it?”
Josh had switched his screen to a live feed of the performance hall.
“Rosas tipped me off when he mentioned “Blown up”. The cane is a blow-dart gun! It’s lethal and won’t get detected by a metal detector. I found out once they can be a very effective assassin’s tool.”
Vale nodded, “Who was the guy who used it before?”
Josh opened the Bunker door and started for the performance hall.
“Who used the blow-dart gun in a cane trick? That would have been me.”


“I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight to my birthday celebration. I hope you all had a great time…”
Lexy was well into her speech when the man calling himself Ben Rucus unscrewed the rubber cap at the end of his cane and released the catch concealing a trigger in the hooked handle.
He was about to take aim when a shout brought him, Lexy, and everyone else to a sudden stop.
“Drop the cane! Everyone down! HEY BUDDY! I SAID DROP IT!”
Agent Al Bono was rapidly approaching from Rucus’ right with his Glock drawn and aimed at Rucus.
At his shouts, everyone except for Bono and Rucus dropped to their hands and knees in terrified silence.
Rucus, ignoring Bono, aimed his cane weapon at Lexy, who was still standing shell-shocked behind the microphone.
Bono stepped forward until he was less than three feet from Rucus.
“Hey, I told you to…”
Rucus spun around and, spinning his cane, brought the handle crashing into Bono’s temple as his other hand snatched the Glock from the astonished rookie’s fingers.
Bono fell like a rock and Rucus turned back to Lexy. He raised the cane again. There was nowhere Lexy could run.
“HEY, TRISSEX!”
Josh had just entered the far end of the performance hall at a run. One hand reached for one of his Desert Eagles, while the right hand flicked up from his side towards Trissex.

Josh’s Sai buried itself in Trissex’s left shoulder.
Dropping the cane, Trissex calmly turned and fired three shots at the oncoming agent with Bono’s Glock. Josh stopped hard with blood pouring from a hole in his left thigh and right shoulder.
But, before Trissex could finish him off, Josh drew his pistol and put a .357 caliber bullet between Trissex’s eyes.
It was at this time that two things happened, Rosas and Vale charged with guns drawn through the door Josh had just entered, and Lexy began to scream.
She screamed until Matt was able to reach her and she fell in a half-faint against his shoulder.
Lucy ran forward and caught Josh as he fell to one knee. Rosas stopped long enough to check on Lucy and Josh, and then moved on to check on Bono and Trissex.
Bono had just been stunned by the assassin’s blow and was already coming around. The assassin himself did not take getting shot in the head very well at all.
“He’s dead.” Rosas declared to no one in particular.
Matt and Lexy came off the stage and, avoiding Trissex’s body, approached where Lucy was supporting Josh.
“Here, I’ll help him.”
Matt took Josh’s weight off of Lucy’s shoulder and started walking him slowly out of the performance hall.
They walked out just as the rest of Josh’s security detail started clearing guests out and taking care of Bono and the assassin’s body.
As Rosas helped another agent lift Trissex’s body onto a gurney, he noticed the Sai in the assassin’s shoulder. He pulled it out and, wiping it clean was about to set it aside to give to Josh later when he was stopped by a sudden thought. A strange expression spread over his face.
“Wait a second,” Rosas looked incredulously at the other agent, “Did the Captain just stop this guy with a knife?”


Matt escorted Josh out of the performance hall, through the music room, and into the main hallway. There was where Josh stopped.
“You remember… When I was shot that one time in Iraq? I said… I said…”
Matt finished for him.
“You said you hated hospitals, and would take care of it yourself. Is this going to be like then?”
Josh nodded, his face calm but his eyes on fire with pain.
“Yeah, just like good old times.”
Matt agreed, “Just like good old times.”
He turned to Lexy, who had regained most of her composure and wits.
“Hon, can you take Josh to my office while I get him some things? Lexy? You OK?”
Lexy had tears in her eyes, and she shook her head. But she stepped forward to support Josh and take him the rest of the way while Matt ran back towards the kitchen.
Once in the President’s private office, she took Josh behind the large oak desk and helped him into her father’s leather chair. She sat on the desk itself.
After a moment Josh looked up at her. Lexy was staring wide-eyed in shock at his thigh, where he was attempting to stop the flow of blood with his hand.
“You don’t have to stay here. You can go, I’ll be fine.”
“How do you do it?” Her voice was small and scared.
“Do what?”
“Kill that man. You just… shot him. And now he’s dead…”
Josh began to use his free hand to unbuckle his gun belt.
“The face of every man and woman I have ever killed or seen killed haunts me. But that man has killed many people, mostly innocents. And he was about to kill you, so I feel a bit better about killing him.”
Lexy got up and began to help him with the buckles.
She hesitated before undoing the buckle on his injured leg.
“Will it hurt?”
“Like Hell. But it has to be done.”
Lexy gestured to the guns and the remaining Sai.
“Is that how you can still carry those? Because you tell yourself that?”
Josh stared thoughtfully at her. A new pain showed in his eyes, a pain that was greater than even the bullet wounds he had suffered.
“Yes. Along with other reasons.”
At that moment Matt and Al Bono burst into the room and dropped a pile of things on the table. Matt also held two glass bottles.
Josh nodded to the bottle that contained an amber colored liquid.
“That what I think it is?”
Matt grinned, “We didn’t have any Vodka.”
Josh made a face, “Good.”
Taking a long drink of the tequila, Josh managed to, with Lexy’s help, get the gun belt the rest of the way off.
Josh reached over and took a towel and long pair of tweezers off the desk. As he placed the towel under his injured leg, Lexy nodded to the other bottle of pure alcohol, rubber strip, and lighter on the table.
“What are those all for?”
Josh snagged the rubber strip and tied it tightly around his leg a ways above the wound.
“You’ll see.”
Taking another drink, Josh carefully inserted the tweezers into the bullet hold and, after a painful moment, withdrew them along with the bullet.
He then proceeded to pour a tiny bit of the alcohol into the hole.
Lexy looked on in puzzlement until Josh picked up the lighter and held it next to the wound.
Shocked, she asked, “What are you doing!?”
Josh took another drink and gritted his teeth.
“The wound needs cauterized before I can take my makeshift tourniquet off.”
He then clicked the lighter on. There was a small flash of flame and the smell of burned flesh filled the air.
Drawing his breath in sharply, Josh laid his head back and closed his eyes for a long moment. Then he looked up at Lexy, Matt, and Bono. The muscles around his eyes were tight and his eyes were hollow and hurting.
“I hope one of you was paying attention, because someone needs to get the other bullet out.”
Nobody moved. Then, reaching out for the tweezers, Lexy stood resolutely in front of agent. Her eyes were set in a way that brought out a blue fire. A look Josh had seen before, and pained him to see again.
Lexy took a deep breath.
“I will do it.”
Matt and Al all looked at Lexy in shock. Josh just sat back and closed his eyes, his pain effectively hidden behind his impassive mask.
Matt tried to reason with Lexy.
“Hon, you can’t stand blood. And you’ve never done anything like this before.”
Lexy put her hands on her hips and looked at her father defiantly.
“He just saved my life, Daddy! It is the least I can do right now. Besides, how many times have you done something like this?”
“Uh, never.” Matt looked helplessly at Josh, who still had his eyes closed.
“Exactly! Now let’s get that other bullet out before he bleeds to death or something!”
Josh opened one eye and glanced at Al.
“Agent Bono, good job out there; but next time don’t get that close to him.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Now go get me a full report from Rosas and Vale.”
“Yes Sir.”
Bono left the room, and Josh looked up at Lexy.
“You think you can do it?”
Lexy suddenly looked uncertain, “Well… no.”
Josh closed his eye again, “You’ll do fine. You can’t do any worse than those witch doctors in Africa, eh Matt?”
Matt stood on the other side of the desk looking concerned.
“Nope, they did you over pretty good. I’m sure Lexy is twice as good as those hags.”
Josh smiled an exhausted half-smile.
“Heh, I really ticked them off to, didn’t I?”
Matt smiled at the memories his old friend was going over in his head.
“No, I don’t think they enjoyed you dumping their magic potions all over their tent and threatening them with a sacrificial knife.
“I still have that knife somewhere… Hey Girl, you gonna do anything or do I get to die early?”
Lexy looked hesitantly at her father and, after receiving a reassuring nod, knelt down next to the ex-soldier. She carefully inserted the prongs of the tweezers into the bullet-hole. They came into contact with something solid and Josh winced. Lexy released her grasp slightly, allowing the prongs to spread farther apart.
When she could feel the edges of the bullet, she pressed the tweezers down around the metal cylinder. Steadying herself, she grasped the bullet and drew it out of the wound. It came out with a fresh gushing of blood, glistening metallic against rich red.
She sat back on her heels, her head light and her vision hazy. Matt took the tweezers and bullet from her and finished by cauterizing the hole with the alcohol.
Josh sat up stiff and painful. Using his good hand, he snagged the bandages from the desk and, with Matt’s help, began to bandage the wounds.
“Mind if I keep the tequila?”
Matt grinned, “Nah, and take all you want from the kitchen. I think there is some Miller in there as well.”
Josh pretended to look disgusted, “Miller? That crap? You wanna make me sick? Give me something with some kick to it; not that watered down prohibitionist’s excuse for moonshine.”
Lexy still sat on the floor next to Josh, pale-faced and shaking. Her father had been right, she couldn’t handle blood. Confusion and shock dulled her senses, her heart pounded fast and her skin felt cold. Why had she offered to do it? What about this selfless rouge made her so willing to go beyond her comfort zone? More questions, more confusion.
Matt touched his daughter on the shoulder.
“Hey, Hon? You should go now. There is an Agent outside the door who will escort you to your room. I’ll come up to check on you after I get things sorted out down here.”
Lexy mechanically got up and headed out the door.
Matt watched her go, slightly bothered by something. Being a Marine Veteran, and having worked with Josh before in the field, he wasn’t as phased as his young daughter. What got to him was his daughter’s own actions a few minutes ago. She had always fainted at the mere sight of a paper cut, but she had gone as far as to volunteer to take the bullet out of Josh’s shoulder. He wondered why she had done it, what had given her the courage. He wondered if she even knew why she had done it.
Whatever the reason, she had gotten the bullet out. Matt looked over at the desk and the bloody bullets lying on the white towel. He thought back to the event Josh had mentioned earlier.
Josh had been in charge of Matt’s Marine Fireteam, along with another American called Nathan Wolv, and another man called James Regal. Josh, Matt and Nathan had been together since Boot Camp in 2001. Matt and Nathan never got along, but Josh brought them together and got them to work as a team. They had been sent to Iraq during the initial invasion in 2003, and stuck around until Nathan and Josh moved on to the Special Forces, becoming legendary members of the Reconnaissance Marine Force in 2006. That was about the time the Iraq War was ended and the US presence was removed from Iraq.
Taking the opportunity given, Iran stepped in and set up a dictatorial government in Iraq that was loyal to Iran’s leadership. They then allied with Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and invaded their age-old enemy Israel.
Receiving a desperate call for aide from Israel, Operation Israeli Rescue was put into motion in 2008. With threats from Iran and its allies that they would retaliate to any missile attacks or Navy advances with their newly acquired nuclear arsenal, the UN was forced to send invasion forces.
Dividing the enemy countries between the UN members, the United States was designated Egypt. So on April 14th, 2008, over 196,000 US soldiers and Marines set foot in Egypt. Matt and Josh met up when Josh’s Recon team was assigned to work with Matt’s platoon for the duration of the operation.
During one mission, they had been assigned to take Alexandria. Josh had been shot during the crossfire and was taken in by a trio of ladies fancying themselves to be witch doctors and surgeons. Josh spent three days in the care of the women until Nathan and his Recon team was able to locate him. He emerged worse off than he had gone in, and from that day had never been able to trust doctors, hospitals, or anyone with a stethoscope.
“That was weird.”
Matt was snapped out of his reverie at Josh’s hoarse comment.
“What?”
Josh was staring at the ceiling, his face a perfect mask of calm. His eyes flicked this way and that as his mind processed information.
“Trissex, the guy with the cane; he didn’t take the shot.”
Matt sat on the edge of the desk where his daughter had been not ten minutes ago.
“What do you mean?”
Josh sat up a bit and took one of the twin Desert Eagle Magnums off the desk. The gun was a Mark XIX with a 6-inch barrel and 9-round clip capable of delivering .37 caliber bullet with deadly accuracy. The gun was shiny chrome with custom ivory grips. Josh pulled out the clip and replaced it with one that had its full compliment of bullets.
“Trissex had a bead on your daughter; he could have taken the shot with the cane. Instead he went to the trouble of taking Bono out. And then when I had taken out his cane arm, he could have used Bono’s Glock and taken the shot. Instead he turned and fired on me.”
“Yeah, that is weird.”
Josh slammed the fresh clip home and chambered a round.
“Mr. President, as you Chief of Personal Security, I advise you to let me hand-pick an augmented team until this blows over.”
Matt nodded, “And what does my friend suggest?”
Josh took a drink of tequila and grinned wickedly.
“I suggest we find the devil that planned all this and send him to whatever Hell God has in store for him.”

Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

Josh quickly descended the stairs to the entry hall, and made his way to the room adjacent to the entry known as the “Security Bunker”.
His meeting with the Presidents and his daughter went well, as could be expected. Josh had only seen the President’s daughter from a distance, almost never up close. He wished now he had, maybe it would make this easier now.
He couldn’t get her face out of his head. She brought back so many memories, so much pain.
Narrowing his focus into a laser-point, he closed his feelings off from his conscious thoughts. By the time he reached the Security Bunker, you would have to have known Josh better than yourself to know how much his heart ached. How much his past haunted him.
Just as he was about to enter the Security Bunker, he was struck by a sudden thought. Reaching into his pants pocket, Josh pulled out a silver Blackberry cell-phone. Pushing the power button, he turned the PDA-cell phone on for the first time in a little over a week.
Four voice-messages blinked yellow-and-red on the screen. One in particular caught Josh’s eye, and he selected the message.
“Josh, this is Nathan. We are kinda in trouble…”


A few miles away from the Capitol, in a ritzy hotel, room number 107, Senator Shale Madeck sat at the small hotel desk. His laptop sat in front of him, the screen showing his unfinished speech for a meeting with the Montana Organization for Wildlife Protection he had when he arrived home.
His flight had gotten into Washington the afternoon before, and he had spent what he had left of the day watching TV and emptying 107’s mini-bar. Now he had figured to do some work before the President’s daughter’s birthday party in a few hours.
Concentrating on how he should declare his stand on the effects the exhaust of cars driving on the interstate had on the growth of cacti, Shale barely acknowledged the knock on the door.
“Yeah?”
A man’s voice called from outside the door, “Room Service!”
“Enter!”
Shale heard the sound of a card being swept through the electronic door lock and the handle to the door jiggle.
“Excuse me, Sir? My key seems to be demagnetized, could you open the door?”
“Yeah, hold on a second.”
Shale hit the “save” on his speech and got up to answer the door.
“You probably put you card next to your cell phone. You should really…”
Shale stopped short, the muzzle of a silenced .22 pistol gaped at him like a baleful eye of doom. The man who held it smiled, and Shale was shocked to see his canine teeth had been sharpened to points, giving the man a devilish look.
“Hey Pops, I was wondering if I could borrow your car to take this girl out. Now sit down at the desk, I need a note from you.”

Half an hour later the strange man, known to the Criminal Underworld as Trissex, exited room 107. He was now dressed in one of Shale’s suits and carried a wooden cane.
After using a large red Sharpie to scribble something over the room number, and putting a shot through the lock with his pistol, Trissex made for the elevator.
Wearing a pair of glasses and suddenly acquiring a limp, the assassin checked out Shale’s car from the parking garage. He figured he should ride in style. After all, he just killed a Senator and was about to assault the President of the United States. It was going to be a great day.


“Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like all of you to pretend you work for me today.”
Josh stood on the stage in a large vaulted room. To his left was a bar being stocked with drinks and a buffet. Small round tables scattered the room, and his handpicked security team was gathered at the foot of the stage.
Relieving his team of their duties for the time being, Josh had called them into the performance hall to brief them and give last minute instructions. He had just started his pep-speech. He always gave a small speech before and event like this.
“I know I’m not technically Secret Service, I’m just an ex-marine who bribed his way into a security position.”
At that some of his team smiled, they knew Josh was there because of skill, not money.
Josh continued, “I also know some of you don’t normally work with my team. I pulled you for this assignment from other duties. But I want you all to know; I picked everyone for a reason.
Today is the President’s daughter’s birthday party. Our job is to make sure no one can get close to the President, his daughter, or any of the guests with the intent of causing them harm.
Now I know you are all thinking; “But Captain, we didn’t get a schedule from the Washington Crime Syndicate, there might be no threat at all!””
More smiles, and a few agents even laughed.
“But I always expect something to happen. They think they can get in here and take a shot at the President because the Agent in charge is not expecting it.
Well I have a surprise for them because I am expecting it. And I made sure I have a team who I can trust to do their jobs and do them well.
So today, keep your eyes open, and your safeties off, and we might get through.”
Josh gestured to Lucy Vale, who stood at the foot of the stage.
“Agent Vale will hand out assignments in a moment, but there are some overall points you should all know.
For all of you from the President’s normal security detail, you know he likes to stand in front of people telling bad political jokes and waiting to get shot. Well, today is being run by his daughter; and she does not like being in the spotlight.
The party today will be mostly eating and milling around while talking about politics and media. There will be a few dances held in the ballroom, and the billiard room is going to be open. But it should be fairly easy to keep tabs on the President and his daughter.
At the end of the day, however, the President’s daughter will take this very stage to formally thank all the attendees.
I don’t think I need to point out that this is her most vulnerable point, and it is where we should be especially alert.
I will be in the Bunker during the festivities, so bring any questions or concerns to Agent Vale or me. Agent is my Second today.
Now get your assignments and get ready. People will start to show in thirty minutes, but we know the press will be here in twenty.”
Josh stepped off the stage and headed out the back of the performance hall and through the music room, on his way to the Security Bunker.
As he walked he checked his radio frequency, then his pistols. Making sure the clips in both guns were full, he disengaged the safeties and holstered the weapons.
Then he undid the leather strips that secured the sai in their sheathes. Attaching a cord to his radio, he put an earwig in his ear and tapped into the comm. chatter of his security team.
So far, so good.


Half an hour later found Agents Ralph Rosas and Lucy Vale checking in guests. It was an easy job for the most part, but the President’s daughter had invited a few celebrities who could be a bit difficult at times.
Before guests started to arrive, it had been agreed that Vale would handle the guest list, Rosas the security check. But now, as Ralph tried to stay patient with a young lady in a silver designer dress, he decided next time he would take care of the list.
“Listen, Miss Lohan, we just need you to let us scan your bracelet and necklace. Just put them on the tray with your purse…”
“Hey, do you know how much these cost?”
Rosas sighed, “More than I get in a year. Now please, the tray please?”
Miss Lindsay Lohan, with an angry glance at Rosas, complied.
Ralph handed her the necklace and bracelet along with her purse.
“There, now was that so bad?”
“I’m going to complain to your superior!”
Agent Vale smiled sweetly, checking Lohan’s name off her list.
“Before you do that you might want to get a gun and some darn good life insurance.”
As Miss Lohan stalked off, Vale winked at Rosas, who had to hold back a laugh. If she did complain, Director John Nicolas would turn Miss Lohan over to Josh, and Josh would put her straight with no problems.
“Excuse me; I am aide to Senator Madeck. Mr. Madeck fell ill yesterday, but felt Montana should be represented this afternoon. I have here a letter giving me permission to attend in his stead.”
Ralph looked the letter over, and gestured the man aside.
“We will have to check its authenticity, but if you will please step to the side a moment, we will get back to you when we get confirmation. Nothing personal, it’s just our job.
The man nodded agreeably.
“But of course.”
Rosas handed the letter to Agent Jones to check the signature, and started checking the next guest in line.

Jones took the letter to the Security Bunker and had the signature checked against a copy of Senator Madeck’s signature they had on file.
The signature checked out and a few minutes later Rosas was checking the aide through.
“It seems you check out, Sir. Now if you would please place your wallet, watch, and any other items in the tray, you can be on your way in just a moment.”
The man did as instructed, and Rosas reviewed the screen on the small X-ray Station.
Acquired from a man in Nebraska, the X-ray Station was similar to the larger ones found in airports. Josh had added it to the estate’s security measures, and had found it quite useful.
Rosas handed back the man’s personal items.
“Thank you Mr. Rucus. Enjoy the party and please send our regards to Sen. Madeck.”
Mr. Rucus held up his bamboo cane.
“Don’t you need to check this?”
Rosas smiled, “Oh, thank you for reminding me, Sir.”
Rosas ran the metal-detector wand over the cane.
“You’re clean. Enjoy!”
Rosas turned to the next guest.
“Mr. Depp, how are you today?”


Joe Carlson stepped off the elevator and headed towards room 107, carrying his plumbers toolbox.
Today was not a good day. First, Joe’s wife had burned his breakfast. Then, in close succession, he had four water pipes burst and a water heater fail. Now the room above 107 had a burst pipe, and it looked like it had leaked into the lower room. Knowing Joe’s employer, the best he could hope for was to have whatever damages caused by the leak taken out of his paycheck. The depressible plumber couldn’t think of anything worst, but he was about to discover just one of the possibilities.
Joe had swiped his access card maybe twice before noticing the scorched hole in the door lock. Then looking up at the silver room number, he froze in shock. Over the black “107” was scribbled in bright red the number “666”.
Joe, slowly, reached for his walkie-talkie and radioed security.


Back at the Gold estate, the party was in full swing.
Almost all the guests had commented on the band, which ironically was made entirely of S.S. Agents Josh had picked in part for their musical talents.
At one point Lexy managed to talk the lead singer into stepping down and letting Lindsay Lohan on stage to sing. But after singing one raunchy song and refusing to give the microphone back to the band, Al Bono and Ralph Ross had to escort Miss Lohan off the stage.
Matt Gold had a small audience in one corner of the performance hall, and was explaining his position on the theory of global warming. He had spent the last two days reading up on the topic in order to give a convincing dialogue on it. And, listening to him through the hidden microphones in the performance hall’s wallboards, Josh had to admit he was doing a good job.
After the incident with Miss Lohan, Lexy retired with a number of the guests to the ballroom and proceeded to wear everyone, including the energetic Mr. Depp, out with dance after dance.
Finally, Josh and his team could relax a bit while the guests sat in the formal dining room and performance hall for the scheduled early dinner.


Officer Jorskie looked over the inside of room 107 with a look of confusion. Senator Shale Madeck sat in a chair facing the desk. On the desk sat his open laptop with the makings of a rather good speech pulled up on the screen.
It almost looked like he had just fallen asleep and died, except for the bullet hole through the back of the chair, the blood pooled on the floor, the ruined lock, and the red “666” on the door.
Jorskie was at a loss for what to do, until he saw an invitation laying open on the nightstand. The Presidential Seal tipped him off, and after skimming the contents he picked up the phone and dialed a friend. A friend who might be able to help him out.


Lucy Vale was sitting in the back of the Security Bunker when her cell rang. She glanced at the caller ID and cursed. She answered the phone, though against her better judgment.
“Bill Jorskie, I told you not to call me anymore! If it wasn’t for the fact I always answer my cell I’d…”
Lucy’s face went blank.
“What? Yes, he was supposed to attend but… dead? Shot!? Ok, Jorskie, hold on. I’m going to give you to my superior.”
Lucy rose and walked over to where Josh stood viewing the security camera feeds.
“Captain, I have a friend on the line with something your should hear.”
Josh took the phone from her and listened to Jorskie’s report. After asking a few clarifying questions he hung up and stared thoughtfully at the screens in front of him.
“Senator Madeck is dead. The assassin was a guy I’ve met before, a man who calls himself “Trissex”. “Tri” for three, “sex” for six. “666”, Satan’s number. Vale, where is that picture of the man claiming to be Shale’s aide?”
Lucy pulled up a photo taken by a security camera when the aide was checked through security.
Josh studied the photo carefully, his sharp eyes taking in every detail of the man’s face.
“It could be him. It’s not his face, but it wouldn’t be the first time an assassin has changed his appearance to go undetected. So until he makes a move, we can’t do much…”
He thought a moment longer.
“Put out red flag out on our “Mr. Rucus”, and get Rosas’ full report on his check-in. I want to know if we could have somehow missed a concealed weapon somehow.”
The agents got right to work. Josh looked again at the photos, at the man calling himself Rucus handing his cane to Rosas. The cane reminded him of something, but he just couldn’t place it…