Chapter 3 - 15

“Reginald, you made it,” the woman said as she answered the door in only a bathrobe. “I had given up hope.”

“Well, there was some networking I needed to do, and I lost track of the time.”

“No excuses. Come in,” she said, taking a step back.

“By the way,” Archer said as she closed the door behind him. “I...never got your name.”

“Oh, do you really need that?” she responding, sauntering into the small hotel room. Reginald found himself backing up instinctively, searching for somewhere to sit down. “You nervous, Mr. Archer?”

“I’m sorry, I try to separate business from pleasure, and I haven’t yet made the disconnect. Do you have anything to drink?”

“I have a bottle of wine on the way,” she said with a shy smile. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m a little unseemly. I’ll just be a minute.” The woman stepped into the bathroom.

Archer’s senses immediately sharpened, his nervousness reaching a fever point, and he began to scan the room in earnest. He didn’t feel anything, still no recognition, still no sign that anyone was behind this. The fact that she remembered him unsettled him to no end, and as he waited, tense, he realized that he didn’t have an exit strategy. This was a stupid idea, he thought, and was just about to leave while he still could when he heard movement on the other side of the front door.

“Come on, Travis,” he whispered, reaching under his coat jacket to grab his sidearm. “Give me the signal.”