Coming from someone who makes judicious use of the nosepicking smiley. Uh huh!
Another favorite because Ryan gets frisky in the back of that limo!
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Chapter 15—Making An EntranceRyan leaned back and put his arms out comfortably along the back of the leather seat. He listened to the smooth, quiet ride and stared around at the soft brown interior. “This is nice” he sighed. “Never been in one of these before. Bet you’ve been in hundreds of these.”
Emmie shook her head. “Never been in a stretch limo before. Just a Town Car.”
He then smiled slyly and inched toward her playfully. “The driver can’t see anything while the privacy wall is up, can he?”
She folded her gloved arms and raised her eyebrows. “I’ll slap you.”
He laughed. “I’m kidding, Emmie. Relax.”
As the evening daylight faded, the black limousine slowed to a stop outside the bustling gate at Homestead Air Force Base. Ryan and Emmie watched the doors expectantly.
“They’re just gonna want to check our ID cards and our invitations” Emmie reassured him. They watched through the tinted windows as a uniformed Air Force patrol officer pointed sharply to the right. The limo pulled slowly into a line of vehicles waiting to be searched.
The young SP then stepped forward and pulled the door open. “Need you to step out, Sir. Ma’am. Have your ID’s and your invitations ready” he said in a not-to-be-argued with tone. Ryan slid past her on the plush brown seat and stepped out. He then turned and took Emmie’s gloved hand, helping her step out onto the pavement.
She smiled at him. “Thank you, Sir.”
Ryan dipped his head. “My pleasure, Lady Emmalyn” he said with a grin.
Both Ryan and Emmie stood on the pavement of the entrance. Both of them watched the noisy sea of taillights, raised trunks, open doors, uniforms, tuxes, gowns, metal detectors, car mirrors, and bomb-sniffing dogs weaving around.
Ryan smiled as he watched a graying gentleman in a tux exchange words with another young SP. The elder man was pacing back and forth, throwing up his arms.
“Sorry, Sir, we’re checking everybody. It’s called a VIP Gala. Everybody’s a VIP. Now if you’ll just wait over there, as soon as we get to your vehicle, we’ll clear you” the young guard patiently said.
He shook his head. “Wonder who that is?”
Emmie shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t want to know. Some guy who thinks he doesn’t have to wait like the rest of us.”
“Wonder why they had us get out so early” Ryan asked. “I count fifteen cars ahead of us.”
Emmie shook her head and folded her arms. “It’s the government we’re dealing with, Ryan. Remember, hurry up and wait.”
“Somebody else knows the drill, I see” a familiar voice said behind them.
Emmie turned her head. “Hey Harm. Mac. They pulled you over too, huh?”
Mac rolled her eyes. “We’re the black Town Car about three back. Bud’s still over there.”
“This have anything to do with the security threat?” Ryan wanted to know.
“Probably” Harm observed, watching the commotion along the roadside. Occasionally another car would pull forward and stop yet again at the gate. “Lieutenant Caine has a long reach.”
“You mean they actually listened to him?” Emmie said.
“No, they listened to us.” Harm leaned down. “Between you and me, though, I think if these guys are gonna cause any trouble, they could get right around this. But you know how these things work. Gotta have the dog-and-pony show.”
Minutes later, two uniformed SP guards approached them. One carried a mirrored handle and sported a firearm and metal detector on his belt. The other led a wandering German Shepherd.
“Evening. We need you to step away from the vehicle. We also need to see some identification and your invitations. Folks, stay by whatever vehicles you rode in. And if you don’t have your invitations or military ID, you’re not getting in this evening” he announced firmly.
Harm nodded. “Well, I guess we better go keep Bud company” he said. “See you there.”
The limousine driver opened the trunk and the doors before stepping away while another security guard walked around with the mirror, checking for car bombs on the undercarriage. The German shepherd quickly and dutifully stepped in and out of the front and back, sniffing left and right, up and down, then quickly returning to its handler. “Good boy” the young man said.
The other guard accepted their ID’s and invitations, checking them against a clipboard. “Okay, let’s see. Emmalyn Stockburne, and Ryan Wolfe? Miami-Dade PD and Stockburne Holdings?”
“That would be us, Sir” Ryan said confidently.
His eyes continued to scan the roster more quickly now. “I’m finding Emmalyn Stockburne on here, but it says on the roster you’re coming with a Sergeant Rick Stetler of the Miami-Dade PD.”
Emmie shrugged. “The sergeant had an accident. Mr. Wolfe is his replacement” she said matter-of-factly.
The young man pursed his lips with concern before glancing at Ryan and then at Emmie. “Okay. Since it’s the local police department, I don’t see a problem.” He then took out a pen and scrawled his initials on Emmie’s and Ryan’s invitations. “I’ll go ahead and clear you. You shouldn’t have any problems.” He handed them back their invitations and ID cards. “Have a nice time.”
Ryan accepted their documents as the limousine driver held the sleek door open for them. Emmie held up her skirt as she climbed in.
“Yes. Sergeant Stetler had an accident. I’m the replacement” he purred proudly just inches from her face. She giggled.
Ryan and Emmie stood by a flowing river of bowties, satin stoles, sequins and gowns as they waited for Harm, Mac and Bud.
“Hey. Sorry we took so long” Harm said with a laugh. “I thought they weren’t gonna let us in.”
“What happened?” Emmie wanted to know.
Bud shrugged with a rueful smile. “Still got your tool case in the trunk. The SP’s went crazy. I had to convince them we weren’t building a bomb.” He smiled now. “But that’s okay. Used some lawyer tactics on them. What’s the old saying? ‘If you can’t befuddle ‘em with brilliance?’”
Emmie delicately hooked her arm under Ryan’s elbow as they began to walk toward the main entrance. “Well, you all set? Nothing to it. Just introduce yourself as CSI Ryan Wolfe of the Miami-Dade PD, escorting Emmalyn Stockburne of Stockburne Holdings and Properties. Then shake hands.”
Ryan snorted. “That’s it? For that you had to spend two hours a week training Stetler?”
She smirked. “Well, maybe the Powers That Be knew he needed that long to figure it out.”
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The camouflage-clad figure remained huddled on the side of the building, instinctively dipping his head so that perspiration on his face would land on his clothes and not on the ledge. He knew that the patrol helicopter made its round approximately every five minutes. He sweated profusely as he huddled in the humidity. The evening breeze was hardly any help.
He tucked himself between the two standpipes along the outside wall as the green UH-1 helicopter crept through the air diligently. The downdraft felt good, but he knew not to move. He merely looked at the wall and listened for anything out of place.
The roar of the helicopter finally faded. He tipped his head up, still facing the brown wall.
“Yeah. It’s gone, over.” he said into his earpiece.
“Okay, come on up, and I’ll pull you in. Over.”
“On my way. About fifteen seconds. Out.”
Without another word the figure gripped the two brown standpipes, right, then left, up to the brown wall hatch. He knew where it was. He had carefully studied the building inside and out. It opened slowly, and he squirmed in as quickly as he could, shutting it behind him.
As quietly as his huge frame would allow, he let himself fall to his partner’s shoulders and then down to the pile of laundry that had been placed there just for that purpose.
The damp darkness was hardly any relief from the outdoor heat. On top of that, the smell of dust, old insulation, and now sweat hung in the air. There was no evening breeze in the stifling darkness.
“Everybody else here?” he whispered.
“Yeah. You’re the last.” He motioned with his eyes. “Box is over there.”
The figure now crept across the floor toward the open box, knowing full well he could still be heard. He then looked at his partner with some doubt.
“Hey man. Does Logan know what he’s doing?”
His partner shrugged at him matter-of-factly. “Yeah. Why?”
He pursed his lips. “Seems like a lot. I mean, he got two out of three.”
His partner now leveled his eyes at him. “Did you forget already? Did you forget what they did to your uncle’s land? And how about that death tax? That’s paying for that nice little dinner down there. They’re gonna eat something, laugh about it, and then they’re gonna take their fat, happy carcasses back where they came from and do it all over again. How many times do I have to tell you? This isn’t just about Logan going to Leavenworth.”
The figure nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, man. You’re right.”
“Good. Remember. You’re north side and first in line for the nuclear.”
He lowered his eyes in thought. “Got it.”
His partner motioned with his eyes toward the lone box. “Get ready.”
. That's actually one of my favorite chapters in this work, too. 
ALL of the chapters of this story are my favorite.. 