Read Online Mackie's Men by Lynn Ray Lewis - Free Book Online Page B

more than a scheduling problem.
    “Well I’m afraid it’s time for us to scoot, darling, we’re already late for our next stop and if we arrive much later, they might not allow us in the door.” He hustled her from the room as quickly as possible, and Mackie watched them drive away before she went back inside the building.
    Her number one priority was safe, now she needed to find a dark corner and wait for an opportunity to speak with the influential hosts. The party was being thrown by one of the manufacturers of Drone technology. The stock of the company was rising rapidly with the uses for drones increasing into the private sector, and she cursed herself for not remembering the rest of the details concerning the company. Her only excuse was lack of time to completely study the dossier that she’d been given last night. Her initial perusal of the file had been routine, but Laura had several appointments to be at today, and time management wasn’t exactly the Senator’s top priority.
    She watched the stairs to see if the figure of the man could still be seen lurking, but there was no one there. If there was one time in her life she hoped that her intuition was wrong, she hoped it would be now, but the hairs on her neck and arms were standing at attention, and she needed to move. She asked a passing waiter where the host was tonight. “It’s such a crush, and if I don’t find him before the party’s over, I’ll be in big trouble.” The older man smiled at the woman towering over him and directed her to a spot twenty feet over to her right. She thanked him and began making her way through the people, listening for anything that might clue her into trouble.
    There were two men standing side by side in the center of the small crowd of people. Both men were tall, over six feet, but the older man was at least two inches shorter than the younger man. It was obvious they were father and son. They reminded her of someone, but she didn’t have time to search her brain for the recognition that it would require to figure out. The oldest gentleman spied her and assumed she was Senator Downs. She could tell he was happy Laura Downs had made an appearance and was even approaching him to speak. It would have been true enough had Laura stayed at the party. She always made it a point to be gracious and thank her hosts everywhere they went.
    “Ah, the lovely Senator Downs has decided to grace our little get together. Allow me to introduce my son, Drummond Klinger.” As she shook the hand offered, the name registered and she smiled in a more friendly way. Her fingers were given a harder squeeze and she realized the old boy thought she was flirting with him. Well, she would use that as an excuse to speak with them privately.
    “Gentlemen, you have a lovely party, with so many people wishing you well in your endeavors, I haven’t had a moment to speak with you in private on a subject the General has told me you have made inquires about. If I could have just a minute?” She smiled and widened her eyes, as they excused themselves from the four men staring at them in speculation. They walked to a semi private corner, and she leaned toward them.
    “I am sorry, but I am not the Senator, she and her husband, the General, just left. I wanted to alert you to a possible intruder I saw earlier, just in case he isn’t one of your security team. There was a man wearing black clothing crouched on the highest landing of the stairs a few minutes ago, and since he is no longer there, I would urge you to get your security people looking for him. I have counted at least eighteen high profile people here tonight, and most are still in this room.”
    Mason Klinger narrowed his eyes at her, she was certain his minions in the boardroom shook in fear at the look, but she was not his minion. “Who are you, young lady, and how did you get past our security?”
    She grinned at the tone of his voice, but answered his question, “I am Senator Downs’