Chapter 19

Jon looked around the uncrowded dining room of the Marriott near Spirit of St. Louis Airport. "Well," he said. "Now the only question is whether he shows up, or what."

"I don't know what to think," Tanisha shook her head. "I can believe anything from not showing up at all to bringing a small army with him."

"That's the range," Jon said. "I'd be willing to bet the first, and be real doubtful about the second. That's why we planned it this way, after all. Neutral territory and all that."

"There's nothing to worry about," Crystal shrugged as she took a sip of ice water. She glanced at Preach and continued, "There's prepared, and there's over-prepared, and I think you've managed the latter."

"But better to be over-prepared and not need it than be under-prepared and sorry about it later," Preach pointed out. He was there because it seemed likely Kwame would raise the issue of Tanisha's church status, and he was the family minister, as much as they had one. When she heard about it, Crystal had announced that she was going to be accompanying them just on general principles.

Jon glanced around the room again. He'd only met Kwame Blythe that one time, very briefly and there had been a fight involved when that happened, so he wasn't looking forward to this. But, Preach was right: better to be ready for any possibility, which was part of why he was there -- and in more ways than one.

He really didn't expect the confrontation to get physical, if for no more reason than where they were. The Marriott was a nice, neutral place, but part of the reason it had been chosen was that it was far enough outside what Halloran considered Kwame's comfort zone that he'd be a little less likely to attempt any violence. But if he considered it ... well, the four guys talking basketball at the next table were all Halloran operatives, and all of them armed -- Jim Bricklin was among them. There were also two uniformed cops sitting partway across the room; they happened to be off duty but would be getting checks from Halloran for being present. Jennlynn was also sitting partway across the room, staring at an open laptop and giving off the attitude that she really didn't want to be disturbed. While she'd mostly come along to fly them to the meeting in Skyhook, she also had a small video camera concealed in her purse so she could record things if the situation started to get ugly.

They'd spent a considerable amount of time working out a plan on how to handle this, which was why Jon and Tanisha were sitting with their backs to the wall of the nicely appointed restaurant, with Crystal sitting next to Tanisha and Preach sitting next to Jon. If someone wanted to get to Tanisha from Jon's side, they'd have to go around the table and through both Preach and Jon, who could at least be bodies in the way. If there were to be an attack, having it come from the other direction seemed more likely -- but would put Crystal's black belt in the way. Things would have to go considerably wrong to get that far, but if all else failed Tanisha had the .38 Special in her purse, and Jon had a Sig Sauer P229 in a shoulder holster under his sport jacket.

Maybe they were over-prepared, Jon thought, but better safe than sorry.

He glanced at his watch, and looked toward the entrance again. "Any time now," he said, as if anyone else wasn't aware of it. "That is if he's coming at all."

"There's a good chance he won't," Tanisha sighed. "Or, if he does, he'll keep us waiting so he can prove he's in control."

"I'm willing to let him have that," Jon smiled. "There's no way he could have any idea what we want to do."

A couple minutes went by when no one dared say much of anything. Jon tried not to stare at the entrance but there was no way he could keep from looking at it out of the corner of his eye. He and Tanisha had worried about and feared seeing Kwame again for years; although every precaution had been taken, there was still room for worry.

Even though Jon was trying to pay attention, it was Crystal who first noticed the black man and woman out in the lobby, looking as if they were trying to figure out an unfamiliar place. "That him?" she asked softly.

"Yes," Tanisha responded with visible relaxation. "And that's Shantel with him." Shantel was a small woman, nowhere near as dark as her husband, with a nervous look on her face, her thick, curly hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Without discussion most of the tension evaporated around the table. This now stood every chance of being relatively peaceful; it seemed unlikely that Kwame would bring his wife to a kidnapping attempt. If he'd brought Clemmens, it would most likely have been ugly from the beginning.

They could see Kwame look around, see the dining room, and then pick Tanisha out on the far side of the room. The two turned and walked toward where they were sitting at the table. "Tanisha," Kwame said as he got close. "You're looking good."

"Thank you," she replied as she stood up. "You look well yourself. I'd like to introduce my husband Jon..."

"We've met," Kwame replied sourly; he had an angry expression on his face, but it was one that seemed he had been born with. "Briefly but unhappily. I thought there was more going on than you claimed."

"At the time you met him he really was just a ride," she explained. "We became friends after that, but we worked together for years before we decided to get married." Before he could make a response, Tanisha hurried on, "And this is my sister-in-law Crystal, and her husband, Reverend Noah Whittaker."

"Reverend?" Kwame frowned. "Tanisha, I'm relieved that you married into a Godly family."

"As well as being my brother-in-law, Noah is also our family minister," Tanisha said. "We had a couple extra seats, so we worked out for them to hitch a ride with us."

Kwame turned to Preach and nodded his head slightly. "Reverend, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"And yours," Preach smiled, rising to extend his hand.

"What church?" Kwame asked.

"Glen Hill Road First Baptist in Chattanooga," Peach told him. "I'm officially an associate pastor there, but I'm currently on a mission out of there."

"Southern Baptist?"

"No, it's independent," Preach explained. "The church split off from the Southern Baptists back in the sixties sometime. I'm afraid I don't know the details; it was way before I was born."

"Feel free to sit down," Jon said in a friendly manner. "I can call the waitress over when you're ready."

"Oh, I think at this hour of the morning, just coffee for both of us," Kwame said, clearly not happy about the situation but seeming to at least try to act polite. He nodded to his wife, who pulled out her chair and sat down as he did. "So," he said as he got seated. "What is it that you want?"

"We just happened to be in the area for a meeting and thought that we ought to make contact with you," Tanisha said. "It's been years, after all."

"Instead of making us come all the way out here, you could have come by the house," he grumped. "You know where it is."

"We don't have that much time," Jon explained. "We flew in on a charter flight, and they charge while they're on the ground as well as when they're in the air. Besides, Tanisha and I have to be in Phoenix for another meeting this afternoon."

"Phoenix? This afternoon?" Kwame raised his eyebrows. "That's a long way away."

"The time difference makes it a little easier, and besides, we're in a Learjet," Jon explained offhandedly.

"A Learjet?" Kwame asked, clearly impressed for the first time.

"Well, it's on charter for the company so it's worth it," Jon shrugged as if it were of little importance.

"What is it you do, anyway?"

"Defense work for the government," Jon replied. "Engineering. It's very highly classified, so we can't tell you any more than that."

"Tanisha works with you?"'

"All the time. We couldn't have accomplished anything like what we've managed to do without helping each other."

Kwame shook his head. "Then can I ask what you're doing carrying a gun? I can see the lump under your coat."

"We're always armed," Jon replied. "Both of us. Tanisha has one, too. Well, unless we have armed guards with us, and sometimes even then."

"We've been attacked by people who want to know what we know," Tanisha expanded. "This last time, well, it could turn into espionage charges against them."

"We're hoping it will, anyway," Jon shrugged. "Too early to say for sure. There are lawyers involved, and you know how that works." And Kwame, he thought, if that doesn't give you the message that we're a tough nut to crack, I don't know what will.

"That sounds very dangerous to me," Kwame observed. "Tanisha, are you sure you want to live like that?"

"I can't imagine it any other way," she smiled, realizing his question could be taken in several different ways. "Sure, there are some prices to pay, but what we're doing is both interesting and worthwhile. I always thought I could be good in the field, and I was right."

"You're doing pretty well for yourself, then?"

"We can't complain," Tanisha told him.

"Well, that's good," Kwame shook his head. "I expected that the reason you wanted to talk to me was to ask for money."

"No, it was the furthest thing from our minds," she replied. "We're working for a living, so you couldn't call us rich, but we're getting the bills paid with a little left over. It took us a while to get that far."

"Then you seem to have done well for yourself. I'll be honest, Tanisha. Your father and I thought that the idea of you getting into engineering was the wildest kind of pipe dream for a black person, especially a black woman."

"Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who seem to think that," she sighed. "There's plenty of room in the field, but people who want to get into it have to be prepared to work for it. The man in charge of the company we work for is interested in talent, and doesn't care about the color or shape of the package it comes in."

"I find it incredible that a black woman could be a success in a technical field like that. I can't believe that you would be given any real responsibility."

"What?" she shook her head, "I can't be a success because I'm black, or I can't be a success because I'm a woman?"

"I still think that it's an inappropriate field for a woman. You could have been of much more service to your family and your church working in social work like your father wanted you to."

"You're saying that he wanted me doing something where he could keep me under his thumb and not give me any chance to prove that I could be a success?" she snorted. "Well, Kwame, he was wrong and you were wrong. I'm happy where I am, and there's no way I would change."