Hide in the bushes

Quickly, but gingerly, Alex drops to his belly and slides under the thick row of bushes lining the gazebo. Despite his caution, he winces as he feels the branches scrape against his shoulders, back and thighs. He can only hope the scratches are not too visible or that they won’t raise any suspicions.

It’s a good thing he chose this hiding spot, because no sooner does he crawl into place than Beverly Scanlan steps off the gazebo and stands inches from where Alex was listening. She looks around, suspiciously, but seeing nothing, seems to relax.

Scanlan pulls out and phone, pushes some buttons and then speaks into it.

“It’s me. Juarez hasn’t talked yet, but he’s going to. Mick and Butch are taking him to the guest quarters now. I think we need to move the time up. We have too much invested to have that little flea fuck it all up for us now. How soon can you get here? Ok... just hurry. I have guests to attend to.”

With that, Scanlan puts the phone away and heads in the direction of the festivities. Once confident that no one is in the area, Alex carefully emerges from under the bushes. At one point he gets stuck, as a branch snags the waistband of his loincloth. With a persistent pull, he finally breaks free and crawls into the open.

Attempting his communications device again, Alex whispers, “Smithers, are you there?”

“Loud and clear, good buddy,” comes the clear and reassuring voice. “Sorry about the technical difficulties. Apparently Bluetooth signals interfere with your implant. We’re working on a solution, but for now, just try to stay clear of anything that uses Bluetooth.”

“Great,” thinks Alex. “Multimillion dollar technology, and it is screwed up by any cell phone or wireless speakers that some kid might have.” To Smithers he says, “I just saw Scanlan’s thugs beat the hell out of some guy named Juarez. Scanlan said he’s about to talk, but I don’t know what about. Also, whatever it is she is planning, I just heard her tell someone to get here quickly and they will move whatever they have planned to an earlier time. Anything you can tell me about any of this?”

“We had an agent named Juarez who went off the grid several months ago. We didn’t know if he was killed, compromised, or turned. It might be him. I’ll tell Blunt what in found out and see if he has any instructions for you. See what else you can find out in the meantime.”

Just then, Alex hears voices and sees a man and woman walking from the mansion in his direction. “I’ve gotta go,” he whispers, clicking off the device.

It is at that moment that Alex notices for the first time that he is naked. Apparently when he pulled himself free from the bushes, his loincloth remained behind. It offered so little cover as it was that he didn’t even notice its absence. He glances down, hoping it is in easy reach, but he does not see it.

The approaching voices grow louder. Alex has to make a decision about what to do.