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Old 08-25-2015, 06:23 PM   #32
tshiggins
 
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
Default Re: Campaign: Facets

(...continued)

his prompted Henrietta to research the mandala more completely, and learned the one in the museum was actually the second of two identical mandalas produced by the same group of Tibetan monks. The first mandala, as is usual with those types of work, was destroyed upon completion when the monks threw it into the Platte River, at its confluence with Cherry Creek. The creation of the second mandala, for preservation in the DAM, required special dispensation from the abbot in charge of the Buddhist Seraje Monastery, in India.

Henrietta noted that the confluence is located in a park in Lower Downtown Denver, near where gold was discovered in the creek in 1858. The confluence, she noted, has been the site of many human visits since prehistoric times, and has always been considered the heart of the city.

Henrietta and Doc Bascher shared the findings when the rest of the group returned to Denver, following the creation of Aurelia's fake identity. They waited until the normal Monday morning tour of the Academy Club, and then sent Aurelia in to make contact with the club's management.

Frank Moses (with three weeks left of his administrative leave) and Doc Bascher, who had not gone on the previous tour, went in as a wheelchair-bound disabled veteran and his caretaker nurse. Meanwhile, A.J. and Sunmi parked in a nearby lot and began to try to hack the member's WiFi system, as Randy and Beatrice set up a rifle-post at the top of the parking garage across the alley, to the west of the club.

From the top of the garage, Randy noted the blue glow of multiple monitors from the window of one of the offices, directly across the narrow alley from them and about 15 feet lower. From this, the pair surmised that they'd set up right across from the club's security monitoring office, but that the angle was so steep that any shot through the window would most likely bury itself in the floor, before it hit anybody. With that, Randy began to assess any jump he might have to make from the roof of the parking structure to the roof of the club's security office.

Aurelia, Doc Bascher and Moses entered the club at about 9 a.m., along with a few others who wanted to tour the facility. Bascher and the trooper joined the tour group, but the would-be Olivia D. McShane approached a young docent, with a name-tag that read "Millicent Brown," and asked to speak with the management. When she gave her fake name, the docent showed her to a cocktail room with many fine paintings, and hurried off to fetch the director.

He arrived shortly, and introduced himself as Dave Shelton. Aurelia spun him a tale of the great-granddaughter of club founder, Oliver McShane, who was estranged from her mother, Oliver's granddaugher JoBeth Catherine McShane, and sought to learn more about her family's history. Aurelia (as Olivia) told Shelton she had learned that Oliver McShane had been one of the founders of the Academy Club, so she wanted visit and perhaps join as a legacy member.

Shelton expressed considerable interest in Aurelia's cover story, and spent more than an hour speaking with her about the past of the McShane family. Slowly, Aurelia became aware that Shelton's discussion of the club included only publicly-available information, but that he had thoroughly pumped her for any information she might have about the McShane family. Aurelia also noted that Shelton seemed far more cautious about her than such a situation seemed to warrant.

At one point, the director did let slip that the club would be highly interested in any McShane documents or heirlooms in her possession, but Aurelia said she had none such. He also noted that, while he appreciated her status as a "legacy" of the club, membership applications did require sponsorship of an existing club members, and letters of recommendation by two other members. However, he invited her to attend, as his personal guest, an "open-house" barbecue scheduled for Labor Day weekend, and promised to introduce her to members of the board of directors.

As the conversation reached its end, Aurelia said she'd like to tour the facility. Shelton said that Millie Brown (who had hovered nearby, and kept the pair supplied with excellent coffee and fresh pastries), would take her on personal tour. Aurelia asked to visit the Ladies Room (located in a part of the club no one in the group had yet seen), and then let Millie guide her around. Along the way, Aurelia discretely picked Millie's pocket and took her magnetic key-card.

By the time the pair reached the club's famous "College Room" banquet hall, the slower-moving regular tour had arrived at the same time (and Doc Bascher and Frank Moses had checked out the freight elevator used to move the wheel-chair bound "disabled veteran" up to the second floor...). Aurelia took a moment to thank the veteran for his service -- and made sure Moses saw that she had filched Millie's magnetic key-card.

The "disabled veteran" immediately had an anxiety attack and accused his "nurse" of keeping his oxygen up to high, and generally made a loud nuisance of himself. The "nurse" tried to get him to calm down, and asked for assistance, and she and the tour-guide tried to shush him down and move him to the elevator. At that point, Frank tossed himself out of the wheelchair, and Millie rushed to help.

At that point, Aurelia took the opportunity to slip up to the third floor, where she found the door to the Library Reading Room had mechanical key-lock, and not an electronic lock, and had been left unlocked. She let herself in and took a quick glance around.

Aurelia noted a black-and-white picture on the far wall that seemed to portray early members of the club, that the ceiling was about 18 feet up, and that huge bookshelves lined three walls nearly to the ceiling, with railed ladders used to reach the highest shelves. A lot of the collection seemed devoted to English and Early-American literature, and skewed heavily toward plays and other dramatic works.

She also noted the large room had numerous overstuffed chairs scattered around, with end-tables and coffee tables within easy reach, and a fair number of "coffee-table" art books ready at hand. Moreover, once she'd closed the door, she heard nothing of the commotion from down the wide stairs, and no traffic noise from the busy 17th Avenue penetrated the room.

At that point, a door in the opposite corner opened, and a large man in his 40s, wearing the blue blazer and gray slacks of club security, entered and asked her business. She started her phony story, but the man politely cut her off once she acknowledged she wasn't a member. He told her the room was reserved for members only, and showed her the door. She heard the mechanical lock click, behind her.

Aurelia slipped back down the stairs and rejoined the tour-group, just as it reached the first floor. Another security man had joined the effort to see to the needs of the "disabled vet" and an ambulance waited outside. The tour-guide apologized for the disruption, and offered the members of the tour coffee and pastries ("...or something stronger...") in the main-floor bar. Most took her up on it, as Doc Bascher bundled the querilous Frank Moses into the back of the ambulance.

(By the time they reached Denver Health Medical Center, the "veteran" had calmed down, and the pair made excuses and left as quickly as they could, promising to FAX insurance information.)

Meanwhile, A.J. and Sunmi had successfully hacked the club's WiFi, and in so doing gained access to an internal site for club members. They noted it had a calendar of upcoming events, the ability to schedule meeting rooms and banquet halls, contact information for the staff, and a discussion forum for members (the section devoted to the bridge players tended to get rather heated, and required frequent intervention by firmly polite moderators...).

Arthur determined that, with the help of someone who knew how to analyze intelligence, he might get a handle on the internal politics of the Academy Club.

(continued...)
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