Read April 4: A Different Perspective for Free Online Page A

Otis..." Keith started to say something in alarm, as Otis tilted the rifle over to get at the trigger. He fired it before he could object. The gun made a funny thump, but no real bang to Keith's relief. Neither did he have a hole from the back seat out through the front grill, as he likely would have been made with a full powered round.
    Otis ran the cleaning rod down the bore. He was satisfied the bullet was lodged, fully engraved on the rifling, about two inches forward from the throat. He took a magazine and made sure it still accepted a standard round and ejected it properly. There was no visible bulge on the barrel. If somebody checked both magazines were still full. The empty brass went in his pocket.
    "I have to leave this rifle somewhere this evening," he explained to Keith. "No way do I want it to be a functioning weapon." It was a nasty thing to do to a sweet weapon, but if something happened to him he also didn't want anybody to be able to 'take over' and fulfill his mission for him. If that should happen, well, with a little bit of luck whoever tried to use the gun would get a big surprise, if they didn't check the bore. The thought made him smile.
    "Here," he told Keith's man, "shake this powder off the napkin, over the edge of the deck."
    The man nodded an acknowledgment, but was checking out the Dunestar with a laptop. He must be the bug finder too.
    "It's cold, sitting still. Mind if I start it and circle the deck if I need to?"
    "Be my guest," Otis invited him.
    He went around once slowly, then surprised Otis by whipping around fairly fast. Otis didn't want him calling attention to them, but he pulled in after one quick round. He got out and went to the rear of the vehicle, fiddling with something.
    "You had two hot spots," he informed Otis. "First your remote start fob was emitting. That doesn't have anything to do with the vehicle, it just runs all the time. Second there was a transmitter in the spare tire valve, that didn't come on unless you were moving. Both are dead now, but you don't have a spare tire until you get a new valve stem in the rim."
    "Good work. You ready to go dump it?" The fellow gave him a mock salute and climbed back in. He never did get the man's name.
    "Let's go get my golf bag," he told Keith. "Then I need the van for a couple hours to check into the Sheraton. Your man with the golf bag can take you back can't he?"
    And that was the second coincidence he didn't deserve, Otis thought, fingering the key cards in his pocket. He'd had a reservation at the Sheraton from three weeks ago, before Wiggen was announced to be visiting the city. No need to find an excuse to enter the building or risk trying to get a room at the last minute when they were probably sold out. He wasn't sure if he'd even look in the room the conspirators had provided. He was still thinking on how to play it even now.
    * * *
    Otis checked in to the Sheraton uneventfully. He had two throw away phones in his pocket he'd bought on the way. They were busy enough at the check-in desk that no one objected or offered a hand when he piled his own luggage on a cart and took it up to the eighth floor. There were two security cameras visible on each floor, one pointing down the hall and one covering the elevator.  It was dubious anyone was monitoring them in real time. Their deterrent value was in reviewing them if a crime occurred. They would undoubtedly be reviewed after an assassination attempt originating in the building, but not before.
    The room was average, boring really. He dumped the bag of trash he'd been given in the toilet and ripped the bag into smaller pieces he was sure would flush. He looked around the room trying to decide where he could hide the spacer ID. He rejected the Gideon Bible. Taped to a drawer bottom or table bottom was too well known. He finally saw the cheap floor lamp in the corner had a slip joint half way up. He pulled the brass-plated tubing apart and rolled the ID up around the cord. When he