device you will be able to push if you need help. For instance, if you were actually to be followed for real.”
“How will we know the difference,” Lily questioned.
“Tonight we are going to a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with all the team members, so you will meet everyone that would be on security duty. If you forget who is on our team, there will be some sort of sign you can give that they will have to give in return as a test to know if they are with us or not.”
“Okay,” Lily said not really sure how she felt about all the security guards following her everywhere and the high-tech devices, but she knew it was for her safety and that brought her a certain degree of comfort. She was relieved that they hadn’t been followed by someone who wanted to hurt her, her boyfriend, or her best friend. She decided to focus on how grateful she was to be safe and sound in New York with two of the people she loved best in the whole world.
The group that had gone from three to five, rode to a popular Italian restaurant for lunch and then to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The rest of the afternoon as she walked through the Met, she was filled with the same gratitude she had felt earlier. She was so thankful for her safety and for the little things in life she had so often taken for granted. She could walk with the help of her crutches, she could laugh with her friends, and she was in New York. What could be better than that?
***
Around six o’clock that night, Mr. B. pulled the limo up to an old warehouse. He drove around to the back side and clicked a button located on the dashboard. The gigantic loading doors slowly opened and Mr. B. drove into the dimly lit warehouse. He parked, let his five passengers out, and turned to get back in the limo.
“Why don’t you come in for dinner B.?” Mr. Turner nodded his head in the direction of a metal door several hundred yards away.
“Well thank you Mr. T. I think I will,” Mr. B. said as a huge, toothy smile exploded on his face. They all followed Mr. Turner through the door and into a large room. The room had been converted into a living room, full sized kitchen, dining room and game room complete with a pool table and foosball table. Each area was connected, but disconnected in some way. Lily knew there had to be other rooms beyond this one because it was such a large warehouse, but there wasn’t any evidence that there were any other rooms. There were no other doors than the one they had just walked through. Like Mr. Turner’s office all the lighting was artificial. On the drive up to the warehouse, Lily could have sworn she had seen windows, but from the inside there were none. Not one.
“Well it looks like everyone’s here,” Mr. Turner said shaking hands as he walked into the room. He walked to what seemed like the front of the room by the dining table.
“Hello team,” he began trying to get everyone’s attention. The thirty-five other people in the room turned their attention to him. “It looks like dinner’s ready.” He extended his hand to a spread of catering trays sitting on the kitchen counter. There was a ripple of chuckles, and Mr. Turner smiled along with them.
“I can tell Shazzi wants to do her thing, so I’ll let her take the stage,” Mr. Turner said motioning forward a tall woman with long golden red hair. She stood next to Mr. Turner and clasped her hands together. It seemed this was routine because everyone was still and silent. Some also had their hands clasped together, others had folded their arms, and others just stood respectfully and stared at the floor. The silence was broken by a lovely fluid voice.
“Dear Lord,” Shazzi began. “We are grateful this day for the food set before us, and we are especially grateful for the extra help we will have on our next assignment together. In Jesus’ name, amen.” When she had finished the short prayer everyone made a bee line for the food and the noise level returned to normal.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Mr. Turner shouted waving his arms in the air. Everyone went deathly quiet. “Everyone, this is Lily Harrison.” All eyes in the room fell on Lily. She felt her face turn