Be Cool

100.

Drysdale hustles down the corridor and into the elevator. As it sinks the thirty floors he is working out the details of the plant. His challenge is to place the micro surveillance camera, less than the size of a dime, into a centralized location without being seen by the four people to be surveilled and the kitchen staff. He has that part worked out with a backup plan as ace in the hole. He also must contend with the Queen of Hearts, who is the only person in this theatric scene who actually knows who he is. One misstep and the whole gig falls flat on its face. 

A quick introduction is made by the hotel executive to the kitchen manager and they are off and running. He is shown the locker room and outfitted with one of the gaudy uniforms worn by the service staff. While left alone he loads his front trouser pockets with the camera and tiny electric drill. He is now playing the part of a busboy, his assignment is to keep the room clutter free, clean and void of any serving remnants. He will also be that annoying guy with the short horsehair brush and crumb pan whose job it is to keep the white linen tablecloth free of debris. 

He is impressed by the staff’s efficiency as they scramble to fulfill the order; lobsters pulled from a boiling pot, huge slabs of beef pinched from the brazier with two-foot tongs and a giant salad tossed into what could be a soaking tub. There is another simultaneous effort taking pace as plates, knives, forks, tablecloths, a beautiful Egyptian candelabra and the 2008 Dom Perignon in a gold bucket of crushed pink ice, are all gathered assembled, and placed in a pre-engineered order of use. It is first-in-first out utilitarian efficiency in a choreography of dazzling precision. All indicating that he should be able to free-lance long enough to accomplish his work as they merrily do theirs. 

They are off with two serving carts pushed by a one-horsepower human motor each. Down the concrete runway exiting the kitchen area and into the utility elevator. The head waiter is the quarterback, assigning specific roles, cautionary notes and personal assignments. He looks at Drysdale with a glare that indicates he will be given ample freedom to do whatever it is that warrants such a blatant interruption of his intricate planning and expertise, and closes with a dire warning to ‘look busy and keep out of the way.’

Drysdale smiles and nods, adding a ‘yes sir’ as the maître d’hôtel spins the bottle of bubbly to better display the famous branding badge.

The offense rolls out of the elevator on the thirtieth floor and the QB gently taps on the door.

Mr Muscles opens and inspects the unit, eyeballing the trays, carts and personal, even going so far as to lift the lid from one of the steak pans to insure its proper contents. Drysdale keeps his eyes averted looking slightly downward yet he can feel a questioning stare as a hostile visual identification pat-down takes place. Noticing the delay the QB, running an audible at the LOS, suggests that the lobsters are chilling fast and require immediate attention. This shakes Muscles from his mental questioning as he backs into the room, opening the door wide as he relents. 

The dinner squad enters the luxury suite with gusto, Drysdale still with eyes down. The first thing he hears is a ‘oooooh, that smells good,’ from a voice he immediately recognizes as the Queen. 

Be cool.