As they came into the lobby, Pete spotted Fifteen. "Fif," he called, limping over to the young man. "When's the meeting?"
"Probably about an hour. We, the runners, are having a preliminary meeting with the honchos in a few minutes, then the main meeting will start."
Pete took Daphne's leash from Katherine and turned to the others. "I think I'm going to go back to the room and lie down until then. My ankle is hurting a little."
Katherine said, "I'll keep you company."
SarahBeth said, "No, stick around, Kath, at least for a minute. We may be doing something fun, and you might want to come along."
Katherine looked uncertain. "Oh, don't worry," SarahBeth said, "it won't be terrible." She turned to Pete. "We'll come get you before the meeting."
"Okay," he said, leading Daphne off.
SarahBeth nudged Perry. "Then we can take care of that other thing." She turned to Fifteen. "We need underwear," she said.
He took a step back. "You can't have mine," he said. "It's carefully locked up in my room."
SarahBeth shook her head. "Don't be a wise guy. Is there a store around here that sells girl's underwear? Not cheap stuff, either."
He smiled. "I happen to be able to help you with that. My aunt has completely cornered the fine lingerie market in these parts, in addition to many other commodities. I can give you the address, if you like."
"How far is it?" Perry asked.
"Not far. A few blocks." He took a pad of paper from his pocket and wrote on it. "Be sure to mention that I sent you."
SarahBeth turned to Katherine. "You want to come along? Get some racy new undies? Help us so we don't get lost?"
Katherine smiled. "I don't think–"
"Oh, come on." She nudged her friend. "I'll bet it would make Pete happy."
She shook her head. "He's really not into that sort of thing." She shrugged. "But I'll come along."
what the meetings are
like