The Wedding Project 💍

'Down Under' (Part Two)

"Alright, can you see me?"

Eddie felt his patience growing thin as he stared into the camera that was attached to the ceiling above the elevator doors. From the outside, the camera looked perfectly fine - an inconspicuous little half-orb made of plexiglass under which the actual camera was covering the entire hallway down to the connecting door for the West Wing. At least, that was the theory. But the voice on the other end of his radio gave a pessimistic answer: "Nothing. Still just a white screen."

He sighed. He had assumed that some joker had put up a white sheet or sprayed the camera with paint or anything like that. But nothing was apparent. Maybe a genuine malfunction? "I guess I'll have to disassemble that thing," he announced over the radio.

"I'll tell Charles," the security guy on the other end responded. "But you have to wait till he gives his permission."

"I know," Eddie grumbled and put the radio away. That could take a while, but he could as well prepare for it. The janitor's closet on this floor was just a few yards away. Reginald had forbidden him to put a lock on it, so in theory anyone in this building could access it. He hated that. He was responsible for all the utensils in it, and even if he was glad that someone else cleaned up the messes they made, they should at least leave his stuff alone. Since he wasn't allowed to look it up, the least he could do was check the contents as often as his time allowed.

When he opened the door, a faint chemical smell greeted him. That was unavoidable, thanks to the palette of cleaning helpers, including a few self made mixtures which were vastly more effective than any store brand. Eddie took a quick look around and found everything in its place. The small ladder was there as well, so when security chief Charles gave the Go, he could use it to get to the camera. As soon as he thought that, his radio started sputtering noises. "Eddie, come in!" That was Charles himself.

Eddie took the radio from his belt and answered: "Eddie here!"

"Do not dismantle the camera!" That order was a surprise. Eddie raised his eyebrows. Fortunately the big fellow gave an explanation: "Even if it doesn't work properly, its presence gives our guests a feeling of safety. Removing it would make them feel uncomfortable. So we'll deal with it when they have departed."

Eddie rolled his eyes. Typical! "Understood," he responded and put the radio away again. Absolutely typical! First the resident medic Dr. Holland, had gone on a two-month vacation to visit his home country and his family, and for whom the hotel had not found an adequate replacement for the time being. Nurse Machali was now the only medical personnel on the entire island, and while capable and experienced, she was no doctor and would not be permitted to do anything in a major crisis. But had they told their paying guests about this blatant lack of essential personnel? Hell no! And now they were allowing malfunctioning security cameras to just hang in the corridors, providing a false sense of security.

How much of this hotel is built on lies and illusions? Eddie had pondered about this for some time. Even if there was something wrong here, the demanding clientele that the Southsea Hotel attracted should never know about it. Not about the secret tunnels, not about the absent doctor, and certainly not about surveillance systems that didn't do their job.

He looked at his wristwatch again. 11:17 am. The ceremony was about to end, if it hadn't already. Maybe Saffron would have put his lunch already aside - that was the only upside to having a wedding on this island, getting a taste of the great food that the guests were having here. He turned the radio off and walked downstairs. Whatever troubles his coworkers had, they would have to wait for a bit.

The food at lunch was indeed great. Saffron had secured Eddie a healthy portion, a good variety of dishes that would help keep up his spirits for the rest of the day.