16.THEIR NEXT STOP was a Hyatt Place hotel. The two rolled into the attached parking garage, grabbed their bags, took the elevator to the lobby, and strolled across the hardwood floor to the check-in counter. Ashley talked to the clerk while Black scanned the area. He was performing his exits, threats, and weapons assessment. It wasn’t that he anticipated any warning sign in particular, but rather it was just a habit. Ashley finished checking in with the clerk before she and Black walked to the elevators.
“Which floor?” he asked.
Ashley looked at him with a brief expression of confusion before answering, “Oh—um, three. The third floor.”
Black jammed the right button and the doors thumped closed.
“Here,” Ashley said, giving him a keycard. “You’re in room 308.”
When the elevator doors r
