They descended on the same flight of stairs that had taken him to the kitchen and conference room, but turned the opposite way in the hall. One of the guards led the procession, checking to ensure nobody was coming down the hallways, and Dale was reminded of all the movies he’d seen where VIPs were escorted that way by their security detail. All that was missing was a little coil of wire leading to an earpiece, and perhaps a more modern weapon than the spears which both guards had placed in holsters.