Yes, I have run into Cordys before. They usually are the confused type, but every once in a while you get one who seems to know exactly what he's doing, like he or she owns the place. Those are the ones you have to have an experienced eye to notice. It's usually a little thing, like a nervous twitch, that will set off the alarms in your head.
That's exactly the sort of thing I was thinking about when this guy stepped into the building. I don't know what it was about him that screamed that he was a Cordy. Maybe it was the lack of a tie and the slightly ruffled collar. I had wondered if they run a temperature before. He was young, probably in his late twenties or early thirties. He looked around as if he was searching for someone or something and then walked hurriedly through the reception area.
I nudged my partner, but the guy had slipped out of view before he had a chance to see him. We stood up and turned on our walkie talkies and made our way towards the stairs. There were two main sets of stairs that you would expect a Cordy to use, so we split up and tackled them both.
We really weren't in a hurry to stop him, except that I wanted to get home soon. There's only the one direction they go, up, and they don't come down again. It would be good giving the new guy a sense of urgency, though. So I ran. The stairs followed a square up and up, and every once in a while I'd catch a glimpse of the guy through the middle. He was quick, and I was about two levels back and losing ground. I radio to Dave to hurry up and cut him off before he gets to the roof.
This is the part of the job you really need to be in shape for. It's also the part where I start to think about retirement. It can't come soon enough. I've seen too many endless staircases for one lifetime.
I hear a door slam ahead of me, and soon enough I come to the top and run through the door and nearly collide into Dave.
"Did you see him?" I ask. Dave shakes his head and we head towards the door to the roof. Only he could not have gone through it. It was locked with a security code, one of the simple yet powerful ways to keep the Cordys off the roof.
That leaves only one option that I know of. We go back to the hall of hotel rooms, and start to check each one to see if it's unlocked. I pull out my gun now, because this guy is clever. Usually, when they can't get out into the open air, they just sit around in the hall until you find them.
I find one of the rooms slightly ajar, a sheet keeping it from closing all the way. I'm starting to get nervous now, so I come in with my gun up. The room is empty, but, as I expected, the window is open, its gear to keep it from opening too far broken in two.