Well, no shit. Cooper strained his ears to hear what Park did, but it was only a full minute later that he heard the hotel room door open and close slowly with the softest click. Careful footsteps moved into the hotel room...

...and right into the bathroom. Cooper cut his breath. The shower curtain was too opaque to see through, but it wasn’t hard to track their visitor’s movements through the room, searching through the same bag of toiletries Cooper just had. He looked down at the open bottle he still held in his hand and more importantly the key that was one movement away from rattling. Would the visitor notice the conditioner he’d poured into the sink? Would it make them suspicious? Would they take a closer look in the tub?

The footsteps moved out of the bathroom toward the rest of the hotel room, and Cooper exhaled silently. When he heard the desk drawer being opened and searched, he slipped the bottle into his pocket.

Park gestured in a complicated way. I’ll go out, you stay here.

Cooper gestured in a simple way with his middle finger, then suggested his own plan. I go. You stay. Come after.

Park frowned but nodded in agreement. It was the better plan, though more dangerous for Cooper. Everyone knew you sent out the pawn and kept your stronger player as the surprise weapon. Ace in the hole.

They quietly got out of the tub, and while Park waited in the bathroom door, unseen but easily able to snag anyone who passed, Cooper made his way down the hall to peer around the corner. Their visitor had his back to him, searching the nightstand drawer. He appeared to be a white man, a good few inches shorter than Cooper, but much broader and very fit. A boxer’s build. He was also wearing a balaclava and black latex gloves. Probably not housekeeping then.

Cooper was just weighing his options when the man whipped around, ripping the nightstand lamp out of the wall as he spun and flung it directly at his head. It was an awkwardly shaped and clumsy weapon, easy enough to dodge, but that was clearly the tactic. As Cooper was ducking, the man was already moving forward and had one hand wrapped around Cooper’s throat, silencing his shout. Meanwhile his foot kicked out to sweep the ankles, but Cooper was familiar with this exact sequence of moves and was ready for it.

As soon as the man’s ankle hooked around his—when his balance was at its most precarious—Cooper threw his dead weight into the fall, knocking the man down with him. They both hit the ground hard, and the man grunted in surprise.