by Nova Rain
That terrible shadow in my heart dissolved at his words. In an instant, I felt like I was able to breathe again. I allowed myself to smile. Now, I could smile, without the worry of Michael’s demise looming over me.
“Thank you, Dr. Payton.” Anna breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to me. Out of the blue, she threw her arms around me. “Thank you, Ava Briggs. You’ve been a rock for him.”
“Excuse me?” I uttered in a somewhat higher voice than usual.
“You’ve been a rock for him, dear,” she repeated, leaning back. “You’ve been here since the whole thing happened. You hardly left his side. Go see him.”
“Mrs. Compton, you are his mother,” I pointed out, locking my gaze with her. “I am just his girlfriend.”
“Exactly.” She gave a firm nod. “It’s my duty to be here, not yours. You could have left anytime you wanted. Now, go. You earned this.”
Finishing her sentence, she let go of me and patted me on the forearm. Baffled, I looked up at her husband. He wasn’t much help. He just shrugged his shoulders, as if he meant to say: “You heard the lady. Do as she says.”
I strode off and into the hall, alongside Dr. Payton.
“If only all of my patients were like your boyfriend, Ms. Briggs,” he said, a touch of frustration in his tone.
“Why?”
“Captain Compton’s got a wicked sense of humor,” he explained. “Last night, he found a tiny piece of a broken spring on his nightstand. His exact words were: ‘Doc, I really hope this didn’t break off from your brain. Otherwise, I’ll be joining Elvis soon.”
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “That sounds a lot like him.”
Unlike the other time I was outside his room, I didn’t have any fear. On the contrary, my heart was thumping with anticipation. And once I stepped into that room, bandages and lacerations didn’t send waves of despair washing over me. Michael flashed me a lazy smile and curled his index finger towards me.
“Ah, Ms. Posh,” he uttered in a low voice. “Is it me or are you starting to neglect yourself? Your hair’s all messy. You haven’t changed clothes in what? Two days?”
I let out a snort of amusement. “You’re unbelievable, Captain. You’re in the ICU, recovering from major trauma, and you’re concerned about my image. Let me tell you something,” I ceased talking and bent towards him. “I don’t give a tiny rat’s ass about my image. All I care about is your recovery. Your full recovery.”
“Is it bad that I’m a little turned on right now?” He wondered, his playful eyes gazing deep up into mine.
“Turned…” I couldn’t even finish my phrase without giggling. “Again, you’re unbelievable.” I placed my hands on his cheeks in a gentle motion and tilted my head further down. I closed my eyes to enjoy his kiss. It didn’t last more than two seconds, but it felt sweeter, like someone had sprinkled crumbs of chocolate over his lips. “I missed you.”
“Me too,” he confessed in a whisper. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Patience,” I advised, my voice coming out mellower. “Your life may not be in danger anymore, but you need time to heal properly.”
And I’m going to make the most of that time by exposing the people who tried to murder you.
As much as I wanted to reveal my plan, I held those words in. I wasn’t being secretive. I was just trying to protect him from the stress that my efforts would bring him.
“I know,” he admitted in reluctance. “I’ll try to make it up to you when I get out.”
“You have nothing to make up to me,” I assured him, straightening myself up. “Just worry about healing. I’ll see you in the afternoon, okay?”
He nodded assent.
I left that room, in the hope that I would never have to visit anyone close to me in an Intensive Care Unit again. The past few days had been torture. Knowing that Michael was teetering on the edge of the abyss had drained me of the will to do anything. Happily, though, his ordeal was over. I was free to go after the mastermind of that vile attempt to end him and Jake. Stress, tension, and frustration would drive my attempts to flush him or her out. For once, I would use those nasty emotions to do something good.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ava
“I really hope you’ve figured out a way to help Jake and Michael.”
“I have, but I’ve got a problem. Can we meet? I can’t mention it in a text.”
“Okay. My place, then. 829, Lincoln Drive, Brooklyn. 7pm. I’ll notify Penny.”
What in the world had Ben thought of? What sort of complex solution had been generated in his brain? I had no idea, and frankly, I wasn’t interested in learning the details. After all, they would sound like Greek to me. I knew how to use a computer, but that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge. Hacking was his territory. I was more interested in hearing him out. That way, I could discover if there was anything I could do to help him.
Looking at the rain out of my balcony door, I came to a realization. Amid this crisis, I had resorted to something that Michael didn’t even want to hear about: a criminal activity. My boyfriend was adamant about this particular activity.
“No matter how good a hacker you are, someone is bound to be better than you.”
Most likely, he was right. Ben was barely eighteen years old. He had youth and enthusiasm on his side, but experience? Not so much. The most seasoned professionals had to be twice or three times his age. They had to have seen and tackled much more challenging tasks than hacking into the database of an airline.
Michael wasn’t making the decisions, though. He was miles away, lying in a hospital bed, the victim of a psychopathic mind that wanted to take him and Jake out. If employing a young hacker like Ben was what it took to find the bastard who put him there, I wasn’t going to think twice about it. In fact, I would like it if Jake’s brother would bring along an entire group of geeks to maximize his chance of success.
With a rainstorm raging outside, I let Penny into the building. I opened my front door and waited for her, doubting she would object to my idea. She had come very close to losing Jake, much closer than she had when he decided to land that triple-seven on a levee. That plane had remained intact. There wasn’t a single injury onboard.
Still, I didn’t get to see the usually cheerful brunette on my doorstep. The woman who got out of the elevator across from me seemed devastated. Sniffling, she kept her head down as drops of water rolled down her cheeks.
“Penny, what’s wrong?” I asked, shards of worry slicing into me.
“I just got a call from Walter,” she started, her heavy footsteps bringing her into my home. “Reynolds told him they found Greg Olson dead in his apartment, about an hour ago. Olson was the supervisor in charge of loading Jake and Michael’s plane. They murdered him, Ava,” she stated, turning to me. “They put a bullet in his head.”
A huff of despair fled my lips at the news. The man responsible for sending Jake and Michael to their deaths, the man who could shed some light on this case, was no longer in the world of the living. Whoever had paid him off, had made sure to get rid of the single person that could implicate them.
“Reynolds’s men found a bag of cash in Olson’s apartment,” Penny added. “Sixty thousand dollars. Apparently, a human life comes pretty cheap these days. Thirty grand each.”
My apartment buzzer prevented me from speaking up.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Ben.”
“Come on up.”
I huffed once more and ran my hand through my hair. “They’re covering their tracks.”
“Clearly,” Penny agreed. “What the hell are we going to do now, Ava? I mean, this guy was the only connection to the people that orchestrated this. How do we proceed from here on out?”
“You’re right, but this doesn’t change our list of suspects.” I offered her my opinion. “They were two this morning. They’re still two.”
“Phew…” I heard a gasp from outside. “That is a lot of stairs.”
&
nbsp; I was about to speak, when Ben’s tall, scrawny figure emerged from the staircase.
“You could have used the elevator,” I remarked, noticing a gray, laptop bag around his shoulder.
“No way!” he exclaimed, clicking the door shut behind him. “I’m claustrophobic. I overheard you talking about suspects. Who do you think is behind this?”
“Ava thinks ‘Swift Cargo’ may have had something to do with this. Your brother and I think it’s United,” Penny interjected. “They have motive.”
“Let’s not have the same conversation again, shall we?” I suggested, shifting my gaze over to Ben as he pulled the zipper of his bag open. “You said you’ve figured out a way to help Jake and Michael out. We’re all ears.”
“I did, but I also said I had a problem,” he reminded me of his text, setting the laptop down on the coffee table. “You’re looking at it.”
“We’re not so familiar with hacking essentials,” I confessed, a hint of discomfort in my tone. “Could you be more specific?”
“Computer power,” he announced, putting some force in his voice. “My laptop is a beautiful machine, but I need ten times its power to hack into United Airlines’ database. I have that sort of juice in my house in New Hampshire, but it’s almost three hundred miles from here. Just driving back and forth would take me time my brother doesn’t have.”
“Why do you want to hack into their database again?” Penny posed the question, crossing her arms over her chest.
“To replace their forged work records with the real ones,” he explained, settling his gaze on her. “Once I’m in, it won’t be so difficult. The tricky part is replacing their existing database backups with new ones. I have to do the same with ‘Swift Cargo.’ I also have to photo-shop their contracts there. If I make it look like they used their real names to sign them, there’s no crime.”
“That sounds like a lot of work,” I commented, tension creeping into my tone. “How long will it take you to do all that?”
“With sufficient computer power? Seven; maybe eight hours.” He replied, scratching his jaw. “My laptop would take days.”
“The Bulletin!” I spoke, my eyes and voice stinking with excitement. “There are more than two hundred-and-fifty computers in the paper’s building. Some will still be in use because the paper hasn’t closed for the day yet, but they’re all yours after midnight. There’s also a huge server room in the basement that serves information to each and every computer.”
“Great!” Ben cheered, a big smile spreading across his face. “I’d rather use your computers. Servers are more powerful, but they always use the same IP address. I can mask it, but it’s a lot easier to do that on regular desktops. So, when are we doing this?”
I exchanged a glance with Penny, considering a response. The fierce determination in her eyes, along with the fact that we were running out of time, helped me reach a decision in seconds.
“Now,” I declared, moving away from him. I grabbed my keys from the holder on the wall and my coat, feeling his eyes on me. Ben was staring, his face fallen in disbelief. “Oh, before I forget. There’s a security guard at the entrance. I’m your aunt. You’re visiting from out of town and wanted me to see where I work. Are we clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ben said with a nod. “I’m going to need some supplies. Can we stop at a supermarket on our way over?”
“Coffee, chips, cookies and chocolate,” I ventured a guess.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve been eighteen, Ben,” I went on, my lips curling into a small smile as Penny strolled past us. “Your ‘supplies’ are on me. Let’s go.”
Locking my front door, I sucked in a deep breath. A sense of optimism struck me as I realized what I was about to do. Or better yet, what I was about to enable. Because I wasn’t going to do much, other than let Ben into my workplace, and wait for him to work his magic. At any rate, I had to contain that feeling. I welcomed it, I appreciated it, but, for the moment at least, I had to put it aside. Other than Ben’s skills, we needed luck to carry out this bold plan, and luck hadn’t exactly been my friend. In addition, hacking is all about computers. Minor glitches and issues are common in computers. Those cost time, and time was a luxury we couldn’t afford.
Twenty minutes later, we were outside the Brooklyn Bulletin, ready to make history. As expected, Larry Clemens, the elderly security guard was at his booth in the corner, watching TV.
“Good evening, Larry,” I spoke first, climbing the three steps in the lobby as I caught the faint sound of cheers. “This is my nephew Ben. He’s visiting from out of town, so, I thought I would show him around.”
Too distracted by the Knicks game, he gestured towards the elevators on his right.
“I can think of at least one person who won’t like seeing us here so late,” Penny murmured, pressing the “call” button on the panel. “Walter always leaves late. What are we supposed to tell him?”
“We stick to the truth, dear, I told her, my tone calm. “I know he’s not going to like it, but I’d rather give him a hard truth than lie to his face. We couldn’t have asked for a better editor than him.”
“Yeah, because he’s become more than just an editor,” she added to my thought as the elevator left the ground floor. “He’s more of a father figure.”
“That’s true,” I agreed. “Ben, when we go in, Penny will lead you to a cluster of free computers. Most of our colleagues have left for the day, so, finding such a cluster will be easy. If anyone asks—which I doubt, because by now, everyone’s too tired—just pretend to repair them. I have a whole set of screwdrivers in my office, in case you need one.”
“No. I’ve brought my own toolkit with me,” He maintained, mischief flashing in his eyes, the moment the car halted at our floor.
My heartbeat escalating, I stepped out. Nearing the long rows of desks in the main pressroom, I found the view a bit strange. It was nothing like in the morning, when the staff was all present. The floor bustled with life, but at almost eight o’clock at night, only a handful of my colleagues were left. As for Walter? He hadn’t changed his habits. He was in the middle of a discussion with John Ballard, near the upper right corner of the room.
“That will be all, John, thanks.” He dismissed my colleague as I headed towards him. “What are you doing here, Briggs? And what’s Penny doing here?” He asked, craning his neck. “Who’s that kid?”
“Walter, I’m sure you’re aware how Jake and Michael were able to land those jobs at ‘Swift Cargo.’” I presumed. “Penny’s talked to you about that, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, lowering his gaze back down to mine. “Why?”
“That boy made it all possible.” My voice dropped to a level just a hint above a whisper. “Now, he’s going to try to hack into the databases of ‘Swift Cargo’ and United Airlines, in order to erase any evidence of forgery.”
“Like hell he is,” he groaned, turning away from me. “Hey!” He shouted, waving his arms in the air. “Don’t touch those computers, you little piece of shit.”
“Walter, please!” I begged, starting off after him. “Two men could wind up in jail because of this.”
“This is a crime you want me to consent to, Ava,” he grumbled, tossing a fierce glare over at me. “A crime that could send me and the owners of this paper to jail. I’m just eight months away from retirement. I want to enjoy that time with my family, not in a prison yard.”
“I can understand that,” I said, struggling to keep my voice at the same level. “But do you remember what you used to say about Captain Turner and his first officer? ‘They’re real American heroes.’ Now, these heroes could go to prison, because they wanted to continue to do what they do best: Fly. Ben is great at this. He hacked into United Airlines and covered his tracks so well that they couldn’t find him. I’m asking you. As a friend. Please, let him use our computers.”
“Would you let him do that if you were in charge here?” He asked, his face stiffening.
“Why isn’t he doing it at your place? Or Penny’s?”
“If I knew what he was capable of? Yes. By all means, yes,” I answered, my voice starting to break. “He wouldn’t have the necessary computer power to carry out those hacks in my apartment. That’s why Penny and I brought him here.”
“Damn...” he huffed, tearing his gaze away from me. Hanging his head, he gripped his cheek and rubbed his skin, making my heart dance with anticipation. “Alright,” he accepted, shifting his attention back to me. “But if anyone discovers he used our equipment, we never had this conversation. I wasn’t even in the building. You got that?”
“Yes!” I cheered, putting my hands together. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
I put my arms around him and gave him a quick hug, ecstatic that he had allowed this. Walter was the only man who could have stood in our way. He had the power to call the whole thing off. Still, being the good friend he was, he didn’t use that power.
I rushed over to Penny, unable to stop smiling. She had leaned against the wall, observing Ben while he switched on computers.
“Girl, I should have gotten this on video,” she chuckled, somewhat surprising me.
“Why?”
“I’d show it to your boyfriend, every time he called me ‘squirrely.’” she explained. “If I stood any closer to you, I’m pretty sure I would have been deaf by now.”
I let out a laugh, unwilling to dignify her last statement with a comment of my own. Penny could make fun of me all night. I didn’t mind. I didn’t care. Ben was going to rectify the mistake that had put our men in such an awful predicament. The more I thought about it, the more I came to this conclusion. Living in the shadows, working for a little-known carrier like “Swift Cargo” was a monumental blunder. Not only had they been offering their services for little pay, but they had also endangered their own lives. And they had done this, because they shared the same passion for their job.