An hour later, Bernice was banging on my door. “Let’s go! I want to get them to him while they’re still warm.”
The four of us piled in my car and we headed to the treatment center.
By this time, it was getting late. I figured the door would be locked and Skinner would have to let us in. I was surprised to find it open.
No one was in the foyer or in Dr. Skinner’s office. I thought maybe they might be in one of the treatment rooms, but they were all empty.
I wondered about the guard. There was usually someone posted by the front door. Then, on our way back to the vault room, I found him. He was out cold.
As we stepped into the vault room, my mouth dropped open when I saw what was taking place. Warren had a pistol pointed at Skinner’s head. “Open the vault! Now! Don’t make me shoot you.”
Then, he spotted the four of us in the doorway. He pointed the gun in our direction. “Back off! This is none of your business.”
“Warren!” I said, shocked. “What in the world are you doing?”
“What I was programmed to do,” he replied. “Get the device.” He turned the gun back on Skinner. “Now open it or you get a slug to the kneecap.”
Bernice stepped into the room. “Warren! You’re being a very bad boy. I brought you some fresh, warm cookies, but if you don’t behave, you can’t have any. Not a one!”
Warren looked at her disdainfully. “I don’t know who you are and I don’t want any of your damned cookies! Now get out before I shoot all of you!”
Lately, I’ve been carrying my revolver, but in my haste to get the cookies delivered while they were still warm, I left without it. I was trying to figure a way out of this mess when I saw Bernice hand the cookie plate to John.
“Hold onto these, sweetie. I’ve got to teach this young man some manners.”
She heisted up her skirt and pulled her .32 from her ankle holster.
“Now be a good boy and put the gun down. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Warren looked confused. “It’s --- it’s not supposed to happen this way.”
“Of course it’s not, dear,” Bernice replied. “Now put the gun down and you can have a warm cookie.”
He shook his head as if trying to remove some cobwebs, then turned back to Skinner. “No! I have to do what I was programmed to do. Now open that vault!”
Bernice had had enough. Her sweet, grandmotherly demeanor suddenly changed.
“Okay, if you want to be a scumbag, that’s how we’ll play it.” She waved her gun. “This is just a .32. It’s not the most powerful handgun in the world, but it would make a pretty big hole in your hide and hurt like hell. You have to ask yourself this question, will the old woman pull the trigger? What do you think? Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?”
I had heard Bernice use that line before. She was definitely getting it down pat.
Warren cringed, closed his eyes, and put his hand to his temples as if in terrible pain. The moment his gun was away from Skinner, Dad and I charged, knocking him to the ground. We held him while Skinner injected him with a powerful sedative. A moment later, Warren was out like a light.
We all breathed a sigh of relief.
Skinner pointed to Bernice. “Who is this woman?”
“That’s Bernice. These three befriended Warren in the park. That’s how we first met him.”
“Well,” Skinner replied, “she’s certainly a feisty little minx for her age.”
Bernice wasn’t sure whether or not that was a compliment. “Care for a cookie?” she asked.
“That was a close call,” I said as we sat munching snickerdoodles.
“It was indeed,” Skinner replied, “but it certainly takes a load off my mind.”
“How so?”
“I feared Warren’s memory was spontaneously recovering. If so, everything we have done would be for naught, but that’s not what happened. Whoever took Warren programmed this whole scenario. They knew if they placed him at your hotel, you would eventually find him and bring him to me. Warren was programmed to get his hands on the NESD and take it to his captors. Do you have any idea who they might be?”
“I don’t, but one thing is for sure, they’re very dangerous and willing to kill to get the device. So what happens to Warren now?”
“I will simply reattach Warren to the Disruptor and erase his memory again. He will remember nothing about his captors and their plot to steal the device. Then, we will send him to our retreat and he will be reprogrammed properly.”
“Shouldn’t we question him before you erase his memory. Maybe he can give us some information about his abductors.”
“I seriously doubt it. If they were smart enough to do all of this, they wouldn’t let him roam free with information that would lead to their whereabouts. In fact, it’s entirely possible that he was programmed with misinformation in the event of his capture.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
The good news was that Warren was back and would get the treatment he needed. The bad news was that there were some very bad people out there, determined to get their hands on the device.
CHAPTER 12
Lloyd Hatfield was livid. “What the hell happened out there? You said everything was going according to plan.”
“It was, boss. I swear,” Luther replied. “After we dropped Prescott at the flop house, we watched the place. The next day, the old P.I. shows up and takes Prescott to the treatment center just like you said he would. We waited outside figuring he would be out with the device like you programmed him to do.
“But then, the P.I. shows up with three other old geezers. They were inside for a while, then left. We waited all night, thinking Prescott would show but he never did. Then later the next day, he comes out with one of the security guards. They climbed in a van and took off. We followed them to that reprogramming camp. I don’t know what went wrong.”
“Damn!” Hatfield said, slamming his fist on the table. “Somehow Williams foiled our plan. After neutralizing Prescott, Skinner must have erased him again. All that work for nothing.”
“So what now, boss?”
“I’ve been working on something else just in case we ran into problems with Prescott. I’ve done some digging into the lives of Skinner’s security team. One of them, a Ralph Greenberg, has some serious money problems. I’m betting, for the right price, Greenberg can be bought. I want you to bring him to me.”
“Can do, boss,” Gomez replied, “but what if Greenberg says no? Won’t he go running back to Skinner and rat us out?”
“Either Mr. Greenberg agrees to play ball or he won’t be going back at all. Understand?”
“Yeah, boss. I get it. Either way, we can handle it.”
I was relieved to hear that Warren had been successfully erased again and was on his way to the reprogramming camp. The problem was that someone had gone to great lengths to get their hands on the Eraser. I couldn’t help but wonder if some clandestine arm of the government was behind the whole thing.
It was time to give Mark another call.
“Mark, it’s Walt. There’s been an incident here and I thought you should know about it.”
“What kind of incident?”
“Remember our conversation about Skinner’s patient being kidnapped?”
“Of course.”
“Well, he showed up a couple of days ago out of the blue. I remember what you said about someone who’s memory has been erased being reprogrammed for an undercover operation. That’s exactly what happened. Whoever took him programmed him to return to the treatment center and steal the NESD. Dad, Bernice, Jerry and I showed up just in time. The whole scenario smells like a government plan to grab the Eraser.”
“I can certainly see why you might think that, but I don’t believe that’s the case. I’ve been in touch with some trusted colleagues in the CIA and NSA. Like us at Homeland Security, the other agencies have been keeping an eye on Skinner. The ramifications of what he’s doing there are enormous. They
swear they weren’t involved in the disappearance of Skinner’s patient. In fact, they were quite upset to know that some other entity was in play.”
“Any idea who that might be? Another government maybe. Remember how they came after the box.”
“We don’t think it’s another government yet, but that’s always a possibility once Skinner’s work becomes well known. We think it might be the work of a man named Lloyd Hatfield. He’s ex-CIA, so he knows his way around an undercover operation. Hatfield was suspected of selling information to the Russians, but disappeared before he could be arrested. Our intelligence indicates Hatfield is now a weapons dealer. He steals and sells to the highest bidder. If he gets his hands on the NESD, it would be worth millions.”
“If this guy’s so dangerous, and three agencies know about him, why not just bring him in?”
“Walt, the guy’s a ghost. He was a top agent in the CIA before he turned. He knows how to operate under the radar.”
Suddenly, I had a sobering thought. “Please don’t tell me you guys are using Skinner as bait to draw out Hatfield.”
“Let’s just say we’re keeping an eye on things. We can’t let Hatfield get the device and sell it to another government. If he shows, we’ll get him. It’s an extra layer of protection for Skinner. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
I could see the logic in his argument, but it bothered me that Skinner was being staked out like a sacrificial lamb without his knowledge.
Maybe everything would work out for the best, but based on my previous encounters with government agencies, I had my doubts.
Lloyd Hatfield smiled at the man seated across from him.
Luther and Gomez had been waiting for Ralph Greenberg after his shift at Skinner’s treatment center and rather forcefully coerced him into the rendezvous with Hatfield.
“Why am I here?” Ralph asked, obviously upset at being dragged into the meeting.
“Calm down, Mr. Greenberg,” Hatfield replied. “I have a business proposition for you.”
“What kind of proposition, and why all the muscle?” he asked, glancing at Luther and Gomez.
“Because what I’m about to propose to you is quite sensitive. I’m sure you’ll understand after we chat.”
“Then get to it. I’ve got things to do.”
“Very well. What I’d like you to do is steal the Neuron Encoding Synapse Disruptor from Dr. Skinner and deliver it to me.”
Greenberg jumped to his feet. “You must be batshit crazy if you think ---!”
Gomez shoved him down. “Shut up and listen.”
“I know, on the surface, what I’ve suggested may sound preposterous, but you haven’t heard everything yet. I happen to know that you are struggling financially right now. Gambling debt, maxed out credit cards, and a car that barely gets you to work each day. What does Skinner pay? Sixty grand a year? You’ll never get your head above water. Deliver the device to me and I’ll pay you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars cash.”
Greenberg was stunned. A windfall like that would get him out of debt with money to spare.
“Why do you want the device? Dr. Skinner is using it to help people. What would you do with it?”
Obviously, Hatfield couldn’t tell Greenberg he would sell it to the highest bidder. “While I admit that Dr. Skinner is doing good work, how many people has he helped? Four? Five? Once it is in my hands, I have the ability to help many, many more.”
“I --- I don’t know. I’m not a thief.”
“Of course you’re not. Just think of it as an act that will ultimately benefit so many more people.”
Ralph thought for a moment. “I could sure use the money, but I just can’t do it. Dr. Skinner trusts me.”
Hatfield shook his head. “I was afraid you might say that. You’re an honest man, but you need to consider the alternatives.”
Hatfield pointed to Gomez who patted the pistol in his belt.
“Surely you wouldn’t ---!”
“Ah, yes, I would. Getting the device is that important to me. Either you help me get it and walk away with a considerable sum of money in your pocket, or, unfortunately, not walk away at all.”
Ralph considered his options. “I guess I don’t have much choice. What do you want me to do?”
“You work the night shift tomorrow. Confiscate the device before Skinner locks it in the vault.”
“But what about Skinner?”
“Undoubtedly, he will resist. You’ll have to subdue and restrain him.”
“But he’ll tell the police.”
“Of course he will. My advice would be to disappear. Get out of town. You’ll certainly have enough cash to pull it off. Luther and Gomez will be waiting across from the treatment center. When you have the device, take it to them. They will have your money. It’s that simple.”
As Ralph Greenberg was escorted back to his car, he couldn’t help but wonder how he had become involved in something that would change his life forever.
CHAPTER 13
I was at my desk paying some bills when the phone rang.
“Walt, it’s Kevin. If you’re not too busy I’d like to stop by.”
“New client by any chance?”
It had been a while since we’d had a paying customer.
“Something like that.”
“Then by all means, come right over.”
Fifteen minutes later, Kevin was in my office.
“Okay, tell me about this new client.”
He grimaced. “Well, she’s not so much a client as a friend who needs our help.”
We always seemed to have more of those than paying customers.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Actually, she’s a friend of Veronica’s --- from the old days.”
I knew immediately what he meant by the old days.
Kevin showed up at our door several years ago dying from kidney failure. He was hoping to get a kidney from his sister, Maggie. When that didn’t work out, Kevin figured his days were numbered. On his bucket list was the desire to spend some sack time with a beautiful woman before riding off into the great beyond.
I didn’t know any ladies of the night, but Willie did. He made a few calls which brought Veronica to his door. Long story short, Kevin received an unexpected kidney, and for some reason unknown to us all, struck up a relationship with Veronica. Although he’s twice her age, the two hit it off and were recently hitched. Veronica retired from the world’s oldest profession but she maintained ties to some of the women who still plied the trade.
“So I’m guessing this friend is a hooker.”
Kevin nodded. “You know Veronica never worked the streets. She was a high-priced escort. That’s where she met Nellie Archer. Unfortunately, Nellie got hooked on cocaine and things started going downhill from there. She started working the streets to feed her habit.
“A couple of nights ago, she hooked up with some asshole who beat the crap out of her. She was desperate so she called Veronica. She showed up at our door bloody, bruised, and strung out on coke. Veronica barely recognized her. She was just a shell of the woman she knew just a few years ago.”
“Does she want us to find the creep that assaulted her?”
“No, that’s water under the bridge. She wants out --- out of the business and out from under the monkey on her back. She said she’d do anything to get well.”
“Skinner?”
Kevin nodded. “When she told me she’d do anything, I thought of him immediately. Isn’t his program supposed to help people like Nellie?”
I nodded.
“Do you think he would take her on as a patient?”
“All we can do is ask. He does owe me a favor.” I looked at my watch. “It’s almost five o’clock. We may be able to reach him before he leaves for the evening.”
“We’re ready to go, boss,” Luther said. “Where’s the money for Greenberg?”
Hatfield smiled. “There is no money. After the fool delivers the device, kill him and make sure
you dump the body where it will never be found. I would suggest the Missouri River.”
“But you said ---.”
“I know what I said, but we can’t leave any loose ends, now can we? Can you handle the job or not?”
“Sure, boss. We’ll take care of it.”
When we pulled up in front of the treatment center, the foyer lights were out.
“Damn!” Kevin muttered. “Looks like we missed him.”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. That’s his car over there. Maybe he’s still in his office doing paperwork or something.”
We tried the door, but it was locked.
“Let’s go around and check his office window. If we tap, maybe he’ll let us in.”
We found the office window and peeked inside.
“Holy crap!” Kevin hissed.
The security guard was tying Skinner to his office chair. The NESD was on his desk.
“Looks like somebody got to a guard,” I whispered. “We have to get in there. Do you think you can pick that front door lock?”
“Does Patrick Mahomes like ketchup?”
“What?”
He gave me a disgusted look. “Patrick Mahomes! The new Chief’s quarterback. He puts ketchup on everything, even macaroni and cheese. He just signed a big endorsement deal with Hunt’s.”
“So is that a ‘yes’?”
He nodded and rolled his eyes.
A few minutes later, I heard the lock pop open.
“You carrying?” Kevin asked.
Thankfully, this time I was. I nodded.
We both pulled our weapons and slipped quietly inside.
We heard the guards voice. “I’m really sorry about this, Dr. Skinner. I didn’t want to do this but they gave me no choice.”
“You still don’t have a choice,” I said as we stepped inside the room.
The guard thought about going for his gun but thought better of it seeing the two pistols pointed in his direction.
“On your knees,” Kevin ordered. “Hands behind your head.”
The guard did as he was told. Kevin took his gun and bound him with his own handcuffs while I untied Dr. Skinner.
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