Stratagems

  Kyle moved to the left wing, looking over to Robert. “Grab that end.”

  Robert ran over and grabbed the right side as Kyle checked to see if traffic was clear, then moved the glider sideways. Kyle moved to the back center of the glider and de-tensioned the wing, the crossbar going limp as the wing relaxed. Robert grabbed the right side of the wing and Kyle took the left; they folded it into the center and pulled the wires taut so they wouldn’t get tangled as they rolled the sail around the bars. Kyle flipped the glider on its back, pulled the pins out of the joints, and collapsed them against the sail.

  “Get the bottom end and well take it to the truck,” Kyle said, taking hold of the front and lifting it up.

  Robert grabbed the other side and together they hurried to the back of the truck, throwing it diagonally into the bed. It was a pretty sloppy job and Zane would probably complain, but they didn’t have the sail cover bag and time didn’t allow for perfection. Although the glider hung off the back of the truck a good six to seven feet, it was manageable. Kyle and Robert walked around to the front of his truck where Carmen was leaning against the grill, some of the color restored to her face.

  “Are you ready to go?” Kyle asked.

  She stood up straight, looked at him for a second, then pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face. Robert looked on in shock.

  Kyle didn’t move, simply returned his gaze toward her. “Feel better?”

  “Not yet,” she said, and moved closer to him, cupping his cheeks in her hands and drawing his face closer to hers, kissing him hard on the lips. Robert, again, stood in shock.

  She gently pushed Kyle away, her breathing hard. “Yeah. Better.”

  Kyle hesitated, looking at her. “What was that for?”

  She grinned. “Just because. Let’s go.”

  After a moment Kyle turned to Robert, his hand extended. “Keys?”

  “In the bike,” Robert said.

  “Okay. Get out of here now, they’ll be here in a minute or so. And go fast. You know what to do.”

  Kyle took Carmen by the hand, ran back to where the bike stood and instructed Carmen to put the helmet on. He started the Honda and looked behind him, worried one of Harry’s thugs was barreling down the road. So far it was clear, with only a few cars coming up Tramway, a couple of curious passengers casually staring at Kyle and Carmen as they started off.

  Robert took the lead, the tail end of the glider extending beyond the truck bed, with Kyle and Carmen on the motorcycle following close behind. Robert descended Tramway at seventy miles an hour, Kyle hoping a police car wouldn’t be passing by. When they reached the interstate, Robert turned left heading south while Kyle and Carmen went right, toward Santa Fe. She sat behind Kyle, her arms wrapped around his waist, hugging him close. It had been a long time since a girl had ridden with him, the last being Rene when he took her out for lunch right after her divorce. It was hard to picture Carmen as a federal agent at the moment, but he didn’t want to lose sight of that fact. She had her own objectives and mission, and he was certain she hadn’t told him everything.

  Kyle slowed as they approached Bernalillo, taking the second exit, 242, that eventually led to the city of Rio Rancho. The golden arches were prominently displayed off the freeway. He pulled into the first available space at McDonalds and cut the engine. Carmen hopped off the bike first, followed by Kyle. She didn’t say a word, simply went inside and darted for the lady’s room. Kyle took an empty booth and waited, wondering how silly they must look to everyone, with metal loops dangling from their jackets.

  Carmen emerged from the bathroom after about five minutes, looking considerably better than when she had gone in.

  Kyle stood, taking her hand. “How ‘bout some lunch?”

  Kyle ordered a number one, super-sized, while Carmen fancied a chicken sandwich. They took a booth near a window facing the street. Kyle was certain Harry’s men wouldn’t track them to Bernalillo, but was paranoid nonetheless. It was a good seven miles from Albuquerque and easy to disappear in.

  “When do I get my jacket back?” she asked, taking a big bite out of her sandwich.

  “Tonight, maybe tomorrow. Are you mad at me?”

  “I just witnessed a fellow agent murdered,” she said flatly. “What do you think?”

  “He was corrupt,” Kyle said.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “The hell I don’t. He sold me out, twice. He wanted me killed, and you know it. Besides, they were the ones who turned on him, not me.”

  “You should have told me everything up front.”

  Kyle took a bite out of his burger, savoring the experience. “I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Kyle didn’t speak. He took another bite and a sip of Dr. Pepper.

  “Why not, Kyle?”

  “I still...I still have a hard time with trust…you know…”

  “What about last night, you said because of my dad and Norm you trusted me as well.”

  “I know,” he said softly.

  “So, I can expect more of this?” she said.

  Kyle shook his head slowly. “No, no…I’m trying, I really am.”

  “It’s over, Kyle. It ends here and now. Rudy’s dead, some other man I don’t even know may be as well. And over half a million dollars is probably in their possession, thanks to you.”

  “It’s not over yet. I’m fairly certain they’ll try to kill me again, around four o’clock this afternoon actually.”

  Carmen eased back in her seat, staring at Kyle in disbelief. “How do you know that? Is this another one of your little secrets? One of your little schemes you dreamed up? Who’s dies this time, Kyle? Me?”

  “No,” Kyle said calmly, downing a few fries. “You can back out at any time.”

  “You know I can’t do that.”

  “You said it was over a second ago. Well, you were partially correct. It’s almost over. Or it will be by this evening, but I’ll need your help.”

  “Only because it suits your plan. Right?”

  Kyle sipped his Dr. Pepper before answering. “Either way, I need you.”

  “So, you said they’re going to kill you at four?”

  Kyle grinned. “No, they’ll try to kill me at four. I was rather hoping they wouldn't.”

  “Oh, yeah, right,” she said glibly. “Why at four?”

  He thought for a moment, setting the Dr. Pepper on the table. “A setup. I threw that money pretty far out. The only other person who saw was the guy Zane hit over the head, and he probably won’t remember or be well enough to let them know. So as far as they are concerned, I still have the money.”

  “I’m contacting my team; they’ll comb the area for the money.”

  “Fine,” Kyle agreed. “The bad guys just need to believe I have it.”

  “And why four?” Carmen asked, easing up a bit as she took a bite of her sandwich.

  “I have an idea to let them know where I will be this afternoon. If they believe I have the money, they should jump at it.”

  Carmen nodded slowly, seeming to ponder, then looked up at Kyle. “My team will be there and we end this.”

  Kyle smiled. “Ok.”

  “And, Kyle?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Try to be a little more trusting.”

  He smiled, nodding. “Okay, I’ll try.”

  They finished their meal in silence, exhausted, their hunger and nerves a bit calmer. When the last french-fry was gone, they tossed their trash and ambled to the motorcycle, pulled out of the parking lot and headed west where they would turn south out of Bernalillo on NM-528. Billowing clouds moved across the sky casting shadows on the ground below, the sun peeking through occasionally. Kyle drove through Rio Rancho, now a city in its own right, but Kyle remembered it when it was a small community populated mostly by people escaping New York. Most natives referred to it as Little New York, and the more brazen ones called it Rio Rathole. It was a huge expanse of desert someone purchased years before fo
r at a bargain, knowing Albuquerque could only grow in one direction. The mountains blocked the east, Native Americans claimed most of the north, Kirtland Air Force Base and Albuquerque International Airport dominated the south, so that left only the west to expand and grow.

  Kyle navigated through a maze of side streets until he arrived at his sister’s house. It was easy to spot with three police cars parked out front. Many police officers lived in Rio Rancho, mostly because it was an area they could afford, and the development group encouraged cops to reside among their neighbors, offering them home buying assistance. It was a perk Kyle's brother-in-law, Jake, snatched up quickly.

  Kyle rode the bike onto the driveway, reached under his seat and clicked the garage door opener, keyed to the same code as his own. The large door opened and he coasted into the cool shade, closing the door behind them. Carmen hopped off and headed for the door, marking herself at home, Kyle close behind.

  "What is this place?" she asked, entering the kitchen.

  "My sister's house."

  Soon Kyle heard a rustle down the hall as Sammy trotted up and pawed at his jeans, his tongue hanging out and tail wagging furiously. Jake had managed to pick Sammy up like Kyle had asked; he felt strange leaving Sammy alone with the likes of Santiago lurking about his house.

  "What are we doing here?" Carmen asked, turning to Kyle.

  "Waiting."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  It was Déjà vu waiting for Ian to evaluate the CD they had retrieved from the locker on the crest. It was past two and they paced the floor once again to find out whether any new developments had emerged since Rene’s disk was scanned. If nothing else, they would have an idea of Kyle and Robert’s rate of progress. That Kyle was no longer employed was a good sign, but with Rudy gone, only Rene was left to gather information from Allied.

  Ian emerged from the back room. “It’s pretty much the same stuff that was on Rene’s floppy, with two notable differences. Fifteen accounts have been discovered already and are listed in a log file. Bad news is, one of the fifteen is a failsafe account, one of the big three that has the extra code. Based on the information on the CD, they haven’t been working on that code, but they have all the pieces. If they break it, then all bets could be off.”

  Dwight buried his face in his hands. “Anything else?”

  Ian took a seat, looking over at Santiago, worried. “He’s now closer to writing a functional scanner to detect our code. I’d say a matter of days, maybe a week, before he has one up and running. But will they really do it? I mean, after all that’s happened.”

  “This guy will,” Santiago answered. “Even if he’s not working there any longer.”

  Dwight looked up. “He’s right. Kyle won’t stop. I’ve threatened him, his family, not to mention trying to kill him, and the little prick has our money. We can no longer underestimate him. That entire show on the mountain was planned.”

  “Kind of like a computer program,” Ian mumbled.

  Dwight slowly raised his head. “What?”

  “All I said was it’s like a computer program. It seems he’s planning everything like a programmer does. If, then, else…you know. He thinks up contingencies and has a subroutine to take care of each one, all linear, following a logical, step-by-step progression. All he’s done has been proactive, and everything we’ve done…” Ian stopped, afraid to utter the next few words.

  “...has been reactive?” Santiago finished.

  Ian stared silently at Dwight.

  “So, what do you suggest, Ian?”

  “I don’t think I’m qualified...”

  “Just tell me what you think,” Dwight repeated.

  Ian swallowed hard. “Well, introduce like a virus. He’s obviously not responding to threats, so trip him up. I think everyone up to this point has been following his lead. This guy Robert who’s writing the scanner to defeat us, he’s just one of Kyle’s subroutines. Kyle’s not writing the program, he is the program, and he’s running exactly like a program, step by premeditated step.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean by a virus?” Dwight asked, his interest sparked by the analogy.

  “Most viruses are introduced either directly, through a hole in the system or via a back door. You’ve already tried directly, he doesn’t seem to have a hole in his code, so now you’re left with a back door. What resources do you have to bring him down that he doesn’t know about? It’s obvious he knows about the bugs in his house, and according to Antonio he hasn’t been back since early yesterday.”

  “Rene,” Dwight said, looking over to Santiago. “He’s lost his job, probably doesn’t want to put his family in danger, and we know he’s working with Robert. Rene should know what’s going on. Maybe she can find out where he’s hiding.”

  Santiago pondered the idea before answering. “She won’t help. After Charlie, she got spooked. If she thinks we’ll hurt him, she might bring in the cops.”

  “She has a child, doesn’t she?” Ian said.

  Santiago nodded, Dwight smiling.

  “So, who’s going to grab the boy?” Santiago asked, looking at Ian. “You?”

  “No one,” Ian said, “just threaten her. Do you know where the kid is?”

  Santiago shrugged. “Either school or at Rene’s mom’s house.”

  “Run down there and snap off a few pictures of him playing or whatever, do one of those one hour developing things and then fax it to her. She’ll cooperate.”

  Dwight turned to Santiago. “Do it.”

  ____________

  Robert dragged the last of the video equipment Tanya Jette had left at the front desk to the fourth floor of the Journal Center office building, directly across the street from the Pyramid. He had little convincing to procure an office for the afternoon since it had an occupancy rate of seventy percent.

  The northern exposure office faced toward the hotel equipped with a large folding table leaning against the wall, so he helped himself and set it up next to the window. He was on the fourth floor and their hotel room was on the eighth. With the hotel room drapes wide open he could see into the room with the telephoto lens connected to the camera, but from the outside and the lower angle, it showed little beyond the glass.

  He took 15 minutes and set up the equipment on the table. Situated on the far right was a receiver for the hidden camera planted in the hotel room, and next to it a VCR and a 20-inch television connected to the receiver. Tanya had left him brief instructions on what buttons and switches to select, and a few that should be avoided. He flipped on the power to the receiver and turned on the VCR and TV, switching to Channel 3. Soon their hotel room came to life in full black and white. Robert turned the volume higher and heard the radio on in the bedroom. The panoramic lens caught all of the living area, the small kitchenette, and part of the bedroom.

  A smaller monitor sat next to the tripod where the video camera pointed to the hotel window, the zoom set at maximum power. Although the drapes were wide open, the sun and clouds reflected off the glass preventing a better view, revealing only shadows inside the hotel room. He borrowed some folding chairs from the office down the hall, eight in all, and hoped to fill them. It was 2 p.m. and he needed to get on the phone in a hurry. There was, of course, no phone in the room.

  He closed the office and locked the door behind him, headed outside and hurried across the street to the hotel. He inserted his pass card in the lock and proceeded inside, taking a quick look around. The camera sat innocently on top of the television, but didn’t resemble a camera at all, but rather a digital pager, much like the Allied pager he carried on his belt. Robert was amazed the hotel image came out so well on the 20-inch monitor. Just as Kyle had predicted, the top of the television was the most advantageous place to capture the largest area of the hotel room.

  Robert went into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, flipped off the radio, picked up the phone receiver and read the first of seven numbers written on the pad. Earlier, after Carmen and Kyle had gone, he we
nt through the phonebook and jotted down the numbers of all the local news stations, as well as the two newspapers in town.

  He glanced at the first number and dialed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Kyle stood outside his sister’s backyard, looking to the east. Dark clouds, black and menacing, gathered against the Sandias. It was hard to believe less than two hours ago he had jumped off the mountain with Carmen, recalling the look on her face. He knew she was growing weary of his tactics, and he realized he was pushing her good graces. Still, he remembered she was an FBI agent and could take over and do things her way at any moment.

  From the west he saw a storm system heading their way. It would probably reach the other clouds pinned against the mountains by midnight, then the long-awaited snow would finally make its appearance, at least on the crest.

  He glanced at his watch. It was nearing two-thirty and things were going to start happening fast. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Rene’s number. She answered immediately.

  “How are things there?” Kyle asked, truly concerned about how she was holding up under the circumstances.

  “Everyone’s talking about you suddenly quitting, and a few people on the team are angry, thinking you abandoned them. Curtis already met with us.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kyle said. “But it will work out. Trust me.”

  “I do,” she whispered into the receiver.

  “Remember I said I would need a favor? Well, this is it.”

  “Anything.”

  “I want you to contact what’s-his-name...Santiago. Are you able to do that?”

  Rene sobbed quietly, trying to hold it back. “Yeah. I have a pager number.”

  “Good,” Kyle said. “Tell him that I called you and asked you to copy source code off our systems to deliver to me. Okay? Tell him that I told you to meet me at the Marriott Pyramid at three-thirty this afternoon, room 824. You have to be convincing on this one, Rene. If he doesn’t buy it, then things could get ugly. After you finish talking with him, call me on my cell phone. You have the number.”