Audio Assault

by Jeff Adams

  “Got it. Go ahead.”

  “We’ve finally placed a tracker in a credit card data file so that the routine sending the data won’t ignore it. However, we eventually lose the trace because it seems to go behind a firewall.”

  She’d made amazing progress even though she’d run into a new issue.

  “That’s great work. Nesting tracking into a file as small as credit card data is impressive. How can I help?”

  “Doctor Possible tells me you are unparalleled in creating tracking bots. I’m curious about two things. If I give you what we sent out, can you find it? And can you review the tracking payload and find a better way for us to follow it.”

  I studied the information she shared. Improvements for the program flooded my mind.

  “I can certainly try. I think the bot to find the data will be slightly easier, so I’ll tackle that first. Doc, I’d also like to involve Amp. I think he’d be good at improving the payload.”

  “We can reassign him. I’ll let him know and have him contact you two.”

  “I’ll get to work on this and keep you both posted, especially when there’s something to test.”

  “Fantastic,” Ghostlight said. “Doc, I’ll switch over to the team blocking the signal that interacts with the audio.”

  “That’d be great,” Lorenzo said. “We’ve got to get that blocked. We’ve got spot reports of violence around the world. In some cases we can’t be sure they’re all related to this, but we’ve verified some are. It seems there are more songs out there than we might have realized.”

  I sighed, and I suddenly hated the chair I was sitting in. I’d spin around at home. That helped me think sometimes.

  “I look forward to hearing progress soon. Doctor Possible out.”

  “Ghostlight out.”

  My screen returned to displaying my work. It was only a moment, though, before an email arrived from Ghostlight with the details I needed. I started going over the information and soon lost myself in it.

  The knock at the door was perfectly timed—Eddie was often good at that. Dinner would let me formulate the plan for the tracking bot. I closed the computer and went to the door. Eddie smiled through the glass and held up a huge shopping bag.

  “It’s good to see you,” I wrapped him in a hug. “Come on in.”

  “Sofia says I’ve brought the very best burgers in the city. They certainly smelled good in the car. I think we’re in for a great dinner.”

  “Awesome.” My mouth watered. I resisted snatching the bag from his hand because the burgers smelled incredible. “I didn’t realize how hungry I’d gotten until you texted. My stomach’s been loud ever since.”

  “Then let’s eat.” He grinned as if nothing else in our world mattered. I liked the temporary respite from the crazy.

  He went to the dining room table and laid out the haul. I moved my laptop and notebook to the coffee table. I pocketed the phone just in case anyone buzzed.

  “How much food did you get? There’s only two of us, you know.” I surveyed the five large containers on the table.

  “Well, burgers and fries, of course. Onion rings too because Sofia says they’re the best ever. There’s dessert because they had this peanut butter cake, and I know you can’t resist peanut butter. I only got one slice because it’s ginormous.” He held up a container bigger than the wrapped burger.

  “You know I’ve got more work tonight, right? How am I going to avoid a food coma?”

  He raised an eyebrow over the rim of his glasses. “I’ve seen you down massive amounts of food and act like it was nothing. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He capped that remark with a supercute smirk.

  “You might know me too well.”

  “Maybe.” He folded the shopping bag and looked around the table. “I knew I forgot something. Drinks.”

  “No problem. There’s plenty in the kitchen.”

  He retrieved two cans from the fridge. Unfortunately, there was no Dr Pepper as I’d drank all of those earlier and hadn’t refreshed the supply from the main house. Pepsi would suffice.

  Eddie put the drinks down, and we tore into the food. I couldn’t believe how awesome it looked. He got me a bacon, pepper jack burger—my favorite. Neither of us spoke, unless you count the grunts the tasty food caused. Sofia was right about these. Whatever they spiced the burger meat with was incredible and that spice blended so perfectly with the cheese.

  “It was really cool hanging out with Sofia today,” Eddie said once conversation could start again. “I had no idea how similar you two would be.”

  “How so?”

  “You both get into an intense zone. She spent most of the afternoon working on an arrangement with one of her cowriters. The basics of the song were always there, but they’d manipulate it with different instruments in the forefront or changing the key. It drastically changed the feel of the song. Anyway, she was so focused, it was like nothing existed outside of the studio. I’ve seen you with that laser focus too.”

  While we’d devoured the burgers fairly quickly, we took our time savoring the fries and rings.

  “Have you been able to figure out the stuff from this morning?” he asked, shifting the discussion. I don’t know why I thought he’d stay away from it, even though I hoped he would. “I know you can’t say too much, but since I saw some of the scary stuff, I thought I could at least ask.”

  “Yeah, this morning was… awful.” He reached out and took my hand in his. “It’s been a long afternoon, but there’s been progress.”

  “Are you holding up okay?”

  “Mostly. I can’t believe I went off like that. At least I feel normal again.”

  “How much work do you have? Any chance we get to chill for a while?”

  It was nice he opened with how much instead of do you have to. “I’m not sure yet. Dinner with you has helped me think through some aspects of what I need to create. I need to see if any of it’s viable. You can watch TV, while I work here. Once I’m done… maybe you don’t have to go upstairs tonight.”

  “You know just what to say.” He held my gaze. “This feels so much like what we could have once we get our own place.”

  “Right? Except I doubt it would be this nice.”

  “What do you mean? You’ve saved up. You can’t put us up in style?”

  Oh my God. I loved his playfulness. It counteracted my difficult day, lifting a weight off me at least for at least a few minutes. I leaned over and kissed him. The salt from the fries and rings on our lips made the taste even better than usual.

  “I love you.”

  I pulled back just enough to look him at him. We stayed still, holding our gaze, until he kissed me again.

  “We should move on to dessert.” He stayed with his forehead against mine. “That way you can get back to work so we can get on to what comes after sooner.”

  I gave him one more quick kiss before he stood and brought the dessert container closer. What he revealed was probably the most decadent thing I’d ever seen. It looked like a tall, blonde brownie covered in chocolate and peanut butter sauce. Despite how much food I’d already put away, I wanted that bad.

  “They told me to pop this in the microwave for a few seconds. Be right back.”

  “Can you bring another soda too?”

  “Can do.”

  I watched him as he got the brownie warming and got the drinks. I swear the more he swam the more gracefully he moved. He was doing normal things, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Just as the microwave beeped he threw a wink my direction. Such a goofball. He managed to bring the dessert, sodas, and forks to the table in one trip.

  “Best-looking waiter ever,” I said.

  “Don’t forget, you can tip me later.”

  I looked forward to doing just that.

  The dessert was too much. We only made it through about half. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this full. Maybe Thanksgiving.

  “I suppose that could become breakfast.” I looked between w
hat was left on the plate and Eddie.

  “Or late-night snack. We may need the energy.”

  “Someone’s extra horny.”

  “Maybe. You’ve been gone a few days.”

  “You made it while I was gone for that internship. That was a couple of weeks.”

  He stood and offered a hand to me, which I used to pull myself up.

  “Yeah, but I knew that was coming. I’d barely had any time with you before you came down here.”

  I stole some kisses. This time he tasted of peanut butter and that was yummy. I sucked on his bottom lip.

  “Let me get to work,” I finally said. “The sooner I finish, the sooner it can be just us.”

  Of course, we ended up making out for a few minutes, wrapping ourselves around each other as best we could as we stood near the small table we’d eaten at.

  “Okay, okay.” I forced myself back. “If we don’t stop, I’m not gonna get anything done. Go sit and find yourself something to watch. I’ll work as fast as I can.”

  He sighed. “You’re evil.” He pressed my hand against the bulge in his shorts. “You did this and now you want me to watch TV?”

  I gave his hardness a quick squeeze before I stepped back. “I have no doubt you’ll be able to get that back.” I spun him around and gave him a gentle shove toward the couch. I nudged him along since I needed to get my laptop. As we moved he provided just enough resistance to keep it fun.

  “You could just sit on the couch with me.”

  “You know I wouldn’t be able to focus if I did. It’ll be hard enough with you so close.”

  God, he looked so good. I hoped the ideas I’d conceived during dinner were something I could execute fast. I really didn’t want to do anything but get us naked.

  I situated myself at the table with my soda. Every time I looked up from my screen, I saw the back of Eddie’s head and the TV as he clicked through channels.

  It turned out, my brain worked hard during dinner. Within half an hour, I’d sent over a few different versions of a bot to better track the data Ghostlight had tagged. I recommended deploying all of them because the more tracers we had in the field, the better chance we had for at least one of them to find it.

  Eddie watched Lip Sync Battle, one of his favorite programs. I found the show amusing with how far celebrities would go to win.

  As I moved to my other task, I alternated between being amused by Eddie’s commentary—he had a lot to say about song choices—and coding. The TV sound was welcome after wearing headphones so much today. I hadn’t realized how much noise there usually was around me, and it’d been weird to work in such complete silence.

  Suddenly I went limp. My head crashed down on the keyboard.

  What the hell?

  I couldn’t lift myself.

  I couldn’t form words. Even mumbles were difficult.

  I could see, but it was fuzzy.

  The computer screeched because I laid on the keys.

  Why wasn’t Eddie doing something? He had to hear the noise. The TV wasn’t that loud.

  He finally came over but moved slowly like he wanted to creep up on me. I couldn’t see his face because I couldn’t move my head to look up.

  He sat me up and he held so I’d stay upright. He angled my head so I could see his face.

  “I’m sorry, Theo.”

  Sorry? For what? Why was he so calm?

  I tried to struggle… to move… anything. Nothing responded.

  He gently let my head drop until my chin was on my chest. He wrapped his arms around me and the chair so he could slide it back.

  I had to move.

  The comm was muted for outgoing so no one would hear. Currently the earpiece only recorded for the contacts.

  Shit. My computer was open and unlocked. I had to get to it.

  I focused on moving but couldn’t.

  My breathing increased with the struggle. What was I going to do?

  Why wasn’t Eddie getting my parents?

  His hands were suddenly under my legs and behind my back. He scooped me out of the chair.

  This would’ve been romantic under different circumstances.

  Where were we going?

  Panic gripped me. My lungs worked overtime as my muscles refused to execute the instruction my brain sent.

  “You need to calm down.”

  He gently laid me on the bed and arranged me—legs straight, arms at my side, head on a pillow. All I could see was the ceiling.

  Was he?

  No way. I’d have known. Someone would’ve known.

  Eddie leaned over, and I could see him. “I really do love you. I’ve got no choice in this.” His voice cracked. Was he crying? “I know you won’t believe that. But it’s true.”

  He leaned over and kissed my forehead before walking away. There was noise, but I couldn’t figure out what it was, other than the TV.

  Nothing worked. My body had been turned off. I could breathe and see. My heart beat.

  Would those fail too?

  What did he mean no choice?

  A few moments later the door opened and closed.

  Tears fell, and I couldn’t wipe them away.

  Chapter Twenty

  WHY WAS I shaking? And who was talking?

  I struggled to open my eyes, but it was difficult. Crap. The contact lenses were still in.

  Voices became clearer. Mom, Dad, maybe John too. All at once.

  “I think we need 911,” Dad said.

  “No,” I croaked out. Hopefully they heard.

  “Theo?”

  Mom seemed close to panicked. She never sounded that way. I still couldn’t open my eyes.

  What happened? I’d been working.

  “Where?”

  No, that’s not what I needed to ask. We were in New York.

  “Eye drops.”

  “Eye drops?” Dad asked.

  “Yes.” Every word was so difficult. I couldn’t remember feeling this bad—ever.

  “Try the bathroom.”

  The eye drops weren’t there.

  “Back,” I mumbled. “Backpack.”

  “Theo.” Mom sounded calmer. “Why the eye drops?”

  “Contacts….”

  But why? Why would I sleep in them?

  When did I get in bed?

  And where was Eddie? He watched TV and I worked. The TV was on, playing some commercial.

  “I’m sorry, Theo.”

  And it all crashed back.

  “No. No. No.” I think I shook my head, but I wasn’t sure.

  “Theo? What?” Mom again.

  “What’s happened?” Now Dad.

  My chest clinched tight—so much anger and sadness raged in my soul. The physical pain or the reactions to fear I’d experienced in the past months as an agent had nothing on the fire that burned through me. The strength of the emotion nearly overwhelmed the physical issues I experienced in the aftermath of whatever Eddie had given me.

  “Got ’em.” I recognized John now.

  “We got the eye drops.” Mom used her mom voice. “I’m going to wet your eyes. A little bit at a time. Okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  The liquid felt good as it seeped past my eyelashes. I moved my eyeballs around to get everything wet. Finally I opened my eyes. Mom, Dad, and John stood close to the bed with Oliver keeping a distance. I blinked to get my eyes to focus while I struggled to sit up against the headboard.

  “We need to talk.” I looked between Mom and Dad, and they nodded.

  “Oliver, we need a few minutes.” Mom frowned and furrowed her brow.

  “You want me here or with the family?” John asked.

  “Since we don’t know what’s happened, you should probably stick with the Glenwoods.” Mom tone was crisp, more professional than usual. She’d recovered from her panic. “We’ll keep you posted.”

  I wanted John here, though. We considered him family. But we had to be agents, and the mission was seriously compromised.

  Jo
hn nodded. It was easy to see he didn’t like being sent away, but he and Oliver left without another word.

  Dad pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen. “I opened my comm channel so John can hear.”

  “Theo,” Mom said, the concern coming right back to her voice, “what’s happened?”

  I opened my mouth to talk but all that happened was that my breathing increased. Mom ran her hand through my hair. Even that couldn’t penetrate the powerful wave of emotions.

  “I’ve been compromised.” My body shook, and I didn’t know if it was emotional, physical, or both. “Lorenzo needs to fry my electronics ASAP. All of them. The stuff at home too.” The words vibrated, making it sound like I was chattering from the cold.

  I took a deep breath and looked between them. Their shocked looks plunged another emotional knife through me.

  My next words would only make it worse.

  “Eddie drugged me.” A weird whimper came out at the end of the sentence. I’d never made a sound like that before. Sobs threatened to spill out, and I worked hard to keep them locked inside. “I don’t know how.” I struggled to breathe deep to find some calm before I flew apart. “He paralyzed me. My computer was open.”

  I closed my eyes as my throat threatened to give over to the outburst that wanted out. “I have no idea what he may have seen.”

  Mom and Dad traded horrified looks. Mom’s look softened and she put her hand on my forearm, squeezing gently. She was still being a mom even as she faced an agent who’d completely fucked everything up.

  “I’ll get Lorenzo on it.” Dad sounded like he was holding anger back—I didn’t know if it was aimed at me or the situation. “We’ll get someone here to draw blood and figure out what’s in your system. Especially if there’ll be any aftereffects.” He tapped on his phone. “We’ll figure this out. I know this isn’t easy.” He leaned over and put his hand on top of Mom’s, squeezing both of us. “First and foremost we’re your parents, and you come first.”

  “I know.” The shake in my voice was embarrassing. An agent doesn’t behave like this. “I know. Please call Lorenzo. He needs to take out those electronics.”

  Dad nodded.

  I’d have to deal with the ramifications of losing a boyfriend later. More important things were at stake.