***
It had been thirty minutes since Alex heard any sound. The elevator music coming from the overhead speakers throughout the museum had stopped about the same time, and although he didn’t actually hear the main doors closed and latched, he was reasonably sure the building was deserted. He thought for a second about venturing out to the exhibit area just to make sure, but the anticipation of what lay in those cabinets took priority. He tiptoed over to the first cabinet and opened the top drawer with caution. Packed with files, the green hanging folders were thick with nicotine yellow paper. It was obvious by the newer hanging folders that somebody had made some semblance of order among the papers. Alex only hoped they didn’t do more harm than good when organizing the lot. He remembered the way his father always took painstaking precautions not to mix up notes on different projects. His father always said that a misplaced page could set a project back months, if not years. Alex could only hope the organizer of Tesla’s papers held that belief. He pulled the first folder from the cabinet and moved closer to the lamplight.
The small label on the front of the file had the following typed on it: “pa3aH” which Alex knew meant “miscellaneous” in Serbian. He knew this because of the English subheading typed below the Serbian heading. “This is great.” Alex spoke aloud, and then thought better of it, just in case there was a night watchman or someone else in the building. Still, he couldn’t help but think that whoever had organized Tesla’s papers had probably made his job much easier. After all, all he needed to do at this point is thumb through the folders and find the one labeled “Teleforce.” Alex praised the file keeper.
The top drawer held about one-hundred folders, all labeled “Miscellaneous.” As were all the folders in the second drawer, and the third, and the bottom drawer as well. Alex opened the top drawer of the second cabinet. More of the same. He skipped to the fourth cabinet, second drawer. All “miscellaneous.” Sixth cabinet, third drawer, the same. Alex pulled drawers out at random with the same result until he came to the bottom drawer of the last cabinet. Frustrated, he yanked hard on the drawer and the lone file inside coughed up its contents. Papers covered the floor, and the lone green file-folder lay twisted upon the open drawer. There wasn’t a label on it. Alex stood over the papers cursing under his breath, the same person he had praised earlier.
On his hands and knees, he gathered the papers together to return them to the folder. They were pretty much as Bojana said; diagrams, drawings, and equations. Alex recognized many of the schematic symbols from working with his father as a boy. The drawings were definitely electrical; one was a radio-frequency oscillator, Alex was certain, he had built one as a teenager. Although, the one Tesla had drawn was much larger.
Alex gingerly picked up the pages trying to return them to the folder all facing the same way. He had given up on the thought of placing the pages in any kind of order. The task grew tedious. Among the drawings and diagrams were also pages and pages of rants. That’s the only way to describe them. Pages of commentary, ramblings, a manifesto of sorts. Unfortunately, the pages were out of order; there was no making any sense of it. Besides, there wasn’t enough time.
One page, however, struck Alex as odd. Not electrical at all, the drawing was mostly molecules---clusters of molecules---water.
Alex dropped the folder to the floor.
CHAPTER 22
Alex watched the sheets of paper fan out around him on their way to the floor. Nonetheless, the only one he cared about was still in his hand. For the first time in years, Teleforce was no longer at the forefront of his mind. He thought back to his conversation with Mika yesterday. She said that Tesla had grown to despise electricity and that’s why he invented the water. Then she abruptly changed the subject. Alex didn’t pay any attention to the remark at the time, but somehow the paper in his hand made the remark resonate. He didn’t know what it was, but he was certain it was important. He folded the page and placed it in his pocket.
On his hands and knees again, he placed the rest of the pages back into the folder without regard to which way they faced. Anxious to return the folder to the drawer, he thought he might find a way out of the museum, perhaps through a window or a service entrance. Suddenly, he heard a loud voice shout, “Loose pancakes in stop shoulders,” at least that’s what it sounded like. Then another voice replied, “go plastic to lunchbox state.” They weren’t speaking English. Alex picked up the remaining papers in a hurry, closed the cabinet drawer ever so slowly, and returned to the shadowed part of the room. He stood still, quiet, wondering. Who were these men? What were they doing here?
Alex’s imagination ran wild. Had thieves broken into the museum? Perhaps they were Serbian Secret Police or SDB as Bojana called them. Even worse, KGB. Either way, they would be after Tesla’s papers and they would find him as well, and with American credentials. Alex retrieved the gun from his coat pocket and waited.
He could hear the men talking in another part of the museum, and then there was a loud humming noise. It started in the distance, but grew louder as it approached. Alex knew he had to move. He inched his way along the darkened corridor that led to the room with Tesla’s ashes. The humming noise grew louder as he approached. His plan was to emerge from the curtained wall and hurry to another section of the museum where he would hide until Bojana arrived in the morning. It would be easy enough, except for the loud humming noise fading in and out, taunting him.
Alex raised the gun and carefully peeled back the curtain. Tesla’s ashes were still in place. Then he saw what was making all the noise. He lowered his gun, stepped back from the curtain and smiled. He placed the gun back in his coat pocket and then pulled the curtain open wide, revealing himself to the short bald man vacuuming the carpet. He had forgotten to ask Bojana about a cleaning crew.
The man nearly had a heart attack; he dropped the vacuum and leaned over clutching his chest. Once he had caught his breath, he started screaming something about, “tulips in ski modern.” The other man came running over, feather duster in hand. He also said something absurd, “no do day de trespass.”
Alex just stared. He had actually understood the last word the man said, however, he knew it would be useless to try communicating with them.
Then the man said, “You are Americano, no?”
Alex nodded, “Yes, Americano---touristo, touristo.”
The man smiled. “What you doing here? Museum closed.”
“Yes, I know. I was in the lavatory---my stomach hurt---when I came out everyone was gone. Can you let me out?”
The short bald man seemed happy to oblige. He even grabbed the keys from his belt hook. “Not so fast, Bruno. Maybe we should call police first.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Alex placed his hand in his coat pocket. “C’mon this is all a misunderstanding, I was sick in the lavatory.”
The taller man glanced over to the open curtain. “Why were you behind curtain?”
“I was hiding; I didn’t know who was out there. You could have been a burglar.”
“Burger, you are scared of burger?” He turned to Bruno. “Bruno, he dot see paste two hamburger.”
Bruno chuckled.
“Not burger, burglar---you know, robber, thief. You could have been thieves.”
The taller man chuckled, too. “Maybe you are thief; I still think we call police.”
“Wait a minute, I have a friend who will vouch for me, she works here; her name is Bojana?”
“You know Bojana?” The taller man asked.
“Yes, I know Bojana, we’re good friends. We had lunch together yesterday. Come to think of it, that’s what made me sick.”
“We are talking about same Bojana---tall blonde girl, big tits.
“Yes, the same girl.”
“Why didn’t you say so? Bruno, open door for this good man, he is friend of Bojana.”
Alex let go of the pistol in his pocket and shook the tall man’s hand. He thanked him and then followed Bruno to the exit.
***
The ten-minute walk to Sava’s apartment was creepy in the early morning darkness. Alex walked with both hands in his coat pockets, one on his gun, the other holding Tesla’s paper.
The apartment door was ajar and the lights were on. Alex doubted whether he had locked the door before he left, but he was certain he hadn’t left any lights on. It was mid-morning when he left and he hadn’t turned on any lights to leave on. He drew the pistol from his coat pocket and nudged the door open. Three days ago, when he opened that door a beautiful woman stood there, shortly thereafter, he felt the butt end of a lamp against his head. He entered with caution.
The living room was empty. Alex hugged the wall as he made his way to the kitchen, but stopped before entering. He heard the shower running in the bathroom.
According to her note, Mika wouldn’t return until noon. So who was taking a shower? Had that nobody who Mika said would never come looking for Sava finally shown up? Or perhaps someone stumbled upon the unlocked apartment and decided to make himself at home.
Alex entered the bathroom with gun in hand. The steam made it hard to see, but noticeably present on the floor was a neon pink thong. He moved closer to the shower until he saw a woman’s silhouette behind the frosted glass door. He called out, “Mika?”
“Alex, where have you been, I’ve been worried sick.” She opened the shower door.
“Where have I been? Where have you---
Alex stopped in midsentence. Even with all the steam from the shower, the image was breathtaking.
“It doesn’t matter. We can talk about it later. Would you mind washing my back?” Mika held up a Loofah.
Alex placed the gun down on the vanity, and then, still fully clothed with Loofah in hand, began to wash Mika’s backside.
“It might be easier if you got in the shower.” Mika smiled. “Unless you’re shy.”
“No, not shy, but this is all kind of sudden. What happened to the rule about no back-washing?”
“That’s funny, Alex. If you don’t hurry, there won’t be any sex, either.”
Alex dropped the Loofah and ripped off his clothes.
***
Still breathing hard, Alex lay in bed wondering, Mika still naked by his side.
“Where did you go?” He finally asked.
“Assignment---I can’t talk about it.”
“But your note said you wanted to talk to me about something.”
“We just did.”
“What do you mean we just did?” Alex propped up his pillow for a more serious discussion.
“We just had sex. I didn’t want you to leave before we had sex. That’s why I put that in the note, is that so bad?”
“You mean you made me stay in town while you were off halfway around the world doing only God knows what just so you could get laid?”
“Well, yes.”
“I guess I should be flattered.”
“Nah, you weren’t that good.” Mika smiled.
“Oh, really. Well, I’ll try harder.”
***
Once again breathing hard and staring at the ceiling, Alex didn’t dare speak.
Mika broke the silence. “So, where were you all night?”
Alex was somewhat caught off guard by her question. He had expected another critique of his lovemaking skills. “I just hung out at that pub we went to the other day.” His answer wasn’t very convincing; therefore, he decided to ask a few questions of his own. “How come you’re back early? I thought you’re flight returned at noon?”
“I finished my assignment early and took an earlier flight.”
“The assignment that you can’t tell me about?”
“Right.”
“Do you work for the SDB?”
“Now, Alex, where did you hear about the SDB?”
“It doesn’t matter, is that who you work for?”
“No, the SDB is defunct, has been for years.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Alex changed the subject. “I’m leaving in the morning.”
“Why, we’re just starting to get along.” Mika had a puppy dog look on her face.
“Maybe, but I can’t count on you. What happens when you leave and don’t come back and I never see you again? I don’t think I could handle that.” Alex’s eyes welled up.
“Alex, darling, of course you can count on me. I’ll never leave you.”
Alex’s show of emotions obviously touched Mika. Had he fallen for her? And more importantly, had she fallen for him? Either way, he needed reassurance. “Alex, I will tell you something I have never told anyone before, this way you can trust me. Every night at 1:30am Belgrade Time I get on the shortwave and call my grandfather in Belize. It’s 7:30am there, I tell him good morning and let him know I am alright. He waits for that call every morning. I never miss it. My handle is Goldilocks and his is Beowulf.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, if we ever get separated and you don’t believe I’m coming back you can contact me on the shortwave---your handle can be---
“I already have a handle.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I’ve used a shortwave radio since I was a small boy.”
“That’s great. What’s your handle?”
“Do you promise not to laugh?”
“I promise.”
“Spaceman, my handle is Spaceman.”
Mika didn’t laugh. “There it is settled. Now do you trust me?”
“Well, I guess so.”
“Good, oh by the way, the second time was fabulous.”
“The second time? Oh, yeah, that’s good. So, then, what are we?”
“What are we? Alex, I don’t understand.”
“What are we? Friends? Lovers? What?”
“Alex, we are friends and lovers?”
Alex sighed. “That’s good to know. So since you’re being so open and honest you won’t mind telling me about the water, right?”
“Water? What are you talking about?”
“The other day we were talking about how Tesla had grown to despise electricity. You said that’s why he invented the water. I didn’t catch it at the time and you changed the subject quick.”
“Alex what does this have to do with Teleforce?”
“Probably nothing.”
“Then why worry about it.”
“Mika, friend, lover, I need you to tell me about the water.”
“Alex, it won’t help you, it has nothing to do with Teleforce.”
“I don’t care, tell me.”
Mika hesitated. “All I know is what Sava told me, I don’t even know if it’s true.”
“I don’t care if it’s true or not, tell me about the water.”
Mika couldn’t resist any longer. She told Alex everything she knew about Tesla Water. “According to Sava, Nikola Tesla despised the way the American government and big corporations profited from his inventions. Sava always said that Tesla was the anti-capitalist. He envisioned a world abundant with “Bezplatna Struja.” Free Electricity.
“With his Wardenclyffe Project was scrapped, he was even more determined to provide the world free energy. Wardenclyffe made him realize that the public would never go for electricity traveling freely throughout the air. What he needed was something the public would embrace, something as simple and as safe as a glass of water. He experimented with D20 or heavy water and came up with a way to charge the water, which made it combustible. According to Sava, Tesla’s greatest invention was combustible water.”
Alex was dumbfounded. “You mean combustible like gasoline or diesel?”
“Exactly.”
“He would put the big oil companies out of business.”
Mika just nodded. “Sava said that he searched his uncle’s room frantically for his notes before the OSS arrived and seized everything.”
“But if the Americans have the notes why haven’t they---?” Alex stopped. “I must go to the Bahamas tomorrow.”
“No, Alex, don’t.”
“But there is someone there who can help me, Sava told me so.”
“No Alex, there isn’t.”
“Yes, Mika, there is. Sava told me to find Doctor Armaly---Doctor Mike Armaly.”
“No, Alex. Doctor Armaly can’t help you.”
“Sava said he would.”
“He can’t”
“How do you know?”
“You wanted to know about my assignment. He was my assignment. I killed him.”
CHAPTER 23
Lawson and Arnold didn’t quite know what to make of Doctor Armaly’s son. He was a big man with calloused hands dressed in typical island attire, cutoff shorts, floral shirt, and flip-flops. And the odd patch of stubble on his chin indicated that he probably had poor grooming habits. When he spoke, it was more redneck than any island dialect.
“You boys c’mon up to the house, there’s plenty of food leftover from the funeral.”
Lawson and Arnold followed without a word.
“You boys ever have Mutton Snapper?”
“No, can’t say that I have.” Arnold said.
“What about you, Spanky?”
Lawson looked at Arnold. “Did he just call me Spanky?”
Arnold replied for him. “No, he’s never had any, either. We don’t get that stuff in New York.”
“Well we get it here, it’s good eating. Pop loved it.”
“Pop?”
“Yeah, that’s what we called my old man.”
“That’s better than Spanky.” Lawson mumbled under his breath.
The house was set back behind the big metal building. Once inside, the young man introduced them to his wife. “Boys, this is Aluna.”
Lawson’s grumpy disposition vanished immediately at the sight of the well-tanned long-legged woman with auburn hair. “Well, hello Aluna. My name is Michael---Michael Lawson.”
He shook her hand and then covered it with his other hand. “It is so nice to meet you.”
Aluna just stood there.
“She don’t speak none.”
Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel Page 11