Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel

by Agostino, John

  The trunk overflowed with paper. Newspaper.

  CHAPTER 44

  Mika was still unconscious. Everyone else was dumbfounded. After a long silence, Turbo spoke first. “That’s it, I quit. I’ll sell my store and move to Florida to be with my wife and kids. That is, if she’ll even have me. She keeps calling me William, maybe I’ll get used to it. It’ll be the new me, William, no more Turbo, no more---

  “Turbo, it’s okay.” Carrie hugged him. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

  Hearing what Carrie said, Alex appeared optimistic. “Okay, good, what is all this newsprint for? Where is formula?”

  “That’s a good question Alex.” Turbo pushed back the little hair he had left on his head. “Does anybody have an answer?”

  Carrie looked at Phillip, “Aunt Edna,” they said in unison.

  “Who is Aunt Edna?” Alex asked.

  “No, it couldn’t be.” Carrie refused to believe it.

  “It had to be her. No one else had the trunk.”

  “Who is Aunt Edna?” Alex asked again.

  Turbo went over and sat next to Doctor Armaly on the sofa. “Well, Doc, we were outsmarted by an old black woman who makes a mean potato salad.

  Doctor Armaly was befuddled. “Aunt Edna?”

  “That’s right, Doc.”

  “For the last time, who is Aunt Edna?” Alex screamed, but nobody answered him.

  They just sat there silently. Alex didn’t know what to think until he felt the AK47 barrel in his back.

  “Aunt Edna is Phillip’s crazy aunt from Philly, darling. Now be a good boy, give me your gun and go sit in that chair over there.” Mika was the only one standing and the only one with a gun, actually, now, two.

  “Mika what are you doing,” Alex asked. “The trunk is full of newsprint, let’s get outta here.”

  “All in good time, Alex darling, all in good time.”

  She turned to Phillip. “What did your crazy aunt do with those papers?”

  Phillip smiled. “She’s not that crazy after all, she outsmarted you.”

  “Perhaps.” Mika smiled back. She turned to Doctor Armaly. “My good Doctor, you know what must happen.”

  Doctor Armaly nodded. “Do it.”

  “Do what?” Carrie asked.

  “You just sit there and be quiet little girl, I’m still pissed off at you.”

  “Well, I don’t care who you’re pissed off at, you’re a fucking bitch!” Carrie struck a nerve.

  Mika shoved the barrel of the AK47 in Carrie’s mouth. “You talk too much. How ‘bout I blow your fucking head off right now?”

  “Stop it, just tell us what you want so we can give it to you and go home.” Phillip shouted.

  Mika pulled the gun from Carrie’s mouth. “We’ll it’s quite simple, young Phillip. I want that fucking formula, but you can’t give it to me now, can you?”

  Phillip didn’t answer.

  “I guess I have to kill you all and go looking for crazy Aunt Edna myself. Who wants to be first?”

  Alex stood up. “C’mon Mika, you don’t have to kill them.”

  Mika put a bullet in his left shoulder. “Sit down and shut up.” She turned the gun on Phillip. “Well, since you started all this shit, you can be first.”

  “Mika wait.” Alex screamed. “I have it, I have the formula.”

  “Alex don’t fuck with me, I’ll kill you.”

  “I’m not fucking with you, it’s in my boot.” He raised his right foot.

  “Carrie, take off his boot.” She did so, reluctantly, and found a single sheet of paper tucked inside the boot lining. She handed it to Mika.

  “Alex, you son-of-a-bitch, how long have you had this?”

  “I found it at the Tesla Museum.”

  “It’s definitely Tesla’s, but it’s only one page, what help could it be?”

  “Let Doctor Armaly look at it.” Carrie gave Mika a smug look.

  “Let Doctor Armaly look at it.” Mika mocked her. “Great idea, Carrie, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She handed the page to the doctor. “Well Michael, is this what you’ve been missing all these years?”

  Doctor Armaly studied the paper. He stared at it until the diagram on the page overcame him. He handed it back to Mika and smiled.

  She folded it, placed it securely in her back pocket, and emptied the clip of the AK47 into the doctor’s chest.

  CHAPTER 45

  It was a high-pitched clicking sound in fast bursts like an automatic weapon. Then, it stopped. A few minutes later, another burst, and then another. Mika threw the empty AK47 to the floor and strapped the still loaded one over her shoulder. “What is that noise?”

  “It sounds like someone’s tapping on the glass.” Phillip said.

  “Yeah, it’s probably the police, they heard the gunfire.” Turbo had a devilish grin on his face. “Yep, they probably have the place surrounded by now.”

  “Oh, you really think so, Cousin?” She went over and stroked his head. “I’m so afraid, but you’ll protect me, won’t you?”

  “I’ll protect you alright, let me hold the gun.” He reached out his hand.

  Mika laughed. “Oh Cousin, I never knew you were so funny.”

  “Yeah, I’m hysterical, but I’m not your cousin.”

  “Of course you are, you are Sava’s cousin, and I am Sava’s granddaughter, so we are what---third cousins?”

  “Whatever.” The constant tapping on the glass irritated Turbo. He no longer felt the need to antagonize Mika.

  Mika crouched low and peered around a bookshelf and down the center aisle to see if someone was indeed at the front door. “Shit! Somebody is there.” She backed away from the center aisle.

  “What are you gonna do now?” Alex’s left shoulder oozed blood. “I told you we should have left already.”

  “Shut up you fool.” There was more tapping on the glass. “Carrie, you have the key, let him in. What’s one more person to kill?”

  “I’m not letting him in---

  Mika jabbed the gun into her chest.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll let him in, but I hope whoever it is kills you first.” Carrie stood up and walked to the center aisle.

  “Don’t do anything stupid or I’ll kill your friends.” The tapping continued.

  Carrie made it halfway to the front door then ran back. “It’s Buddy, I’m not letting him in.”

  “Who is Buddy?” Mika asked.

  “He’s Carrie’s old boyfriend.” Phillip stood up. “Yep, it’s Romeo.”

  “Oh, is that all. Give me the key, I will let him in.”

  When Carrie handed Mika the key, Mika grabbed her by the throat. “You didn’t think I would leave you all without taking a hostage.” They proceeded to the front of the store.

  Carrie opened the door.

  Mika grabbed Buddy by the shirt and pulled him inside.

  Carrie relocked the door. “Buddy, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, you won’t return my calls---

  “Save it lovers, I don’t have time for this. Get back there with the others.” Mika pushed Buddy to get him moving, but told Carrie to wait. “Carrie, dear, you did good, he’s a cutie.”

  “He’s an asshole.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry dear. Would you like to kill him? I don’t mind, really. I have plenty of other people to kill.”

  “No. I’m not gonna kill anyone.”

  “Well, that’s a shame, Carrie. You would have made a good agent except for that.”

  Carrie smiled as they made their way down the main aisle. When they reached the seating area, they weren’t prepared for what they saw.

  Mika screamed.

  Carrie fainted.

  CHAPTER 46

  When Carrie opened her eyes, she saw four sets of eyes staring back at her. Phillip smiled ever slightly; obviously glad she was okay. Turbo looked tired, worn out. Buddy was obviously still mad at her. And Rudy had a concerned look on his face.

  “Rudy, oh my God, Rudy.” She
jumped up and gave him a bear hug. “I can’t believe it’s you---I don’t understand---you were dead, I saw the blood oozing from your head.”

  “I know, Carrie. I had to stage my own death. Buddy helped me.”

  Carrie glared at Buddy, but only for a second. “Where’s Mika?” She looked around the bookstore.

  “She’s gone,” Phillip said.

  “But she has the formula.”

  “It’s okay, Carrie. It doesn’t matter. I’ll explain everything, but not here. We have to get out of here and we need to take Dr. Armaly with us.”

  “But, he’s dead.”

  “Yes, but nobody knows he’s dead, except for us and Mika. And we need to keep it that way.”

  “Hey what about me, I’m losing a lot of blood here.” Alex was still on the chair.

  “Shut up, Alex.” Turbo took off his jacket. “Here, put some pressure on that shoulder or you’ll bleed to death. Can we drop him off at a hospital on the way?”

  “That’s a good idea, Turbo, but we can’t. They report all gunshot wounds to the police. We can’t risk it. We’ll have to take Alex with us, too.”

  “Oh, boy, thank you so much, it’s the least you can do since you stole my money.”

  “Alex, you better shut up or you’ll ride in the trunk with Dr. Armaly.”

  They all piled into the Lincoln Town Car. Rudy decided Phillip’s house would be the safest place to talk. Buddy backed the car out of the alley.

  “What’s wrong with my store?” Turbo asked.

  “Sorry, Turbo, but your shop is full of bugs, it has to be. How else did Alex and Mika know you’d be at Barnes and Noble tonight?” Turbo glared at Alex.

  “How did you and Buddy know?” Carrie asked.

  “That’s easy; we were with Dr. Armaly when he called you.”

  “Uh, well what about my apartment? We can talk there.”

  “No, Carrie, still too risky. Phillip’s house will be fine.”

  “What about a public place? Like a restaurant?”

  “No, Carrie, nothing public. Did you forget about the dead body in the trunk?” Rudy looked at Phillip. “Is there a reason they don’t want to go to your house?”

  Phillip shrugged. “Beats me.”

  “Just tell him.” Turbo said.

  “Tell me what?” Phillip looked at Carrie.

  “Oh, okay,” she just came out with it, “your house was ransacked, it’s a mess.”

  “Is that all.” Rudy slapped Phillip on the back. “That’s even better, if there was a bug, they probably destroyed it.”

  “What about Alex?” Phillip asked.

  “He’ll have to stay in the trunk with the Doc for awhile after all.”

  When they walked into the house, they were amazed. The place was clean and well organized. The ripped-up couch was gone, but other than that, it looked better than Phillip had left it.

  “Didn’t you say it was a mess?” Rudy was bewildered.

  “It was, Turbo you saw. It was trashed.”

  Turbo smiled. “I’ll bet Aunt Edna was here.”

  ***

  It was almost dawn, Agent Arnold had slumped over his desk and was drooling on a report he should have sent to Langley last week. Agent Lawson squirmed on the sofa, an empty Mountain Dew bottle wedged under his back. Both men snored, in harmony, and sometimes loud enough for a shopper to become concerned about the noise coming from the backroom. Arnold’s phone rang, cutting their nap short.

  “Yeah . . . huh . . . okay, got it.” He jumped up, kicked Lawson, and grabbed his coat. “They’re at Washington’s house, and you won’t believe who’s with them.”

  Lawson grabbed a Mountain Dew and his coat, zipped along a row of Hickey Freeman suits and darted sideways through the already closing elevator door. “What do you mean?” He said with heavy breath. “Who’s with them?”

  “Drink some of that Dew, your breath is killing me.”

  The elevator reached the garage level where some of the cleaning crew was heading to work.

  “C’mon, I’ll tell you in the car.” Arnold led the way.

  Lawson fired up the Escalade and tore out of the parking garage, tires squealing around every turn. “You’re full of shit! Someone’s pulling your leg.”

  “Madden and Ritchie are on stakeout, they’re too stupid to make up something like that.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, but if they’re bullshitting, I’m gonna shoot them both in the ass. They won’t be able to sit for a month.”

  ***

  Philip, Carrie, Turbo and Rudy sat around the kitchen table. Buddy stood by the open front door and watched the car. Just in case Alex figured out how to use the Lincoln’s emergency trunk release.

  Phillip swallowed hard, the vision of his grandmother slumped over that table clutching a coffee cup indelibly etched in his mind. “So what do we do now?” He looked to Rudy for the answer. They all did.

  “Nothing, Phillip, you do nothing, and Turbo and Carrie, too.”

  Carrie was the first to object. “What do you mean nothing? You can’t be serious?”

  “Yes, Carrie. I am serious. This has gotten way out of control and good people are dying.”

  “So, we just go home and forget everything that’s happened?”

  “Yes, go back to your lives. It’s not worth dying over some stupid formula that doesn’t even work.”

  “But it does---

  “Carrie, he’s right, let it go.” Turbo gave her a “stop talking” look, but she continued anyway.

  “But Dr. Armaly smiled---

  “Carrie, that’s enough.” Turbo raised his voice. “If Rudy says let it go, then we’ll let it go.” He kicked Phillip under the table.

  “Uh, yeah, I’m with Turbo, besides I’ve have to enroll in college soon.”

  “But what about Alex and Mika?”

  “Don’t worry, Mika is probably long gone by now, Buddy and I will patch up Alex and make sure the Doc gets a proper burial.”

  “Well if you all think so.”

  “It’s for the best, Carrie.” Rudy gave her a hug.

  “Will I ever see you again?” A single tear blazed down her cheek.

  “Of course you will---

  “We got company.” Buddy slammed the front door shut and turned the deadbolt. “Black Escalade coming up the street fast.”

  “Those idiots.” Rudy was pissed. “C’mon Buddy, we’ll have to hoof it, don’t tell them anything.” They bolted out the back door.

  Turbo ran over and unlocked the front door. He figured Phillip could do without his front door kicked in. Lawson almost knocked him over when he rushed into the house with gun in hand. A few seconds later, Arnold rushed in from the kitchen. “Back door was wide open, he’s gone.”

  “Damn it.” Lawson went to kick over a lamp, but stopped abruptly. “Hey, who cleaned up the place?”

  Arnold had just caught his breath. “Oh, yeah, they did a good job.”

  “I’m not sure, maybe my aunt.” Phillip remained calm.

  “Ole crazy Edna, huh.” Lawson chuckled.

  “She’s not crazy. She has Alzheimer’s.”

  “Yeah, she’s crazy like a fox.” Turbo shut the front door. The unfettered view of the Lincoln was too much for him. Was Alex still alive? Ballistics would prove they didn’t kill Dr. Armaly. But they were all complicit if Alex bled to death in the trunk. He tried not to think about it.

  “Okay, so who wants to tell me what the fuck happened here.” Lawson sat down at the kitchen table. “Hey Phillip, you got any Mountain Dew?”

  “No, sorry, but you should really cut back on the caffeine.”

  Arnold chuckled. “Enough of the small talk, where did he go.”

  “Where did who go?” Turbo looked away.

  “Okay, it’s 5am and I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet. I say we take them downtown, throw them in a holding cell, and go get some breakfast. What do you say, Partner?”

  “Sounds good to me, I’m fucking starving. Waffle House he
re we come.”

  “Stop it. Just stop it.” Carrie stood up and walked over to the window. “I’m sick of all these games. What do you want to know?”

  “Where’s Marco?”

  “Marco? Oh, you mean, Rudy.”

  “No, I mean Marco---Marco Fucking Fagan---although, his middle name might be Jesus, since he just rose from the dead.”

  Carrie knew she was in trouble when Arnold started cursing like Lawson. “Rudy saw you coming and they ran out the back door. Okay?”

  “They? You said, they. Who was with him?”

  Carrie hesitated. Should she tell them about Buddy? “Some guy, I never saw him before.”

  “Did they say where they were going?”

  “No, they didn’t say anything.” Turbo grew more agitated by the minute. “They actually told us to forget everything and go back to our normal lives. And I don’t know about these two, but that’s exactly what I’m gonna to do.”

  “That’s a real good idea, Turbo.” Lawson spoke with no sarcasm in his voice. “You should try that. Let me know how it goes.”

  Arnold suggested they leave. “Let’s go find Marco.”

  Lawson agreed. “Sure thing partner, let’s go. I’m sure these three are anxious to get back to their normal lives. But I’m curious, Carrie, are you gonna move in here or keep your apartment?”

  Carrie just smiled and opened the front door for them.

  “Oh, just one more thing, Turbo, before you get back to your normal life. Homeland Security reports a lot of chatter on the phone lines between here and Yugoslavia. Something about a lost medal your uncle had that’s worth millions. Man, I feel sorry for whoever has that thing.”

  CHAPTER 47

  They stared at each other across the kitchen table, listening, not saying a word. The sound of footsteps had faded a few minutes earlier, but that’s not what they were listening for. What’s taking so long? The Escalade’s doors should have opened and been forcefully latched shut by then. They should have heard the electronic ignition and the smooth roar of the engine. If nothing else, they should have heard Agent Lawson. He’d gone too long without speaking. Something vulgar, something sarcastic, but something.

  Carrie had shown considerable restraint. The Vegas odds-makers surely had her jumping from her seat by then. She just sat there and stared, her eyes shifting left to right between Phillip and Turbo. Perhaps really seeing them for the first time, noticing them for the first time. Phillip’s face was smooth; all but the Michigan shaped bruise that still encompassed much of the right side. Turbo’s face was rough. Dotted with age marks and grooved with wrinkles around his eyes and along his chin. Rugged, yet reassuring. Although, noticeably sad.