Dark Operative_A Glimmer of Hope

by I. T. Lucas

  He was back to his old self.

  Including the sex drive.

  The problem was that Bridget was thousands of miles away, and transporters were still in the realm of science fiction. It could have been great to get himself beamed over to Bridget and then return to his hotel room in the morning.

  As it was, they could only talk on the phone.

  Hey, he hadn’t had phone sex yet.

  The idea excited him. But before he got comfortable in bed and dialed Bridget’s number, he needed to check on Alfred. The guy might decide to come in for a chat and ruin the mood.

  Dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, Turner stepped out into the hallway and knocked on the door of the next room over, using a short sequence of taps and raps to let Alfred know it was him.

  “Yes, boss?” The guy opened the door after several moments of fumbling with the lock bar and disarming the portable alarm Turner had brought for each room.

  It was a precaution he always used while traveling. Both he and Alfred slept with a handgun under the pillow, and if an intruder opened the door while they were asleep, the alarm would wake them up and the lock bar would give them a few seconds to get to their weapons.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I was in bed already.”

  It seemed Turner had interrupted virtual sexy time for Alfred. He knew no one had come into the hacker’s room because he had two hidden cameras out in the hallway monitoring it. Alfred was either sexing up his wife on the phone or watching porn.

  “I just wanted to say goodnight and see if you need anything.”

  “Thank you. I have everything I need. Goodnight, boss.”

  “Don’t forget to put the alarm and the lock bar on the door.”

  Alfred chuckled. “Don’t worry. I might forget that my glasses are on my nose but not this. Your two-step blockade is the only reason I can sleep at night in a place like this.”

  He meant the country in general, not the hotel which was modest but decent.

  “Good to know. Goodnight, Alfred.”

  Back in his room, Turner checked the time. It was a little after eleven at night, which meant it was after seven in the evening in Los Angeles, and unless there had been a medical emergency, Bridget should be back in her apartment.

  Their apartment, he corrected himself. Even though he knew he was welcomed, Turner still didn’t feel like the keep or Bridget’s place were home because they weren’t. It was a temporary arrangement. Soon they would be moving into his renovated apartment. He couldn’t wait. Finally, he would have his privacy back. It bothered him that his comings and goings were being monitored by security cameras that were not his.

  Hopefully, Bridget would feel better about moving in with him than he felt about moving in with her.

  Picking up his secure sat phone, he got in bed and dialed her cell phone.

  “Hi, Victor,” she answered on the first ring. Had she been waiting for his call? It made sense that she’d expect him to call at the same time he’d called her last night.

  “How was your day?” He got comfortable on the bed.

  “Great. Brandon’s ball is going to bring in lots of donations. He was lucky to get Belinda Rochester on board. They are expecting over a thousand guests.”

  Turner whistled. “Impressive.”

  “Very. Other than that, I spoke with a couple of Guardians that are arriving within a week because they just sold their startup to a larger company for a solid half a million.”

  “Software?”

  “Naturally. What else brings in that kind of money?”

  “And they are willing to go back to being humble Guardians?”

  Bridget chuckled. “Humble? There is nothing humble about Guardians. They think they are the best of the best and that the entire clan owes them a debt of gratitude.”

  “I guess they’re entitled to that.”

  “True, but they don’t need to be so cocky about it.”

  “Are you back at the apartment?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes…” As always, Bridget caught on right away.

  “Can you get in bed?”

  “I sure can.”

  “Get naked.”

  “I’m not sending you a nude pic even if we are on a secure line,” she teased.

  “I don’t need you to send me a picture. All I have to do is close my eyes, and I can see you. I have every little detail memorized. Last night, I masturbated while imagining I was with you.” Hopefully, he wasn’t giving himself away by admitting that. She might guess he’d stopped the chemo.

  He heard the rustle of clothing. “Really? Your client didn’t push beautiful bimbettes at you?”

  “He gave up. Probably thinks I’m gay.”

  “Why, did you ogle one of his bodyguards? I bet they are handsome. Big and muscular.”

  She was teasing him, he knew that, and yet the idea of Bridget thinking of any man as handsome or desirable irritated him.

  “They are big and muscular, like overgrown apes with brains to match.”

  “Ugh, that totally spoiled the image for me.”

  Turner smirked evilly. “That was the intention. I don’t want you thinking about any other males but me.”

  “Victor, Victor, Victor. Are you jealous?”

  “Yes.” There was no point in denying it after he’d just admitted as much.

  “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Say again?”

  “Jealousy is a strong feeling. You’re opening up emotionally.”

  She was right. How had he missed that?

  It had been happening so gradually that he hadn’t noticed the change until Bridget voiced it.

  Compared to a few weeks ago, he was feeling many things he hadn’t before, or perhaps just hadn’t allowed himself to feel. Most of them weren’t positive, though. Jealousy and possessiveness were not good traits to have. He would’ve expected that from Sandoval’s goons, but not from himself.

  “Are you there?” Bridget asked. “Did I stun you into silence?”

  “I was thinking that jealousy is nothing to be proud of. It’s a primitive feeling.”

  “True, but so what? I’m a jealous woman. Do you think I keep asking you about bimbos just to tease you? I keep imagining you surrounded by gorgeous Latinas in bikinis, and even though I trust you, I can’t help but get mad. It’s irrational, but it’s part of our makeup. Humans and immortals alike. In fact, I think immortals are worse than humans when it comes to their mates.”

  Turner sighed. “It’s sad. On the inside we are chimps.”

  “Why sad? Look at the bonobos. These chimps know how to live the good life.”

  Chapter 52: Robert

  Like every morning, Robert woke up early. But unlike other mornings, the first thing he did was to put his hand on Sharon’s forehead and check whether her fever had risen or subsided overnight.

  It seemed the same to him, but a hand wasn’t a thermometer. Julian should be up already. Maybe he could borrow the guy’s device. It seemed easy enough to use, just point it at the ear and press a button.

  The doctor was an early riser like him, and most mornings they hit the gym together, but not today. Robert wanted to stay with Sharon as long as possible.

  Kissing her forehead, Robert got out of bed and rushed to pull on his training pants. He then headed to the kitchen hoping to catch Julian before the guy left for the gym.

  “You’re just in time for coffee.” Julian took another cup out of the cupboard and poured the fresh brew into both. “Here you go, buddy. How is Sharon doing?”

  “Still sleeping. I wanted to ask if I can borrow your thermometer. I don’t think her fever has risen, but I want to make sure.”

  Julian put his coffee cup down. “I can do it.”

  Robert lifted a hand. “No. She sleeps naked.” For the past two days, she’d left her panties on because of the menses, but the rest of her beautiful body was bare. He wasn’t l
etting Julian anywhere near her.

  “You’re aware that I’m a doctor. Right? I see people with no clothes on all of the time. I’m immune to it.”

  Right. Like being a doctor meant that he wasn’t a man, and getting an eyeful of a beautiful nude female was not going to affect him.

  “Not going to happen. Can I borrow the thing or not?”

  Julian shook his head. “You’re a strange fellow, Robert. I was sure you were the mellowest, non-confrontational guy I’ve ever met. I couldn’t figure out how you could’ve been a Doomer. But that’s just a façade, is it not? Underneath there is a whole different man who is hard as steel.”

  Robert rubbed his jaw. “It’s not a façade. I’m both. When nothing important is at stake, I’m very happy following the rules and doing what I’m told. I like order. It gives me peace of mind. But I’m more than capable of fighting for what’s important to me. Sharon is important to me.”

  “Obviously.” Julian was still eyeing Robert as if he was a puzzle the guy wanted to decipher. “I’ll get the thermometer.”

  “Thank you.”

  It took less than a minute for Julian to explain how it worked.

  “I’ll wait for you to be done. Just remember. Anything under a hundred and two is considered mild.”

  “Understood. And don’t worry, I’m not going to damage the thing. I’ll leave it on the counter when I’m done.”

  Julian waved a hand. “I don’t care about that. I meant that I’ll wait for you to go down to the gym with me.”

  “I’m not going. I want to stay with Sharon.”

  “Are you taking the day off? Because I’ll have to stay with you.”

  “Right.” Robert smoothed a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m not taking a day off, but you can’t go to the gym if I’m not going. I apologize for making you miss your workout.”

  “No problem. I can go through a basic routine in here.”

  Robert was grateful for Julian’s easy-going attitude. “I planned to do the same. We can do it together in the living room.”

  “You’re on.” Julian slapped his back.

  Robert palmed the thermometer. “Just give me a moment to check Sharon’s fever.”

  Back in the bedroom, he found Sharon sleeping in the same position he’d left her—on her back, her lips slightly parted, her wavy dark hair spread over his white pillow.

  Beautiful.

  He hated to disturb her peaceful sleep, but it needed to be done. As gently as he could, Robert put the tip in her ear. He sighed in relief when she didn’t wake.

  The display said. One hundred and one.

  It was a little higher than last evening, but not high enough to cause worry. According to Julian, it was considered mild.

  He glanced at the floor where Sharon’s clothes had been haphazardly dropped last night and fought the urge to pick them up and fold them for her. But Julian was waiting for him in the living room, and Robert didn’t want to make him wait any longer than needed.

  He grabbed a muscle shirt and his athletic shoes from the closet, a pair of socks from the pile of clean laundry, and then tiptoed out, taking one last look at the woman sleeping in his bed.

  A big mistake.

  Not watching where he was going, Robert tripped over one of Sharon’s shoes, knocking a vase off the dresser as he tried to steady himself. Naturally, his quick reflexes were good enough to prevent him from falling on his face, but the damn vase slipped from his grabbing fingers and shattered on the floor.

  “Fuck.” Now he had to clean the mess up.

  As he started collecting the larger pieces, it occurred to him that the noise of breaking glass and his loud curse hadn’t woken Sharon. He rose up and glanced at her.

  She was still sleeping in the same position.

  Sharon wasn’t a heavy sleeper.

  Something was wrong.

  Dropping the shards he’d just collected, Robert rushed to the bed.

  “Sharon, sweetheart, wake up.” He nudged her shoulder.

  When she didn’t respond, he repeated the words and shook her.

  Nothing.

  Panic setting in, he bellowed, “Julian! Get in here!”

  A split second before the door burst open, he remembered to cover Sharon’s naked breasts. Not that it mattered to him anymore. But she would’ve expected him to do so.

  “What happened?” Julian looked down at the floor and the glass shards strewn about. “Did you cut yourself?”

  As if he would’ve screamed for the doctor because of a cut. “Sharon didn’t wake up from the noise. I shook her and nothing. She is unconscious.”

  In a blur of movement, Julian was at Sharon’s side. “Pulse is fine, and she is breathing normally.” He narrowed his eyes at Robert. “You didn’t use the condoms like I told you, right?”

  Robert shook his head. There was no point in denying it.

  “She is most likely transitioning. According to my mother, fever and loss of consciousness are the most commons symptoms. We need to take Sharon to the clinic and call Bridget.”

  Stupefied, Robert nodded.

  “You probably want to put something on her.”

  “Right.”

  “I’ll go get the gurney. Unless you want to carry her?”

  “I’ll carry her.”

  Chapter 53: Turner

  “What do you think?” Turner asked Alfred.

  After two days the guy should have found the leak.

  Alfred pushed his glasses up his nose and leaned back in his chair. “The network is well protected. It’s one of the best protocols money can buy. We are either dealing with a super-hacker or an inside job. My bet is on the second one.”

  Turner had been leaning toward this conclusion as well. Sandoval wasn’t going to like it. No one wanted to believe they had a traitor in their midst. Truth be told, though, Sandoval hadn’t been the target of the attack. Turner had. It was still a betrayal, but not as painful.

  It was either a personal vendetta for whoever that guy Xavier was, or a test to gauge Sandoval’s reaction to an attack on another person in his network of close associates.

  Except, after the nephew’s rescue which Turner had organized, and the deadly blow the kidnappers had suffered, there should have been at least some period of quiet. Once the rumors subsided, and the repercussions were forgotten, another organization of thugs might try something again.

  It was the nature of the beast.

  A massive show of force brought peace, but it lasted just as long as the losses were remembered.

  Besides, Turner was a sub-contractor, not a member of Sandoval’s family. Arturo’s people needed to be checked. Andrew Spivak's lie-detector skills would have come in handy for a quick and efficient interrogation.

  “What about tracing inter-network communications? Can you find out who could’ve been tapping Sandoval’s conversations from the inside?”

  Alfred shook his head. “The network is not the only way to access communication. If we assume it was an inside job, then whoever did that could’ve been planning something for a while and planted well-hidden bugs. Sandoval would be smart to order a sweep of the place.”

  “Good thinking.” Turner clapped the hacker on his back.

  Alfred was a smart guy whose outside-the-box thinking wasn’t limited to computers. There might have been better hackers out there, but Alfred brought other skills to the table.

  The computer room where Alfred worked was located in the sprawling mansion’s basement, protected by massive concrete walls that could withstand bombing from above and ground explosives. Turner hadn’t been granted access to the other rooms down below, but he could guess their uses. Some were luxurious shelters for Arturo and his family, others were probably holding cells for his enemies.

  As Turner headed to Arturo’s office, he had to stop by the two goons guarding the thick door to the stairwell. The thing was not only fireproof but resistant to most explosives. Whoever wanted to get in when the thing was locked
was better off blowing a hole in the wall.

  There were no elevators. There was no need. Above ground, the mansion was only two stories high, and below there was only one sub-level. Besides, all the reinforcements Sandoval introduced to the place would have been rendered useless by an elevator shaft. It was a vulnerability he was better off without.

  “What do you have for me, my friend?” Arturo pointed Turner to an armchair, then joined him, sitting in the other one.

  It was a show of respect which Turner appreciated.

  “Your protocol is sound. I believe that you’re dealing with an inside job. I suggest sweeping for bugs.”

  If Sandoval were taken aback by Turner’s suggestion, he didn’t show it. There was very little the guy revealed unintentionally. The fatherly charm was a great façade for a ruthless politician.

  Leaning closer to Turner, he smiled. “I had many bugs planted throughout my compound. Spying on my people is necessary for my survival.”

  “I know about your bugs.” Turner was the one who had suggested them, but it seemed Sandoval thought it had been his idea and Victor wasn’t about to set him straight. “It makes it very easy for someone on your staff to add a few of their own.”

  Smoothing his hand over his short beard, Sandoval leaned back. “That is true.” He looked around his office. “Not in here. I check the place myself every morning before I start my workday.”

  “Some of them are so small I doubt you can find them.”

  There was alarm in Sandoval’s eyes. “If this is so easy, why am I spending so much money on cybersecurity?”

  “It’s very difficult to guard against insiders who have access to your offices, or even your private residence. I can refer you to someone who can install additional hardware to detect unauthorized transmissions, but even that is not foolproof. If the goal is to listen in on you and your dealings and maybe record a few conversations, no outside transmission is necessary.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “We can start by sweeping this office. I’ll show you what to look for, and you can continue in other rooms or have people you trust do that.”