by Jade Powers
He might have said as much, but she was already down the stairs and on her way to dinner, and he certainly didn’t want to yell out and have his dad’s kidnappers on his heels. He sank to his butt and leaned against the wall. At least it was relatively clean. He held the towel over his eyes and listened to the sounds outside the stairwell.
At one point Bryce heard the screeching of tires. He heard footsteps running, but it was only a single pair and the methodical plodding of the strikes indicated a jogger more than a student fleeing for his life. Every sound loomed large in Bryce’s imagination. When he heard a car door slamming, he imagined his kidnappers surrounding him. When a man called across campus, Bryce shrank further against the wall, feeling very much alone.
His eyes hurt like hell, but at least he was hidden for now. Bryce held the towel against his face. When he heard two women’s voices coming toward the apartment, he looked around for a hiding place.
The woman from earlier called up, “Hey, are you still here?”
She brought reinforcements.
Bryce called back, “Still here.”
Gail jogged up the stairs past him, her friend in tow. As she passed Bryce, she said, “I’m Gail. This is Shelly. Come in.”
Seeing after getting sprayed by mace was not an easy thing to do, but the fuzzy image of Gail looked pretty. Her long white-blonde hair swung over a blue silk blouse. That hair and her willingness to mace his face attracted Bryce like nothing else.
“You believe me?” Bryce scrambled up, following the women into the apartment. He handed Gail her towel back. He added, “You might want to wash this by itself. I’m not sure if mace spreads through other laundry or not.
Gail took the towel but wasn’t in any hurry to do anything with it. She peered intently at Bryce, as if studying his soul with her x-ray eyes. She said, “A woman was kidnapped from the campus an hour ago. Do you know anything about that?”
“Kidnapped? From where?” Bryce asked. He thought of the statuette he’d planted in that college woman’s backpack. Surely that wouldn’t have been reason enough to kidnap someone.
“Just outside the student union. Everyone is talking about it.” Gail said. “It’s a little peculiar that you turn up here right when it happened.”
“I swear I didn’t kidnap anyone, but the guys I ran away from...that’s something they would have done. Do you have a description of the woman they took?”
“No one said. They should release a photo later on the news.” Gail invited Bryce to sit at the dining table while she tossed the towel into a basket in the bedroom. She handed him a box of tissue, which was nice since her assault had caused his every facial orifice to water. She came out with a wireless phone, handing it to him. “Here’s the phone.”
“I need to call long distance. I’ll call collect.” Bryce said. He called his mom.
It didn’t help that his mom started crying.
Bryce sniffed, the mace still sending rivers of mucus through his nose. He wasn’t crying. “Mom, I’m fine. No, I haven’t seen dad. He’s here, though. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Which was male code for We were both kidnapped, they still have Dad, and I don’t want to upset you further. He had no idea what she would do if she found out he was being chased by a bunch of mercenaries.
“Where are you? What’s going on?”
As calmly as possible, Bryce said, “I’m in Miami.”
“Miami? What in blazes are you doing there?” Bryce winced and pulled the phone away from his ear when his mother yelled.
“It’s a long story. Can you find Drake or Sven’s phone numbers for me? They’re Dad’s bosses at AIT.”
“I have them in the book. Where is your father? He should be with you.”
“Mom, Dad can’t help me. I’m stuck at the University of Miami with no way to contact him. Please?”
“I’m looking them up. Just a sec. I don’t know why you would need those numbers anyway. These are your father’s bosses. He won’t appreciate you disturbing them.” His mom grumbled.
“Please, Mom. I need them.” Bryce gritted his teeth in frustration. This is what he got for being kidnapped and protecting his mother from the truth. Getting on the plane to Miami was his fault, though. Bryce couldn’t be angry at his parents when he had acted like a complete idiot.
His dad was in danger, and that was his fault.
His mother did one of those great guilt-inducing mother sighs and said, “I don’t know what possessed you to fly to Miami without word to anyone. If you have a pen and paper ready, I can give you those numbers. You had better be safe. Find your father and get home.”
“I will.” Bryce mimed pen and paper. Gail quickly grabbed a pad and pen from one of the drawers and slid it across the counter to Bryce.
With a long suffering sigh, his mother said, “Yes. I will wait here for you and your father to return since you seem to think that a vacation in Miami without me was the best way to go”
“Mom, trust me, this was no vacation.” Bryce wasn’t about to tell his mom that Dad was still held by corporate militia. Let Drake or Sven do that.
His mom sniffed and said, “I love you.”
Great, she started crying again. Dad said that women did that in their forties. Bryce was convinced it was some good-cop, bad-cop scheme his parents made up to keep him on edge. He rolled his eyes so that Gail could see him and then said to his mom, “I love you, too. I’ve gotta go. Thanks, Mom.”
Bryce hung up the phone. He glanced up at Gail. “One more call.”
He called Sven. Gail’s eyes grew wide when he told Sven that he and his father had been kidnapped and that his father was last held at the Moonwake Hotel. Her eyebrows lifted when he mentioned some kind of statue and the woman who had been kidnapped from campus.
Shelly just looked bored and eager to leave.
Gail leaned against the counter, watching Bryce. His eyes were still red, and his nose running like a faucet, but after listening to that Mama’s boy phone conversation, Gail no longer worried that Bryce was the latest serial killer cum college student. “There’s a story here. Tell you what, you can take a shower here if you’ll tell us everything that’s going on, from start to finish. Deal?”
Getting water on his face to wash out his eyes sounded like a stellar plan to Bryce. He said, “If I can shower first, it’s a deal.”
“Say what?” Shelly’s arms were crossed and the scowl on her face could scare the Grim Reaper. She shook her head, “Do not let him use your bathroom. You don’t even know the guy. Plus, a woman was kidnapped from campus just a few hours ago.”
“I’m fairly certain since there is no one tied up in my apartment, that Bryce had nothing to do with it,” Gail said. She smiled ruefully at her friend, “I appreciate the backup, though. Just hang out for a few hours. I think his story will be worth it.”
“Sorry, Gail. I saw you home. If you want to kick him out now, no one would blame you, but I’m not sticking around.” Shelly looked Bryce over, waiting for Gail’s answer.
“He’s not going to hurt me. Are you?” Gail asked pointedly.
Bryce said, “No way.”
“See?”
“Then I expect I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow, if you’re sure you don’t want to party with me.” Shelly was already halfway to the door. From the interchange, Bryce got the feeling that Gail never accompanied Shelly at party-time.
“Thanks Shel. Maybe next time.”
Gail found Bryce another towel and showed him the bathroom. It occurred to him that what she was offering was intensely personal in a way. A bathroom was a private place, where sales people and acquaintances did not go. He was grateful for the help.
Bryce stepped into the shower, expecting relief. What he got was a face-full of sharp and painful water. Something about the combination of the water and chemicals just made it hurt more. He stood under the water until he thought he would drown. His nose was still running. His face hurt. Despite the pain, the water was doing its job.
When Bryce stepped out of the bathroom, Gail was alone. Curled up on the couch with a book, she looked at ease even with a complete stranger in her house. Bryce said, “I owe you a story, but I don’t think you’ll believe me.”
“Tell me the whole thing, start to finish. I don’t care if it’s wild...just lay it on me.” Gail’s long blonde hair had fallen across her face when she was reading. Now she tucked it back behind an ear, and waved Bryce to the arm chair across from the sofa.
Bryce lowered himself with a groan. He said, “I’ll start at the beginning.”
It all started with Advanced Innovative Technologies and a mind control device. Bryce didn’t actually know anything about what his father worked on, not the mind control device, not the neurotransmitters. Everything at the company was confidential and top secret. He found the specifics out later, from the kidnappers.
After a quick summary of his dad’s work, Bryce said, “I didn’t know they were after him. I was contacted by a friend of my dad’s. At least I thought he was a friend. Vice President Kendall of SpaceTech. I thought he ran with Drake and Sven and all of the guys at the company where he works. He told me he’d deposit fifteen thousand dollars into a bank account with my name, and all I had to do was catch a flight to Miami.”
Gail laughed with one of those disbelieving barks of a laugh that said, And you fell for it.
Bryce lifted his arms and said, “I’m not gullible. Look, these guys flash money. Contracting with the government is lucrative. He told me exactly what AIT was working on. Mind control devices, implantable in humans. He asked me to work for him awhile. I figured he wanted me to do security or something. He said I’d be in Miami for at least three weeks, but not to tell my family where I was going. He said it was dangerous, and he didn’t want my dad angry.”
“So you got here. He didn’t follow through, and you have no money to get home.” Gail guessed.
She was almost right.
“Worse. I got here, stepped off the plane and walked right into a trap. I took a taxi, but a pair of men were waiting at the hotel and grabbed me. When I escaped months later, I checked the drop for the bank account card. It was still there with all the money promised.
“He really paid you? That doesn’t make sense if you were kidnapped.”
“Tell me about it. Fifteen thousand dollars in my name. I checked once I was free. I was never the ultimate target. The worst thing was what he needed me for. He used me to bait my Dad. Now he has Dad, who stole technology from his boss. I sold out my family for cash. I feel like a complete idiot.”
“This Kendall fellow? Is he from around here?” Gail asked.
“Yeah, SpaceTech’s offices are in Miami. They have three research facilities scattered across the company. I thought I might have a bit of adventure, maybe face real danger, but I didn’t think I’d be locked in a room for months sending videos to my dad so that he would betray his company and bring Kendall top secret technology. That was never in the plan.”
Gail tilted her head with a credulous look, “So, how much of what you just told me is actual truth?”
Bryce put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. He said, “All of it. My dad brought the tech I told you about and hid it on campus. He gave me a note telling me exactly where to look. I grabbed it, not knowing I had been followed. When I saw the goons, I hoofed it. I knocked over this girl on the sidewalk and tucked it into her bag. My dad turned off the tracking device, so they shouldn’t have been able to find it.”
“Is that the girl who was grabbed earlier today?”
“I don’t know. I think so. The time and placing seem right. I know what she looks like and could tell if I saw her.”
“Wait, she would be on the news. Dang, we missed the six o’clock. Would you want to stay until eleven? You can crash out in the living room tonight if you want.”
Now it was Bryce’s turn to be suspicious. “What’s going on? You don’t even know me. This is freaking Miami. I could be a murderer or drug dealer or something,” Bryce began, taking a deep breath to continue his lecture to Gail.
She held up a hand. “I’m not the one who agreed to get on a plane without telling anyone. You can’t exactly lecture me on safety.”
“It just doesn’t seem right, given that we’re complete strangers, and if I may say, you’re a woman.”
“I’m glad you noticed,” Gail said dryly.
“I’m just saying...” Strangely enough, Bryce wanted to stay with Gail for as long as she would take him.
“I trust you. There’s no reason for it. It’s not logical, but I do. My roommate recently fell in love with a guy off-campus and moved out. I’ve advertised for a roommate, but mid-semester is a terrible time to find a new roommate. I could use the company, and you seem like a decent enough fellow,” Gail leaned back on the sofa, her finger still holding her place in the book.
“I wish you’d come to that conclusion before you maced me,” Bryce said. He had a huge goofy grin on his face which took the sting out of the complaint.
“What can I say? I’m impulsive.” Gail said. She added, “I just ate, but I bet you’re hungry. Want me to order a pizza or something?”
“You are a goddess. I hope not one of the scary ones. Your ability to read minds is beyond compare.” Now that they were relaxed and chatting, Bryce discovered that he really liked Gail. She was absolutely comfortable with him, no qualms, no fear.
“I’m scary. Let me read your mind again...all meat pizza?” Gail guessed. It was that or something like Supreme.
“Works for me.” Bryce said.
“But is it your favorite? What’s your absolute favorite?” Gail asked.
“Hawaiian, if you must know.” Bryce said. He realized that he wanted to ask Gail out on a date. How would that work? Hey, Baby, I know you maced me, but let’s go to a concert next Friday.
“Hawaiian, it is.”
Gail called it in and then spent another half hour asking him questions about his family and answering questions about hers.
“Siblings?” Gail asked.
“One sister, you?” Bryce volleyed back.
“Me too. Baby sister. Her name is Jana. She’s only five. It’s why I’m so fearless. I was an only child throughout my formative years.” Gail said. She laughed and her eyes sparkled.
Bryce grinned. It seemed like a good moment for the segue. He asked, “Will you go out with me? Once my dad’s safe and I’m settled into the hotel or whatever, I’d like to take you on a proper date to Coconut Grove,”
Gail stopped laughing. At least she rejected him with a gentle tone. She said, “I’m pre-med. I don’t have time to date.”
“Seriously. You are not even studying right now. If you have time to hang out with a strange on a Friday night, you have time for one little date.” Bryce said.
Her lips pressed together, Gail shook her head. She said, “I’m sorry. We’re cool just hanging out like this, but I’m not all eager to jump into a relationship. This is my night to myself. Otherwise, my life is studying, classes, tests, and more study.”
The doorbell rang. Pizza had arrived. Bryce didn’t know whether to be annoyed or grateful.