“But if you’re watching me, it wouldn’t really be a vacation.”
“Says who?” He flashed a grin at me. “Jakarta is a beautiful city. I can look around while you are safely ensconced in the factory. I might even invite some friends to go with me.”
“Friends?” I looked at him in astonishment.
His grin widened. “It’s time I got to work on that.”
Chapter Eighteen
When I woke up at seven-thirty, Slash was already in the shower and I had a text on my phone letting me know that my new company driver and two armed security guards were in the parking lot ready to take me to the ComQuest fab at my convenience. To confirm that, Andrew Garrington, the COO of ComQuest, called me personally at eight o’clock.
“Good morning, Miss Carmichael. I apologize for bothering you so early. I understand you had a scare last night.”
“I did.”
“Do you think it might be connected to your work at ComQuest?”
“I don’t know for certain. It’s a possibility.”
“We are taking this very seriously. We’ve arranged for a driver and guards to accompany you to and from work and watch you until you leave for Jakarta. I’m sorry if that feels intrusive, but we are committed to keeping you safe.”
Wow. How many security guards could one girl have?
“Okay, thank you, I guess.”
“We’ve also arranged a meeting with you this morning at one of our conference rooms at the fab to go over in greater detail our plans for your security now and in Indonesia. My secretary will send you the security and meeting info. See you at nine.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
After we hung up, I looked out into my parking lot and saw the guards were already there waiting for me. I ate a spoonful of Cheerios and waved my spoon at Slash when he came into the kitchen. “You can cancel your security. I now have my own personal driver and two armed guards. Ugh. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”
“You will.” He kissed the top of my head. “Trust me, I speak from experience.”
I pointed to the box of Cheerios. “You want some?”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an energy bar. “No. I’m set for now. But thanks. Finish up and I’ll walk you out to meet your new detail.”
I quickly ate the rest of my cereal and grabbed a sweater and my purse. True to Andrew’s word, a tan SUV sat idling in the parking lot, along with the blue Toyota and Slash’s FBI detail in a black sedan.
It was a freaking circus. It was a wonder my neighbors had any place to park.
Slash walked me to the car, his hand resting beneath his jacket. The guy in the blue Toyota got out to accompany him, which made the FBI get out of their car, too.
Slash held up a hand and everyone stayed back while he did a thorough check of the driver’s and the two security guards’ identification. When he appeared satisfied, he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“See you later,” he murmured against my cheek. “Be safe, okay?”
“I’ve got my own personal army. I’ll be fine.”
We headed off to the fab. Other than initial pleasantries about how I felt this morning, there was no conversation with my security detail, which was just fine with me. It felt freaky to be chauffeured around, anyway.
Once we’d arrived at the fab and the receptionist had checked me and given me a badge, I was escorted to a conference room.
There were several people already seated around the table including, to my surprise, Finn. Elvis stood when I entered the room and came over to greet me. “Lexi, are you okay? We were just told what happened.”
“I’m fine, Elvis. Thankfully Slash was with me.”
“Is it connected to that attack on you in New York City?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did those guys want last night?”
“I don’t know that either. One of them knew me by name and said he just wanted to talk to me. That was right before he attacked me. It might not have anything to do with your invention. The problem is they didn’t have any identification on them and they aren’t talking at the moment, so it’s hard to confirm either way.”
“Who else knows you are involved with us and the invention?” Elvis asked.
“No one except Slash and Basia. Slash knows nothing specific about the invention, only that I’m working with you and ComQuest on something and headed to Indonesia to help you out.”
He nodded, then motioned for me to sit next to him. As I sat down, I met Finn’s eyes. He nodded at me without a word. What was he miffed about?
Oops. I probably should have called him first thing this morning. There was probably some kind of protocol that required you to call your boss after being attacked, possibly while on assignment for said boss’s company. But everything had happened so fast. I’d spent half the night at the police station and this morning, the driver and security stuff had thrown me for a loop. Still, I felt like I’d committed a professional faux pas, so I gave him an apologetic smile.
Andrew Garrington, the COO, sat next to Finn. Beside him was Fox Cutler, the Director of Research. Xavier was to my left and two men I hadn’t met sat next to him farther down the table.
Andrew spoke first. “Thanks for meeting with us this morning, Miss Carmichael. We are deeply concerned about the events of last night, even if you are unable to confirm they had anything to do with your assistance here on the project. As I mentioned to you this morning, in an attempt to ensure your safety and the integrity of this project, we are implementing specific security measures.”
He motioned at the two men who sat further down the table. “I’d like you to meet Oliver DeWitt, Director of Security at ComQuest, and his deputy, Cezar Alcantaro. Both men are highly trained security professionals who will lead a special security detail assigned to you and Miss Kowalski while you are in Jakarta.”
Both men lifted a hand in greeting. It seemed like a little overkill to send both of them with me, but better safe than sorry.
Andrew continued, “Mr. Shaughnessy, will also be accompanying you.”
I blinked. “What? He will? I mean, you will, Finn?”
He met my gaze. “I will. Your security is of the upmost importance to X-Corp.”
Elvis held up a hand. “Wait. Can I just say I’m having second thoughts about sending Lexi? I had no idea she might be put in physical danger.”
“I agree,” Xavier chimed in. “Maybe we should just try and do this remotely.”
I saw the alarm that crossed Andrew’s face and I shook my head. “Look, guys, doing this remotely is not a good solution and we all know it. The work is way too delicate to risk it in that way. Besides, we have no idea if those thugs were even after me for information on the invention. It could be something else entirely.”
“Like what?” Elvis asked.
“Like... I don’t know. Anything. It’s not like I have a shortage of enemies.”
“But the timing is statistically significant.” Elvis covered his hand with mine and squeezed. “You do know that you and Basia are far more important to us than the invention.”
Xavier nodded. “I totally agree.”
I squeezed Elvis’s hand, but said nothing.
Andrew leaned forward on the table. “Ladies and gentlemen, please. I assure you that every possible precaution will be taken to keep Miss Carmichael, Miss Kowalski and the invention safe. We have already secured two private jets to fly you and a security detail to Jakarta. We have two teams of security working around the clock both inside and out of the factory. You have my word that everyone will be completely and utterly safe.”
I looked at Elvis. “See? Private and dedicated security team inside and out. It’s okay, Elvis. Honestly, it’s an honor for me to do this, to be a par
t of making history. I want to do it. As long as Finn is on board with it, that is.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Finn, but he only had eyes for me. “Are you sure about this, Lexi?”
“Unequivocally.” It was the truth. There was no place I’d rather be. The technology was that important.
He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue either. “Fine, if you’re sure, then we’ll proceed. I’ll admit I feel better knowing I’ll be there in person to keep an eye on things.”
After another half hour of discussing more security issues, the twins and I were released to continue our work in the lab. The ComQuest bigwigs and Finn would finish hammering out the rest of the security details without us.
Elvis, Xavier and I returned to the lab, where I worked on understanding the complicated intricacies of the chip and the precision calculations of when to add the microfluid to ensure it would work properly. It was such exacting, exhausting work that none of us realized we’d worked through lunch until it was three o’clock.”
We left the lab and peeled off our suits.
“No wonder I’m hungry,” I said, hanging my suit on the wall. “And I seriously have to go to the bathroom.”
“I’m starving, too. Let’s have a late lunch at the cafeteria.”
After the bathroom, we headed down to the cafeteria. While we munched on club sandwiches and fries, Elvis told me about the special titanium briefcase that would be carrying the microchip prototype and microfluid.
Xavier scooted his plate to the side and leaned forward. “The briefcase is made of a special titanium that can resist bullets, crowbars, drills, fire, water—anything you can think of that could be used to force it open. It’s got a GPS locator on it so we can track it. Even better, we’ve programmed it with a special trigger to blow if someone attempts to break in without completing the very specific protocol. Wouldn’t do much more than scare the person trying to open it, but would totally ruin the chip.”
“You’d blow the chip?”
Elvis swiped a French fry through a glob of catsup. “Better that than have it fall into the wrong hands. By the way, the briefcase was Xavier’s design. It’s seriously brilliant.”
“I have no doubt of that.”
Xavier grinned. “No false modesty on my part. A freaking nuclear bomb couldn’t open that thing.”
I wiped my fingers with a napkin. “So what’s the protocol to open it?”
“Biometric palm print. Yours. Plus a special code. Other than Xavier and me, you’ll be the only person who will know it. As an added measure, I’m not going to tell you the code until you arrive in Jakarta and are safely ensconced in the factory. It’s an extra layer of security that no one else knows about, not even our bosses. We feel uncomfortable with all the things happening to you, so we decided to keep a few things just to ourselves. Too many people already know too many details about this.”
“Makes sense to me. Personally, I think getting it to Jakarta is going to be the easy part. Figuring out the manufacturing procedure is going to be a lot harder.”
Elvis patted me on the back. “No way. You’re a quick study, Lexi. I can’t think of anyone else we could have caught up so quickly.”
“No one you trust, you mean.”
The twins exchanged glances, but Elvis spoke. “Yes. No one we trust more. You’re it, Lexi.”
I smiled. “Appreciate the vote of confidence. But we’ve still got more ground to cover before I feel ready.”
Just then Finn strolled into the cafeteria accompanied by a security guard. My boss looked completely out of place in his expensive steel-gray suit. He made a beeline directly for me.
“You’re still here?” I said in surprise, standing up.
He took me by the elbow. “All day. A lot of details to work out. Can I talk to you privately for a moment?”
“Of course.”
We walked over to a seating area with a bench and sat down. He shifted so that he faced me.
“I need to know for sure, Lexi. Are you positive you want to do this? I wanted to ask you privately, outside of the pressure of the twins and everyone else. Convince me this is the right thing to do.”
I studied him. His Irish accent was pronounced, which told me he was a lot more concerned than he might have wanted to let on in the meeting.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night, Finn. It was just another really long night at the police station. You seem really worried.”
“Of course I’m bloody worried. There’s been a lot going on in your life over the past few months. Serious stress and trauma. I care about you and I don’t want to see you injured, exhausted or otherwise burnt out, especially not while on another case for X-Corp.”
“You don’t have to worry, Finn. I’ll be fine. It sounds like security will be so tight I won’t even be able to go to the bathroom alone. Plus, you’ll be there in person to hold my hand and make sure I don’t get too exhausted.” I nudged him with my elbow. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
My attempt to use humor to lighten his mood didn’t work. “There’s a big difference between a challenge and fighting off some well-financed thugs.”
“I know. Look, Finn, the twins need me to do this.”
“I need you, too.”
“I really appreciate that. You probably don’t know how much. You were the first person to trust me enough to give me a job of significant importance. You’ve always believed in my abilities, and I’m really grateful. But what the twins have invented, what they’ve created, is something extraordinary. I assure you, it will change the landscape of the technological world. What we are doing here—you and me—it’s more than a job. It’s making history. It will put X-Corp on the map forever in terms of playing a role in the transformation of the tech world. It’s that important.”
He searched my face, then sighed. “Fine. If it’s that important, I’m in. But I’m not letting you out of my sight the entire time we are in Jakarta. Understood?”
“Understood. You know, Finn, you’re the best boss ever and a pretty good friend to boot.”
I leaned over and gave him a hug before realizing how impulsively I’d acted. “Oops. Sorry about the hug. Hope I didn’t wrinkle the suit or break the number one rule of boss-employee etiquette.” I patted his expensive suit.
He laughed. “We’re friends first, and that’s what friends do.” He put an arm around my shoulders. “Besides, it’s not like you were checking out my bum or anything.”
My cheeks heated. “Right. Ah...well, not today anyway.”
Chapter Nineteen
After a long day, the ComQuest driver let me off at my apartment and two security guards escorted me to the door. After I’d disarmed the alarm, they checked out the apartment before declaring it clear.
One of the guys handed me his card. “If you need anything, ma’am, we’ll be in the parking lot. Are you expecting any visitors?”
“Just my boyfriend.”
“The one we met this morning?”
“Yes.” Jeez. How many boyfriends did they expect me to have?
They left and I sighed, tossing the card on my kitchen table. I opened the fridge to see what I had to offer Slash for dinner. Nothing but bologna and bread. I made two sandwiches, adding a little lettuce and tomato for garnish, and brewed some decaf coffee. I was just pouring the first cup when Slash let himself in.
“Ciao, honey, I’m home.”
“Ha, ha. In the kitchen.”
I smelled something good as he walked in. He held up a bag and waved it back and forth. “I brought dinner.”
“Holy chopsticks.” I put down the coffeepot with a thump. “Is that Chinese food?”
“It is.”
“Wow. It’s so sexy when you bring food over.”
He chuckled. “I happen to love when your eyes light up like that, which happens a lot when I bring food around.” He waved the bag again and I stared at it hungrily.
Laughing, he set the bag on the table. I came up behind him, putting my arms around his waist from behind, resting my cheek against his back. It surprised me how easy it had become to touch him. I hardly even thought about doing it anymore—it seemed to come naturally.
“I think I may be too transparent in the food department.” I sighed. “Maybe I need to work on that. But whatever is in that bag will be infinitely better than the bologna sandwiches I just made us for dinner.”
“You made me a bologna sandwich?”
“Of course.”
He turned in my embrace and pressed a kiss on the top of my head. “Ah, it must be love.”
“Must be. I don’t make bologna sandwiches for just anyone.”
When I released him, he shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. He left his shoulder holster with his gun on. I got out a couple of plates and forks, while he found a bottle of wine in my cupboard. Grabbing two wine glasses and a corkscrew, he carried them to the table as I added the napkins.
“You’re in a good mood,” I observed as he pulled the cork from the wine.
“My vacation has been approved.”
“That’s great.”
“Yes it is.” Slash poured the wine and we lifted our glasses to each other’s. “To a memorable time in Indonesia, then.” We clinked glasses and drank.
I set down my glass and passed him the rice. “So, how was work?”
“I was going to ask you the same question.”
“Yes, but I asked first.”
He set down the rice, his expression turning serious. “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I think you should know. The men who attacked us have been released from police custody.”
“What?”
“They claimed they were out jogging and we attacked them first. The FBI agents didn’t see who hit them, so they couldn’t pin it on them. The first guy claimed he pulled the gun on me in self-defense. Anyway, they called someone who brought them identification and proof that they had legal permits for the weapons. The police couldn’t hold them.”
No Room for Error: A Lexi Carmichael Mystery, Book Seven Page 10