by Powers, Jade
They grappled, but Joe was heavy and strong. He landed a hard punch to Sven’s nose. Minka winced when she heard the cracking sound. Then they were at each other, fists flying. Joe had another lucky hit and Sven went down.
Sven drew his weapon, but Joe was standing directly in front of Minka. If he pulled the trigger at this range, the bullet could travel through Joe and kill Minka as well.
Sven cried out, “Minka, get out of the way.”
Minka saw Joe reach for the tire iron and realized he would kill Sven. She grabbed it just an instant before his hand closed on the empty space where the tire iron had been. Her hands shook as she pulled the iron up, barely able to hold it high.
Joe smirked at Minka and said, “You don’t have the balls to hit me. Give that to me now.”
He was still talking when she swung. “That’s for Kibbles,” Minka said, her voice shaking.
Joe’s skull cracked with a horrendous sound. He crumpled while blood poured everywhere. Minka’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t realized and how much power lay behind the weapon she used.
“Joe?” Minka said. She couldn’t see well in the dark. She didn’t dare lean over him. That was how all of the girls got killed in horror movies.
Sven was still on the ground, his eyes watering and nose bleeding. Moving past Joe to Sven, she knelt down. Minka put a hand on his arm. Examining him for hidden wounds, Minka said, “Sven? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m okay. I should have been more prepared. Are you hurt?” Sven asked. He leaned on Minka while she helped him stand.
“Sven, I think I killed him.” Minka couldn’t bring herself to look at Joe’s body. She grieved for Joe and felt sick at heart, but also a release, as if her troubles were finally over. It was all too confusing.
Sven knelt by Joe, felt for a pulse. Seeing what had happened to Joe’s head, Sven knew CPR wouldn’t change the outcome. He said, “You’re right. He’s dead. We need to call the police.”
“Okay.” Her whole body trembled, and Minka shook as if the world had been plunged into a deep freeze. Sven took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders, walking her away from the body on the pavement.
“Sit down here on the curb. I’ll make the call.”
Minka’s teeth chattered. She felt the world go by in a trance. Flashing lights and questions and people everywhere. Even with bruised ribs and a black eye, Sven handled everything with a graceful ease that lessened the shock for Minka. If she no longer loved Joe, she at least loved the memory of him. She hadn’t quite reconciled the man lying on the ground in a pool of blood with the teenager she ditched school with.
But then she couldn’t reconcile teenage Joe with the vicious animal who killed her beloved pet either. She felt dirty. God, she felt dirty, unable to get past the cracking sound that kept playing over and over in her head, the stray thought that she could have spared him, wondering if her rage over Kibbles had driven her to commit murder.
It was a question she couldn’t even answer within herself. Only that her whole body acted like it was getting shocked with electric pulses. Even with Sven’s coat, she couldn’t stop shaking.
“Are you ready to go home?” Sven asked, his hand touching her shoulder protectively.
Minka nodded. She looked over to the police cars, “Don’t they want to arrest me?”
“You were acting in self-defense. Let’s go home.” Sven answered quietly. She was grateful for his calm.
The ride back home was solemn. Minka didn’t know how to feel. Between Joe’s attack and the awkwardness of their new friendship slash relationship, finding a topic of conversation was tough. Frankly, Minka wasn’t really in the mood to talk. She and Sven hadn’t exchanged a word since he’d put her in the car. The longer the silence, the harder it was to break. When they arrived at the apartments, Sven opened Minka’s car door. He put his hand on her shoulder as they walked to the door.
Minka gazed into his eyes. He was so right. But he wouldn’t want the kind of mess she brought with her. She said, “Thank you. I had fun...except for...the end.”
And then it was over. Minka was safe inside, fumbling the lock and rushing to the bathroom to shower. She couldn’t stop hearing the sound of Joe dying. By the time she was done in the shower, the finality of Joe’s death hit home.
Sven wondered if there was a rule for what to buy the new girlfriend who just killed a guy to save his life. Did roses say Thanks for the backup well enough? Minka was the whole deal, intelligent, funny, gorgeous. Sven would order flowers tomorrow morning to deliver to her work. It wasn’t enough of a thank you, but it was a good gesture.
Unless she took the day off. Maybe he could just spend the day with her.
Before he could change clothes, the phone rang.
“Sven? It’s Lauren. You were right. We have a plant. Tom. He’s gone and so is the research,” Lauren’s voice went up an octave. “I’m sorry. Of all of our employees, I never suspected him. He got out with it on Friday.”
“I’ll be right in,” Sven said. He rubbed his eyes. Even though rushing to the compound was important, he had to take a shower and get cleaned up. The day couldn’t get much worse, and his whole face hurt.
After a quick shower, Sven dressed in black slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a jacket.
Even on Saturday night, the lab was buzzing. Surrounded by a tall fence and barbed wire from the outside, the building was protected from trespass. Security was tight. That was what had made catching the leak so difficult. The employees were well-vetted.
Sven felt sick. Tom was a friend.
Right now, Lauren sat in her office, sighing as she reviewed the security tapes and tapping at her keyboard, rewinding the tapes, and then sighing again. The door to her office was open, and that last sigh was so loud Sven could hear.
He poked his head in the door, “Ready for company, or do you need a few minutes?”
Lauren waved him in and then got a look at his face. Her mouth agape in horror at his bruises, she asked, “What happened to you?”
Sven didn’t have time to recount the dangers of his love life. He said, “Long story. What have you got?”
“I keep rewinding and rewinding, but it doesn’t change for being played a hundred times. Come look at this.”
The research lab boasted some of the highest security protocols in the country, which was why it took two people to enter the lab. Employees weren’t allowed in there alone. The scientist who scanned in with Tom started working on his DNA project. Tom went immediately to the mind-control device.
It was a small dragon, easy to pocket. With cameras everywhere, stealing without getting caught was next to impossible. Tom spent an hour with the sphere interface plugged into the computer. When he unplugged it, he returned it to the dragon and slid both into his lab coat pocket. The movement looked so innocuous that to Sven it seemed as if Tom wasn’t even thinking, that it was an automatic response. But then he took a screwdriver out of his pocket and dismantled his computer. He unscrewed the hard drive right out of the desktop.
“What the hell?” Sven frowned. If he had been in the lab, he certainly would have noticed Tom completely dismantling one of their systems.
“I know. Lee said that there was a problem with the computer and Tom offered to fix it. Keep watching.”
Sure enough, on Camera 12 Tom lifted his head to see what Lee was doing at the significant point where he made the switch. Sven stabbed at the keyboard to close the screen. He said, “He knew what he was doing. Damn him. He played us all.”
Lauren fidgeted nervously with her silver bracelet. She was in her office when it all went down, writing a grant proposal for government research. If only she had looked at the cameras! She sighed, “I’m sorry, Sven. I didn’t look at the cameras today. I’ve known Tom and Lee for years. Tom was long gone when we realized what had happened.
“The sensors should have picked up the sphere. The alarm is wired to go off if it crosses the threshold of the lab,” Sven tapped on th
e keyboard, searching the security records for anomalies. They were pristine. He compared the tape’s time frame to the security feed. The time stamp when Tom walked through the door with the sphere matched the security feed’s recording of Tom’s exit, without warning that the sphere was also leaving the building. There should have been.
“It makes no sense,” Lauren said.
“I need to page Drake before we go any further.” Sven said. He dreaded telling Drake about this little fiasco. Drake was a cool boss, but hell, anyone would be upset to lose the kind of research Tom stole.
“Drake, Tom made the move. We lost the cyber sphere.” Sven tightened his jaw as he waited to hear Drake’s reaction.
Drake surprised him with a grunt of acknowledgement, “I was afraid that the Spokane branch was compromised. I didn’t suspect Tom, though. See what you can find out.”
After Sven hung up, Lauren asked, “What next?”
Sven frowned. “Let’s go back in time. We’ll follow Tom’s lab exposure. Maybe he has been planning this for a while and there is something recorded.”
Sven and Lauren stared at video for an hour. Finally Lauren threw her hands up in the air, “There’s nothing.”
“We’re missing something here. The sphere’s tracker is embedded. How did Tom turn it off? There’s gotta be a way to turn it back on again.”
Lauren pointed at the screen, “We’re not going to learn anything from this. Let’s go to the lab and try to look at it from close-up.”
At three in the morning, Sven and Lauren were still searching for the key to how Tom got the sphere out of the lab. They checked every workstation and every piece of equipment. All of a sudden, Lauren jumped up with a shriek, “I know when it happened! That power outage.”
As he watched the minute hand move to 3:05, Sven wondered how Minka was doing. Killing a man would leave a psychological scar. He should have stayed with her despite her protests.
Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Sven focused on the problem at hand. He said, “The sphere was programmed to send a message if the tracker was turned off. Even with the power out, we would have a message when it came back on.”
“But it makes sense. That would be the only time to work on it. He might have found a way to short-circuit the messages. If it failed and anyone questioned or suspected him, he would just say that the sphere was still there and offer to reprogram. He could say that if he had any intention of taking it, the sphere would be gone,” Lauren paced, her long black hair swaying as she turned.
Sven opened the archive folder and pulled security footage from the event. It was easy to find as anomalies were logged. They watched as Tom scanned in. Lauren’s mouth dropped open, “Hey! Lee was in the lab for both incidents.”
“Let’s gather data first. It may be coincidence,” Sven said.
They watched Tom and Lee as they worked on their own tasks in the lab. Lee was faced away from Tom. While Sven was watching, Tom walked around the lab table and picked up the sphere just a second before the power went out.
Drake called. He said, “Tom just landed in Miami. We think he’s planning to give it to someone there. I’ve got a team gathering. Do you want in on the catch?”
Thinking of Minka, Sven said, “Spokane is a full day away from Miami. Do you think I’ll do much good there?”
“Not for our initial attempt, but if things go sideways, I’d like to have you here.” Sven could read between the lines. The research was vital. Drake needed all hands.
Sven said, “I’ll be there.”
“Great! I would send the jet, but we can’t even waste that much time. You’ll be flying first class in about three hours. Sorry for the late notice.” The bastard sounded amused.
“You already booked the flight before you called, didn’t you?”
“Not personally, but in essence, yes,” Drake said.
“Fine. Apparently I need to pack,” Sven would sleep on the plane. He glanced at the clock on the computer. Four-thirty in the morning. Did they really spend the whole night looking at video footage? To Lauren he said, “Looks like I’m flying to Miami. Lock everything down. No one comes to work until this is resolved.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sven drove home feeling completely at odds. The suspected leak had finally been revealed, only to be a respected colleague and friend. His girlfriend was likely in distress while he ran off to help prevent research that probably should never have even been pursued in the first place from falling into the wrong hands. Not that there were any right hands for this kind of thing. He needed to get out. Drake was his best friend, but at some point, he needed a life of his own.
Grabbing a suitcase, Sven threw together his clothes for the week. He had to move fast. After packing he took a moment to call in an order of flowers. It took ten minutes to find a flower shop that was open. He asked the florist to write a quick note, Unexpected problem at work. Had to leave town. I don’t know how long I’ll be. Please know I would rather be with you. Sven.
He hoped Minka would understand. He had a villain to catch.
Chapter 15
MINKA SPENT A LONG night awake. Turning and thinking. Thinking and tossing. She padded to the living room around four and pulled out a paperback. Concentrating proved too difficult. Instead she reclined on her bean bag chair and stared at the ceiling.
Sven had left the apartment around six in the morning. Minka heard the click of his door and the keys in the lock. It was seven in the morning when Minka’s alarm rang. She had to run to the next room to shut it off. Now that she was scheduled to go to work, she felt tired enough to sleep. Her mind felt numb. Picking up the phone, she called in. “Alice? I don’t want to go in today.” It was bare honesty. Minka couldn’t fake sick. Still, Alice would understand.
“What’s wrong?”
In a strangled voice, Minka said, “I killed Joe. I hit him on the head. I didn’t mean to kill him.” Minka couldn’t face the day. She really couldn’t handle answering phones at work and pretending that everything was fine. Even if Joe was a complete jerk, Minka had spent much of the night crying. Her emotions were a mixed-up mess. Relief and grief entwined in a strange and potent combination that left her confused.
“You what? He’s dead?”
“Please. Don’t make me talk about it. He came at us after the movie last night. I didn’t sleep at all, and I don’t think I can handle a reenactment.”
“Go back to bed. I’ll handle today.”
“Alice? I told Sven I only wanted to be friends. After Joe—we barely spoke a word to each other.” The words tumbled out. Alice was Minka’s confidant, the one person who knew exactly how badly Joe had terrorized her, the person she could call at midnight with a split lip. The one person who treated Minka with kindness time and again even after she refused to file charges or take action, when she kept going back to Joe.
“And is that what you want? A friendship?”
Minka swallowed. What did she want? Her own desires hadn’t been a factor in her decision-making process for so long that she hardly knew. She said, “I want him so bad, Alice. When we make love, I feel like a princess.”
“When you’re feeling better...doesn’t have to be today, make him a thank you basket and tell him you want him as more than friends.
“He’s not staying in Spokane. I’m just a fling to him.”
“Did he say that?”
“He said I meant more, but that this is a short-term place for him. He’s sending a ton of mixed messages, and I just can’t deal with it all right now. I don’t know what to do. I thought Joe was the love of my life five years ago, and look how that turned out. I don’t trust myself. And I sure as hell don’t trust any man...” Minka spit the words like venom. She surprised herself because it rang true. She really didn’t trust Sven, not really, not deep down where it counted. She knew it was through no fault of his. He had done everything a decent fellow would.
“Honey, take your time. You’ve been through a lot. Do you need anything?
”
“No. Thank you.”
They said their goodbyes and Minka cradled the phone.
Silence pervaded the apartment instilling Minka with a deep and abiding loneliness.
THE CHANGE FROM SPOKANE to Miami was stark, from cold hills full of pine to a warm paradise with palms lining roadways and salamanders sunning themselves on sidewalks. It was early evening when Sven met up with Drake at a restaurant on Coconut Grove. The area had a touch of magic with white lights strung through gates and among trees in a welcoming, mystical feel.
Drake was waiting on the veranda outside. The table was secluded. Sliding into the chair next to Drake, Sven asked, “Have we made any progress?”
“Tom is meeting with someone tomorrow at seven in the morning,” Drake said. He took a sip from his standard scotch and soda. Sven didn’t drink.
“That early? I would have thought anyone around here would pick an evening meet-up,” Sven said with a wave of his hand, indicating the crowds of happy tourists and college students who mingled on the sidewalks and in the restaurants.
“We’ve got a tracker on Tom. If the schedule is a fake, we’ll know. In the meantime, we’ve got rooms at the St. Regis Hotel.” Drake said.
“Surrounded by waves and sand, and I just want to sleep,” Sven complained. He drank water counter to the Miami party scene. Although eager to be done with this assignment and back to Spokane, his outward demeanor was cool and steady. He didn’t bring his problems to work.
Drake could sympathize. He said, “It’ll be over one way or another soon enough.”
“Only to have something else crop up. Drake, I’m ready to retire into a less active role. Seriously.” For the first time since he joined Drake’s company, he didn’t feel the slightest thrill at the task ahead, and if he wasn’t at the pinnacle of perfection in the corporate spy game, he would be dead.