Down the Brink

by Lisa von Biela

  But he’d come from GSI.

  Maybe they shouldn’t have hired him in the first place, just to be on the safe side. But they needed someone to fill the position, and his story seemed to check out. He wanted to go in a new direction, grow his career, and the IT environment at GSI wouldn’t let him. Roy could see how a guy his age would feel that way. GSI’s corporate culture was a far cry from MoonPop’s. Rigid. Deadly serious. Definitely an authoritarian, good-old-boy sort of place.

  Winters didn’t seem to have an obvious axe to grind. But the attendance log clearly showed he stayed in his office well after close of business that night—and then lied about it. Why would he lie about it unless he had something to hide?

  Did he suspect a connection between GSI and MoonPop? The few who knew about the relationship did everything possible to keep it concealed. But Winters was a smart kid. With the Internet, it was possible there was some clue out there he could have found if he put his mind to it.

  The last thing they needed was so much as a whiff of publicity about the relationship. Even though GSI generously funded the most important politicians, they’d have no choice but to launch at least a sham investigation if word got out. And even a minor scandal could destroy the lucrative arrangement between GSI and MoonPop.

  He hooked his earpiece in place and made a call. “Jess? I need you to take things to the next level. I want to know what Winters knows, and what he’s done about it, if anything. Search his apartment. Set up tracking. Audio, positional. Something’s up with this guy and I want to know what. Before he can cause any damage.”

  Sighing, Jess gently shut the door with a gloved hand. He hated sneaking around, covertly invading people’s privacy. Made him feel squeamish to root around inside drawers and handle personal effects. That’s why he ditched his PI gig years ago and joined up as a prison guard. Nothing was private in a prison. He liked that job just fine—until that moron blew his hip joint apart.

  But the transfer to MoonPop turned out to be the silver lining to that debacle. He loved his job now. Simple, dull. Nonintrusive. Just park his ever-spreading ass behind a desk, watch some closed-circuit TV and read as much as he could get away with. All well and good until Benetti got a bug up his ass about this kid Winters.

  Best he could tell, he was just some geek kid who’d done…what? Stayed late at the office a couple of times. Big whoop. If he hadn’t been under orders to report exactly that sort of thing to Benetti, he wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Funny, most places liked to see their workers put in some extra time without getting paid for it. But Benetti was insanely paranoid about someone finding out about the relationship between MoonPop and GSI. He couldn’t blame him. The gravy train would come to a quick and sorry end if word ever got out. He shrugged. Might as well get done and get out.

  He glanced around the kid’s apartment. Decorated in early geek. Basic furniture, probably came with the place. Laptop sitting on a cheap desk in the cramped living room. Wireless router and other techie gizmos crowded onto one side of the desk. His standalone MoonPop game console lying on the coffee table. Winters was no neat freak, nor was he a slob. At least the place was small and not terribly cluttered. It shouldn’t take too long to check it out.

  Jess started at the far end of the living room and made his way through the apartment methodically, moving from left to right, advancing a few feet, then sweeping back right to left. One big tight zigzag. That way he could be sure he didn’t miss something.

  It only took about a half hour to cover the entire place, wall to wall, cupboards and drawers included. Nothing. Jess stood staring at the PC. If there was anything to be found, it’d be on the computer. He opened the lid and swept a finger across the mouse pad. It whooshed to life. And presented him with the logon screen.

  He’d already been through every drawer there was, and he hadn’t found a cheat sheet of passwords tucked away anywhere. No time to play guessing games. He closed the lid, turned the laptop over, and scowled. Not a lot of choices.

  Jess unzipped his fanny pack and carefully emptied its contents onto the desk. He used a tiny screwdriver to open one of the panels on the bottom of the laptop. Looked like a disk drive bay. That would work just fine.

  He switched on a device that looked like a miniature remote control, then inserted a flat, silver transmitter the diameter of a pencil eraser into its special dock. He pressed a button to activate it and waited a moment for the tiny green light to flash. He took the transmitter out of the dock, set it right on the hard drive’s casing, and screwed the bay door back on over it.

  Jess shoved his stuff into his fanny pack, then put the laptop back the way he’d found it. He’d come up with zip, but at least he could track Winters if he took off with his laptop. Best he could do to try to pacify Benetti for the time being, though he probably wouldn’t be happy with anything less than a nice, hot smoking gun.

  Oh, well. Can’t always get what you want.

  CHAPTER 33

  First Monday in October, 2021

  Los Lobos, California

  Zach locked his apartment door, leaned back against it, and took what felt like his first deep, free breath of the day. Finally. Home where he could try to relax and put things into perspective after that creepy meeting with Benetti. He’d spent the entire day struggling to focus on his work instead of every paranoid thought that popped into his head. And it had been a losing, exhausting battle. Benetti wouldn’t have taken the time to meet with someone at his level for nothing. Something had to’ve aroused his suspicion. But what?

  He fetched a beer and settled himself on the couch. Just calm down and figure it out. What could possibly have gotten Benetti’s attention?

  He hadn’t let anyone else in on what he’d found or done. None of it. And except for the actual file swap, he’d done all the rest of the work and research here at home on his own PC. No one would know he’d touched Payoff by looking at its file properties. The only way to tell was to open the file and read the code.

  He took a sip of beer, leaned back on the couch, and stared up at the ceiling as he replayed Benetti’s questions in his mind. Weird, he seemed mostly concerned about him leaving work late the night of the pre-launch celebration. Someone must have complained that he missed the party. Just bad timing on his part, but nothing all that damaging. A black mark for not attending a social event wasn’t the end of the world. There’s no way Benetti knew more than that, or the meeting would have gone far, far worse than it did. He had to be okay.

  Zach got up to go look out the window. And did a double-take.

  The blind was down. He never pulled that blind down. He rushed over to the window to check it out. The blind looked perfectly normal. The cord hadn’t broken. It didn’t lower itself. Someone must have been in his apartment, must have lowered it on purpose. He spun around, half-expecting to see someone behind him.

  Zach paced the living room, trying to fend off a growing panic. When did this happen? He looked out that window most evenings. The view wasn’t great, but it was the only source of natural light in the dinky little apartment. The blind was for sure up last night, but this morning? Had to have been. He’d have noticed it being darker than normal, no matter how preoccupied he was with getting ready for work.

  Maybe it was the landlord. No, couldn’t be. The landlord always gave a couple of days’ notice before coming in for something. Besides, there was nothing needing repair. He scrutinized the living room for anything that might explain the blind being down. No luck.

  Something didn’t feel right. He frowned. The more he looked around, the more he felt it. Nothing big, nothing blatant. Small things. Like the couch cushions. A little straighter than usual. He ran into the bedroom. Same thing. The touch of someone else, subtle but unmistakable. The bed, with the sheets and blanket just a bit smoother than he left them. The dresser drawers, one of them not quite shut all the way. Not his doing. He had a thing about drawers. Couldn’t stand to see a drawer not shut all the way.

&nb
sp; He searched through all his things, in drawers, on shelves, in cabinets. Nothing had been taken, not even his laptop that had been sitting out plain as day. Things were just not quite as he left them. Enough that he knew someone had been in his apartment, but not enough to go to the police with.

  Zach scrambled back into the living room, opened his laptop, and woke it up. The fan kicked in and it offered him the logon screen. He signed on, and everything looked totally normal. He let out a long breath. Good thing he always left it in Sleep mode. No one could log on without knowing his password.

  So no one could have seen his browsing history or what he had on the PC: the copies of the Payoff modules, the document explaining the BAL-II programming language syntax, the article links, and Benetti’s cached LinkedIn profile. If anyone caught him with those, they’d nail him for sure. He thought briefly of deleting them, but decided against it. If for any reason he had to readjust the code, he might not have time to figure it out all over again. He’d already thrown away his hardcopies and notes, and wiped the thumb drive he’d used. He had to leave himself some safety net.

  He glanced down. A fine layer of dust outlined the laptop’s normal resting place. Now it sat at a slight angle to its usual position. Strange. Someone went to all the trouble to go through the whole place, undoubtedly tried to access the laptop. But why would they leave it behind? If they wanted to crack into it and didn’t have time to try to guess the password, why didn’t they just take it?

  Probably wanted to take it but thought it was more important to give him a false sense of security, like nothing happened. But whoever it was hadn’t been all that careful about leaving things precisely as they were—or they didn’t think he’d notice.

  Zach dragged a chair over to the door and shoved it up under the doorknob. That would have to do until he could make up a good enough story to get the landlord to change the locks. A story that wouldn’t make the landlord too curious as to why he suddenly felt so vulnerable.

  He downed the rest of his now-warm beer and got another one. Maybe it would help him sleep. At least he hoped it would. He glanced back at his makeshift security system. Pretty rickety. Thank God he only had one door to block and he wasn’t on the first floor.

  CHAPTER 34

  First Friday in October, 2021

  Los Lobos, California

  “More tea?” Eyebrows raised, Sammy held the red porcelain teapot aloft.

  “Sure, thanks.” Zach slid his cup across the table. Sammy looked so relaxed tonight in the candlelight. So different from her work persona, all angles and intensity in the glare of the office fluorescents.

  She poured them both more tea, then leaned back in the booth, cradling her cup in both hands. “So, what did you think?”

  “Awesome. Best sushi I ever had. Even the squid. Never thought I’d have the nerve to try that.”

  “Oh, good. I’m glad you liked it. This is my very favorite restaurant—sushi or otherwise.” She scrunched up her shoulders, let them fall. “It’s so peaceful here, not loud and crowded like most places. Between the warm sake and the sound of that fountain over there, you almost can’t help but relax.”

  Sake or no sake, Zach felt anything but relaxed. He’d been on edge all week after finding things shifted around in his apartment, subtly but noticeably. And that blind being down. Someone had to have been in there snooping. Nothing else had happened, but still…he couldn’t get it out of his head.

  And now Sammy. He felt comfortable working with her from Day One. They made a great team. Then he’d been so preoccupied with the Payoff module that he hadn’t realized something was developing between them. It was as if one day, boom. Smacked him right between the eyes.

  And there lay the problem. They worked closely together all day, were expected to be productive. And they were. But Zach had some qualms about accepting her invitation to dinner. Getting involved with a co-worker could lead to…complications.

  “Well, do you?” Sammy leaned toward him.

  “Do I what?”

  She smiled and shook her head. “You zoned out on me. Too much sake?”

  He waved a hand at her. “No, no. I was just…thinking about something from work.”

  “None of that! It’s Friday night, time to leave it behind for a couple days.”

  “Sorry. What was the question?” He laughed.

  She glanced down into her cup, suddenly shy. “Do you want to do this again sometime?”

  “I…well, yes, but—”

  Sammy looked up, her brown eyes wide in the low light. “But what?”

  “Well, we work together, you know.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that. So? I don’t have a problem with it.”

  “What if it doesn’t work out?”

  “Does it have to be all or none? Can’t we just enjoy spending time together? Worry about whether there’s an it to work out some other time?”

  Zach studied her face, then smiled. “If you’re okay with it, then I’m okay with it.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” Sammy smiled and squeezed his hand.

  “It’s no palace, but it works for me. The building has a lot of nice amenities that help justify the rent.”

  Zach slid his key into the newly changed lock and hesitated for a moment before opening the door. Could someone have been in there again while he was out? He wondered when—or if—he’d ever again feel completely safe in his own apartment.

  As they stepped inside, Sammy put her hands on her hips, glanced around the interior, and gave a satisfied nod. “It’s a little bigger than my apartment, if that makes you feel any better. Building looks newer, too.”

  Zach closed the door and deadbolted it. He hoped she didn’t notice and think he was some kind of predator, locking them both in like that. “Sorry to hear that. Maybe we should compare rent, see if you can get a better deal here.”

  “Maybe so.”

  “Hey, go ahead and have a seat. Want anything?” He went into the kitchen. “I probably should have planned better. I can only offer you beer, Red Bull, coffee, or water.”

  “Beer would be nice.”

  “Then beer it is. And you’re in luck. I have some of that IPA you like.”

  Zach brought out two beers, handed one to Sammy, and sat beside her on the couch. Suddenly he felt as shy and awkward as if he were back in high school.

  Sammy took a swig of her beer, set it down, and looked into his eyes. “Zach…I—” She blushed and glanced away.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing. It’s just, well, almost since we first met, I’ve wanted to get together with you. I couldn’t tell how you felt, though.” She let out a nervous giggle. “I was so scared you’d turn me down when I asked you out.”

  “I’m glad you asked. I should have asked you sooner myself, but I was…preoccupied with some things.”

  “With what things?”

  “Oh, nothing important now.”

  “That’s good.” Sammy slid right up next to him, took the band off her ponytail and shook her long, bright-blue hair free. She leaned in for a kiss.

  Zach wrapped his arms around her slender body and pulled her close. All his worries, all thoughts of anything or anyone but Sammy faded away as she covered him with eager kisses.

  “Are you sure?”

  She pulled back, her hair half covering her face, and smiled. “I’m sure. Been sure for a while. Are you okay with this?”

  He gently pushed the hair out of her eyes with the tip of his finger. “More than I knew.”

  Zach started awake in the middle of the night, remnants of some nightmare breaking up like clouds after a storm. Sammy lay sleeping in the glow of the alarm clock, her tattooed arm resting on top of the blanket. He carefully traced a finger along the intricate design, the brilliant greens and blue of the peacock feathers visible even in the low light.

  He sighed quietly. It seemed so sudden—yet it seemed so inevitable—that she’d be lying next to him now. That Payoff module
must have blinded him to everything around him. How else could he have not realized until now how much he’d come to like—maybe even love—her?

  He lay his head back down on the pillow and watched the gentle rhythm of her breathing. She looked so peaceful, a slight smile on her face as if she were having the sweetest of dreams. She looked as content as he felt. Like suddenly everything was right in his world now that they were together. He never imagined it could be like this.

  Zach smiled and draped an arm over her, careful not to wake her. Closing his eyes, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep of his own.

  CHAPTER 35

  First Friday in October, 2021

  Elias, Texas

  Gil lay on his side in the near-darkness, the sound of his own breathing reverberating off the cell walls like he was encased in a concrete tomb. He found it hard to sleep when there were sounds from other cells—and he found it just as hard to sleep when it was quiet. Silence didn’t mean safety. It just meant nothing horrible had happened. Yet.

  He rolled onto his other side, facing the wall, and shifted around on the thin, rancid mattress, struggling to get comfortable. He used his arm as a pillow and willed himself to get some sleep for a change. Even if he did risk having another one of those terrifying nightmares. He sighed and shifted around some more, then froze.

  Footsteps. Heavy, brutal, and urgent. Distant at first, coming closer along the corridor. Gil clenched his eyes shut, pretended to be asleep. He’d heard that cadence before. Screams always followed. He slid his hands over his ears and trembled, waiting for the footsteps to pass by, for someone else to get an unwelcome visit. And for the inevitable screaming.