Now You See Me

by S. Y. Thompson

  Krycheck Research and Development warehouse in Columbus, Ohio exploded at approximately four-thirty this morning. The blast triggered several smaller explosions from the chemicals housed in the structure, and the Office of Emergency Management has issued an evacuation order for everyone in Dayton County until the crisis has passed.

  ‘Authorities insist the evacuation is a precautionary measure until the danger of chemical contamination has passed. Thirteen workers on the graveyard shift were killed in the blast, but their identities have been withheld until the families are notified.

  ‘Krycheck Research and Development is a subsidiary of Marsters Research Corporation and many are wondering about the rash of bad luck the corporation has fallen victim to of late. We’ll keep you informed as the situation develops.

  ‘John, back to you in the studio.

  Chapter Twenty

  THE MEETING WITH Colonel Anderson went much longer than Carson had expected. As a result, she had to fend for herself, as far as lunch was concerned. Erin needed to make up for lost time after that encounter and had a great deal of work to get finished before she could quit for the day. Joyce and Mike were deeply involved with getting the security systems in place on the tenth floor and Jeremy was working on quarterly reports for Delphi Technologies. Carson could have gotten involved with installing the security interface, but she was busy with a new program of her own and didn’t like her attention divided between projects.

  When she finally decided she couldn’t stand another minute without something to eat or throwing up, Carson decided to go to lunch by herself.

  Carson pulled her jacket closer around her as she stepped out of the Holcomb Building and onto the front walk. The wind was blowing out of the north and she tucked her chin into her overcoat. With her hands deep in her pockets, she ignored the sting of tears that the icy breeze caused and strode down the block toward a small café.

  The Chicago Department of Transportation was out in full force, and orange cones blocked off part of one roadway lane. Men in insulated orange jumpsuits worked to fill potholes, shoveling asphalt while someone else came along and tamped it down into the holes. During the breaks in winter storms, the repairs were only temporary, and would be filled properly when warmer weather arrived. Carson wrinkled her nose against the bitter stench of melted tar.

  She wasn’t really paying attention to the workers, more intent on getting to the café and out of the wind. One of the workers had his back to her as he shoveled lose asphalt into a pothole near the curb. He backed up just as Carson walked by him and they collided. Carson bounced off the man’s back and slipped on the icy walk. She would have fallen into the frozen grass if he hadn’t grabbed her arm at the last minute to help steady her.

  “Thank you,” Carson said a little breathlessly and looked up into the man’s face. An orange muffler covered his features and he’d pulled a hood over his head for warmth. Carson noticed he had dark brown eyes, and they seemed filled with an expression of concern.

  The transit worker was a big man and towered above Carson. She had to crane her head back to look into his dark eyes. Then she glanced down where his hand curled around her upper arm. His hand easily circled her bicep until his fingers met. Instead of answering, the worker dipped his head toward her in a courteous manner and then released her before he turned back to his work.

  The café was only half a block away and Carson concentrated on reaching it without smashing into anyone else. The overheated air inside the café felt like a vacation in the tropics after exposure to the blustery day and Carson sighed in relief. She blinked as she adjusted to the change in temperature and then headed for an empty booth in the corner. She sat near a large window to the side to try to balance the stifling heat inside the building with the cold from outside. While she waited for a server, Carson idly looked out the window at the transit workers. The man who had steadied her against a fall systematically shoveled the road fill and worked his way down the block toward the café.

  “Can I get you something, honey?”

  Carson looked up at her red haired waitress, and tried to ignore the way the woman popped her chewing gum. “Coffee, please. Do you have a menu?”

  The woman scribbled something on her order pad and then said, “Sure.” She whipped out a paper menu from her apron and plopped it onto the table before she left to get Carson’s coffee. Food stains and grease spotted the cover of the menu and Carson held it carefully by the edges.

  After Carson placed her order for a club sandwich, she sipped her coffee. She always carried a small notebook in her pocket and started to work on some calculations while she waited for her food. Numbers and symbols flowed from her with ease and in minutes, the pad was filled with impossibly long equations. She barely noticed when the server dropped off her sandwich, but by rote, Carson picked up one of the sections and took a bite while she continued to scribble.

  She had finished the sandwich and held a crumpled napkin in her right fist as she concentrated on adding to her equations when a long shadow fell across her table. Annoyed with the inconsiderate person who had interrupted her work, Carson looked up with a sharp comment on her tongue. It froze on her lips when she recognized Colonel Anderson standing next to her. What could he possibly want?

  “Colonel Anderson, you’re blocking my light.”

  The boardroom session was still fresh in Carson’s mind and she didn’t feel like being polite. Like Erin, she believed Colonel Anderson would do anything, ethical or not, to get exactly what he wanted.

  “Ms. Tierney. Do you mind if I join you?”

  Anderson didn’t wait for an answer but plopped down in the seat across from her. The waitress saw him from across the café and was almost to them when he practically shouted that he would have coffee.

  Carson frowned. There were few people she interacted with on a personal level, and even fewer clients that she would deal with one on one. It was one of the many details Joyce took on so that Carson wouldn’t have to. For this man to so casually invite himself to her lunch was annoying, to say the least.

  “Colonel Anderson, I’m very busy and as my attorney has stated, anything you have to say you may discuss with her.”

  The colonel ignored the caustic remark and craned his neck sideways to read Carson’s pad. “Yeah, that looks very...involved. I’m sure it’s all very mind consuming.”

  Carson resisted the urge to snort at him. Anderson didn’t have a clue what her equations meant.

  “What do you want?”

  Anderson looked up at Carson and stifled a bored yawn. The server dropped off the coffee and Anderson sipped slowly while Carson fumed. Carson had just decided she had enough and was going to leave when he finally broke the silence.

  “I have a proposal for you.”

  “As I have said my attorney....”

  “Now, hear me out,” Anderson said and held up a hand to silence her. “I didn’t bring this up with your attorney because I didn’t want your decision to be influenced by anything she might say.”

  “It will be influenced anyway since whatever you have to say I shall repeat to her.”

  Anderson acted as if he was carefully weighing her words, but Carson had the feeling it was all an act. Did this man even know how to be sincere?

  “That’s your choice, but please hear what I have to say first.”

  Carson settled back in her chair and quietly indicated for him to continue. She had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity. Just the fact that Anderson was here without his aide told her he was up to something that might not be completely above board.

  “The government has been trying for years to crack Russian and Chinese encryption. From what we have been able to determine, you would be our best choice to lead a research team to do exactly that. Of course, you would have to undergo a rigorous screening process, but after that you would be given top level clearance and all of the resources you need would be at your disposal.”

  Carson felt as though she had j
ust fallen into an episode of The Twilight Zone . She wasn’t a government spy, and all of this sounded completely outrageous, not to mention unexpected.

  “And my own company?”

  “You would continue to operate Delphi Technologies. After all, we want to keep up appearances. The contract we have now would remain in effect, at least on paper, but you understand that certain...currency would be required from your end.”

  “In other words I would have to give up the digital signature so that government scientists could crack my cipher?”

  Anderson smiled, but there was little warmth in the expression. “In so many words.”

  Carson felt anger rise across her like a tide. Her hands were shaking when she slipped the notepad into her pocket and laid a bill on the table for her lunch. Slowly she stood up and gritted her teeth in an effort not to throttle the man who sat so smugly across from her.

  “And to show my good faith, I would have to relinquish the patent first,” Carson guessed.

  “Of course.”

  “Colonel Anderson, we already have a contract, and I don’t intend to alter the nature of our affiliation. In truth, the more I get to know you, the more I am sorry to have signed the initial deal at all. Had I known all of this in advance I would not have developed the Tierney Cipher. Nor do I believe that you really are here to offer me a job as a government spy. I intend to let my attorney know everything you have said to me and I am sure she will be in touch.”

  Calmly Anderson reached into a pocket and then passed a card across the table to her. “This is where you can reach me should you change your mind, and regardless what your attorney has to say, we do have a contract. You don’t have to like me, Ms. Tierney, but the contract is unbreakable.”

  When Carson didn’t take the card, Anderson slipped it into the front pocket of her overcoat. He also stood and dropped a few coins onto the table for his coffee and then turned to leave. Suddenly Carson wondered something and simply had to ask.

  “Anderson, is there really a research team to crack Russian and Chinese cryptology?”

  He looked over his shoulder at her. “Maybe. But one thing you should know. If Ray Eldridge were still your attorney, you would have given up the digital signature.” From his answer, Carson knew that any such team was a figment of his imagination. Anderson had been trying, once again, to trick her into giving up the key to her algorithm. The remark concerning Eldridge was troublesome as well. What was Anderson trying to imply? Did he mean that the elder attorney was not as good as Erin was or that he was on the government’s side? Carson had never been comfortable with Ray, but she didn’t think he was underhanded.

  She had a lot to speak with Erin about, and no matter what happened, she would not meet with Anderson again. The man could not be trusted.

  As much as Carson wanted to talk with Erin now it just wasn’t possible. Erin had other clients and Carson could hardly barge in every time a thought or problem occurred. Reluctant to intrude on Erin’s work schedule, Carson decided to find out how her own people were doing.

  Carson didn’t see any signs of the C.D.O.T. workers as she walked quickly back to the Holcomb Building and decided they must have quit for the day. She could hardly blame them since the temperature seemed to have dropped five degrees while she ate lunch. She wasn’t aware of another storm coming in but the drop in temperature could have more to do with the time of day than an impending blow.

  Few people were around during the pre-New Year’s week and Carson didn’t need to wait for an elevator to the tenth floor. She stood patiently while the lift carried her to Delphi Technologies’ floor and thought again of Erin. The woman was absolutely amazing. In her mind, Carson saw the brown eyes flash as Erin dealt with the annoying Colonel Anderson and a shudder traveled through her. She inhaled quietly in surprise when she realized that she was aroused just thinking of Erin’s forcefulness, and studiously ignored the other two people on the elevator.

  Honestly, Carson thought. One night of lovemaking and I can’t keep my mind off her!

  Of course, it was more than that. What Carson felt for Erin involved a lot more than just the physical, even if she couldn’t deny the explosive heat of desire every time the woman invaded her thoughts. Erin was everything Carson could have dreamed of. She was forceful, protective, commanding and shrewd as an attorney. Yet, as a lover, Erin was tender, passionate and consummately skilled. Just one look into those expressive eyes, or a crooked smile at just the right time could make Carson melt.

  Throughout the day, she found herself reliving memories of last night in Erin’s arms and counting the minutes until they were alone together again.

  The elevator doors opened onto the tenth floor and roused Carson from her pleasant thoughts. She stepped out into the hall just in time to see Joyce disappear into the lab, and wondered if they were finished with the security equipment. She walked toward the lab. Joyce chose that same moment to walk back out of the lab and the women almost ran smack into one another.

  “Whoa,” Joyce said and put her hands up automatically to grasp Carson’s shoulders. She released her an instant later. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  “I just wanted to see if you were finished with the security systems yet. Do you need any help?”

  “Nah, we’re done. It didn’t take long. Besides, if you had helped us we’d still be working on it.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Stung by the implied insult, Carson wondered if Joyce suddenly thought her incompetent.

  “It’s just that you’re so detail oriented that every line would have to be checked individually, and every string of code gone through with a fine tooth comb before you plugged it in.”

  “And you didn’t do that?”

  “What for? Plug it in and if it works we’re happy.”

  Carson opened her mouth to respond, hesitated and then closed it again. There was no way that Joyce was serious. She might not spend as much time as Carson would in checking the systems, but she was no fool. Perfectly accustomed to Joyce’s casual approach by now, Carson simply accepted that her best friend had taken care of the assignment and was satisfied with the results.

  “Okay then. How about you get the guys together? I’d prefer to have our quarterly meeting in our new boardroom.”

  “Wow, we actually have a boardroom now. It’s hard to believe after all this time.”

  For six years, the two ran Delphi Technologies out of a warehouse in a bad neighborhood. The sight of the homeless and the prostitutes looking for their next trick was a common occurrence during the daily trek to work, and suddenly all of that had changed. Carson was just as awed as Joyce was with their new environment, and couldn’t help the proud smirk that lifted the corners of her mouth.

  “Pretty great, isn’t it?”

  “You bet it is, boss.” Joyce cleared the sudden lump out of her throat. “I’ll get the guys.”

  Joyce never called her boss unless deeply affected by something. It was such a rarity, that whenever she did, Carson felt wonderful that she could make her friend so happy. Joyce was truly the sister she never had, but in a strange way she was even closer than family. At least, she was closer than any family Carson ever knew.

  Carson went by her office to drop off her overcoat. There weren’t any messages from Erin so she assumed she was still busy. No doubt Erin skipped lunch altogether. Carson wondered how she could get Erin to leave work early. Maybe she would invite her to dinner. With thoughts of laughing dark brown eyes dancing in her head, Carson grabbed a cup of coffee and headed off to the conference room.

  She was the last to arrive and took a moment to look around the table at her intimate circle of friends. Joyce took the seat next to where Carson would be while Jeremy sat next to her and Mike sat on the other side of Carson’s place. All of them looked a little smug and she understood completely since she felt that way, too. They had reason to be proud. All of them had been with her since the beginning, and gone through h
ard times to get an unknown, untried company on its feet from the ground floor.

  Not only were they all exceptional computer specialists, but they also each possessed a unique talent that allowed Delphi Technologies to operate with a minimum of employees. Joyce Collins was an idea woman, and often came up with what Carson considered cockamamie schemes. Invariably Carson would give in to the woman, and the idea would become a feather in Delphi’s cap. Joyce could see the finished product, while Carson was the one to concentrate on the process.

  Jeremy Parks served as Delphi’s financial director, and was as gifted with money management and investment banking as he was security protocols. Jeremy was also a good friend, although he was little on the shy side and didn’t usually have a lot to say unless called on.

  Then there was Mike. Dear Michael Ackerman, gifted mathematician and lover of all things Albert Einstein. Logic was Mike’s friend, and if the problem couldn’t be solved through scientific reasoning then it didn’t need to be solved at all. He wasn’t much for great leaps of intuition, but once a goal was set, he would stop at nothing to achieve it.

  One thing all of them shared was unwavering trust in their employer. Carson thought that, in a way, each one of them might be a little demented as well. Who in their right mind would have trusted a twenty-year-old girl with no practical experience and back her completely to get her company off the ground? The fact that Delphi Technologies was listed in the top five computer software research companies in the United States was a testament to their devotion and willingness to work impossibly long hours.

  “Okay,” Carson said as she settled down in her chair. She needed to blink back some moisture in her eyes before she finally continued. “Jeremy, why don’t you get us started?”

  Jeremy nodded his head and his shoulder length brown hair slipped forward into his face. He had a stack of printed quarterly financial reports that he passed around, and Carson saw there were at least a dozen more that he kept in reserve, at least one of which he would be required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.