Catalyst

by Steve Winshel

  * * *

  Rigas was jerked awake by a loud sound, then settled back when she realized it had been a newspaper hitting the driveway. Goddamn couch made her neck hurt. She squinted at the window and thought she could make out the faint gray of pre-dawn. She yawned heavily and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. Another half hour and she’d go wake Barnes. She was surprised he wasn’t sitting in front of the computer all night. She twisted around and looked over at the screen, which she’d tilted toward the couch so she could peek at it in case a message came in. Nothing. But something caught her attention, something was wrong. She suddenly came fully awake and grabbed at her shoulder holster, which had twisted around while she slept. It was empty, as she knew it should be. But the gun wasn’t on the table in front of her. She jumped up and started a quick systematic search of the floor around the table and then the office, but she already knew it was gone. She ran into Barnes’ bedroom and flipped on the light. The bed was rumpled and empty. She didn’t bother searching the house and ran straight to the garage. Empty. Goddamnit, goddamnit. Out loud, “Son of a BITCH! You foolish, goddamn…” Rigas was tight-lipped and pissed. She was also worried. She ran back down the corridor to the office and pulled on her shoes. Gathering up her keys and PDA, she flipped it on and tried to think about what the hell to do. Goddamn Barnes was on his own.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Josh found the turnoff south of the truck stop and pulled the car in. It was just getting light and he could make out the landmarks Helen’s boss had put in the message. He’d memorized every word, including the distances in precise tenths of a mile, and didn’t need to check the phone. Josh had also brought the cell phone in case he called again, but also to make sure Rigas didn’t wake up and find it with detailed instructions on where he’d gone. She’d figure out from the message what had happened and try to follow. He couldn’t risk that.

  Despite the lightening sky, Josh almost ran into the helicopter when he entered the clearing. It looked out of place, but nothing was really much of a shock any more. As he walked by the closed cockpit he saw it bristling with electronics. Helen’s boss spared no expense and made Josh’s efforts to track him look like child’s play in comparison. Josh was at the cabin in ten minutes.

  It wasn’t what he’d expected. This was no log cabin – it was a multimillion dollar vacation home out in the middle of nowhere, hiding under a canopy of tall pines. It also wasn’t what he expected as far as a reception. No tripwires that one would expect from George, no showdown at the OK Coral with a bad guy holding a gun on Josh’s sister. It was just quiet. He went up to the front door and hesitated. Knocking seemed silly. He turned the doorknob and walked in.

  The entryway was small and led into a large living room. There was a fire burning and next to it George sat in a rocking chair. It was the same George Josh had met years earlier, but he was changed. He looked wiser, older, and somehow more content. There was a thin film of sweat on his forehead, but it must have been from the fire and the parka vest he wore – there was no fear in his eyes. “Josh,” was all he said and turned his head to point to his right. Josh entered the living room and saw what he was pointing to. On a wooden bench on the far side of the room a man sat, a large rifle across his lap and a gun similar to Rigas’ in his left hand. The guns took Josh’s attention at first, but he had started to get used to them. He looked up at the man who was threatening the lives of Josh and his sister, who had hired two people to kill them and who had tracked them across the country in less than six hours, and he felt a shock of recognition. Josh couldn’t place him yet, but knew that he knew him. The man didn’t say anything, letting Josh figure it out.

  And then he got it. In a strange way, it made sense. Older, more lines in his face, but the same intensity Josh had seen twenty years earlier when he’d explained the complexities of global networks and the movement of information. And security of those networks. Daniel Murello had been an intense, driven young man and in the brief time Josh spent with him he never developed a sense of Murello as a person, a feeling of empathy or camaraderie. In that moment, Josh didn’t need to know anything about Murello’s childhood or back story, or what had happened since college. This man was his enemy and he had the intelligence, the means, and the lack of conscience to murder Josh and anyone else without hesitation. Murello read this in Josh’s look as recognition spread.

  “Josh. I wasn’t expecting to run into you under these circumstances. Give me the document.”

  No introduction, no recognition of the absurdity of the scene they were playing out or how it was compounded by having known each other twenty years earlier. Just business.

  “Where’s my sister, Daniel. I want to see her. Now.”

  He waved the gun at a small staircase to Josh’s right with a single door at the top. “She’s in the bedroom. You can see her, two minutes. If you’re not back in two minutes, I come up and kill her.”

  Josh believed he would do what he said.

  “And don’t think about running. It will be easy to hunt you on foot, and you won’t make it as far as the car.”

  Josh looked at George. He looked apologetic. At the top of the stairs, Josh opened the door and saw Allison standing by the window that looked out over the back of the cabin. She whipped around at the sound of the door.

  Josh started to apologize, riddled with guilt for having endangered her life. She held up a hand and didn’t let him get started. “No time for that. What are we going to do?” She wasn’t shaking or frozen from fear. She was mad and she wanted to do something. Now that she had met the bastard responsible for all this, she wanted action. Josh closed the door and put a finger to his lips.

  Allison pointed to the window and he shook his head. They couldn’t make a run for it yet. Josh whispered “I’m going to tell him that what he wants is in the car. I’ll get him to go with me. Wait five minutes and then run. You’ll be able to make it. Here,” He gave her the cell phone, “call the police as soon as you’re out of the cabin. He can track the calls, but once you’re out it will be too late. Get George to show you a way to get to the highway, but DON’T go back to your car. I’ll keep him there.”

  Allison shook her head. Josh knew what she meant. To cover her escape he was putting himself at risk. But Josh believed Murello was going to kill them all. He’d fend for himself, but what mattered was getting her to safety. George could help.

  “And if George can’t help,” he whispered. She knew exactly what he was saying: If George were dead. “Move quickly east, then north. You’ll be moving away from the clearing and toward the truck stop. Call 911 and tell them someone is injured, and you’re lost in the woods. They’ll send a helicopter and it will be faster.”

  Josh walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, waiting for her assent. She nodded and gave him a quick hug. His jacket swung against her and she felt the weight in the pocket. She reached in and touched the gun before he could stop her.

  “Josh!” But he stepped away before she could say anything else.

  “I have to get back down now.” He went to the door. “Five minutes. No more.”

  Josh headed downstairs just as his two minutes expired. No one had moved, but from the angle coming down the stairs he could see dried blood on George’s head behind his ear, as though he had been struck there earlier. George had his eyes closed and his lips moved silently; meditating, not praying.

  “The Ventrica, Josh.”

  “I’m not giving it to you until I know my sister and George are safe.” Murello stared at him and the gun slowly raised to point at Josh’s chest. “It’s on an encrypted chip in the dashboard of my car. Even if you get it, you won’t be able to break it. I have the key memorized. There aren’t any other copies outside of Cardient.”

  “I’m disappointed, Josh. But I understand. We’ll go get the chip, then drive to the airport. You can tell me how you tracked the Benjamin Fund during the ride. Nice work in the Starbucks, by the way. When you give me the code, you c
an come back and rescue your sister.”

  He let Josh think about it for a moment, who acted as though he were working through the scenario. It made sense and would get Murello away from the cabin but keep Josh as a hostage. Murello knew Josh would look at it from all angles. But Josh knew it was a sham. Once Murello had the chip, making sure Josh wasn’t lying about where it was, he’d kill him and then come back and kill the others. Whatever encryption was used on the chip he would be able to break eventually and wouldn’t need Josh. He wouldn’t risk leaving anyone alive. Josh just needed enough time for Allison to get out. Maybe he could tell Murello he’d found out more about his operation and had given the information to someone who would give it to the cops if Josh didn’t get back safely.

  Murello must have decided giving Josh too much time to think was a mistake. Without any warning he turned the gun to George and fired twice in rapid succession. Josh barely had time to turn and see two bullets hit George in the chest above the heart before George’s body flew around and out of the rocking chair. He lay face down on the hard wood floor and the smell of cordite filled the room. The upstairs door burst open, Allison putting herself in danger rather than cower in the room. Josh steeled himself and said “it’s okay, I’m fine. Go back in the room.” Allison couldn’t see George’s body, but she could see that Josh was okay. Wordlessly she went back in and closed the door.

  Murello turned the gun back on Josh. “Stop stalling.”

  Josh thought about telling Daniel this was crazy, irrational. That they had to stop, to be reasonable. But he knew there was no point. Josh walked out the front door and headed toward the clearing. He could feel Murello follow him out.

  “I don’t understand why you want the Ventrica. What are you going to do with it?” Josh wanted to at least get him talking, buy some time. Once they were away from the cabin and he could be sure Allison was safely out, he’d find a way to pull the gun. But if it were too soon, he’d end up dead and Murello would head back to the cabin for Allison. Josh kept going along the path, the morning sun starting to warm the air.

  “Keep moving, Josh.” He could hear Murello about five steps behind him, not close enough for Josh to turn and grab him, not far enough that he couldn’t easily shoot Josh if he ran. And Murello knew he wouldn’t run, at least not yet.

  “I learned a lot from you, Josh. That was a critical time back then. You were interested in how networks could represent the brain. I wanted to know how they could be used to move information around the world. I got very good at it. Thanks.” Josh didn’t hear any irony in his voice.

  “Are you selling the information? Like with Lockheed? Is it really worth so much that you would murder people? Me and my sister?” Josh almost turned around.

  “Information is power. I use it, and I make money, and get more power. That’s all. Careful going around that bend – there’s a ditch on the other side.”

  “I know about the shell companies, I can tie them to you. The…the private investigator I hired has the information and will give it to the FBI if I’m not back.” It sounded kind of lame when he actually said it out loud. Murello laughed.

  “Josh, I believe given enough time you could track me down, but the Feds wouldn’t have a clue. As long as I’ve got your attention and you leave me alone after this, then you’ll be fine.” Josh thought it was a good lie, designed to keep him from drawing the obvious conclusion that if he were dead, Murello wouldn’t have to worry about him at all.

  They navigated the remaining half mile in silence. Josh thought Murello wouldn’t have been risking anything by telling all the details of his plans, but doing so would have undermined the lie that Josh was going to live after giving him the chip. Josh knew Murello wanted him to still have hope. He searched for another way out, some way to appeal to Murello, but it seemed fruitless. They were going to get to the car, Josh was going to tell him the story about the chip was a lie – the only copies were the hard copy Josh had destroyed at his home and the electronic one he’d mailed to Helen – and then Josh was going to try to get the gun out of his pocket and shoot Murello before Murello killed him. Not the greatest plan he’d ever come up with, but it was the best he could do. As long as Allison had a running start and could call 911, she would make it out of the woods. He would have to count on Rigas to find a way to track down Murello later or at least protect Allison with Josh gone.

  The clearing was in front of them, the surreal scene of the BMW, Josh’s hybrid Toyota, and a small helicopter in the middle of the woods. He turned to face Murello. The gun was pointed at his face. “Get it. If there’s anything in your hands other than the chip when you come out, I kill you then your sister. Go.”

  Josh went to his car and opened the passenger door. He feigned having trouble opening the glove compartment, then rooted around for a few seconds. He was just trying to buy time, to let Allison get further away. “Cut the bullshit, Josh. Where is it?”

  Josh came out of the car and looked at Murello. A fleeting thought went through his mind of saying “hey, what’s that behind you?” to distract him. That would just make him laugh while he shot Josh. Time was up. Josh would tell him there was no chip and then go for the gun.

  “Daniel, there is no chip. I destroyed the only copy of the Ventrica design. Your only chance is to let me go and I’ll get it again from Cardient once my sister is safe.” He’d thrown that last part in on a whim; he didn’t expect it to work. Murello’s look hardened even more. He shook his head and put a bullet in the hood of Josh’s car.

  “If you’re lying, now’s the time to tell me. Last opportunity.” The gun was pointing at Josh again. He’d lost the chance to go for the weapon in his pocket, surprised by the report from Murello’s gun being so loud and sudden. He shook his head just as Murello had. This was it. He flashed back to Helen’s house; he would dive to his left and pull the gun out of his right pocket and go for broke. Josh’s hand started to reach down to the coat pocket when he heard crashing noises coming through the trees from where they had entered the clearing. Suddenly there were shots being fired; not from Murello but from the woods. Murello ducked as a bullet whizzed by his head and hit the sedan. A second and third shot rang out. They were coming quickly, but were spraying all over. A sharp pain in Josh’s leg and he was thrown back a foot. He looked down and saw a clear hole in his thigh for just a second before it filled with blood and there was a terrible pain in the back of his leg. He knew instinctively a bullet had passed through. The shots kept coming from the woods and then Allison burst into the clearing. The gun in her hand kicked once more and then started making a dull clicking sound as she pulled the trigger again and again. Murello had recovered and pointed the gun at Allison. His surprise was gone and now he laughed.

  “Nice shooting, Miss Barnes. Drop the gun and come stand next to your brother.” She stopped pulling the trigger on the empty gun and the flush in her cheeks from the adrenaline that had just allowed her to burst into a scene where a man was holding a gun disappeared and she looked drained and shrunken.

  Blood poured out of Josh’s leg. He knew there was no chance of talking Murello out of it, of bargaining with the Ventrica for their lives. They knew who he was and whatever plan he had been building over the last two decades, they weren’t going to stand in his way. Allison looked at her brother. Despite the circumstances, she smiled.

  “You know George. He’s a good paranoid. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest. He’s hurt and couldn’t move, but he’s alive and has about fifty guns within arm’s reach.” She looked at Murello. “That’s right, asshole. Cops are on the way and if you go back to the cabin, George has a few surprises for you.” She looked down at the gun George had given her, once he realized he couldn’t talk her out of going out to save Josh. It had made George feel useless, unable to do it himself, but he had given her a few quick pointers. That hadn’t worked out so well.

  “Nice shooting,” Josh managed to whisper through clenched teeth. If they were going to die, no reason to b
e morbid. But in fact he wasn’t quite done. There was still a gun in his pocket.

  Murello kept a smile. “I’ll deal with him, Allison, long before the cops get here. You can be sure of that. But you won’t be around to see it.” He raised the gun toward Allison. She had stopped ten feet away from Josh when she told Murello about George. She knew Josh had the gun and was giving him room. He fumbled in his pocket, got his hand on the gun, and pulled it out as fast as he could. He raised it and pointed it right at Murello’s chest just as Murello caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. As Murello turned his gun on Josh instead, Josh pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. In that split second he pulled harder, and it hit him –the safety was still on. Murello’s gun was now pointed at Josh. He shook his head, pityingly. “Jesus, Josh. You’re an excellent technologist, even a pretty good sleuth, but you are pathetic at protecting your loved ones.” Josh could see Murello’s finger begin to tighten on the trigger and he took a last chance at flipping off the safety, but knew it was useless. The crack of a gun exploded in the now quiet space and Josh braced.

  Murello’s elbow exploded in blood and bone and he spun away. Another bullet tore into his neck and a third hit him in the back of the head as he fell. It was in slow motion in Josh’s eyes and he saw himself leaping to Allison, a last desperate attempt to protect her from whoever was firing. He covered the ten feet, surprised that his leg held his weight, and threw himself over her. He stayed there covering her, waiting for the next shots. None came. Instead, he heard a voice call out.

  “Jeez, Barnes, fuckin’ déjà vu.” Josh turned his head, still covering Allison with his body who was struggling to get out from under him. Rigas kept her gun on Murello’s unmoving form and walked over to them. “Hey, Allison, nice to see you again. Barnes, get off your sister.”