Echo (The Remote Traveler Series Book 3)

by Finian Blake

  “What about the people that maintain this,” the director expressed his concern.

  “There are only a few people that have access to this side of the operation. Rhonda will have overall authority and she already has your highest security clearance, so that should not be a problem. All we need to do is authorize the microwave link and we’re in business. The only people that will touch these two computers or any computers installed in this room will be people that you have cleared for access.”

  “What about all the Russians and the foreign hackers,” the director asked nervously.

  “Our hackers will have access to the computers on the other side and that will provide them with all the computing power that they need. If anything needs to be transferred over to your computers cleared people will handle that and Rhonda will oversee that work. All of the programmers will work from the upper-level and only cleared people will be allowed down here.” Paul grabbed Boris’s hand pumping it enthusiastically.

  “We have a deal who handles the contracts,” the director asked.

  “Rhonda is the managing director and she will handle all of the contracts,” Boris smiled wolfishly, “and you know what a pushover she is.”

  “Shit what about Cherry,” the Director said knowing that Boris’ pushover comment was sarcasm.

  “Between the two of them Rhonda is a nice one,” Boris said enjoying the Director’s grimace. “Come on I will give you the nickel tour of the rest of the building.” Boris took the elevator up to the middle floor where the sound stage was located. The director was shocked when he stepped off the elevator behind Boris.

  “The damn place looks like an aircraft hangar.”

  “In some ways it is,” Boris said with pride. We are 150-feet on each side with a 30 high ceiling, 22,000 square feet or 660,000 cubic feet. We have already rented this space out a few times to movie studios doing shoots in the area.”

  “You have all those strangers roaming around with all those computers under your feet?” Director Valiant asked nervously.

  “Absolutely,” Boris said with a smile. “Just one floor up we have thirty workstations twenty stations are supposed to be for our computer services, eight workstations are for the production studio, and two workstations here for Cherry’s fashion label plus about fifty heavy-duty PCs. The good news is that each work station can handle four users at the same time.”

  “That’s a lot of people what are you going to do about parking?” The director asked.

  “We have heated underground parking at each side of the building,” Boris laughed.

  “Heated,” the Director could not believe his ears.

  “Yes heated,” Boris said smoothly. “Those mainframe computers and servers generate a lot of heat and we vent them into the parking lot so the building does not have a huge heat signature.”

  “That’s enough for one day.” The Director had to ask, “What is the tab on this so far?”

  “We managed to keep it under a hundred and fifty million but we already have enough contracts to guarantee a five-year payback after expenses. We have a security clearance so it is easy to subcontract out to other companies that require clearances.” Boris walked over to a cart pulling a note off the steering wheel. “It appears that my mother is planning on you for lunch so we had better get back over there. I will take the shortcut going back.” Boris drove in to the parking garage down three levels into the tunnels driving directly to Cherry’s house.

  Cherry was just leaving the house with her friend Mary Lee. Mary was an exotic looking woman of Tartar heritage which gave her a Eurasian appearance. She was 23-years old, five foot six, and slim built with jet black hair. She wore faded blue jeans which were torn in strategic places, a starched white cotton blouse, and low heeled riding boots which rose just below her knees. She had surprisingly full lips and the thing that caught most people’s attention were her almond shaped eyes because her irises were dark brown which made them look as if there was no separation between the iris and the pupil.

  Cherry waved to Boris and Paul, “I am sorry but you will have to talk to Rhonda, I am taking Mary Lee down to the soundstage for that photo shoot with Rampage Firearms. I would love to talk more but they are our largest advertiser.”

  “She looks extremely familiar,” the Director said.

  “Of course Mary Lee looks familiar. She is in magazines, newspapers, television and has even done two bit parts in movies. Mary Lee is one of Cherry’s principal models.” Boris said with a chuckle.

  “Then I should be able to talk to her at a later date,” Paul said hopefully.

  “I am sure you will be talking with her in the future,” Boris said with confidence. “She is one of the Russians that we brought over two years ago. You’ll be surprised to find out that at her age Mary Lee has a real talent for analyzing financial markets. And she is an absolute genius at hijacking programs. She was the girlfriend of my friend Nikki.”

  “She is absolutely gorgeous,” the director gushed. Boris’s voice took on a serious tone.

  “Yes, she would be the perfect woman if it wasn’t for her physical deformity.”

  “And what deformity is that,” Paul said in disbelief.

  “Well, to begin with she has an eight-inch clitoris,” Boris started to laugh.

  “You’re not making any sense,” said Paul being obviously annoyed.

  “Mary Lee is not really a she,” Boris said being barely understandable because of his laughter. “She is a he.”

  “You’re kidding me,” Paul exclaimed. “Are you telling me that a cross dresser is making millions of dollars a year modeling as a woman!”

  “Well, Mary Lee is not really a cross dresser she is what they call a transsexual. Mary Lee firmly believes that she is a woman trapped inside of a man’s body. She has done hormone treatments and has done everything except for taking the final step.” Boris held his hands about eight inches apart so it was not difficult for Paul to catch on.

  “Why did you bring her over?”

  “Nikki said that she was his girlfriend and by the time we found out that she was really his sister, or should I really say his brother, it was too late. We need to keep Nikki because he is a prime time Russian programmer with lots of other talents and Mary Lee is almost as talented as he is.” Boris shrugged his shoulders, “we absolutely need to keep them both because pulling them out hurts the Russian program as much as it helps ours. Remember they are not working for you they are working for me.”

  “I will have to think about that.”

  “Let me take you upstairs to Rhonda, so that you can begin negotiating our agreement and that my friend will give you a lot to think about.” Boris was thoroughly satisfied that he had destroyed Paul’s line of thought. “But before we do, I want to remind you that Rhonda really likes both of them.”

  Rhonda was busy so Paul and Boris went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Boris picked up a magazine handing it to Paul the magazine was called shooters quarterly. He flipped open a magazine to a bookmark handing it to Paul. It was open to a full-page ad for rampage firearms. It had a three quarter page picture of Mary Lee in a wet T-shirt, panties, and combat boots she had a semi- automatic weapon wedged firmly between her legs and the print proudly declared ‘GET YOUR GUN OFF WITH ME. GO ON A RAMPAGE.’

  “Dammit Boris, you ruined it for me. I would really be turned on if I didn’t know this was a guy.”

  “You will find Mary Lee in all kinds of ads cosmetics, women’s hygiene, clothing, and food.” Boris opened a sports magazine. Mary Lee was standing in a bikini with the top hanging loosely around her neck and a skimpy bikini bottom. “The thought that will really bother you is how many healthy young men are wanking off to that picture.”

  “Speaking of wanking off,” Rhonda said startling both men, “I hope that smear on the picture is mayonnaise and not something else.” She broke out laughing at the sheepish expressions at both men had on their faces.

  “Rhonda darling,” Boris said
after regaining his composure, “I brought the Director here so that he can finalize the deal between us and the NSA.”

  “Colleen will be here in ten minutes,” Rhonda said switching to her official tone. “Come in the office and we can get started.” Rhonda rolled the uncomfortable chair from in front of the desk rolling in something more comfortable for the director. Just as she was about to speak the phone rang.

  “Rhonda, this is Eden and René in security two intruders have been spotted moving in from the east side. They seem to be stalled. What would you like me to do about them?”

  “They are probably paparazzi there is an offer for personal pictures of Mary Lee $20,000 for personal, $25,000 for bare tits, and $35,000 for naked.” There was a genuinely tired sound in Rhonda’s voice.

  “Do we have to be gentle,” Eden asked.

  “Don’t do anything that would cause permanent damage, but I do want you to treat them as intruders and don’t take any chances.” Eden went to the cabinet removing two military Tasers which delivered a slightly higher voltage than the police version did. René and Eden left a tech to monitor the system thankful for a little bit of action. The two intruders had been monitored ever since they cut the fence to get in. The two intruders stopped behind a large rock that was part of the obstacle course. They were trying to get an idea of the layout. Between the trees they could just make out a swimming pool and decided to get closer.

  René and Eden herd their approach and crouched low almost breaking out in laughter as the two men passed within feet of them. Eden held up the Taser signaling to René that she wanted to use it instead of just subduing them. The two men got to a position about ten feet in front of the two women and Eden coughed causing the two paparazzi to turn around before the women fired the Taser’s. The tiny barbs on each projectile sank into the abdomen of their two victims as the charge went off causing both men to totally lose control of their legs. Eden and René quickly handcuffed both of the paparazzi before they could regain control calling Tom for instructions.

  “Tom I have two intruders subdued where would you like me to bring them?”

  “I don’t want them anywhere near the security center, bring them up to the main entrance of the computer center and I will meet you there but be sure to blindfold them before you transport them.” Eden and René loaded the two intruders in the cart finding Tom waiting for them at the front door of the computer center. Lloyd the larger of the two paparazzi was literally hopping mad.

  “We are not going to tolerate this. You have assaulted us and confiscated our equipment. I have a damn good lawyer and we’re going to sue you.”

  “When you talk to your lawyer be sure to tell him that you cut our fence right under the no trespassing sign entering private property without permission. You can also save him a long trip by telling him to pick you up at the police station.” Tom said quietly causing both men to lean forward just to hear him. Lloyd started to back down because he had been arrested a few times for the same offense.

  “Maybe we can work something out,” Lloyd’s statement was more of a question that a statement. Tom decided to find out what the reason for their brazen actions could possibly be.

  “Why in the hell did you cut the fence,” Tom asked completely baffled by their total disregard.

  “We have been following Mary Lee for weeks now and it appears that she lives here,” Lloyd was speaking slowly trying to gauge Tom’s reaction. “There is a bounty offered by a few magazines for personal pictures of Mary Lee $10,000 for something intimate, $25,000 for a tit shot, and $35,000 for a naked shot.” Tom thought for a few minutes letting them sweat.

  “René hold these two here Mary Lee and Cherry are doing the shoot down stairs. I believe we have to consult with them before making any decisions.” Tom went down to the soundstage where Mary Lee and Cherry were just finishing their shoot. He explained the bounty by the magazines and let her know what the two paparazzi were up to. Cherry was about to turn him down flat, but Mary Lee had a different idea so Tom called upstairs instructing Eden and René to bring the two paparazzi to the soundstage. Lloyd and Steve were stunned by the size of the soundstage not believing from the outside of the building at anything this size could be here. Both men became very unsure when they saw Mary Lee standing with a pistol in her hand.

  “You’re not going to shoot us,” Steve said nervously. Mary Lee put the pistol on the prop table after catching on to why they were so nervous.

  “That’s my rape preventer.” Mary Lee pulled up the picture of her standing over a man with a mask lying on the floor. “The print on the ad will read, ‘The best rape prevention there is, Rampage Firearms’.”

  “Thank God…,” The two men said at the same time.

  “Tom told me about the bounty,” Mary Lee said evenly completely surprising everybody. “You will pay me ten thousand dollars and shoot the pictures from at least 200 yards away using your long lens.”

  “Why 200 yards away,” Lloyd protested.

  “The shots are supposed to be candid and nobody will believe that if the shots are close-ups. If you get some clarity you should be able to sell the shots for considerably more than $25,000,” Mary Lee said quietly.

  “And how are we supposed to pay you if the shots are supposed to be candid,” Lloyd pressed.

  “You sell the pictures, I will sue you and you will settle out of court for ten thousand dollars after a few months giving me a ton of publicity.” Mary Lee stood back talking to Cherry and Tom while Stephen and Lloyd discussed the arrangements.

  “It sounds like a deal, but how do we explain the nude session,” Steve asked.

  “That’s easy,” Mary Lee said patiently. “I will go to the pool to do some naked sunbathing, Eden and René will set you up in a good spot to take some pictures.” Lloyd and Steve readily agreed, so she added in her final stipulation.

  “No bush just tits and ass. I’m a model not a porn star.”

  “Understood…,” was Lloyd’s one-word answer.

  “Good Eden and René will take you to the appropriate spot and you can set up your equipment. I will be down to the pool in twenty minutes.” Lloyd and Steve left with Renée and Eden to set up their equipment. Mary Lee turned around enjoying the shocked expression on Cherry’s face.

  “Mary Lee, are you crazy,” Cherry exclaimed.

  “There is no problem I know how to bend and twist so that they will never see my little secret. With the publicity that this gets me I should easily be able to land five to ten more clients which will add a couple hundred thousand to my annual income.” Mary Lee led the way to the golf cart driving up to the pool with Cherry and Tom objecting all the way. Lloyd and Steve snapped thirty pictures until Mary Lee wrapped a towel around herself leaving the swimming pool. They packed away their equipment satisfied with their day’s effort, but as they turned to leave Lloyd and Steve found Tom blocking their way.

  “You still haven’t paid me for my fence.”

  “But we’re going to pay Mary Lee $10,000 for the pictures,” Lloyd protested.

  “It still does not pay for my fence. You are going to cough up three hundred bucks, or ride out of here in an ambulance.” Tom just held out his hand until Steve and Lloyd combined their money to come up with $260. “I guess that I can settle for the two sixty. Eden and René will show you out.”

  Cherry caught Mary Lee as she returned to the security center, “Why did you do something so risky?”

  “The magazines will keep offering a bounty until they get their pictures.” Mary Lee said calmly. The more pictures of me that are out there the lower their value will become. We will reach the point that it is just not worth the effort to take my picture. At least this way we can control the environment in which the pictures are being taken. They will publish pictures, I will sue them for breach of privacy and they will pay.”

  “What if they welsh on your deal,” Tom sounded uncertain.

  “I noticed that they were using digital cameras,” Mary Lee smile
d evilly. “They will never be able to use anything electronic ever again between Boris and Nikki. My brother loves me and Boris would love to screw with Lloyd on general principles.”

  “Did you threaten them,” Tom asked.

  “They will do whatever they do no matter what I say and then I will do whatever I do, so there is no problem. Threats are stupid and lead to more problems I have learned that from Cherry.” The three people walked in the security center just ahead of Eden to find Boris sitting quietly in front of his laptop.

  “While they were shooting pictures of you I was at their car hacking into their laptops, so we have a perfect Skype connection.”

  Lloyd and Steve climbed into the back of their suburban downloading the pictures onto their laptops. Both men were totally incensed with the whole experience. Lloyd was typing furiously on his laptop while Steve was still rubbing his abdomen from the shock of the Taser.

  “I’m going to make those assholes pay. If that bitch thinks that she’s going to stick me up for $10,000 she is out of her ever loving mind,” Lloyd was totally around the bend.

  “I don’t know Lloyd. They don’t seem like the people I would want to cross in a deal. Did you see the set that they had back there? If they’ve got that kind of money I do believe that they have more than a little bit of power. I have every intention of keeping my end of the deal.”

  “Steve, you are too much of a candy ass for this business,” Lloyd said scornfully as he pushed the enter button to download the pictures from this camera to the laptop. All of a sudden a picture of two rats screwing appeared on the screen and the laptop started to smoke. The laptop was sitting across Lloyd’s knee as he reached underneath the laptop trying to yank the battery out. The battery was so hot he burned his hands letting it fall to the floor mat in the car. Within seconds the floor mat started to melt. Lloyd looked at the screen reading the bold red print: congratulations you have just been ‘rat fucked’. Steve reacted quickly pulling the battery out of his computer and camera both.