A Matter of Trust

by Ciana Stone

  He sighed, poured himself a drink, and took a seat on the sofa, staring morosely at the muted television. There had to be someone who could help him locate Maxwell. An idea occurred to him. Not one that was particularly inviting, but at this point he’d be willing to at least appear to eat a little crow.

  Charles Abernathy might be able to help. After all he was a physician and as such at least could place calls to hospitals and private clinics to check on the status of a patient. And he was the doctor of record for Maxwell.

  Giving some quick thought to how he would approach Charles, Mark picked up his phone, located Charles’ number and placed the call.

  Charles put down his phone and chuckled. It amused him that the mighty intelligence arm of the Weston empire was striking out trying to locate Maxwell. It also gave him a sense of smug satisfaction to have Mark come to him for help.

  Charles had promised to make inquiries at area hospitals and clinics to see if Maxwell had been admitted, or anyone matching his description. What Charles did not promise was how long it would take him to pass the information along if he obtained it.

  His own inside man, the driver Steve, had mentioned several times that Maxwell spent an inordinate amount of time on the computer. He claimed that Maxwell had a very sophisticated setup in his suite and also carried a laptop around with him.

  Charles knew that before the incident, Maxwell was regarded as brilliant with a very high IQ. It was possible there was more on that computer than just games. Perhaps it would be wise to have Steve bring the computer to him. There might be something on it that could prove useful.

  Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do. If he could stay one step ahead of Mark Robinson, he just might amass enough information to ensure not only his continued prosperity, but secure his continued safety.

  A steady beeping sound filtered through the haze clouding his mind. Maxwell opened his eyes and blinked against the dryness. He was hooked up to a bank of monitors, the source of the noise. But where was he?

  Just as he turned his head to look around he became aware of a weight on his left thigh and the feel of a warm hand in his. Nikki sat in a chair beside the bed, slumped over with her head on his leg and her hand holding tightly to his.

  Her breathing was slow and even in sleep, but dark circles marred the skin beneath the sweep of dark lashes. Max didn’t wake her. He needed to clear his head and figure out where he was and what had happened.

  He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious, but he did know that memories had come back to him. Things that had happened that he’d forgotten. And those things seemed to be connected with what was happening now.

  He was so caught up in going over what he’d remembered and trying to piece it together with current events and have it make sense, that he didn’t notice Nikki open her eyes.

  “Max?” She raised her head then jumped to her feet to throw herself on him, hugging and kissing him all over his face. “Oh god, Max! I was so scared! How do you feel? Are you in pain? Do you remember what happened? Oh god, I thought I’d lost you!”

  Max couldn’t help but smile. He gently pushed her back and signed I’m okay. Where are we?

  “A private hospital somewhere in Houston. Simon arranged everything.”

  Does grandfather know what happened?

  “Yes. I told him everything. I’ve been speaking with him by phone every hour since we left the estate. Max, what happened?”

  Too much to explain this way.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed and dug his iPhone out of her pocket. “Here, I brought this.”

  Max grinned and took the phone. In seconds he was connected to a private server where his communication programs were housed. For several minutes he typed before he showed her the phone.

  I’ve seen that pendant before. The key pendant. In Iraq. I was on leave and instead of hanging with the other guys, I went wandering around. I met an old man in an outdoor market. He was very insistent that he had something that was meant for me. I thought he was trying to pull a con on me, but something made me stay and listen. He pulled me off to one side and pulled out a pendant exactly like the one you have. He said it was part of a very special device that housed three very special stones. Stones of rare value and unique power.

  I told him I wasn’t interested in buying anything and he said it wasn’t for sale. It was a gift so that I could unite the stones. I argued and said I couldn’t take it but he was insistent. I put it in my pocket and in the next instant there was gunfire. The old man was hit and fell. I picked him up, trying to move him out of harm’s way. I’d gone maybe fifty feet when I felt something slam into my back. The next thing I remember was medics waking me up, and realizing I was holding the old man, as I sat slumped against a wall.

  I lost consciousness again and didn’t waken until I was in a hospital. I asked about the pendant but no one knew anything about it.

  Nikki’s eyes widened. “So someone had to have taken it. And somehow it ended up in Christian’s hands and then when…”

  Her voice trailed off and a frown marred her face. Max touched her on the hand and she looked up at him. “Max, that day when Christian asked me to meet him, he dumped out his briefcase and crammed some files and computer discs into it from a locked file cabinet. When those men were chasing us and he said we had to split up, he didn’t ask me to protect whatever was in the briefcase. He gave me the pendant. When I thought about it later I assumed whatever was in the briefcase was important. But now…”

  Max took the iPhone from her and keyed in a comment. The briefcase could have been a ruse. Knowing that whoever was chasing you would follow him, he took with him something that was unimportant and left the valuable safely hidden with you.

  “Only it wasn’t! Safely hidden, I mean,” she added when he gave her an inquisitive look. “I ran and hid out in a coffee shop. When I thought it was safe I left and as I was on the sidewalk a car pulled up and a man jumped out and grabbed me and threw me into the backseat. We were fighting and I kicked him in the nose and jumped out of the car. I don’t remember anything after that. I just woke up in a hospital and was told that I was very lucky because I’d only suffered a minor concussion and some bruises and scrapes.

  Max was furiously keying as she finished. “I was supposed to start my job on the estate earlier, but was delayed because of being in the hospital.”

  She looked at the display as he turned the phone to face her. We have to find out what that pendant is and if it’s related to the sphere.

  “Kind of hard to do that from in here.”

  We have to get out of here. Call Grandfather. Tell him some of my memory has returned and we have to get back to the estate without anyone knowing we’re there.

  Nikki nodded and pulled out the phone Simon had given her. He answered on the second ring. “Simon? Hi, it’s Nikki. Max is awake and he said to tell you that some of his memories have returned and we have to get back to the estate without anyone knowing we’re there.”

  She listened to his reply, nodding, then ended the call. “Yes, I’ve got it. Okay, I will. Bye.”

  “He said someone will be here for us within the hour and will identify himself as Simon’s representative with the words ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep’. Does that make any sense to you?”

  Max nodded and turned his attention to the phone. A minute later he showed it to her.

  It’s from The Tempest, Chapter four.

  “Oh! Well, okay. So now I guess we just wait.”

  How long have we been here?

  “Three days.”

  Max sighed and lay his head back, staring at the ceiling in silence. Nikki watched him for a few moments, nervously chewing her lip. There were things she needed to say to him. Her realization about the importance of the key pendant had suddenly made seemingly disconnected pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

  “Max?”

  He raised his head to look at her. “About the key,�
� she said. “I think I know what it is.”

  Tell me he signed.

  “Okay, now bear with me ’cause this might sound a little farfetched. I told you that reason I got the job at the estate is that I met a man in a coffee shop named Gaspar de Troyes.”

  Max was keying in on the phone before she got the words out of her mouth. Yes, he’s an associate and close personal friend of my grandfather’s.

  “I know. They both belong to some ancient society. Anyway, Gaspar is the one who turned me onto the job but he also told me that at least one of the Blue Stones of Atlantis and possibly even the housing device was hidden somewhere on the estate.”

  She paused to see what he’d keyed in.

  I know of the Stones. Grandfather has searched for them for years.

  “Good, then I don’t have to explain what they are. Anyway, according to Simon, a man named Lucien sent him a message that he’d found part the housing device for the Stones. He was scared and thought he was being followed. He came to the estate and Osgood contacted Simon who was in Jerusalem. Simon told Lucien to wait for him there.

  “Now…this might be a little hard for you to take, Max, but the story comes from Simon, not me. Apparently,your mother ordered everyone to take the night off after she had an intimate dinner prepared for her and Lucien. It seems she’d had a falling out with her lover, Mark Robinson, and was at odds with your father over his mistress, and so she used Lucien as a temporary distraction.

  “No one really knows what happened except that your father returned home unexpectedly and shortly thereafter the police were summoned. According to your parents, your father returned home to find a man raping your mother. A fight ensued and the intruder—Lucien— was killed.

  “Now what complicates the plot is that it seems two of the staff knew what had really happened and tried to blackmail your father. They were found dead in an apparent car fatality several days later.

  “And, what’s more, this happened right after you were returned home from Iraq. The private nurse they’d hired to see after you was also ordered to take the night off. When she came in the next morning no one could wake you. In fact no one could wake you for three days but when you did wake up, you couldn’t speak and apparently had no memory of what had happened to cause the sudden loss of speech. Does any of this sound at all familiar to you?”

  Max shook his head. Is there more?

  “Unfortunately. According to Osgood, before the police arrived he went upstairs to check on you and found your mother sitting on your bed talking to you. Now I don’t know if that seems odd to you, but Simon says that it was an unprecedented event.

  “And whatever Lucien brought with him was never found.”

  She fell silent and studied Max who was staring at her with a tight frown on his face. At length he turned his attention to the iPhone.

  I don’t remember anything about it. I wish I did. But I believe Grandfather.

  Nikki took his hand. “Max, I’m so sorry. It seems like you’ve been shit on every step of the way.”

  He shook his head and signed, Not every step. It brought me you.

  Nikki’s eyes filled with tears. This wasn’t the time or place to profess love, but it’s what was in her heart. And that love gave her strength and the resolve to get to the bottom of things and see that Max was set free from the prison his family had constructed for him. No matter what it took, she was going to see that happen.

  She smiled through her tears as he leaned over to cup her face in one hand and thumb away the tear that tracked down her cheek. Suddenly she realized something she’s always wished for had come to pass.

  She had discovered her heart, and it belonged to Max.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ben checked the address again to make sure he had the right place. He’d gotten a call that afternoon from a psychiatrist who needed a computer expert to help retrieve data from a laptop. Charles Abernathy had explained that the computer belonged to the deceased husband of his client and there was financial and personal information on the computer necessary to settling the man’s estate. Ben had been recommended by an attorney friend of the psychiatrist’s as being the best.

  Naturally he was flattered. And the man had offered a nice fee for the service. He went inside and gave his name to the man at the reception desk. “Benjamin Marshall to see Dr. Abernathy.”

  The man placed a call and announced Ben, then directed him to the elevator and the proper floor.

  Charles opened the door at the first knock. “Benjamin?” he asked, extending his hand. “Charles Abernathy. I appreciate you coming at such short notice.”

  “No problem. Nice to meet you.”

  “Come, I have the computer in my dining room. I hope that’s all right.”

  “Fine.”

  Ben followed Charles through the lavish apartment to the dining room. An Acer Predator 21x sat on the polished table. Billed as one of the most powerful laptop on Earth, the Predator was also one expensive piece of equipment, with a starting price of nearly ten thousand dollars.

  Ben wasn’t convinced it had truly earned the title of one of the most powerful laptops on the planet, but did appreciate the fact that it was a very nice machine, and one that a regular Joe couldn’t afford.

  He took a seat and turned on the machine. Ben leaned back and regarded the login screen. “Do you have the login information?”

  “Actually no,” Charles said as he took a seat beside Ben. “And his wife doesn’t either. Which is why we had to bring in an expert.”

  “Hmmm, yeah, I see,” Ben replied. “Okay, let’s go at it this way. Write me up a list. The man’s name, birthday, social security number, driver’s license number, children’s names and birthdates, wife’s name and birthdate and we’ll see what we can do.”

  When Charles did not move or reply Ben turned his head to regard the man. Charles looked distinctly uncomfortable, giving Ben a jolt. This wasn’t the first time he’d been asked to hack into a computer that didn’t belong to the asker. He hadn’t expected this from a psychiatrist but then there was no rule that everyone was on the up-and-up.

  “Or,” he said, “I go at this from another angle.”

  “You can do that?” Charles’s face noticeably brightened.

  “Yeah, but it’ll take some time.”

  “Take all the time you need. Could I offer you something to drink?”

  “Coffee would be great,” Ben responded, turning off the machine and rebooting it. He interrupted the boot process and flexed his fingers. Time to find a nick in the castle walls. At least that was the way he thought of it. One little opening and he’d worm his way in.

  Charles got up and left the room. All of Ben’s attention focused on the task at hand. He barely noticed Charles coming and going, delivering fresh coffee. Three hours passed during which admiration for whoever set up the computer’s defenses grew in Ben’s mind. The computer obviously belonged to someone who knew what they were doing. And obviously had something they didn’t want anyone else to have access to.

  It took him nearly five hours to break in and when he did, a sinking feeling hit him in the gut.

  Charles stepped into the room for his hourly check. “Anything yet?”

  “Getting close,” Ben replied. Before he let Abernathy know he’d hacked his way in he wanted to find out what was stored on the machine because now he knew that it belonged to Max.

  He didn’t bother with getting into any of the password-secured files. Instead he concentrated on the secure server Max had set up. It took him another two hours to break in, during which time he kept assuring Abernathy that he was almost there.

  Once he had access to the server, he realized Max had set up an access to it via an iPhone. Ben quickly sent an alert to the iPhone.

  Charles Abernathy got his hands on your laptop. He hired me to break into it, telling me it was the system that belonged to the deceased husband of a client and contained personal financial info. As soon as I send this alert, I’
m deleting all access and reference to the server and all personal files. I’ll leave game applications. Be careful. Ben.

  Once the alert was sent, Ben set to work deleting everything but gaming applications. It took him only half an hour. He pushed back from the table. “Dr. Abernathy?”

  Charles hurried into the room. Ben stood and gestured to the laptop. “I’m in but I’m afraid there’s nothing on this system but games and a user account for some online gaming sites.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Positive,” Ben assured him, feeling pleased that in a roundabout way he was telling the truth.

  Charles hurried over to the table. “But there has to be…are you quite positive about this?”

  “Couldn’t be more sure. But feel free to take it to someone else if you don’t believe me.”

  “No, no, of course, I don’t doubt you. I’m just disappointed. For my client that is. Thank you for your time, Ben.”

  He dug a wad of cash out of his pocket. “Twenty-five hundred as agreed.”

  Ben accepted the payment and stuffed it into his pocket. “Sorry it turned out to be a bust, Dr. Abernathy. Guess your client’s husband didn’t want her to know he was a closet gamer.”

  Charles’ laugh at the comment sounded false. “I suppose so. Again, thank you for your time, Ben.”

  “Sure.” Ben followed Charles to the door of the apartment and stepped outside, turning to face Charles. “Have a good night.”

  “And you,” Charles said and closed the door in his face.

  Ben grinned and hurried to his car. The moment he was sitting behind the wheel he pulled out his phone and called Nikki. There was no answer on her cell. He left a message for her to call him immediately then headed home. He’d memorized the address on Max’s server. As soon as he got home he’d send another message. He didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear someone was trying to get information on Max. And that meant Nikki was in the line of whatever fire was coming.