Operation Heartbreaker

by Thomas, Christine

  When they reached the transit area they breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost going too well.

  They had one hour until boarding. Julie was using it to tackle the password some more.

  Ally would have given anything for some distraction. All she could think of was her medication. She found herself at an airport full of people–and emotions. So far the departure area was sparsely filled, but that would change soon. The worst would be the flight. How was it even possible to breath in such little space with so many people? On top without her pills. She would be exposed to anger and fears with no defense at all. What if she panicked and they would get busted because of that? After all, they were on the run with stolen tickets.

  With all of that going on, it wasn’t exactly helpful to know that her abnormality had become stronger. By now she didn’t have to touch things in order to know where they were. It was enough if someone else thought of them and she knew right away. Renée had concentrated on the tickets and Ally could connect with them. And Julie? She only had to think of her passport and in a heartbeat Ally had seen it through her mind’s eye. Something like that would have been impossible a few weeks ago.

  In less than an hour she would be penned in with hundreds of people who were thinking a thousand things at once. How was she supposed to handle that?

  “Everything alright?” Julie touched her shoulders. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

  Not a bad outlook under the given circumstances. Maybe Julie could knock her over the head with the laptop? “It’s kind of overwhelming. I need a time-out to digest that stuff.”

  Julie nodded earnestly. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you when our flight is called.”

  But as soon as Ally had closed her eyes, her phone began to vibrate. She fumbled the thing out of her pocket and stared at the display. Uncle David. Her sleepiness vanished like magic. “Yes?”

  “Where are you?” he thundered into the receiver.

  Don’t get an arrhythmia, she reminded herself and took a deep breath. “And where are you?” she replied quietly. As if she didn’t know. But she needed a few seconds to compose herself.

  “In Washington D.C., I’ve told you. Tell me where you are!”

  No way. “First you’ll answer my questions.”

  Then ensuing silence was deafening. She could almost see him lifting his eyebrows. Back talk was not exactly her thing. But unusual situations required unusual methods. “Did you have me spied on?” She knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from him.

  “This is not the moment to…”

  “Yes or no?”

  Again there was a pause. This time she could downright feel his bafflement.

  “Alienor, it’s not that simple.”

  Well, that was an answer, too.

  “I won’t talk about those things over the phone. A car is on its way to pick you up. Give me your address and I’ll have you brought to a safe location.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  Frustration spilled out of the receiver, choking her. And something else. Guilt and…fear. She wasn’t used to that kind of emotions from her uncle.

  “It was for your protection,” he finally answered. “Now, tell me where you are.” The last sentence sounded almost resigned. Also an emotion her uncle also wasn’t known for. This was getting better and better.

  “Where is Cole?”

  “Not on the phone!”

  Ally pushed out the breath she had held. If her father was dead it wouldn’t matter. Why the secrecy if he was no longer breathing? Except, of course, if somebody was supposed to think he was dead. But who would that be? “Then at least answer me one question.”

  David sighed which she understood as consent.

  “Are you really my uncle or was that a lie, too?”

  The pause that followed spoke volumes. She almost dropped the phone. She closed her eyes and pressed one hand against her forehead. “I can’t believe it.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. Tears were burning in her eyes, but she twinkled them away. “How could you lie to me all those years?”

  “Ally.” Her uncle’s voice had changed. It now was velvety smooth, almost soothing. “Nothing is what it seems.”

  He could say that again! A fist tightened around her heart.

  “Tell me your location. When I’m back I’ll explain everything to you.”

  “You had seventeen years to explain it,” Ally replied with effort. Suddenly, she had trouble breathing.

  “Ally?” Julie kneeled down in front of her, grabbing her by the shoulders. “What’s going on?”

  “My pills!” she gasped.

  “Alienor!” David called out before the cell landed on the floor where it broke in two pieces.

  Julie kicked it out of the way. She grabbed Ally’s colds hands, put them in hers and rubbed them warm. “Look at me!” she said calmly.

  Ally complied. By now she was gasping for air like a fish on the beach.

  “Look into my eyes, okay?”

  Ally nodded.

  “Good.” Julie put Ally’s hand on her heart.

  “Do you feel that?”

  Again she nodded. Julie’s heart was beating strong and firmly against the palms of her hands.

  “Look at me, feel my heart and let’s breathe together.”

  More nodding, than she realized, her own heartbeat had calmed down a bit. Julie’s serenity had jumped over and stopped her panic attack. She took a deep breath. Then one more, until she felt calmer.

  “Where are those pills?” Julie asked quietly when she had apparently come to the same conclusion.

  Ally shook her head. “Don’t have any left.”

  “What kind of stuff is it? Maybe we can get it here at the airport?”

  Good question. She had never seen a prescription. She either got it from Dr. Edwards or her uncle. Crap, she didn’t even know the name of it. They were oval-shaped, pink tablets. Her doctor had given them to her in a neutral tube and she’d never thought anything of it. Until today.

  Helplessly, she shook her head, feeling like an idiot. How could she have been taking this stuff for a decade without even knowing its name? And what did her heart have to do with her taking on other people’s feelings anyway?

  Why had she never insisted on answers? The questions about her parents, the accident, her mental defect. How in the world could she have trusted a man who, as it turned out, wasn’t even related to her?

  Julie seemed to feel her inner conflict. She got up and sat down next to her. “Why have you never told me about the pills?” she asked quietly. “I mean, we have been best friends since…forever.”

  “I hate my weakness. And I hate those pills, a reminder on how helpless I am without them–every single day.”

  “You aren’t weak! And, Geez, I have to know about something important like that. I mean, what if you’d passed out or dropped to the ground during karate lesson? I wouldn’t have known a thing. Nobody would’ve.”

  “The only one flat on her back during karate lesson is you,” Ally remarked, giving a slight smile. “Besides, I think the teachers knew. Uncle David…” She paused and frowned. He wasn’t her uncle. “David deposited a tube of the pills with the school nurse, for emergency purposes.”

  “And why don’t you have any with you?”

  “The, eh, burglars took them.”

  Julie stared at her in disbelief. “Somebody broke into your shack, disabled a gazillion dollar security system, but instead of swiping the Van Gogh from the dining room, they steal your pills?”

  “It’s rather weird, isn’t it?”

  Julie shook her head. “I’ve never heard of something so stupid. That sucks out loud!”

  One could say that. Her friend threw her a worried glance. “Is everything alright again or should we go home?”

  “I’m okay.” No way she was going back. With her, eh, David close, she would be too intimidated to continue where she started today. Likewise she wasn’t in her best shape. With Jul
ie at her side she felt strong, even without the pills. Together they would succeed. At least she hoped so.

  ~ * ~

  When the plane took off at 12.15 a.m., Ally felt raddled. Her fear about being locked up with a crowd was nothing compared to her fatigue. Thanks to her exhaustion the emotions of the other passengers seemed like a background noise, fading more and more into her subconsciousness.

  For Ally this was a completely new experience. Without her medication she’d never been able to get the emotions of others out of her head. Though this wasn’t quite accurate. The pills did not keep external impressions away from her, but screened off her mind. Her thoughts, emotions, her entire personality were dimed down until she could not only feel the others, but barely herself any longer. As if she was captive inside her own body.

  If she had a choice she’d go off this stuff today rather than tomorrow. But she didn’t have that choice. Her life depended on that pink crap. After all, it was helping with her heart problems.

  At least that’s what she assumed until today. Meanwhile, her uncle had turned out to be a professional liar. Somebody who’d hired street rats to beat her up. Come to think of it, she could have died during the attack, judging by her state of health. The thought that her wanna-be-uncle had possibly tried to actually harm her was burning holes into her guts. He had been her family, her everything.

  But she had to leave her feelings out of this. This was about her life. She had closed her eyes to David’s weird rules far too long. Now she asked herself why. But the answer was quite simple: She had trusted him.

  At the moment things were looking quite different though. Thousands of inconsistencies occurred to her, stuff she’d barely paid attention to before. For example that she’d never been allowed to have birthday parties at home because he didn’t want strangers in the house. Julie had been the only exception. But even at Julie’s house she wasn’t allowed to stay overnight. Moreover, she always had to be home before it got dark. In winter this meant being home at 4.30 p.m.! That’s why she could never hang out with her friends after school, as they often did. She was always left out.

  Had David isolated her on purpose?

  Her head felt as if her brain was being tied in knots. No matter which directions her thoughts took, she couldn’t get over the assault and how badly the whole thing could have ended.

  Had David tried to get rid of her?

  If that’s the case, he changed his strategy. It must have become clear that after the botched assault another accident would have drawn too much attention. A slow death though, in the form of a daily dose of pink pills, would be more subtle… Suddenly she got nauseous. No way! She could feel what’s going on in others, she wouldn’t have missed murderous intent. Nevertheless, none of this made sense.

  After take-off, Julie cracked her fingers and started to tackle the Mac Book. Where was she taking all this energy from? Ally was tired, so incredibly tired.

  The steady strokes on the keyboard and the roaring of the turbines were lulling her until her eyelids dropped and she drifted into a restless sleep. She dreamed of Julie wearing a mask, looking like William Collins. David was wearing a Steven Brown mask. Both were beating her, but instead of defending herself, she was crying like a child. But it weren’t tears flowing, but emotions. She felt as if she were a leaking tanker, losing more and more emotions until all was left of her was an empty shell. A package without content.

  As if she was dead.

  04

  With tailwinds, it was usually a ten hours flight to Paris. But they had to face headwinds, so the trip took an additional hour. Ally slept nine of the eleven hours, and she would probably also have missed the landing if Julie hadn’t woken her.

  “You have to eat,” she whispered. “And I’ve got news.”

  Her broad smile told Ally that her friend had cracked the code. Instantly, she was awake. Sort of.

  When she opened her mouth Julie raised a hand. “Now, pay attention.” She pressed a button on her armrest and a flight attendant sailed in to take their orders. “Well, Michelle” Julie started, all business. “We’d both take the large breakfast with Croissants and freshly squeezed orange juice. My friend here would like to have a Latte and I’d kill for another Espresso. And how ‘bout fresh fruit salad. Do you have something like that on board?”

  “Bien sûr!”

  “Well then. Oh, and please bring the drinks right away. We’re dying of thirst.” With that she gave the flight attendant a fake smile, who turned on her heels to fulfill their wishes.

  As soon as she was gone, Julie broke into a cackle. “If you weren’t my best friend already we’d be inseparable by now. This First Class thing is awesome. I’ve been letting her dance by all night long, and every time she has the sweetest smile plastered on her face, although she hates my guts. We can order whatever we want, everything is for free. And did you see how penned in the poor bastards in cattle class are? I mean…”

  Michelle’s arrival interrupted her.

  “You’re a darling!“ Julie thanked her as sweet as sugar, throwing her a kiss. After Michelle vanished, Julie closed her eyes and downed the Espresso.

  Ally bit her lower lip to stifle a laugh. “How many of those have you had so far?”

  “No idea. I stopped counting after the seventh.”

  “Seven Espresso?”

  “No, no. Altogether, it was eleven or twelve…probably.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “And now, listen up!” She put her cup on Ally’s table because hers was occupied by the laptop. “While you were in dreamy land I’ve been up to the elbows in data.” With that, she opened the laptop and typed in a combination of numbers.

  “How did you get the code?”

  “How dumb do you think I am? While you’re stirring up the school newspaper I am the administrator of the SecurityByObscurity forum. Do you honestly think I waste time with the brute force procedure or the tapping of algorithms, they’re taking us for stupid in computer science class? On our board, we’ve developed a program based on the rainbow table method…”

  Ally cleared her throat. “Too many details.”

  Again, Julie shrugged as if to say: You’ve got no idea what you’re missing. “Anyway, with this program it’s as easy as pie.”

  Ally looked at her in anticipation while spooning up the milk foam of her Macchiato. “And?”

  “Well, the thing is that we’re sitting on a ton of information, but I have no clue what it’s supposed to tell us.” She turned the notebook around, pointing at files that were opening one after another.

  “I’ve sorted them a bit,” she continued and pointed at the subject line of the first note with her espresso spoon.

  “The records I’ve looked at so far essentially revolved around a failed project. Do you see this?” She tapped her finger against the monitor. It read OSK, an abbreviation that ran like a golden thread through the records.

  “The shortcut stands for Operation Special Skills,” Julie added after a good yawn.

  Ally scanned the monitor looking for the OSK, that appeared everywhere. She sporadically opened files, but their content didn’t make sense. Lists of behaviors, descriptions of blood-changes, medical reports. It sounded like the side effects of some screwed up medication. The more she read, the more her head spun. She’d hoped to find answers, instead she got more questions.

  Could this be one of David’s cases? Had he represented a client who’d been involved in this weird project? Somebody who had gotten sick and wanted to sue a pharmaceutical company? If so, there had to be a name, but she couldn’t find anything but vague token. But the inevitable CP, Cole’s initials, were running like thread through all the pages. Ally stopped short.

  Had this client possibly been her father? What if he’d done research for David? And the pharmaceutical company was hunting him down and he had to disappear. Though…that’s probably a bit too farfetched.

  When breakfast was served, Julie packed the notebook in her duffle bag and swit
ched it for a writing pad. “I know exactly how you feel,” she said and bit off one end of her croissant. “I felt the same. I mean, who the hell is supposed to understand that cryptic crap?” She dipped her croissant into Ally’s Latte. “That’s why I wrote down everything usable and made a list, otherwise we’ll never be able catch on. It’s not much, but it’s a start.” She opened the pad and sighed. “So, there must have been a project with the ridiculous name Operation Special Skills. Sounds like an X-Box-game, if you ask me. That was years ago and when the shit had been hitting the fan it went belly-up. Your, eh, this Cole had something to do with it. Actually he seems to be a key figure in all this chaos, his name appears, well, everywhere. There were others, too, but they only show up as initials. No idea what went wrong, but everybody involved is either dead or has disappeared. Except for Cole that is.”

  Come again? For a moment Ally’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Eh, Ally, if you’re getting a panic attack they’re gonna throw us off the plane.” In spite of the joke Julie looked worried.

  Ally closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Think about it like it’s a story. I mean, you’re good with stories. So imagine it’s something you’re writing. That’s how I always do it.”

  “Julie, you can’t compose three coherent sentences on paper,” she replied and turned towards her friend.

  “Well, I don’t do it with stories. I pretend that it’s a program I’m writing or a cipher I’m decoding. It’s the same thing.” She shrugged. “It works and that’s how it doesn’t get to me.”

  What kind of situation had Julie gotten herself into to come up with this technique?

  And why the heck hadn’t she thought of something like that. The idea was brilliant! This was a novel, a crime story, and she was the author…

  Okay, well, it didn’t really help, but in a way, she felt consoled by Julie’s sympathy.

  In either case, she had to pull her stuff together. They were about to find the truth. Maybe her parents were still alive and this was the one and only chance to find out what really happened back then. Even if she’d travel to hell and back, she’d make the journey without hesitation. She had so many questions, there was so much she wanted to know.