by Storm Chase
The second he left the room Pandora felt a sense of panic. Anyone could come walking through that door. On impulse she got up and closed it. It had no lock. She opened it again and listened. The voices were deep and carried right into the bedroom.
Pandora snuck into the small corridor. Thanks to a well-polished framed photo of a tribal chieftain on the wall she could see a reflection of the living room. Half a dozen African men in crisp cut Savile Row suits sat on the squashy sofa. A dozen more dressed in khaki and carrying rifles stood behind them.
Pandora stood paralysed. Her memory instantly presented her with a crystal clear image of Molakissi being shot, complete with the screaming sound of gunfire as the bullets ricocheted around the railway carriage.
“Gentlemen.” Xavier was speaking but it wasn’t the warm tones he used with her. He sounded cold, crisp and aloof. He stood in front of them, clearly relaxed but a little impatient with their impromptu visit. “You have some last moment concerns before we begin tomorrow?”
“We’d like a rundown of the technology,” one of the suits boomed.
“The technology is my field. All I need from you is a team that can interpret the information I give you and tell me what you want to go out.”
“We don’t understand how it’s done.”
“If you did, you wouldn’t need me.”
The suits stiffened with resentment.
“How do we know this will work?” another suit said.
“You’ve had your demo,” Xavier said coldly. “If you don’t want to continue, pay the kill-fee and we’re out of here.”
“Now then, no need for that!” a soothing voice spoke up. It came from a tall Latino lounging against the wall at the back of the room. Like Xavier, he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt but he had a military air about him nevertheless.
One of ‘my people,’ Pandora thought to herself.
“I didn’t come out here to be buggered about by a bunch of flatulent desk jockeys,” Xavier snapped. “We have a deal in place; if you don’t like it, we’ll call it quits right now.”
At his words, all the guns lifted and centred on Xavier. Pandora could feel her whole body trembling. Even hidden from sight in the corridor she could feel the tension in that room was at screaming point.
“Your demo was quite convincing,” a calm voice said quietly. The speaker sat at the centre of the suits. Although he looked somewhat older than the rest and slightly rumpled, he was the only one in the room apart from Xavier who looked relaxed. “But just to make a farting bureaucrat happy, could you show me your set-up?”
Xavier thought for a second, then shrugged and nodded. “All right. But don’t touch anything.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Peeking around the door Pandora watched as all the suits got to their feet and stood waiting respectfully as their boss accompanied Xavier to the bank of computers. She couldn’t hear what Xavier was saying but by the looks and smiles of the older man, everything was in order. She could see the other suits relax. The guns were pointing to the floor again.
Finally the boss sighed and put a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “Excellent. I can see it will be a splendid success.”
“You’re paying top rate because this is the best,” Xavier replied crisply. “I can put out whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. Just make sure that your people are on the ball.”
“I’ll make certain of it.” He touched a screen with a fingertip. “Who’s this?”
“That’s Pandora.”
“She’s pretty.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“I’d like to meet her.”
Pandora could feel her breath catch in her throat. There was no way her legs would carry her into that room full of guns. She needn’t have worried.
“Unlikely,” Xavier snapped. “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
Pandora decided Xavier’s mysterious people had been right. At this moment she would happily hug anyone who stood between her and this bunch of gun-toting hulks.
The boss man shrugged. “All right. My people will be here tomorrow.”
“Good.”
The Latino peeled himself off the wall and said polite goodbyes to the suits but Xavier stood silently as the group marched out.
Pandora inched her way to the door so she could see clearly. Xavier was sitting down and typing again.
“You could be more polite!” the Latino was back and grumbling.
Xavier shrugged. “No point. Anyway, they’ve no reason to carp. They’re getting what they’re paying for.”
“It may have escaped your notice but we’re in the middle of the fucking Democratic Republic of the fucking Congo!”
“So what? If anything happens, I don’t reset the countdown and my virus will ensure their whole military computer system is toast.”
“So you say!”
Xavier stopped typing. He was smiling slightly. “Do you doubt me?”
“Christ no, Dragon! But if you push them, they might care more about skinning you alive than their precious computer system.”
“Don’t be stupid, Paco. What do you think the demo was for?”
Paco looked bewildered. “We showed them the film from Damascus, right? The one where you blew up those rockets as they were transporting them? And that clip from Pakistan? The one where you shut down the electrical grid?”
“Sure, they got the show and tell. But when they were quibbling about the money last month, I gave them a small demonstration of my own.”
Paco swallowed nervously. “What did you do, Dragon?”
“They’ve got a small fleet of Sukhoi Frogfoots. On their last flyby I aimed their rockets at the presidential palace, chiefs of staff central command headquarters and parliament. I also aimed a warhead at their military intelligence centre, the one they thought was such a well-kept secret.”
Pandora watched as Paco went an interesting shade of grey. “Dear God, Dragon! What the hell did you do that for? I could have talked to them about the money!”
Xavier shrugged. “Sending a message was more efficient. They can bitch and moan all they like but they’ll remember those panic maydays for the rest of their lives. We are perfectly safe here.”
“It’s my job to deal with people, Dragon. You know you’re not good at it.”
“You think I made a mistake?”
Paco raised his hands in the air in defeat. “All right! So it worked!”
“So quit moaning then.” Xavier switched off his computer, caught sight of Pandora and immediately stood up. “Now bugger off, Paco. I want to spend some time with Pandora. And tell Ramon I won’t need him anymore tonight.”
Paco turned around, caught sight of Pandora and shrugged. “Right,” he said evenly. “See you tomorrow, Dragon.”
Paco disappeared and the apartment was silent again. Pandora heaved a sigh of relief. She didn’t resist as Xavier walked over and put his arms around her. The solid warmth of him was reassuring.
“You all right, Panda? You look a little pale.” His voice was affectionate and gentle.
“It’s the guns,” Pandora confessed. “I’ve never seen a gun before and suddenly they’re everywhere.”
“Don’t worry, they’re just for show.”
Pandora shuddered. “No, they’re not. I saw someone shot today, remember?”
Xavier frowned. “Poor Pandora. You were supposed to be asleep, you know. But with all the delays Mac ran out of dope.”
“Right.” She must be going nuts because it sounded eminently reasonable.
“And you were supposed to be out in London too. But you didn’t drink your tea.”
“It was too sweet.”
Xavier hugged her. “Miss Pickles is a menace.”
“You know about Miss Pickles?”
“Of course,” he was laughing. “I probably know her much better than you do! She’s been Sir Harry’s bit of crumpet for years.”
“Yuck!” Pandora thought about i
t. “It’s just unbelievable. I never liked her, you know. She’s an old tweedy cow with a rod up her arse.”
Xavier laughed. “You’ll be pleased then that she doesn’t like you at all. But Sir Harry thinks you’re fantastic.”
Pandora shook her head. “He doesn’t. He made a pass at me for form’s sake when I started work but when I didn’t bite, he went off me completely.”
“I sent him a text that he was to keep his hands to himself,” Xavier said cheerfully. “I’ve been looking out for you for weeks. Didn’t you work that out, Panda? Come on, let’s have a glass of wine. I’m so happy you’re here. I could only send you short texts before. The Committee insisted. I’ve been wanting to talk to you properly for ages.”
Pandora hesitated, then shrugged. Screaming that she had to get home wasn’t going to help. She’d have to talk nice.
He led her to the sofa, ducked out and came back with a bottle of Chardonnay and two glasses. Pandora looked him over again. Xavier could intimidate Sir Harry from half way across the world with a text message and he had fearlessly called a room full of men with guns flatulent desk jockeys. Yet there he was, grinning at her happily and looking like an ordinary person.
“I just Googled that PT141,” he said casually as he handed her a glass of wine. “It’s not very good information because it’s just from the Web but it does seem that it can take a while to kick in.”
Pandora shrugged. This was a man who’d aimed missiles at people to make a point. It would be futile to yell at him for doping her. “I don’t want it to kick in. I’m sleeping on the sofa.”
“Uh huh,” Xavier sat sideways on the sofa so he was looking directly into her face. “You going to lecture me again?”
After the roller coaster of emotions she’d experienced, she was feeling horribly reckless. She took a slug of wine. “Would it make a difference?”
“No. You’ll have to come up with something else.”
She changed the topic. “Your people. Are you like their capo or something?”
Xavier choked on his wine. “You are funny, Pandora! No, of course not. We’re not mafia, we’re just business people. There’s a Committee that oversees everything and various specialists who work in teams but I don’t get involved in any of that. I like to work alone.”
“Did you really aim those rockets at those people?”
“Yes.”
“Who are they?”
“They’re government.”
“What do they want?”
“They’re having a civil war and they need some help.”
“Why are they fighting?”
“It’s probably tribal. They’ve been fighting here forever.”
“Don’t you care?” Pandora asked curiously.
“Not really. I took the job because my people said they were paying good money. Too good to turn down. Frankly, I’d rather do something more interesting.”
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Just a bit of signals intelligence. You know, intercepting communiqués and making a few alterations.”
Pandora puzzled it out. “You’re messing up their message system?”
“Sort of. I get inside and impersonate various players. Say General A sends a message to Colonel B ordering him to attack a village in the north. I intercept it and change it so that the Colonel receives orders to go to a village in the south.”
Pandora instantly grasped how dangerous Xavier was. “You can redirect armies!” she gasped.
“That’s the plan.” He looked as if he was discussing a football game instead of a war.
“I thought all official communications were encrypted.”
“That’s what makes it fun.”
“But Xavier, people will die!”
“It’s a war, Panda. People are dying every day.” Xavier touched her hair with a gentle hand. “I like your short hair. You look like an elf. I saw the pictures of when you had it long. That was nice too. Why did you cut it, Panda?”
She was bewildered by the change of subject but answered automatically. “I just wanted a change.”
“I told you that I was a bit worried, right? Because I can’t read emotion very well? Well, I had some questions about your situation so my people sent me an expert. He said girls always change the way they look when they’re very upset.”
“Did he?” Pandora got that stuck-in-a-horror-film feeling again. “Well, I guess that’s one thing he was right about. I cut it when I broke off the engagement.” She took another belt of wine. She was in the middle of Africa and there was nowhere to go. Xavier seemed to have given up on having sex so she was safe on that score. She may as well get smashed.
“I was wondering what you’d do with your hair now,” Xavier said meditatively. “You’ve had a bit of shock these last few days.”
“You think?” Pandora finished her wine and poured herself another glass.
“Are you angry?” Xavier looked slightly worried. “Your voice is a bit flat. Did I say something wrong?”
She looked at him helplessly. “Xavier, I’ve seen one man knifed and another shot. I’ve discovered that my boss is a traitor and that I was duped into being a traitor too. On top of that I’ve been drugged and carted half way around the world. What on earth can I do to my hair to express what I feel?”
Xavier laughed. “You’re very funny, Panda. You’ve no idea how glad I am that you’re here!”
Chapter Five
Pandora could feel her head swimming. They’d downed two bottles of wine and Xavier was opening a third.
“I’m not sure if I should have more,” Pandora said carefully. The room was looking a little odd. Every time she looked at an edge it seemed to shimmer a little. She’d better slow down.
“Want a glass of water instead, Panda?” Xavier moved as if he were perfectly sober but his eyes were glittering.
She thought about it. “No, I don’t want anything that you’re not having.”
He laughed. “I can have water too.”
“All right then.”
To Pandora’s eyes he appeared to shimmer briefly before he pushed a bottle into her hand. She looked at it carefully. It seemed perfectly normal.
“Don’t drink the tap water here, Panda,” Xavier said. “You’d get sick. Stick to the bottled stuff. There’s a fridge full of it.”
“The top has been taken off,” Pandora said holding out the bottle he’d given her.
“I opened it for you.” He took a swig of his own water.
Pandora watched him swallow. “I’ll have your bottle,” she said.
He was laughing. “All right.”
She drank it down in one go. It was icily delicious.
“Did mine look better than yours?” Xavier was grinning at her.
“I’m not having anything until I’ve seen you have some,” Pandora said carefully. The room was still swimming. She knew she was totally trashed and she decided didn’t care after all. Nothing mattered anymore.
“Why not, Panda?” Xavier thought it a good joke.
“Because I don’t want to be drugged again.”
Instantaneously the smile was wiped off his face. He slid along the sofa and put his arms around her. “Oh Panda! I’m sorry!”
She could feel the hard muscles of his arms flex against her skin through the thin T-shirt. The touch of his chest against her ribs created a tide of warmth. Her skin was alabaster pale in comparison to his golden tan.
“Are you still frightened? I thought you were all right?”
His face was inches from hers. She could see his light brown eyes were touched with flecks of amber and green. His eyelashes were very long and very dark.
“If I had your lashes, I wouldn’t need mascara,” she said.
Xavier smiled. “You’re beautiful, Pandora. I love the way your eyes change colour from blue to grey.”
He was now sitting with his arms wrapped around her. Washed in the heat of his body, Pandora felt the room lurch around her. She closed he
r eyes and leaned her head against his. He smelled of leather and saddle soap.
“You smell like horses,” she murmured.
“It’s 1 Million,” Xavier said in her ear. “You said you liked it.”
More stalker weirdness. She didn’t even care anymore.
Xavier’s Galaxy Tab was lying on the table. After pouring the first glass of wine, he’d pulled it out and shown her pictures of all the places he’d been: beaches in Hawaii, Curacao, Mexico, Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Barbados, the carnival in Rio, jungle trekking in Thailand, surfing in South Africa and Indonesia...
Xavier had travelled the world, seeing places that Pandora had only dreamed of. It seemed very glamorous but despite the ocean of wine inside her, she noted there were no pictures of friends. These images were as impersonal as travel brochures.
“Do you have friends?” Pandora asked, slurring a little.
“Not really,” Xavier answered. “I’m like you: I know lots of people but I don’t have friends.”
That hurt.
“But I have you now,” Xavier went on happily.
Pandora had had enough. Her head was swimming with wine and she wasn’t feeling too good about Xavier’s pinpointing her weaknesses either.
“I’m going to sleep,” Pandora said. She got up and staggered to the bathroom. She’d brush her teeth, grab a pillow and crash on the sofa. She wasn’t worried that Xavier would try anything anymore. He was seriously weird but he seemed to have given up on getting her into bed.
Without thinking about it, Pandora undressed and got into the shower. She always showered before bed, believing the hot water made it easier for her to fall asleep. The second she got under the hot spray, she knew something was up.
The cascade of warm water set her skin tingling. It was the weirdest feeling. She could almost feel the individual drops landing on her skin. Pandora froze and then relaxed. If that was the spiked Mars bar at work, it was all right.
Pandora leaned up against the wall with her hands, letting the water run over her back. It felt like heaven. Experimentally, she turned around. When the spray hit her breasts, she groaned. Every nerve was taut, teasing. Pandora stood under the water until her skin was humming. This wasn’t just all right; it was heaven.