Shattered Rules

by Allder, Reggi

  The intruder told Kelly she’d die the day after tomorrow. If Nickels was the intruder, the bruises he had given her were just healing. Brick would be damned to hell before he let Nickels get a chance to touch her again.

  He relaxed his fisted hands and thought about the fact. He had names: Johnny Vega, George Nickels and Yi Jun Kim, an American with known ties to organized crime, a Greek working for a high tech company in the Silicon Valley, and a Korean known to have illegally sold electronic parts to North Korea. How were they linked?

  It was disturbing that no matter how much he understood he still didn't have enough information to make total sense of the situation.

  He stared out the window. The beauty of Lake Tahoe had disappeared in the fading light. Evening had arrived.

  There was another call to make. Don would be feeling pressure from his superiors to get some concrete information. He hoped the name of George Nickels, at In-Tech, would placate Don and his FBI bosses.

  The phone rang once and Don picked up the call. Without preliminaries, Brick gave him the name of George Nickels and told him about his concern that blue prints from an In-Tech long range guidance system might have been stolen.

  His boss made no comment but he could feel his tension. He and Don had been friends for years, but now the warmth of that friendship was gone and unease had replaced it. What was going on? The only explanation he could think of, Don was feeling the weight of the job.

  “If there’s a flash drive out there with plans for a guidance system we better give the CIA a heads up.” Brick paced as he spoke. “Nickels is a foreign national and Greece is close enough to the middle east to make my hair stand on end.”

  Silence.

  “Don, are you still there?”

  “What else do you have for me?”

  “I put a name to the sketch I sent you. The man's name is Yi Jun Kim, a Korean. I don't know what he's calling himself now, but that was his name when I was in the army and stationed in South Korea. He was caught selling restricted electronic equipment to the North Koreans. At the time it was front-page news.”

  “The South Korean police didn’t apprehend him?”

  “No. Yi just disappeared. My guess is that he high tailed it to North Korea. So, you can imagine my surprise when I see him sitting in Johnny Vega’s conference room.”

  “You're sure it's the same man?”

  “Yeah, it's him alright. My hackles are up. Something is about to happen. The shit’s going to hit the fan. The CIA needs to be told.”

  “Nickels, Yi and their goons, killed an FBI agent. They're going to pay for leaving my agent’s face down in the Truckee River. And I heard about Agent Simmons bleeding to death in his own home. Nobody's taking this case away from me,” Don's said. “As far as I'm concerned the CIA has bumbled one too many cases. They've left this country vulnerable while they were bogged down in their own internal politics and I'm not going to give them a chance bungle this one. We'll handle it. Clear!”

  “As glass.” Brick tensed. He didn’t like it, but he’d been given a direct order. “It’s crystal clear.”

  “I want any new info you get as soon as you get it. Stay in touch.” Don said. “And buddy.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Remember to watch your back.”

  The phone went dead in his hand. He groaned. Don’s decision not to tell the CIA was one they were both going to regret.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Kelly woke in bed and stretched. A delicious feeling spread through her. Being with Brick had been more incredible than she’d imaged and her dreams had been breathtaking. With her yearning for him fulfilled, for the first time in her life she felt complete.

  Where was she in her cycle? It didn't matter. The thought that she might have started a new life with the man she loved thrilled her. It seemed the only sane act in the mist of the chaos that had become her life. She smiled. Brick cherished her.

  Later that evening, they dined on Swiss cheese sandwiches, green salad and decaffeinated coffee. In the living room, they sat together on the sofa in front of a roaring fire. He put his arm around her and she rested her heard on his shoulder. She watched the flames in the fireplace dance and remembered the ballet she and Brick had danced together that afternoon. Everything that needed to be said between them had been said. With nothing more to talk about she sat in contented silence just happy to be in his company.

  “Let’s go to bed,” he said.

  This time she knew he meant together. She smiled and then kissed him.

  The next morning, dressed only in Brick's navy blue polo shirt and her black bikini panties, she stood in front of the old gas range cooking scrambled eggs. A pitcher of orange juice sat on the kitchen table and pancakes were being kept warm in the oven. She’d promised to have breakfast on the table by the time he finished his shower.

  They’d made love again during the night, slow tender love and she woke in his arms.

  A whiff of shaving cream entered with Brick when he walked into the kitchen. Inhaling the masculine aroma, mixed with the smell of pancakes, she grinned. He wore jeans and the dove gray shirt he wore the day he came back into her life. She’d feared him then. She should have known there was no need.

  He seemed taller and stronger this morning.

  He kissed her cheek. “Hmm, smells good,” he said. “Oh, and the food smells good too.” He winked.

  She laughed and poured coffee into a mug for him.

  “That polo shirt looks a lot better on you than it ever did on me.” He pulled her to him, hugging her and caressing her neck with kisses.

  “Brick, the eggs will burn.” She laughed again and pulled away to save breakfast.

  “Hmm, eggs scrambled just the way I like them.” He licked his lips.

  “I’m glad.”

  “Aren’t you going to eat?”

  “You’re all I need right now.” She kissed him on the cheek.

  “The men I called to install the security system will be here soon.” He took a bite of egg. “You should get dressed. You look great, but I won’t share you with anyone.”

  She glanced down at her bare legs. “Okay. I can take a hint.” She wrinkled her nose and then grabbed her coffee cup and started to leave the room.

  “I thought all you needed was me.”

  “You and a cup of coffee,” she answered and laughed.

  She quickly showered and dressed in white Capri pants and pale pink cotton tee and white running shoes and then returned to the kitchen.

  Brick was just taking a cola from the refrigerator. He popped it open and quickly swallowed a gulp.

  “You drink too much soda.” She pretended to scold him.

  “My one vice.” He chuckled.

  “Brick.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I was thinking about the Asian man you saw in the conference room. You believe he’s here to buy Johnny’s flash drive with plans for a missile guidance system on it.”

  “That’d be my guess.”

  She went to the sink and started to wash the breakfast dishes. “Shouldn't we tell someone Mr. Yi is here?”

  “The FBI knows. I told my boss. But so far, Yi hasn't done anything illegal. So, all the authorities can do is watch and wait.” He got up and grabbed a dishtowel and dried a dish.

  “I remember reading a news story about a mushroom cloud explosion in North Korea. The news media seemed to think it might be nuclear.” She put another dish in the drying rack.

  “Yeah, in September 2004. Many countries, Japan included, wondered if the North Koreans had been doing above ground testing of their Nuclear weapons. For political reasons, it was all hushed up.”

  “Then in the winter of 2005 the North Koreans admitted to the world they had nuclear bombs. They needed them because the United States imperialists were planning a war against North Korea, a North Korean spoke’s person said. With the death of leader Kim Jong Il and his son taking over, we can’t predict what the future will bring. But we know
the son wants weapons of mass destruction and is trying to get a long-range delivery system.” He took another sip of cola.

  “How can you be so calm?” She didn’t really expect him to answer. As an FBI agent he must talk about WMDs as an everyday topic of conversation.

  Her hands trembled as she contemplated the new information. The soap bubbles from a dish she was washing dropped to the kitchen floor. “How many nuclear bombs does North Korea have?

  “Well, I’m no expert. But it’s widely believed that they had at least eight. By now they could have a dozen or more.”

  “And no one can stop them?” She handed Brick the dish she’d just washed.

  “Short of a war, it's hard to influence an isolated country run by a dictator.” He dried it and set it on the counter. “Right now, the U.S. government believes North Korea could launch a nuclear device that could reach Hawaii, maybe even Alaska.”

  He put the plates into the cupboard and turned to face her. “With a longer-range guidance system, they could hit Chicago or Washington D.C.”

  “My God! Why would they do that?”

  “North Korea is desperately poor and almost totally isolated from the rest of the world's commerce. They have trouble feeding their own people.” He took another gulp of cola. “North Korea could extort money from the West by promising not to use the missile guidance system. Or even worse, they could sell the system in the underground weapons market. If a rogue nation got a hold of it, they could bomb the United States.”

  She gasped and looked out the window at the beauty of the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains, strong and silent they jutted toward the azure sky. In the Tahoe Valley with its gray granite walls acting as a fortress and the lake as a moat, she’d always felt safe. But safety was an illusion. There was nowhere in the world that was secure.

  With the dishes forgotten, she sat at the kitchen table and let out a sharp breath of air. “I can't believe we’re having this conversation. I can’t accept any of this. I can’t believe I’m involved in it.”

  She shook her head. “I use to read about world events: wars, dictators, weapons of mass destruction and I barely gave it a passing thought. Now I'm thinking I could have a flash drive with information on how to build a long-range missile guidance system that could kill millions of innocent people and destroy cities all over the United States.” She paused. “I can't get my head around that.”

  He joined her at the table.

  She gazed into his clear eyes, “Why would other counties even want the system? They know it could bring the wrath of the United States military on them?”

  He leaned forward in his chair. “Imagine if all rogue nations and terrorist organizations, large and small, could buy nuclear bombs. They still couldn't deliver the bombs past a short range, perhaps a few hundred miles. So, even with nuclear bombs out there, most of the world has felt pretty safe.”

  He pushed his hair from his eyes and took a slow deep breath. “If a long-range system were on the open market it would change the balance of power in the world and give parity to the rogue nations.”

  “I—”Her voice cracked.

  “Yeah.”

  “This can’t be true.” She cleared her throat. “It has to be some horrible mistake.”

  “The only way we’ll know for sure is to get the flash drive and take a look at the files.”

  “I can’t deal with this.” She ran from the room.

  The phone rang as she entered the bedroom. She grabbed it in time to hear Brick say hello. Curious, she listened.

  “Hey Brick.”

  “Don, why use the house phone? You know my cell phone is more protected.”

  “I want to know where you are.”

  “Just ask, I'll tell you where I am.”

  “Have you learned anything more from Kelly?” Don said ignoring Brick’s statement.

  “No.”

  “You have twelve hours to get something I can use or I'm bringing her in and I'll interrogate her.”

  “C'mon Don, she's told me everything she knows. Taking her in isn't going to help you.”

  “When I assigned you to see her it was to get information on Johnny Vega, I didn't care what you did to get it. Well, you've been playing house with her for days and don't have anything to show for it. She knows what’s going down. Find out what or I’m coming there and taking charge of her.” The phone went dead.

  “Shit,” She heard Brick say into the dead air.

  She carefully hung up the bedroom phone.

  He’d been assigned by the FBI to come to her house. She’d let herself believe he returned to see Carrie, but he’d stayed because she, not her sister, was in trouble and needed help. How stupid could she be?

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Yesterday Kelly said she loved Brick. Yesterday he made love to her. Yesterday he said he cherished her. Today she felt the sting of his lies. As she remembered her behavior in the shower, her cheeks burned with embarrassment. He’d let her behave like that knowing she was just another assignment.

  He’d probably had a good laugh behind her back. How did he keep from laughing in her face? A cry crawled up the back of her throat. She chocked it back. Damn him.

  When she found Brick, he was in the foyer saying goodbye to the men who had installed the security system in the cabin.

  “I trusted you. How could you?”

  “What are you talking about?” He closed the door behind the exiting men.

  “I heard your telephone conversation with Don. You came here to use me to get information on Johnny.”

  “Let me explain.” He reached for her hand.

  She yanked it away. “There's nothing to explain. It's all too clear. You were willing to do anything to get information. Even make love to me. You know what that makes you.”

  “Don't.”

  “I trusted you!”

  He reached for her again, holding her to him. “I never meant to hurt you. But you need to calm down. Getting upset isn't going to get us anywhere. Just give me a chance to explain.”

  “Let go of me.” Brick’s composed voice annoyed her. Why was he always so calm? She wrenched out of his grasp. “I don't want your explanation. I've heard too many of your lies.”

  “Try to understand. I had a duty to perform but I never meant to hurt you.”

  “I had faith in you. I said I loved you,” she whispered. “And you took advantage of that. I didn't think you could be so despicable. I didn't think I could be such a fool. I hate myself for being gullible, but most of all I detest you for using me.”

  He flinched as if he’d been slapped. His eyes narrowed and a grim expression spread across his taut features. She didn't want to see the anguish. She turned her back on him.

  “I work for the FBI and I have a duty to perform. But that doesn't change my feelings for you. Grow up, Kelly. This is serious business and our personal feelings don’t count for much.”

  “My feelings are all I have. And I don’t care about your duty.”

  “Stop, that’s enough.”

  “How dare you tell me what to do? You don’t have the right, not after what you’ve done.”

  “Talking to you is pointless until you calm down.” He slammed the door as he left the room.

  She groaned. He said he cherished her. Liar. She couldn’t stand to be in the same house with him. She grabbed her car keys from the entryway table and ran out the front door.

  ***

  The man watched the old Honda pull out of the garage. He waited for a moment and then followed, keeping the pick-up truck back far enough so it wouldn’t be noticed. The girl was finally on the move. Was she going for the flash drive? He damned well hoped so. His hands tingled in anticipation.

  ***

  After driving aimlessly, Kelly found herself in Truckee at the Tahoe Donner subdivision, on a road overlooking the closed ski lodge, serene and beautiful, a counterpoint to her disordered life.

  There were no cars around. It was good to be alone.
She parked on the shoulder of the road, rolled down the window and took a slow, deep breath. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she let out a sob.

  The brisk air began to cool her anger and her breathing slowed. At this higher elevation, lacy snow floated to the ground. A delicate flake hit the windshield, she watched others follow. With another deep breath, she forced herself to get a hold of her emotions and refused to think of Brick’s betrayal.

  True, her life had disintegrated into chaos. Nevertheless, sitting alone in the beauty of the mountains even without Brick’s help, she decided she would survive. She didn‘t know how, but determination was half the battle, wasn’t it?

  Before she met Johnny, she’d longed for excitement, a thrill to break the monotony that defined her life. But not chaos, she’d never wished for that.

  If she could go to college again, she’d take pleasure in simple learning and she’d do it without personal relationships. How little joy she’d received from personal entanglements, they’d only brought her pain. She closed her eyes and strangled a sob. She’d give almost anything to go back to her boring life before she met Johnny Vega.

  “Kelly, you're dead.”

  Through the open car window she saw a pistol pointed at her head. Fear surged and she began to shake.

  So involved in her own thought, she hadn't noticed the other vehicle, or heard the man get out of it and walk to the Honda. Her heart raced when she glanced from the gun to the man holding it. The shorter intruder who’d ransacked her house. Gun in one hand, the other hand on her door handle, in one swift move moment he opened the car door and yanked her out.

  “Time to die.”

  “No!”

  He laughed as he hit her with his pistol.

  She screamed and pain spread along her jaw.

  “Shut up.”

  She shrieked and twisted her arm to wrench out of his grasp. He raised his hand to hit her again.

  “Hey, leave her go!”

  A huge man, wearing a blue plaid jacket and jeans, jumped from his SUV and rushed toward them.

  “I said let go of her!” the stranger yelled.