by Robert Stohn
The doctor disappeared for a few moments and Jonathan kneeled down beside the bed in the large room. “Thank god he was home,” he said to her. “You’re going to be okay.”
“I know. Thankfully he was here. Jonathan, I’m frightened. What am I going to do? Where am I going to go?”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Don’t focus on that at this moment. Just focus on healing, and we’ll figure it out. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”
“Thank you,” she said.
He reached out and held her hand and looked into her pale blue eyes. Those eyes. He was mesmerized by those eyes. But, as he was lost in her eyes, Mehmet reappeared with fresh towels, and a bowl of hot water, along with his supplies.
“Okay, this is going to hurt,” he said.
“Should I stay?” Jonathan asked.
“Yes, yes. Stay. I’m going to need your help.” The doctor had a grave look of concern on his face as he pulled out a large needle. “This is local anesthetic. It will numb the pain a little bit. He positioned the needle over the vein in the crevice of her arm by her bicep, and quickly stuck it in. Jonathan watched as the liquid drained from the needle and into her arm. He could see a calm wash over her face.
“Okay, you have to help me hold these instruments, and give them to me as I ask for them. He slipped on some rubber gloves and went to work trying to dislodge the bullet from Jennifer’s shoulder. He had a very serious look of concern during the entire procedure. Jonathan could feel the anxiety perspiring off the doctor has he worked diligently to dislodge the bullet. Jonathan handed him his instruments as he cut into her shoulder and pulled the bullet out with a pair of medical pliers. Jonathan cringed at the sight and had to look away.
“There. I got it,” the doctor said.
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Let’s hope so. She’s lost a lot of blood. I have to stich her up. Hand me the needle from there and the suture string please. It’s a black string in a small role.”
“Here you go,” Jonathan said.
The doctor worked to stich her up. Jennifer was nearly passed out the entire time. She kept trying to open her eyes, and Jonathan kept a cool rag on her forehead, telling her it was going to be okay. But, he didn’t know if it was going to be okay. He didn’t know what to think anymore. He was scared, and it was obvious. He tried his best to hide his fears. He tried his best to keep his cool.
“There. That’s it. That’s the last one,” Mehmet said. “Now, she needs to rest. Here, take these.” He placed two pills in her mouth and told her to swallow. “It’s for the pain. She needs to rest.”
The doctor led Jonathan out of the bedroom, and they closed the door to allow her some time to sleep it off. The medication was going to hit hard, and combined with the pain pills, her body was most likely going to shut down and she could sleep it off. He led Jonathan into the living area where he got a first glimpse out onto the city.
“Wow, we’re really high up here. You can see the entire city from this point,” Jonathan said. “I didn’t even notice it when we first came in.”
“Yes, we’re at the top of a very steep hill at the highest elevation in the city. You can see the Bosporus from here. You see the Bosporus Bridge over there?” Mehmet pointed to the beautiful bridge that was cast over the Bosporus Strait. It looked majestic from there. Everything looked majestic. Mosques dotted the horizon. They were everywhere.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” Jonathan said.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Have you lived here long?”
“Three years now.”
“How do you and Jennifer know each other?”
“We went to secondary school together here in Istanbul. We’ve known each other for about 20 years now.” They walked over and sat in two armchairs in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Would you like some kave?”
“I’m sorry? Kave?”
“Yes, that’s Turkish for coffee,” Memhet said.
“Sure, I would love some.”
“It’s strong coffee, however. It’s similar to say a double espresso in the states.”
“Sure, yes. I love espresso. I haven’t had a chance to try the coffee here yet.”
“I’m sure you’ll like it,” Mehmet said.
Mehmet disappeared for a few minutes while Jonathan sat there taking in the stunning landscape. He hadn’t seen the city from that point of view and it was picturesque from up there. He couldn’t remember another city as beautiful as that. The twinkling lights of the Bosporus Bridge were reflected in the water as the sun disappeared in the sky. The Bosporus Bridge changed colors every few moments from red, to orange, to blue. Mehmet reappeared with the coffee and served it in two small glasses that looked like miniature mugs.
“You know that in Turkish tradition, women will usually tell your horoscope with the grains of the coffee. When you’re finished, you would flip it over and wait a few moments. As the coffee-sludge runs down the sides of the cup, it leaves pictures there that are then interpreted. These women use those pictures to tell a person’s future or horoscope using the coffee cup.”
“That’s interesting,” Jonathan said.
“Yes, and some women are very good at it.” The doctor smiled as they sipped their coffee. “Do you like it? I know it’s late for coffee, but in Turkey, we drink coffee at all hours.”
“Yes, I like it. But, as you said it’s very strong.”
“Yes, one or two of these and you’ll be bouncing off the walls.” They both laughed. “So, tell me again, what’s going on here? I’m very worried for my friend. You know, this is very serious. You can imagine my shock to see her show up here unannounced with a bullet lodged in her shoulder and blood everywhere.”
“I know. I know,” Jonathan said. He looked at the ground as they spoke. He was almost embarrassed. He felt like it was all his fault. He didn’t know what to say.
“Well, thankfully you were there to bring her here. I will forever be in your debt. If you weren’t there, I don’t know what would have happened. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if you weren’t there.”
“I wish I could have done something… something more to protect her. I feel so terrible. I have this empty feeling in my stomach.”
“What’s really going on? Why are people after her? Is it because of you? Are they after you? Did you do something wrong?”
“It’s not me that they’re after… at least that’s not what I think. I think they’re after her. I think that they’re after her for her research work.”
“Her research work?”
“Yes,” said Jonathan. “You know, her work in the states on advanced algorithms? The work on ciphers?”
“I guess I don’t know as much about her life as I should. I haven’t had much time to spend with her lately. I’ve been so busy with work myself.”
“Oh… I’m sorry… I thought…”
“That’s okay. I guess it probably looked like I would have known a lot more than I do,” the doctor said. He re-crossed his legs, shifting from one side of the armchair to the other. Jonathan looked back out the window and seemingly got lost in another thought.
The evening’s events were racing through his mind. For the first time in a long time, he actually feared for his life, and he actually cared enough to protect the life of someone he barely even knew. For two years he had beat himself up over the death of his wife. For two long years he had suffered at the behest of his own personal demons.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse things. I guess I’m just a little bit worried. I have a lot on my mind right now,” Jonathan said. He sipped his coffee and looked at Mehmet.
“What are you going to do? What’s your plan?” asked Mehmet. “These people that are after her… how are you going to help stop them?” It was clear that he was concerned as he eyed Jonathan with a twinge of suspicion. The doctor crossed his legs then re-crossed them over and over. It almost
seemed like it was a nervous habit.
“I don’t know right now. I really don’t know what we’re going to do. I think I have to make a phone call. Can you excuse me for a minute?”
“Sure, go ahead. There’s another empty bedroom over there, at the other end of the apartment.”
“Great. Be back in a few minutes.”
Jonathan checked his watch – it was barely 9pm and the sky still hadn’t gone completely dark yet. That meant that it was 2pm in New York. He was still adjusting to the math in his head. He picked up his cell phone and dialed one of his only friends in New York.
“Blake?”
“Jon? Is that you? Where are you? What number is this?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m overseas and I’m calling you from an international SIM. I’m in Istanbul right now.”
“Istanbul?” Blake asked. “What the heck are you doing over there?”
“It’s a work thing. Look, I need to ask you something. I need to ask you a favor. I know that I haven’t been the best friend lately, what with all the drinking and all.”
“Jon, I don’t have any money to lend you. I really don’t…”
“It’s not that. I just… I need a favor from you.”
“What is it? You know I’ll help you with whatever I can.”
“Are you still good friends with that reporter at the Times… what was his name again?”
“Ed Perkins?”
“Yeah, him. I haven’t seen him in ages and I don’t have his number anymore. I need you to get in touch with him for me… I’ve got a story that he’s going to want to hear.”
“Okay. I’ll have him call you on this number.”
“Great. Thanks, Blake,” said Jonathan.
“Anytime.”
Chapter 9
The 245-foot superyacht came to dock in Istanbul’s harbor. The massive vessel jettisoned itself, glistening on the water as a stark reminder of the audacious wealth in the world. Boris Medviek adjusted his disguised prosthetic nose and faux facial hair in the mirror. It was a complete transformation. His thin and very pointy nose was replaced with a rounded and obtuse version that changed the profile of his face. The dark 1960’s style thick lenses added to an already complete alteration of his look.
As the superyacht secured itself in the harbor, Boris descended the ramp onto the docks in Istanbul. His many passports afforded him the opportunity to travel the world in almost complete obscurity. Money could buy that for you. After spending years creating multiple identities for himself, he was armed with a treasure trove of personalities that he could assume at any given moment. To add to the allure, the yacht’s registered owner was a Bearer Shares Corporation located in Panama, of which the obscurity and anonymity allowed him to travel virtually undetected around the world.
On shore, Boris climbed into the back of a black bulletproof Mercedes outfitted with the latest technology. The car hurried through the busy streets of Istanbul enroute to a busy shopping district. He launched a smartphone app that housed a WiFi beacon. As the car traversed the streets, Boris used the app to locate the strongest WiFi signal he could find. The driver parked the car and Boris exited the vehicle with a black leather briefcase. At the café, Boris found a discreet corner inside where he could stay virtually unnoticed.
After getting setup, Boris ordered a coffee, plugged in the black USB cipher drive, and went to work. His fingers glided across the keyboard with the speed and efficiency of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. He could see his reflection in the glare of the black UNIX screens as he launched them to initiate his attack. First, he worked on ghosting his IP address through several proxies that created a roaming dynamic IP address. Anyone who wanted to even attempt to track him, would have an enormous amount of difficulty doing so. The proxy servers allowed him just enough anonymity to not have his signal pinpointed. But, he still took precautions. He was careful beyond belief because he knew what was at stake.
The first task – the easy one – was to located Dr. Jennifer M. Cobalt and find out all the information he could on her. That part would be easy; he knew that. The second part would be to allocate the identities of field agents at the CIA, FBI, MI6, and NSA. He launched into a tirade of typing, occasionally glancing up from under his glasses to survey his surroundings. Boris watched himself in the reflection of the UNIX browser as he entered the commands and responses were spit back out at him. He caught the glance of an occasional onlooker, but he sensed that he was fine. He was virtually untraceable. Again, he was a ghost. He watched the black USB CIPHER drive’s LED lights humming, orange and green intermittent flashes as ciphers were sent shooting across the depths of cyberspace. He smiled to himself as the commands were read, and databases were accessed.
He quickly cracked into Istanbul’s healthcare system. He searched through the database using more UNIX commands against the primitively protected data on the other end. He knew that would be easy. The database was built on Oracle architecture, and he knew it like the back of his hand. His fingers continued flying across the keyboard as he listed records of the various hospitals and searched through the streaming data for records. No results. He couldn’t find a hospital or medical center where she had been admitted. She had been smart. There were no check-ins at any of the area hospitals under that name. Could she have used an assumed name or an alias? No, he didn’t think that would have happened.
His next browser screen launched into the Turkish telecom systems. He started with all the major telecoms and began hurling the ciphers across the Web. Within minutes, he had cracked the antiquated security through a brute-force attack. He used the doctor’s Turkish cellphone number and immediately started searching the databases to find the right telecom that housed the phone number. Once he found it, his hands continued to fly across the screen, punching in more lines of code against the UNIX browsers until he had made his way into the telecom’s GUI. Once in, he had a much easier time scrolling through records in an easy-to-read format. He located all incoming and outgoing data for the phone number including SMS messages, GPS information, and phone calls. He saved the data, but used the GPS to pinpoint her exact location at that moment in time.
Once he had the coordinates, he picked up the phone and placed a call to Viktor.
“Da?” said the voice on the other end.
“It’s Boris.”
“Da. Yes, boss. I’m sorry, boss. I know that…”
Boris cut him off. “Get a pen. I need you to write down these coordinates.”
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Boris read off the exact GPS coordinates to Viktor over the phone and told him not to screw it up again. Once he was done with the phone call, he opened a final browser screen when someone bumped into his table. It was the server, who profusely apologized.
“Oh, özür dilerim,” she said, apologizing.
And as if speaking perfect Turkish, Boris replied, “Bir şey değil.” It was no big deal, but it was a big deal. She had interrupted his train of thought. She had broken his concentration. He was flustered, but he tried not to show it. But to Boris, it was an omen. It was a sign to stop what he was doing. He looked around carefully through dark glasses to see if anyone was watching. He couldn’t be too careful. He was about to compromise the utmost valuable information in the world. He couldn’t stay there any longer. It was too risky for him. He decided he would save it for another time. Something about the situation spooked him, and he left just as silently as he had arrived.
*****
Dr. Jennifer Cobalt opened her eyes late the next the morning. She had slept hard and heavy. The pain pills had taken a severe toll on her. She tried to get her bearings and remember what had happened. Pain shot through her shoulder as she tried to get up. She looked over at the bandaged shoulder and remembered the gunshot. She panicked. She looked around the empty bedroom and got herself up out of bed.
She staggered into the living room to find Mehmet and Jonathan there playing backgammon. They were laughing and
having small talk when she walked into the room.
“Hello,” Jonathan said.
“Hi.”
He immediately got up from his seat and walked over to her. “Are you okay? How are you feeling? The shoulder…”
“It stings,” she replied.
Mehmet got up too and walked over to give her a thorough checkup. “You know it’s a good thing it’s Sunday today and I don’t have rounds. You were able to get a good rest. How’s the mobility? It will probably sting for a few weeks. Just keep your arm in this sling. Here, hang on, let me grab it for you.” The doctor opened a closet, leafed through some supplies, and pulled out a sling for her shoulder. “Here, slip this on. There, how does that feel?”
“Okay. It still hurts, but I’ll be okay. I can’t thank you enough, Mehmet. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“It’s okay.”
They spoke in Turkish for a few minutes and Jonathan looked lost. He stood there and smiled, trying to get a grasp on what they were saying. Mehmet was certainly worried, that was for sure, but the specifics of the conversation went over his head.
“Mehmet,” Jonathan said, once they were finished speaking. “Thank you as well. Thank you so much for helping us. But we shouldn’t stay. We should really get moving.” He looked at Jennifer with kind eyes. He had a look of empathy. He still felt incredibly responsible for the situation.
But before they were able to finish their conversation, there was a knock at the door.
“Are you expecting someone?” Jonathan asked. His tone was hushed, as if he the knock startled him. He was on edge. He quickly walked to the door and stood to the side of it. He motioned for Mehmet to come to the door and look through the peep hole while Jonathan stood on the side.
Jonathan mouthed the words “Who is it?” to Mehmet, as he peered through the peephole.
“Delivery,” Mehmet said, but only by moving his mouth and not saying a word. He shrugged his shoulders and started to unlock the door. As soon as the door was slightly ajar, and before he got a chance to unchain the link, it was kicked in. A man with a black ski mask on stormed in and shot three bullets square into the doctor who fell with a thud on the floor. The silenced gunshots echoed in Jonathan’s mind, and he thought he was dreaming. He thought what he was looking at wasn’t actually happening. He did the first thing he could think of – from behind the door he punched the man as hard as he could. His fist erupted into a crunch of bone and skin, spattering blood across the apartment.