A Huge Mistake

by Laney Kay

  She tried to look innocent and shrugged with both palms up. “What are you talking about?”

  He laughed, shaking his head, kissed her quickly, grabbed her hand, and started towing her down the hall. They got to her room and he propped himself against the doorframe while she opened a suitcase on the bed and went into the closet to get some jeans and sweaters. She threw open her armoire and picked out some sweatshirts and other warm clothes, and she pointed to the dresser next to Jake. “Hey, would you get me some warm socks and some short athletic socks, out of that drawer? And the drawer under it has some workout clothes, and I just need a couple pairs of tights and shorts and two tanks and two long sleeve shirts.”

  “Sure.” He moved to her dresser to grab what she’d asked for, but the first drawer he opened was her underwear drawer. She had several barely-there lacy thongs and matching bras, and he grabbed two sets, one in black and one in red, and one pair of crotchless panties. “How about these?” He asked hopefully, smiling as he dangled them off his fingers.

  Lola laughed. “Sure, but would you also get those cotton bikinis on the right hand side and those two white sports bras and the two little beige pullover bras right in front of you?”

  Jake pulled them all out and handed them to Lola, who stuffed them in her suitcase. He then grabbed her workout clothes while she went into the bathroom to pack her toiletries. She threw some shoes and boots into the suitcase and was about to close it when Jake stopped her. “Wait, what about work clothes?”

  Lola shrugged. “I don’t need them. Long story, but I’m sort of in the middle of making a big work change, so I only have a few cases right now and I had my secretary file an emergency leave of absence on all of them.” She closed the top of the suitcase and zipped it up. “Okay, ready to go.”

  Jake pushed her hand aside and grabbed the suitcase. “Okay, sounds good. Let’s get out of here.”

  They stopped by the kitchen to pack a cooler with the rest of the food Daisy had brought, set her alarm system, and headed down to the garage. Within a couple of minutes, they were heading toward Roswell and Jake’s office. Lola was staring out the window, obviously deep in thought. Jake reached over and took her hand and shook it to get her attention. When she turned her head to look at him, he brought his hand up and kissed her knuckles and smiled at her. “You okay, sugar?”

  She smiled back at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just hate that weasel Mitch has been the one to screw with my life. He’s such a pain in my ass, and it figures that even when he’s dead he’s still causing me grief.” She turned her body to face him. “Jake, do you think we’ll be able to get to the bottom of this? The idea of having to live like this for an extended period of time totally sucks.”

  He hated that she looked so uncertain. He preferred the snarky, confident Lola. “I’m sure we’ll figure this out. Jerry Jeff seemed pretty confident that he’d be able to restore the flash drive, so hopefully we’ll know something today.”

  They pulled up to Jake’s office almost an hour and a half later, thanks to another wreck caused by an Atlanta driver with his head up his ass and his eyes on his phone. It was a big, square, red brick, non-descript three-story building with no windows and no signage, surrounded by a concrete and metal fence with razor wire along the top. They were admitted through a gate by armed guards who also quickly searched the vehicle. They parked underneath the building in a private garage, and then Jake put his eye up to a scanner for a retinal scan so they could pass through a door into the building. They walked through a short corridor, which Jake explained was actually a scanner for weapons and explosives, and ended up inside the main part of the building.

  Inside, the building looked completely different than the outside. There was an expensive looking reception area with a long, wooden desk. The Nighthawk logo hung above it. A beautiful woman dressed in all black with long dark hair and coffee colored skin was seated at the front desk and she warmly greeted them as they walked in. Jake smiled at her and stopped by her desk. “Hey, Bina. Everything okay, today?”

  She nodded. “No problems, Boss. Marie sent me the info on a couple of new clients for you to meet with next week, and I’ll have their background checks and proposals done by then.”

  “Great. Thanks so much. Just send me the info when you get it and tell me what time to be here.” Bina nodded and Jake grabbed Lola’s hand and pulled her forward. “Bina, I want you to meet Lola. Lola, Bina, the world’s best front desk guardian and investigator.” They nodded and smiled at each other, and Jake turned to go, dragging Lola behind him. “Later, Bina.”

  As they walked toward the elevator, Jake dropped his voice and explained in a low tone, “Bina is former Mossad. She got injured in a firefight several years ago and decided to make a career change, but she’s still deadly, if necessary. She is the first line of defense once you get in this building, and I’ve never had to worry about anyone getting past her. She also does background checks on new clients and puts together a package so I know what they need, and if there are any concerns about them I should know about. That woman is a total bulldog…nothing gets past her. Plus, she’s beautiful, so most people underestimate how dangerous she is, which is a huge benefit to her, and us.”

  The elevator opened and they stepped on. As they rode up to the second floor, Jake explained a little about his business. “We are divided up into two sections, computer security and investigations, which is my side of the business. My partner’s side involves physical security, like personal protection services, facility security, and we also test security programs for businesses and government facilities. There’s a ton of overlap between the two sections, which allows us to handle any security need a person or business may have.”

  The elevator opened and they stepped into a cavernous room full of loud, young computer experts. Jake grinned at Lola. “These are my computer minions, fondly referred to as the ‘Nerd Herd.’ He swept his hand in front of him, indicating the room. “There’s everything a computer geek could need or want so they can keep going if they’re working on something.”

  “How many computer folks do you have?”

  Jake thought about it. “About fifty full-time and a bunch who work on a contract basis. Don’t forget, they’re not just for computer security. They’re also involved with investigations, background checks, and for helping set up facility security programs and testing existing programs.”

  He pointed to the huge open section in the middle with computer stations and various pieces of computer equipment, a section on the side with individual cubicles, and a coffee bar and snack bar in the corner. “That’s their actual work space.” He swung around and pointed to a door in the corner. “That door leads to a room with small individual cubicles with beds in case they need a nap.” He shook his head. “When those kids get going, sometimes they’ll be here for days at a time. That’s why there’s also men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers, so it doesn’t get too rank in here.”

  Lola took in the rest of the space. Along one wall there was an area that looked like an arcade, with old school air hockey tables, pinball machines, and tons of vintage machines like Mrs. Pacman, Donkey Kong, and Tetris. There were gaming stations with huge monitors, every type of gaming accessory made, and an enormous screen on the wall. A half-court basketball court was along one wall. Next to that were several pieces of gym equipment, including a heavy bag for boxing and kickboxing, and a full-size competition trampoline. Along the other side wall were a row of doors with a green or red light above it. “Those are individual computer rooms in case you need privacy for the project you’re working on. If the room is in use, the red light will be on, green means it’s open. Jerry Jeff is in one of those rooms working on your stuff. Those computers are completely secure and no one can see what you’re working on, so it’s great for projects like yours. Let’s go see if we can find Jerry Jeff.”

  There was only one secure room occupied, so it was pretty easy to find him. Jake knocked and when no one a
nswered, he put in a code on the keypad and carefully opened the door. He grabbed Lola’s hand and pulled her in behind him, asking her to shut the door.

  Jerry Jeff had on headphones and was muttering to himself as he rapidly pounded on the keyboard. “Lola, stay back here. You have to be careful waking up or interrupting Jerry Jeff, and I don’t want you to end up with a size fourteen boot upside your head.” Lola backed up against the door as Jake placed himself in a defensive stance and carefully tapped Jerry Jeff on the shoulder. “Hey Jerry Jeff, we just came by to check on your progress.”

  Jerry Jeff calmly turned around, taking out his ear buds. “Hey Jake.” He saw Lola standing against the door. He stood up, shoved Jake out of the way and grabbed Lola’s hand and started to shake it. “You must be Lola. So glad to meet you.” He smiled a charming smile and towed her over to a chair next to his and indicated she should sit. “So tell me, are you married or dating anyone?”

  Great. Jerry Jeff was in matchmaking mode. Before Jerry Jeff could say anything else, Jake grabbed Lola’s chair and rolled it away from Jerry Jeff and put his own chair down between them. When Lola looked up at him to see what he was doing, Jake rolled his eyes, obviously irritated by Jerry Jeff’s efforts, and she started to laugh. As Jake plopped down in his chair, Lola bent forward so she could see around him. “Hey Jerry Jeff, I’m not married or dating anyone and I like your outfit.” She winked. “Especially your hat.”

  Jerry Jeff was decked out in an Allman Brothers’ 1973 Stadium Tour shirt that stretched tightly across his massive chest, a pair of ancient, faded Levi’s, a pair of rattlesnake cowboy boots, and a UGA ballcap. He smiled at her, and when she smiled back, he turned and punched Jake in the arm. “Way to go, son. It’s about time you found a woman with some taste.”

  Jake’s entire arm went numb, but he refused to let Jerry Jeff know how hard he’d hit him. He was also irritated that Lola didn’t think they were dating, but he figured they could discuss that later. He turned to Jerry Jeff. “So, maybe we could talk about work? Were you able to restore the flash drive?”

  That sobered Jerry Jeff up. He turned to his keyboard and brought up the file. “Yeah, I got all the information back. And Jake, I’m really not sure how all this information fits together, but I do think it looks like there might be a lot of money involved.” He turned to look at Lola. “And Ms. Lola, as you know, big money can mean big problems, so I hope that’s not the case here.”

  He pulled up the program on screen and slid his mouse to Jake. “Take a look at that and tell me what you think.”

  Jake put on his glasses and rapidly started scrolling through the program. It all looked like random letters and numbers to Lola, so she turned her attention to Jerry Jeff. “So Jerry Jeff, Mike tells me y’all still work out together every week. Are you still competing?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. Unless I want to start competing professionally, there’s not a whole lot of competition for a guy my size, and I don’t have the time to train professionally.” He winked at her. “I also like to eat real food and drink beer, and you have to watch everything you eat or drink if you’re a professional, so it doesn’t work for me.” He leaned forward. “So back to what we were discussing before. So you’re not married or dating anyone?”

  Jake’s head snapped around. “Jerry Jeff, cut the shit. Yes, she’s dating someone. She’s dating me, so drop it.” He muttered under his breath and went back to the program.

  Jerry Jeff grinned at Lola. “Well, congratulations, Ms. Lola. It’s about time someone starting dating our Jake. You know, he got divorced about five years ago and ever since, he’s had the worst luck with women. His family and I have tried to set him up a bunch of times, but it never works out. His sister and I have about decided he’s too bossy and set in his ways, so it would be difficult to find anyone willing to put up with how difficult he can be.”

  Lola could tell Jake was trying to ignore their conversation, but as his face flushed and his jaw got tighter and tighter, she knew that he was about to blow, so she winked at Jerry Jeff and stared at Jake as she spoke. “Really? You know, actually I could see that. He is bossy, and he can definitely be difficult. Let’s face it, he’s not a bad-looking man, so I knew something had to be wrong with him.”

  Jerry Jeff glanced at Jake and his eyes were full of mischief as he smiled at Lola. “Right? Well, now you know. You’ll be interested to know that the only dates he ever goes on are with his sister’s friend, and she’s not only gay, but married, so she’s really not available. I was talking to his mama about it, and we decided…”

  Jake’s patience apparently hit its limit. He lifted up the keyboard and slammed it back down on the table, startling both Lola and Jerry Jeff. “Enough, you two. Will y’all please shut up so I can see what the hell I’m supposed to be looking at?”

  They looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. Jake shook his head, disgusted with both of them. “Y’all are both total jackasses,” he growled, making both of them laugh even harder. He ignored them until he finally got to the end. He turned to look at Jerry Jeff, who was still laughing with Lola, and stared at him until he finally quieted. “Y’all done?”

  Jerry Jeff and Lola grinned at each other, and Jerry Jeff nodded. “For now.”

  Jake rolled his eyes and then looked at Jerry Jeff. “So is this the kind of program we think it is?”

  Jerry Jeff nodded. “Yep. Technically, it’s called Computer- Assisted Cognitive-Retraining (CACR), which is basically a brain retraining program. It looks like a program designed to train relaxation techniques, and I really don’t see anything weird about it.” He took his mouse back from Jake and rolled to the top of the program. “I’ve already contacted Dr. Littman, the professor I used to work for, and he’s coming by first thing in the morning. He was one of the first people to design those programs to help retrain the brains of stroke victims, and no one knows more about how the brain can form new neural pathways. I just want him to take a look at all this information and give us his opinion.”

  Lola snorted. “Great. It freaking figures. We still don’t know what’s going on.”

  “So far, nothing looks bad, and we’re getting close to having all the info on the flash drive restored.” Jerry Jeff grabbed the mouse again. “Let me show you what else I pulled up on that flash drive.” He clicked and rapidly flipped through several screens and brought up a series of memos. “It turns out we only had the first few memos, and that’s why they were so vague. I found a hidden file, and pulled up a bunch more memos, and those were more specific as to what these guys are trying to accomplish.” He handed the mouse to Lola and indicated the screen. “Y’all take a look.”

  As Jerry Jeff laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair, Lola and Jake began to read the memos.

  Lola looked at Jerry Jeff. “So let me make sure I get this. This program is designed to be used in conjunction with DeLeon Labs’ opioid drug? Somehow, using this specific brain training program makes this specific opioid drug more effective?”

  Jerry Jeff and Jake looked at each other. “Something like that.” Jerry Jeff shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not exactly sure, to be honest.”

  Lola nodded, thinking rapidly. “Well, it would be a huge deal if, by using this program, you could use less of the drug and get the same effectiveness. With all the fears of the addictiveness of opioids, this would be a huge advancement.”

  Jerry Jeff nodded slowly, thinking about what she said. “Lola, if that’s what this does, you’re right, it’s a huge deal. I just want to make sure that’s all there is to it, and that’s why I called Dr. Littman.”

  Jake leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what had Jerry Jeff so worried. “Jerry Jeff, I understand you’re not sure about this, so we’re not holding you to anything, but what do you suspect might be going on here?”

  Jerry Jeff looked worried. “Jake, from what’s in these memos, it looks like using this specific program w
ith this specific drug increases the effectiveness, but depending on the components of the drug, it could also significantly increase the chance that someone could end up addicted to it. Now the question becomes are they trying to get people addicted to it? If so, they could sell a lot more of the product in the short term, but there could be huge liability issues in the future. Or, are they afraid people will get addicted to it, in which case, their ability to get FDA approval is hanging in the balance. Either way, Ms. Lola, it may not be good that you know about it.”

  As Jake and Lola considered the issues, they realized Jerry Jeff was right. Either way wasn’t good for Lola. Jake looked at Lola. “If that’s the deal, no wonder they killed Mitch over this. A new, improved opioid? You’re talking millions of dollars, either way.”

  Jerry Jeff snorted. “Try billions. There are several different possible scenarios. You’re talking about people taking a drug and being likely to become addicted to it, so they’ll take it for a longer time than they normally would. And if the FDA grants their patent approval that says this opioid is safer because you can use less of it, but it actually is more likely to result in addiction, that’s a huge deal. And what if this program is specifically designed to get people addicted to this drug? You’re talking a shitload of money before people eventually figure it out. That scenario is the same kind of manipulation the cigarette companies did to get people addicted to their product, and look how that turned out.”

  Jake whistled long and low. Lola looked shocked, but her brain was whirling with possible scenarios, and none of them were favorable to her. Jake squeezed her hand until she looked over at him. He smiled gently. “You okay?”

  She dropped her head. “Shit no, I’m not okay. This is serious, Jake, and they know, well they think they know, I have this flash drive. What am I going to do?”