Broken Genius

by Drew Murray

  My grimace turns into a grin.

  “That’s a sweet bag.”

  It takes Dana a minute to get Dragoniis up on her feet and bent over the hood of the police car, but once she does, she starts a thorough pat-down. Her hands find something and dig into a pocket.

  “Will, what is all this stuff?” she calls, an edge of alarm in her voice. She shows me a bundle of wires coming out of Dragoniis’ red and white leathers.

  “It’s not a bomb. She’s got a full computer sewn into her costume,” I answer. “Look for the largest, bulkiest block. That’ll be the battery.”

  Dana quickly runs her experienced hands over the hacker from head to toe. For her part, Dragoniis isn’t saying anything. She’s smart. She knows that this opera is only in the opening act. And it won’t be me or Dana participating in the next movement.

  “Got it,” says Dana, pointing to a wide, flat bulge in the small of Dragoniis’ back. Opening a concealed zipper reveals the matte-black battery pack, wiring harness plugged into the end. “Now what do I do?”

  “Unplug the wires and yank it out. No juice, no computer. No computer, no threat.”

  Dragoniis turns around to give me a silent glare, interrupted by a flinch when Dana pulls the pack out, accompanied by the sound of ripping.

  “And of course, the swords,” says Dana.

  “Oh right, those.” I cradle my wounded shoulder.

  There’s only enough time for Dragoniis to flash me a smirk before Dana pushes her into the back seat of the car, slamming the door.

  “Where is she?” Decker bellows, exploding out of the door next to the loading ramp.

  “Relax, Dana’s got her,” I say, pointing to the car.

  He leans over to look through the window like a bride-to-be peering into a display case of wedding rings at a jewelry store. When he stands, it’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. Decker’s grin stretches from ear to ear, brilliant white teeth catching the morning sun.

  “Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” He hoots, offering Dana a fist bump. “Nice work, Detective.”

  “Hey, I ran her down.”

  “Really? Looks like she outran you, Parker.”

  “She was on a bike! And, you know, I’m hurt. There was a sword fight.”

  “A what?” asks Dana, her gaze settling on my shoulder.

  “Which you lost,” says Decker.

  “I didn’t have a real sword!”

  “Where did you get any sword?” asks Dana.

  “Well, you did get the Fukushima Unicorn, Parker,” says Decker. “So, it’s a good day all around. Speaking of which, hand it over.”

  “No.”

  Decker stands ramrod straight, as usual, but now his chest fills up and brow lowers into a hard stare that must have terrorized his troops back in the day.

  “It wasn’t a request, Parker,” he says when I don’t move.

  Taking out my phone, I hit a speed dial number, setting it to speaker and placing it on the trunk of Dana’s car.

  Assistant Director Burke answers on the first ring.

  “Parker?”

  “I think it’s about time you call off your hound,” I tell him.

  “What are you talking about?” he says cautiously.

  “Director, he won’t relinquish the case,” says Decker. “You’d better hand it over now, Will.”

  He holds out his hand, expectantly. I look at it and turn away.

  “Wait a second, why does he want the case?” asks Dana.

  “Because he’s the fourth bidder,” I answer.

  “The fourth … what?!” Her eyebrows launching skyward as she looks from me to Decker.

  “How did you know that?” Decker demands, looming over me.

  “He’s smarter than you, Decker, I told you that from the start,” says Burke. “His close rate is even higher than mine was.”

  “But we called you in,” says Dana, turning to Decker. “How could you be the fourth bidder?”

  “Ah, but he was already here. Before Caplan was killed.”

  “You’re dreaming,” says Decker. “Did Dragoniis hit you in the head, too?”

  “I saw the car rental contract,” I tell Dana, rolling my eyes. “He picked it up a day before Caplan was killed. He must have found Caplan on the Dark Web and was placing bids. He had no way of knowing if the Unicorn was real, or just another hustle. But he knew it would draw out Dragoniis.

  “She was the mission all along, wasn’t she?” I ask Decker.

  “She was the principal objective,” he admits, “but when Caplan turned up dead and the radiation result came in, it added a new dimension.”

  “You figured there was a chance there might actually be a genuine Unicorn here, so you called me in to confirm and find it for you.”

  “Correct. Hand it over,” he says tilting his head and glaring at me.

  “Burke?”

  “Parker, please give Decker the case.”

  “The Unicorn doesn’t belong to him.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you either.”

  He’s right, it belongs to CastorNet.

  The three of us are alone in the middle of a public street, the gathering crowd held at a distance by uniformed officers. Ace’s Escalade has vanished, and him along with it.

  Shrugging with my good shoulder, I heave the case up onto the trunk of the car. “Okay, have it, Decker.”

  “But, Will—” says Dana.

  “It’s all right,” I interrupt, holding up a hand.

  “Open it,” he orders.

  “Whatever you say.” Placing my hand on the black panel, it flashes green, a soft click coming from the lock as it disengages. Sliding it over to Decker, I take a step back. Dana stays at my side, leaning around me to see.

  Decker flips open the lid of the case.

  “What the fuck is this?”

  “What’s happening?” Burke asks from the phone.

  “It’s empty,” answers Dana. “Where is it?”

  “On the way to California,” I answer, letting out a sigh. “In the possession of the company it belongs to.”

  “What the fuck, Parker. How?” Decker blurts.

  Dana puts a hand to her forehead. “Ace was here earlier with his security guys when Will first came out.”

  And now, he’s on the way to the airport and a corporate jet with its engines already turning. The Unicorn’s in the red bag over his shoulder for now, but I’m betting he’ll move it to the backup case shortly. It is still radioactive.

  “He won’t have it for long,” Decker says in a low, threatening voice. “Will, this was pointless. We’ll have a warrant for it long before his plane lands. You’re such a pain in the ass.”

  “Except that’s not how it’s going to go, is it, Director Burke?”

  There’s a long pause at the other end of the phone. Burke may be almost as uptight as Decker, but something else drives him. Decker follows orders, Burke follows the law.

  “No, it’s not,” the director says finally, letting out a sigh.

  “But, sir,” Decker objects, squaring off with me, “we can force him to hand it over. It’s evidence.”

  “That’s questionable,” says Dana, staying right by my side.

  “That’s up to a judge to determine,” says Decker, “and I’m telling you now, he’ll give it to us. Will’s making this unnecessarily difficult.”

  “Let it go, Decker,” says Burke.

  “But, sir, he can’t just flaunt the Bureau like this. The court will side with us.”

  “The court won’t be siding with anyone,” says Burke. “They’re the legal owners. Getting it back means filing a motion. Which means going public.”

  “And?”

  “You’ve been in the shadows too long, Decker,” says Burke. “Think it through. If we had it, they’d file a motion to get their ‘secret technology back from the government.’ They’d sound like nothing more than conspiracy cranks and no one would pay attention. But we don’t. They have it. An
d if we file a motion to seize it as evidence, it’ll look like the government is out to spy on everyone and their mother. It’d be Snowden all over again.”

  “Dammit,” says Decker slamming his hand on the roof of Dana’s car. Through the window, I see Dragoniis jump.

  “The Unicorn wasn’t the mission, Dragoniis was, and you have him,” says Burke.

  “Her,” I say.

  “What?” asks Burke.

  “Never mind.”

  “Listen, Decker,” says Burke patiently, “this isn’t a failure. The Unicorn didn’t fall into the hands of an enemy.”

  “And don’t forget we caught a killer,” I add, “and rescued an innocent young woman.”

  “Yes, and that. All in all, good work for a weekend,” says Burke with a tone that says he’s winding it up. “Detective Lopez? Decker, Griffon, and Nassar will take custody of Dragoniis and bring him—”

  Her.

  “—back to Washington. Thanks for all your assistance. Great job,” he finishes before hanging up.

  “This isn’t right,” shouts Decker, shaking his head. “You can’t just make up your own damn rules, Parker!”

  Turning on his heel, he storms back off into the building.

  “He’s pretty hot under the collar,” Dana says.

  “Oh, he’ll be all right. This isn’t our first tango.”

  “Where’s he going?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

  “And what about you?”

  “Well, I notice Burke didn’t say anything about sending the jet back for me. So, I’ll start with the hospital and figure it out from there.”

  “I also noticed he didn’t say anything about when you have to be back at the field office,” she says, tilting her head with a smile.

  “I hear there’s a Comic Con in town …”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Dana didn’t ask where I was going, and I didn’t tell her. I don’t think I knew until I bought the ticket.

  Now, as I sit here sipping champagne in first class, I don’t think where I’m going is as important as how. Tonight, as I chase the sunset west, I’m finally free to choose where I want to go.

  After the hospital, Dana and I spent a brief but glorious time together. Celebrating our successes, we kept the world at bay until we couldn’t avoid our futures. She has a mountain of paperwork to climb on the accidental killer, Russian gang members, and Hicks, the now disgraced Silicon Valley executive she has in custody. Meanwhile, the FBI field office in Los Angeles, and CastorNet’s headquarters in San Jose, call me home to California. I’ll see one of them soon.

  At the airport, Dana wrapped me in a silent embrace. After a final kiss, she walked away without turning back. I know, because I watched until she disappeared out the door. There’s a chance our paths will cross again, however unlikely. As I look out the window at the red sky, the possibility brings a smile to my face.

  Ace has the Unicorn back in California where the brightest minds in Silicon Valley, save one, have already begun to reverse engineer it. Before long, they’ll be able to replicate the portable quantum computer and the real work can begin, deciding what to do with the incredible power it offers. That visioning of the future, and the road map on how to get there, will take years. One thing is certain: it’s going to change the world.

  Saying something about the stress of “real-time work,” Bradley’s taken some time off, checking himself into a quiet meditation retreat in Big Sur. The fact that this fabulously exclusive resort is a favorite of the Hollywood set was barely mentioned.

  A soft chime announces the dimming of the cabin lights, followed by a stir of activity in the pods around me as passengers settle in for the evening.

  There hasn’t been a peep from Decker, and I don’t expect there to be. Storm Decker only moves forward, and with Dragoniis squirreled away in some secret location, he already has his next mission.

  More surprising is the silence from Burke. There hasn’t been any fallout from what I did with the Unicorn, nor has there been any direction on a future assignment. Though we’ve clashed over our vastly different approaches to an investigation, Burke’s insight and uncanny ability to read people are things I’ve never doubted. Perhaps, then, the silence is his acknowledgment of the decision I have to make, and acceptance that he has no influence over it.

  Eyelids drooping heavily, my head falls back onto the seat. In the darkened cabin, the siren song of sleep beckons and I have no reason to resist. It isn’t the dim lights, or the white noise of the commercial jet. It isn’t the champagne.

  For the first time since my personal apocalypse, I have a conscience I can live with.