by AJ Newman
“My ribs and shoulder hurt as if someone worked me over with a baseball bat. That seatbelt almost cut me in half. Coffee, I need coffee.”
Jane kept massaging. “We could use a cup also, please.”
Then Jane whispered, “I assume Cindy is teasing you too.”
“Big time. I’m sorry.”
“We both gave her the wrong impression. She’ll get over it quickly when we ignore her,” Jane said as though she actually believed what she said.
Jane was rubbing my neck when Mike poked his head through the door and walked up behind Jane. He saw my head on her lap and her hands deftly rubbing my neck.
“Wow! I didn’t know you were injured that badly. It must be nice to have your own nurse.”
Jane’s face flushed, and I could hear her breathing become more rapid. “If John had saved your life as he did Cindy’s, Jere’s, and mine, you’d be rubbing his feet right now.”
My right hand rose slowly, and suddenly my middle finger stuck upward. “Mike, Cindy and I were in a hell of a car wreck last night, and I lost part of my ear. So, shut up unless you have praise for our crime-fighting skills.”
We knew the New Wave people were probably listening, so we stayed away from work topics. “I didn’t mean to stir up any crap. Just here checking on my buddy and best friend. Oh, I might add that your $80,000 SUV was totaled last night. The insurance balked but approved payment for another.”
“Damn, I was getting used to the luxury and roominess. I want one just like it.”
“I had one delivered for Beth but told her today that you get it and ordered another for her.”
“I’ll bet she was pissed.”
“She’ll get over it.”
We danced around the massage and New Wave issues, and then Mike said, “I know you planned to go boating today. Do you still want to go?”
“My head, neck, and shoulders hurt. The engine noise and pounding waves would kill me.”
I could tell Mike was disappointed, then a smile came across his face. “Maybe we could sit around the pool and drink adult beverages. Who’s in for that?”
Jane’s, Cindy’s, and my hand rose quickly. No one felt like going to the ocean after the night we just had. Then Jere stormed into the room and jumped on my belly. “Uncle John, you promised to take me out on Uncle Mike’s big boat today.”
Jane and Cindy broke out laughing. “Jere, Mommy, Cindy, and Uncle John had a dreadful night. Remember the bad guy who chased us?”
“Yes.”
“He caused Uncle John to wreck his new black truck. Uncle John got injured in the wreck.”
“Oh, maybe we can go next week?”
I felt sorry for the kid, but my head throbbed just sitting up. “That’s a deal. I’ll also take you out on my sailboat and let you steer.”
Jere hugged me, which set my punkin head to pound in my temples again. He said, “Promise?”
“Yep, I promise. How about a banana split after lunch?”
Jane pinched me. “You’re spoiling my boy.”
Mike excused himself and went down the hall to the bathroom. He soon returned and made a big deal hugging me and saying how brave I was. He shook my hand and slipped a note into my palm. I hid it and then heard him say. “Can I take you out for breakfast at Joe’s?”
His eyes and expression pleaded for me to agree. “I feel a bit better. Give us a few minutes, and we’ll get ready.”
I winked at Jane and walked over to Cindy. “I think you owe me a Father’s Day brunch or something, so go throw some clothes on and get ready. Both of you would look beautiful in a flour sack. Jere, put some clothes on and meet me down at the garage. I’ll show you my Porsche.”
A note to myself: Saying the words to women to throw some clothes on and hurry up are like pissing in the wind. There’s always blowback. They took their sweet time, and Mike and I showed Jere my Porsche, Harley Panhead, and my oil can collection while waiting on the women.
Well, I wasn’t mad when they walked down the steps to my deck. Jane had makeup on and was gorgeous. She wore a baseball cap, tank top, and short shorts. Nothing fancy, but she rocked the outfit. My daughter always looked great and had her mom’s fashion sense. Jane, on the other hand, appeared to be a tomboy most of the time.
Perhaps my rules are stupid.
Chapter 22
Mobile, Alabama
We climbed into the big SUV, and the smell of new leather was very pleasing. I sat in the back with Jere between his mom and me.
Mike looked back at me. “This is your new Suburban.”
“Mike, my Suburban only had cloth seats.” I loved busting Mike’s balls.
“Quit whining. Your new one has leather seats made of English leather. It also has a twin-turbo 427 high-performance engine putting out 800 HP and 900-foot pounds of torque.”
“So, you like Beth more than me.”
“We don’t have time for this.”
“How about a bulletproof rear glass and metal plates in the rear door?”
Mike shut me up and then wasted no time once we were in the safety of the SUV. “Okay, I only have a few minutes to cover a lot of ground. There is a security detail following us from my team. That damned Russian is part of the Russian Mob. I can only guess Brunner has no idea who he’s in bed with. My guys have identified four more Russian Mob members and two of the leaders of a radical group dedicated to reducing the Earth’s population. The bottom line is we’ve stepped into a pile of manure without an exit plan. I thought we were just dealing with New Wave’s security team. Any thoughts?”
I wanted to take the time to think things through. Mike was impatient. “John. John, what do you think?”
“Let the ladies speak while I gather my thoughts.”
Cindy spoke first. “I hate running from a fight, but we’re over our heads. Let’s turn our info over to the Feds and forget we ever saw these assholes.”
“I have a boy to protect and can’t take a chance on … well, you know,” and patted Jere on the head.
I cleared my throat. “We have over two hundred hours of film from the entire building. I want the ladies to pull out of the building and go to our research lab. First, we can gain some valuable information on their progress on nanotechnology and micro drones. Second, they should be able to find something the Feds can use to nail these evil people. I’ll stay after Mike tells Brunner that we’ll verify the process in three days and leave for good. Jane, before you pull out, send your drones over to the other side. Steal as much of their drone technology as possible.”
Mike was nervous, “What will you do in those three days?”
“Disable the process so it can’t be used to produce the FXA2. Those bastards must have found a way to use the drones to kill massive amounts of people.”
A lightbulb switched on in Jane’s head. “I think they have developed a multilevel approach to achieve their goal. Brunner has been duped into creating Nanobots that can kill certain cells. It would be easy to redirect the Nanobots to attack heart or brain cells. The tiny drones could carry a small amount of the explosive and terrorize folks or swarm in dozens to kill a person. Oh, crap! Tens of thousands could sink an aircraft carrier.”
The bulb was dim, and my head still hurt, but I got the picture. “Even a few could infiltrate the ship’s ammo magazine and detonate the bombs. Hell, they could use one drone to explode around aviation or vehicle gasoline and boom.”
Mike took it all in, and as he passed Joe’s place, he said, “We’ll have breakfast at my security manager’s home. I want to pursue this in more detail, and we can’t talk at Joe’s.”
“Yunh huh,” was all I could muster.
Bill, the head of Mike’s security, had a great wife who opened up her home to us, and we soon had a sumptuous meal. She even watched and entertained Jere while we continued meeting.
“John, how will you disable the operation? If you succeed, won’t the Russians and those other bastards be a bit peeved at you? I say let the Feds hand
le the situation.”
“You have a good point. Yet, still, tell them I need three days so I can come up with something. We know they don’t have much of the explosive but could make a thousand pounds in a month or so. I might be able to find a way to sabotage the FXA2 operation without stopping the FXA1 production.”
“But can you do it without getting caught?”
We stayed at Bill’s home to finish our meeting. Mike was in and out as he discussed other security matters with Bill.
“Jane, let’s pour over the recordings to see if we can find a way to cover my skullduggery. Cindy, compare the chemical reactions to see if we can use the reaction itself to trigger a safe shutdown or sabotage the mix.”
Jane sat quietly for a few minutes while we ended our conversation but then asked, “Can we adjust the gauges remotely? I know the entire operation can be controlled from a computer.”
“Yes, but what do you want to do?”
“Make them think everything is hunky-dory when it isn’t.”
I found Mike and told him we were done for the day. Mike wanted to give us a safe place to talk and plan our next move. “Take one of Bill’s SUVs home with you until we retrofit the bullet-resistant glass and add the armored plates to your vehicle. You’ll still be vulnerable from the front and both sides. We need as much damning evidence against Brunner and crew as fast as you can find it.”
We fleshed out our plan of attack, and Jane took notes. Jere fell asleep on the drive back, and I wondered how the boy could stand all the talk about chemical processes, plots, and schemes. I found myself trying to figure out what was stuck in the back of my mind that nagged me when I tried to rest. The missing black men, the buzzing, the extremist group, the Russians, and Doctor Brunner all swam around in my mind. Were they all connected? I sure as hell didn’t like coincidences.
We watched surveillance tapes until early afternoon when Jere said, “I’m hungry and bored. Y’all are boring.”
“Come on, folks. Let’s have some lunch at Long John’s, and figure out how to help Jere overcome his boredom.”
We walked out on my deck, and Jere pointed to the islands across the narrow channel behind my home. “How come Uncle Mike’s home is on the beautiful beach, and yours is on the ugly side of the island.”
“Jere, that’s not nice.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind explaining. You see, Mike is filthy rich and owns a chemical solutions company, and I’m a teacher who mainly grades papers for a living. Most people would love to live where I live, but yes, it’s not as nice as Uncle Mike’s place. Let’s go eat.”
Yes, I could feel the heat as my face turned red. I should have told Sally to kiss my butt instead of selling my half of the business to buy her a damned house, and I’d be rich and live on the beach. Rant over. I was quiet the rest of the way to Long John’s. We entered, and Tally ran over and made a big deal about the owner, me, having lunch. “Mr. Logan, your usual table awaits you.”
I was pleased to see the place crowded with people and waved at Doc. “Doc, how has the business been?”
“Great! We had to hire another waitress and expand the outside seating. I wanted to get with you to ask about spending several thousand bucks on building a pergola over the outdoor seating. Those little umbrellas aren’t helping much.”
“Get it done, but what have you done to increase the customers?”
Doc pointed to his girlfriend. “Boss, watch her for a few minutes, and you’ll see why we’re getting popular.”
Tally visited each table, laughing and joking with the customers and gave special attention to the kids. She blew up balloons and, in a few flicks of her wrists, made animals for the kids. A little while later, the new waitress was painting the faces of the kids.
I called Tally over and said, “Tally, we have a bored boy over here. Could your lady paint Jere’s face?”
“Of course, Doctor Logan. Come on with me, Jere, we’ll get you fixed up while Doc prepares your meal.”
Tally and Jere disappeared into the back room and were gone for about ten minutes. I saw another young lady waiting on tables who could be Tally’s younger clone. I was worried at first that Doc was breaking the bank when I saw the young lady work the crowd between seating the customers.
Jere came back to the table with a boy about his age in tow and a grin a mile wide. “Can I invite Jenny and George over to swim in your pool, Uncle John?”
Jane asked, “Who are they?”
Jere pointed to the young lady who was such a hit with the customers. “That’s Jenny, and this is George. They’re Tally’s kids.”
I nodded. “Ask your mom.”
Jane said, “I knew the girl looked like Tally. Yes, they can come over.”
“George, go get your mom so we can get her blessing.”
The little boy ran dodging people and found his mom coming out of the kitchen. Tally walked over. “Doctor Logan, you mentioned your boy Jere was bored and it just so happens that George is bored and my daughter Jenny gets off work when the lunch crowd dies down. Jenny can watch them if you adults have something to do.”
Jane nodded. I wondered if the other waitress was one of Doc’s or Tally’s relatives but didn’t ask. “Certainly. We’re stuck doing some work for Mike, and Jere is bored. Tell Jenny to bring their bathing suits and come on over. I’ll pay Jenny to baby … err … keep the boys entertained.”
“You don’t have to pay her. She volunteered when Jere told her that y’all were busy, and he was bored.”
“Tally, Jenny could be your twin sister.”
“My twin sister is waiting on table four. Of course, we’re fraternal twins but still look a lot alike. I’m very proud of my daughter. She’s been accepted at Mobile College and is waiting on USA to see if she’s been accepted.”
I didn’t say anything but made a mental note to interview the girl and see if I wanted to recommend her to my friend, the president of the university.
Chapter 23
My house – Dauphin Island
Jane’s drone expert came back with info on the micro-drones early that morning. The drones were far more sophisticated than any he’d seen, and he’d worked on projects for the CIA. They were controlled through cell signals from a handheld device or the drone carrier. The two samples only had listening devices and no cameras.
Jane kept leaving her laptop to rest her eyes and spy on the kids. She was pleased with how Jenny interacted with the children and showed a great deal of patience. I saw her working her neck around like it was strained, so I walked up behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders.
“You need your neck massaged. Now don’t give me any crap. You helped my headache, and it’s my turn.”
“Go for it. I could use a neck rub.”
I massaged her neck gently at first then started working out the knots. Kneading her muscles felt about as good to me as it probably did to her. My pulse raced, and I could feel my heart in my chest and feel her heart start throbbing through my fingers.
Her voice broke my concentration. “John, where did you learn to give great neck rubs? I’ll bet you were an A-plus student.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I just have a knack for some things.”
Changing the subject, Jane asked, “Where did you find such a great family to work at your restaurant?”
“They found me. Remember, Doc fired Meagan and hired his girlfriend, Talley. Apparently, Doc hired Tally and most of her family. I’m impressed and starting to wonder if there are more of them looking for employment. I always need good people.”
I had to work hard to keep my train of thought as my mind wandered.
Cindy walked into the room, but I kept massaging. Cindy walked over to Jane’s side. “Is the old pervert coming on to you?”
I choked and pulled my hands away. Jane reached back and pulled my hands back to her neck. “Don’t stop now. It’s just feeling good, and she’s just jealous she doesn’t have someone to rub her neck.”
&nbs
p; A few minutes later, Jane walked back to her laptop, stopping only to give me a pat on my shoulder. “John, you’re not just a paper grader. You’re a great man who sees good people and then helps them live up to their potential. There’s not a lot of people who can do that.”
“Awe shucks, ma’am, I’m just a mortal man doing the best I can.”
“And self-deprecating or actually making jokes because you’re embarrassed that people see so much good in you.”
Okay, I was tongue-tied and didn’t say anything, which caused Cindy to look up and whisper, “Wow.”
I gave her the finger while Jane went to the restroom.
Cindy grinned. “I’ll bet you were an A-plus student.”
My face flushed. “You heard all of that?”
“Yep.”
Punk was tired of me working and not playing fetch with her, as I usually did from time to time. She brought her ball to me and pawed my leg. I’d been sitting for too long, and my butt was dead. I picked up the ball and made Punk jump to get it. She brought it back to me, and I ran outside and played fetch with her for a few minutes. I saw Jane watching us and felt guilty.
I rejoined the ladies and was quickly bored again, and my butt hurt. The recordings were monotonous, and we quickly figured out we couldn’t connect the Russian who shot at us to Bruner or the other Russians. We also had to take a short drive every time we had to talk about the issue at hand.
I spoke from the safety of the company car. “There are no illegal actions in the film. We also didn’t have a thing on film that didn’t look like what you’d expect to see in a chemical manufacturing facility.”
We held a twenty-minute discussion while driving to and from Mike’s home. I knocked, no one answered, so I used my code to open the door to the garage. We entered, took a look at his fleet of expensive cars, and left. Probably wouldn’t fool anyone, but at least we made an effort.
Something kept nagging me, so I captured a picture of the dead black man, Ken, and ran facial recognition to select all of the recordings where he appeared. I’d hoped to see someone threatening him, but there wasn’t anything unusual until I saw him swat at something in the air several times. The picture was the last section of the film where Ken was alive. I saw something significant and looked at my watch. It was supper time.
