"Goodbye, Janine."
I watched her march to her front door and vanish.
I drove away in a listless funk that was hard to define. Disappointed was part of it. Sad, but also relieved. I was withdrawing my threat from her life. I had to feel somewhat good about that at least. And realistically, how would she fit into my life?
The rest of the day loomed lackadaisically ahead. I looked forward to trading notes with Lilith and decompressing a bit – maybe sending a report to Markus - but it all had an anti-climactic feel. On the way back to the hotel I took an unplanned detour to the gym, hoping to kill some time and maybe lift my mood. I'd always found it hard to be down when exercising.
In the late afternoon, the Sunday crowd had thinned to manageable numbers, and after changing I found myself an open space in one corner of the free weight room to perform my iron ablutions. A burly dude and I took turns spotting each other bench pressing, shuffling plates on and off for our sets, which grew more disparate as the session wore on – him peaking around three hundred for two or three reps while I barely broke two-twenty for a half-dozen.
As I moved to a set of overhead presses, a pretty young woman entered the free weight area, turning the heads of the burly dude and the two other guys in our space. They all continued with their workouts with increased gusto – grunting louder and flexing more – as they pretended not to notice the attractive new addition.
I didn't bother to pretend. In fact, I stared. Because though her dark mane was now gathered into a bun and no longer wearing a white cap, I was certain she was one half of the couple from Venice beach. As I slowly lowered the barbell to my chest, she met my eyes and smiled in a way that seemed just short of a wink. An acknowledgment? Or was it possible that she merely resembled the beach girl and was just being friendly?
I maneuvered to where she was hoisting a pair of ten pound dumbbells under pretext of seeking out two thirty-pounders.
"Hey," I said when our gazes met again.
"Hey." Her smile lit up her eyes. All friendliness, no guard up at all, as if she was thrilled that I'd come up to her.
"I just recognized you from the beach," I said. "You must've driven back the same time we did."
"Beach?" Question crimped her smile.
"Santa Monica? Venice? Weren't you just there with a boyfriend?"
She laughed. "If I have a boyfriend, that's news to me. I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I've been working in a lab until an hour ago."
Then it was just a coincidence. Or was it? I smiled and nodded as though granting my mistake even as I mentally compared the face in my memory with the one in front of me. I'd never gotten closer than ten feet from her, and she had been wearing a cap, so it was possible that she wasn't that girl. But with my paranoia on red alert, I did not like this coincidence.
"Sorry," I said, backing away. "My mistake."
"You mean that wasn't a lame pickup line?" Dimples broke out on her face as her smile intensified.
"No, I actually thought..." Her smile and eyes were cuing me to a different response. "Does that mean if it was a pickup line, it bombed?"
"I've heard worse," she laughed. "And you do look cute performing overhead presses. That's in your favor."
"Thanks."
I tried to play it cool, but it was almost as if this girl who could've been the twin of the girl on the beach was willing me to make a pass at her. Not my usual experience with beautiful girls, that was for sure.
"Well," said the girl, backing off, smile fading, "I'll let you get back to it."
"Okay." No witty parting comments came to mind. "Sorry for the intrusion."
I departed the free weight room for the main gym area. I grabbed some cables and went through the motions of crossover flies while I puzzled over what had just happened. I had a pretty good memory for faces – usually the first to recognize an actor while watching a movie with friends. If the girl at the beach had been plainer, maybe I wouldn't have noticed her, but my guy-eyes had been drawn by her hotness. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that she was her.
I moved to the neck station and cranked out some chin-tucking reps, considering the implications. First, if it was the girl from the beach, that meant she was attempting to deceive me. Why? Maybe she just wanted to cheat on her boyfriend?
A more ominous possibility: she'd been at the beach and here because, well, I was at those two places. In other words, she was following me. The boyfriend was a prop.
I wracked my neck along with my brain. By some coincidence, the girl in question had taken up position a few yards away in what I called the "beaver machine" – a cable machine for working the inside of the thighs – and was busy spreading and clamping her legs together in what was surely the most erotically suggestive exercise in the gym. She noted my smile with a smile of her own before lowering her head demurely to focus on working her luscious legs.
As I continued my rounds of the machines, the girl stayed mostly in my orbit, occasionally straying to a remote part of the gym but never out of sight. I wanted to believe she was glomming onto me because I was great-looking or whatever, but I wasn't buying it. As much as it pained me to admit it, there were probably two or three buffer and better-looking dudes strutting around the gym.
I took a break and headed over to the water cooler. I'd just filled a cup when the girl showed up. Why wasn't I surprised? I decided to go the gallant route and hand her my cup.
"Why thank you, kind sir," she purred as I filled a cup for myself.
"Salud," I said, raising my cup.
"Santé." She smiled. "I'm Swiss."
"I'm Scott." I offered my hand, figuring I might as well play this out.
"I'm Lara."
Her grip was firm. For an instant I thought I glimpsed a hard edge in her smile, a hint of calculation in her eyes – and then she was all girly and friendly again.
"I was wondering if I could buy you lunch when you're finished?" I asked.
She grinned as if to say what took you so long ?
"I could go for some lunch," she said. "I'm just about done. What about you?"
"Me, too."
"Why don't I shower and change and meet you in the lobby?"
"I'll do the same. See you in a few."
I wondered what the hell I was doing as I raced through a shower and into my clothes. My main goal might've been discovering who she was, but my inner horndog was howling, even if it was quite possible that she was a government or private security agent. Not that I was looking to hook up in any case, but I didn't see any harm in talking to her. If she was some form of security person, she couldn't hide that from me for long.
I arrived in the front area freshly scrubbed and wearing long jeans and a T-shirt. Lara joined me a few minutes later in glove-tight jeans and a shimmering burgundy blouse. Her hair, now freed, hung in soft waves to her shoulders. She was stunning with her violet eyes, full sensuous mouth, and clean, angular features. The rounded curves of her body showed she was no stranger to a gym. I found myself hoping she really was just a normal gal who was into me.
"You dress up nice," she said.
"Thanks. I was thinking the same thing about you, except more emphatically."
She gave a soft laugh, shouldering her purse, and I walked with her to the door.
"I haven't seen you here before," she said.
"I'm new in town."
I held open the door for her, and we walked out into the parking lot. I pointed out my rental van.
"We can go in mine," I said. "I'll bring you back here."
"You'd better. My parents and friends would come looking for me."
"Duly noted."
I beeped the doors open, and she strode ahead and hopped in before I could move to open the door for her. My friends chided me about betraying my Mgtow principles by opening doors and showing deference to women, but I didn't see it that way. Acknowledging the physically weaker, softer side of women was acknowledging their nature and r
especting it. Besides, my mother had drilled that kind of courtesy toward women into me.
And so I found myself sitting across the seat from a girl just as I had with Janine and Sonja before her. A wavelet of sadness mixed with guilt rippled through me.
"You okay?"
Up close, Lara's eyes were even more striking, especially filled with concern as they were now.
"Fine."
"You said you were new to town. What brought you here?"
"A job."
She raised her eyebrows. I didn't elaborate.
"What about you?" I asked her. "You mentioned working in a lab. Are you a student?"
"God, no. I actually work at the Lockheed plant here."
I sat up in my seat, but hid my surprise by asking if she knew of a good place to eat. She recommended "Francesa's" on the east side of town. As we drove I thought saying that she worked at Lockheed wasn't a likely cover story for a government agent. I was starting to think Lara was no more than what she seemed to be.
"What do you do at Skunk Works?" I asked.
"I work in the Special Projects Division."
The coincidences just kept multiplying. Or half the people in the city worked at Lockheed Martin.
"That sounds challenging," I said.
She gave me a cryptic smile. "It can be."
I smiled back, without much amusement. A sudden bout of ennui set in. Despite Lara's looks and her cheery projection, I wasn't feeling it. The whole thing felt fake. Maybe because it was a date that could go nowhere or because of something I was sensing below Lara's amicable surface. I kept imagining Janine sitting in her place.
"Do you live in Palmdale?" she asked.
"I'm actually staying at a hotel. I'm just here for a few days."
"Oh? Which hotel?"
I hesitated, but couldn't think of any reason not to tell her. "Embassy Suites."
"Oh, right. I've heard good things about it. They serve food there, don't they?"
"Yeah. It's not half-bad, either."
"Well, why don't we just eat there. We're headed in that direction anyway."
"Sounds good to me."
At the hotel restaurant, we ordered steak enchiladas – I'd learned it was one of their specialties – and iced tea. Lara got the drinks while I carried our plates to a table in the sun. I wondered what Lilith would think if she happened to pass by. I'd have trouble explaining it as part of the investigation.
I drained my iced tea and ate without much gusto while Lara picked away at her food. Probably one of those "watch my figure" girls. Neither of us seemed interested in conversation. I felt unaccountably tired. Maybe it was the strain of lying and pretending half of my waking hours.
"Am I boring you?" Lara asked.
"Ha, no. It's just been a long last few days."
"For me, too. Want to call it a day and maybe get together another time?"
"If you don't mind, that might be an idea."
"I don't mind at all. Why don't I walk you to your room?"
"That's okay. I can make it."
"Fine. Another time, then?"
"Sure."
I smiled and pushed myself up from the table. She rose with me, concern in her eyes as I wobbled a bit. Odd. The meal seemed to be hitting my empty stomach hard. I raised a reassuring hand and headed for the elevator. Suddenly she was there beside me, hitting the button.
"You look a little unsteady," she said. "I thought I'd walk you to your room."
She took my arm as we entered the elevator. I wasn't sure where she was going with this, but if she expected it to go anywhere she'd be deeply disappointed. All I felt up for was a long nap.
"Pushed yourself too hard in the workout?" she asked.
"I doubt it. I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe it's because I haven't been sleeping well lately."
"A good night's sleep is becoming a rare commodity these days."
We arrived at my hotel room. I fumbled out my keycard but dropped it. She snatched it up and slid it in. The door opened. She snagged my arm and led me inside. About then suspicion kicked in. I held back.
"You slipped something in my drink?"
"Just relax," she said, pulling me toward a chair. "You're obviously not feeling well."
I dropped into the chair, my head spinning. I wondered if I might lose the steak enchilada. I was alternately floating and sinking. Not a good combination.
Lara retreated into a gray haze near the table across from me. I heard the computer chair squeak and some clicking and snapping.
"What are doing?"
"Nothing." Impatience clipped her voice. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Uh...no." I pressed my lips together. They were Novocain numb.
"No special person you've run into here in Palmdale?"
"Yes."
"Where does she work?"
"Same place...you do."
"Did she tell you what she did at work?"
Somewhere in the dimming recesses of my mind, a light bulb flickered on. It sputtered and hissed to life, illuminating a single dark corner. Enough light for me to see what was happening.
"No," I said. "She said couldn't talk...it was secret..."
"She told you nothing?"
"She thought my eyes were sparkly."
Her face materialized inches away, bending to me, her smile glacial with scorn. I wanted to get up and wipe that smile from her face, but I couldn't find the strength. She leaned down and kissed my numb lips.
"Sweet dreams, Hayden," she said.
Chapter 12
MY PHONE WAS RINGING and someone was pounding on my door simultaneously.
Opening my eyes seemed to take a long time and a lot of effort. The room was dark except for a single anemic light over the computer table. My head hurt and my stomach gurgled like a leaky pipe.
"Hayden!" A fierce female whisper hissed through the crack in the door. "Are you in there?"
"Yes." I cleared my throat and shuffled like an old man to my feet, gripping the arms of the chair. "Just a second."
I wasn't sure Lilith heard me, but I shambled as fast as I could toward the door, one hand braced on the dresser running along the wall while my other hand rubbed my forehead. I flipped on a light and opened the door. Lilith was scowling at me.
"I've been trying to reach you for the last two hours," she said. "Were you sleeping?"
"You could say that."
I stepped aside, shading my eyes against the hallway light.
"What's wrong? Have you been drinking?"
"Iced tea. And I'm guessing a pretty strong sedative."
"What are you talking about?"
I motioned weakly for her to sit. When she remained standing, staring at me with arms folded over her chest, I lowered myself on the edge of the bed. My stomach cramped painfully.
"Would you mind getting me some water?"
Lilith filled a glass and brought it over. She rolled over the computer chair and sat facing me. Concern eclipsed annoyance on her face.
"What happened?"
"A number of things." I massaged the back of my head, where the ache had now migrated. "Janine and I went to Santa Monica, and while we were there, we noticed a young couple on the beach. After we got back, I stopped in the gym and what appeared to be the girl from that couple on the beach showed up alone..."
I paused to drink some water. Lilith frowned.
"Did she – or they – follow you?"
"I thought that was a possibility. It also seemed possible that she wasn't the beach girl. But my gut said she was." I patted my sore stomach and gave her a sickly smile. "My gut was right. I had lunch with her downstairs and she must've slipped something into my tea. In a few minutes I was pretty much out of it."
"What happened then?"
"She asked me about Janine." My eyes strayed around the room, settling on my laptop. Lilith traced my gaze. "And she was messing with my computer. I'm guessing she emptied the hard drive."
"So, she's what? A federal agent?" L
ilith's face was taut with fear.
"She said she worked for Lockheed. That might've been the truth. She could've been with their security."
"Crap." Lilith rose and started pacing – an angry jungle cat. "What did you tell her about Janine? And how much damaging stuff did you have on your computer?"
"Nothing incriminating about Janine. I managed to keep my head straight about that. And I doubt there was much if anything damaging on my computer." I gave silent thanks for using a new, clean computer instead of my own laptop. "My emails were routed through our websites' backdoors. Unless there's a keylogging program on the computer – they would've needed to install before this, which I highly doubt – they wouldn't be able to get our passwords. Most of our critical conversations were on burner phones anyway."
"So you brought her back to your room?" Lilith's nose wrinkled in disapproval.
"I was shaky on my feet after the lunch, and she walked with me. She more or less forced herself into my room. I was too out of it by then to put up much resistance."
"Fuck," Lilith grunted, dropped back into her chair. "They're onto you. Which means probably us."
"Probably. The question is, who are 'they' and how did they get onto us?" Dread worked its way up my spine. "Shit. Maybe Skunk Works does bug their employees' houses? That would answer both questions."
"Could Janine have reported you? You told her you were a security tester, after all."
A secondary dread branched off from the original. I massaged my face.
"Things were okay. I doubt she reported me. She's pretty disillusioned with Skunk Works, and reporting me could cause her a lot of problems."
Lilith sagged in her chair with a long-suffering sigh and broke off her accusing gaze.
"It is looking more and more like they were monitoring her," she said. "That would explain why they followed you to the beach."
"Seems likely."
"And if they're monitoring her, why wouldn't they be monitoring Bronstein?"
"I'd guess they are." Another dim light switched on. "In fact, they could be monitoring this room as we speak."
Lilith glanced around, renewed fear in her eyes.
"We should leave the room," I said. "Go outside and talk."
Operation Indigo Sky Page 20
