by S. H. Marpel
A FASHION MODEL IN a skimpy outfit going to meet an arch criminal with advanced weaponry.
What could go wrong?
Well, about everything. But maybe not.
Because I had only “borrowed” this body and her wardrobe to solve a mystery - and some crimes.
I’d been chasing this person by following his various crimes for decades now. Not knowing his organization, just his trail of “collateral damage” where people died. Where thefts of exotic equipment and materials went unsolved, and often unknown.
Sometimes, between my sleuthing and my team’s backup, we foiled their work.
Then they made the big mistake. They went after me.
Now we know where they are. And we have one chance to cut the head off this snake.
If he doesn’t escape - or do us in first.
I
I HEARD FINN WAITING at my breakfast nook, so I quickly finished dressing.
I could smell the aroma of coffee as I rounded the doorway. His shock of unruly red hair above a pleasant smile and a steaming coffee mug was always a pleasant site. That brother of mine was wearing Naval chambray and dungarees. Both elbows on the table, relaxed and patiently waiting.
“Good morning, Erotika Jones.” His smile turned into a grin.
“Good morning, Finn. Today, we can retire that code name. I’ve always hated it.”
“How’s that, Erika? Not that you hated it, but that we don’t have to use it?”
“Because between the recent experiences and Carol’s healing touch, I’ve recovered all the memories I need.”
Finn scooted the other chair out for me with his foot, and then turned around in the tiny nook to grab the small carafe from its warming burner behind him. He filled a second mug that was waiting for me, where it sat near a bear-shaped squeeze bottle of honey.
My brother knew me too well.
I eased down into the chair, my comfortable jeans and plaid shirt allowing me to experience the grain of that solid wood chair, with it’s curves and support. My feet were in some thick wool socks, which kept my feet off the cool tile floor. Comfy. Nice.
“Will Carol or Will be joining us this morning?” I glanced to see what other chairs could be pulled in for them from the furniture assortment here..
“No, they are both busy building some improvements to your C. E. L. phone. Something you may need later.”
“Ooh, new gizmo’s. Just what a girl wants.”
“Oh, she did send you some jewelry.”
Finn handed me a green, polished-stone pendant with gold streaks, suspended on a braided, beaded choker.
“Well, I’ll have to thank her when she comes by next.”
“Of course, that’s a communication device and tracker – but you’re familiar with this.”
“Yes, Finn, I remember. So all I have to do is think and she’ll get everything.”
Finn nodded. “After yesterday, she doesn’t want to take any chances. Besides...”
“Besides?”
“Today’s the last day, so she won’t be getting any data-swaps from her outside crew.”
Of course, that reminded me of the problem Carol had been working ever since she volunteered to come and work with us personally. The battery and power regeneration was failing. After today, it wouldn’t keep everything running. Like our little life support system.
“She’s got a plan for what happens after?” I squeezed honey into my coffee, like any normal day.
Finn nodded, with a smile. “She’s worked up something between Al the A.I. and the Library crew. It’s pretty detailed, but our job is pretty simple.”
I waited, sipping my honey-sweetened coffee and delighting in simple pleasures.
When Finn didn’t continue, I raised an eyebrow. “And...”
“And our final job is simple. We find the mastermind behind the ‘goon squad’ we’ve been tracking.”
“And then...”
“Take him out somehow.”
“Somehow?”
Finn sighed. “Same old, same old. We’re going to have to sleuth it out and be inventive.”
“Good thing I love inventive sleuthing.”
“You’re good at it.”
“So what’s the uniform of the day?”
Finn grinned, to cover a little pink in his cheeks. “Fashionista.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, check your wardrobe. As much skin as possible. High heels to accent your legs – you know the look better than I do.”
I rolled my eyes at that. “Good thing I’m your sister.”
“So I can play bodyguard to your femme-fatale.”
I smiled over the rim of my coffee mug. “Sounds like a fun last day. Dressing up to outwit an arch-criminal master mind.”
Finn smiled at my quip, rose, put his mug in the sink before turning to me again.“I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re ready.”
He vanished from my sight, as usual. No noise, just faded out.
And I took the few minutes to sit and finish off my coffee. Hoping we’d find a bakery on our way to get a sweet bun. Not great for a fashion model’s figure, but I had an idea that I’d need the extra calories to burn today.
II
THE SMELL OF SOLDER made my nose wrinkle. Small fragments of plastic were left scattered on the narrow control board. Finn dusted his hands off before he carefully snapped the phone back together. It fit perfectly. He smiled, relaxing his wrinkled brow from concentration.
I looked over from my coding. “Well Finn, what do you think?”
The screen on the phone came to life and ran through it’s diagnostics. “Looks like it will do the trick, Carol. One for both Will and Erika, another for me. Sure I shouldn’t make one for you?”
I shook my head no. “I think that I’ll be more than busy keeping track of things here and getting other preps done.”
Finn glanced to the satin-polished metal globe on the control board next to one of the monitors. A black cable snaked out from it and underneath to attach somewhere below.
“How’s Al doing?”
“Seems to have everything he needs. He’s being quiet while he packs a copy of everything he’ll need in there.”
Finn frowned. “Kinda weird, copying himself.”
I smiled. “Like Will doesn’t do that with his time-bending?”
He shifted into a wry grin. “But that’s a natural phenomenon. He doesn’t have to choose what he wants to compress into a tiny little room, all so that the original ‘Will’ can vanish.”
“We don’t know that he’s going to vanish. There may be residual charge enough to keep him alive...”
My voice choked up.
Will put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ve all gotten fond of him, and you’ve got a lot of yourself invested in him.”
“Kinda like raising a smart-alec kid.”
“You know he’s probably older than you.”
“Oh, just don’t go there. Like time-benders even age – or was that a way to get me to tell you my real age? Not very gentlemanly.”
“But your teasing is something any lady can get away with all she wants.”
“All in good fun, dear.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “Yes, you’re right, as always.”
I was about to punch him, but the phone’s display came up with a readout and some tiny lights flashed. Finn took his hand away to start clicking and pressing various buttons.
“Carol, it looks like we’re good to go. We’ve got readouts for Will, me and Erika now. All three pendants are coming in strong.”
I turned to a second CRT display. Clicking on that keyboard, the data started scrolling down. “Wish I had a bit more time to this so we could get visual. Once Al gets some computing cycles freed up, I’ll see if he can’t work something up. But I won’t bother him until he originates something to me. Just figure that he’s concentrated on his packing, getting ready to move.”
Finn nodded. “Well, I’d better get going.”
A sweep of his hand made the various sandings and filings vanish into the trash bin. He replaced the now-cooled soldering iron into a drawer.
Then he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
I was ready for that, and grabbed his neck. Turning, I gave him a proper long smootch. “That’s so you remember where home is.”
“Where my heart is, always. Yes, I know.”
But he paused again, as we looked deep into each other’s eyes.
I sighed at last, and let him pull away.
“Be careful, Finn.”
“You, too, Carol.”
Then he left through the narrow door by the viewscreen window.
His own scent replaced the solder smell in my nose. Much better.
I settled back to finishing up the coding I needed to do. More like a needlepoint now. Just double-checking details...
III
FINN MET ME AT MY FRONT steps. I adjusted the tall fur collar of my jacket with my long blond hair inside it. And zipped up my jacket front to be a little less revealing. Or to keep any errant wind from flapping it open to disclose far more skin than necessary. I’d slipped on a narrow light-tan bandeau that was nearly my skin color. Some modesty, at least.
As it was, the drafts up across my otherwise bare chest from below were energizing. To the point of goose bumps.
My mini-skirt was skimpy, and held itself up by tight elastic all through. No curve left unrevealed. Again, coolish beneath.
The matching black high-heels had a bit of a platform to them, so I was eye-to-eye with Finn for once. That made us both smile. But walking a bit more treacherous. So I had his arm for several blocks until I mastered traveling in those shoes.
Finn’s appreciating eye told me the “fashionista” effect was eye-catching. (I just hoped Carol would understand when his “appreciation” showed toward her later.)
We were in Long Beach. And we caught a cab to Terminal Island.
The readings Will extracted from those goons pointed us there.
THE CAB LEFT US AT the front of a specific warehouse.
Finn helped me extricate myself from that cab without exposing more than was necessary.
He had a large camera with a huge lens suspended from his neck, plus sporting a stylish pair of sunglasses. Today, his wild hair was for effect, and the wide, unbuttoned collar of his loud pink shirt contrasted with a business-like dark charcoal suit jacket above black jeans. Yes, he was being my photographer, but also wearing a no-nonsense attitude that cemented the look.
We were both pro’s at what we were there for.
I took a few steps to the front and Finn was photographing nearly every step I took. Once I got next to something I could lean against, then the photo-shoot action got into play. My exaggerated poses seemed to amuse the guards more than alarm them.
Working our way to a massive, open doorway, we were inside the warehouse proper before anyone got alarmed. One of the senior guards shooed the others away to deal with us personally.
He was in a dark shirt and slacks. An ear-bud seemed to be wired to a belt device for communications. A holster on his waist held some handgun with a small grip. Dark shades, aviator style, completed his authority look.
“You can’t shoot in here.” He held out his hand to block Finn’s lens.
I just sidled up to him, trying to use him as a prop.
At first he resisted, but I got closer and more cloying. Distracting.
As I leaned forward, my jacket front widening, I whispered in his ear, “We can send you your own copies of these photo’s – just give me your number and address...”
The senior guard smiled, amused.
I reached up and took off his shades to put them on my own head, then stroked his face while looking at Finn and his camera, which had continued snick-whirling away.
The rest of his men stayed in the distance, sharing quiet comments between them. Smiles on everyone’s faces.
I looked into the senior guard’s steel-gray eyes. “Why don’t you give us a tour – we think your job is just the glamor we need.”
The guard stiffened, but then relaxed as my hand caressed his jaw.
I pulled him toward a central office block, as Finn kept up the photography. My arm slid around his waist as we walked. “I bet this is just so boring for you. You’re probably wanting to get off your feet and find a chair to get more comfortable in.”
His stern look was melting under my affections. And at last his own arm reached around my own waist, where I stroked his hand with my supple fingers.
Still walking backwards as he moved with me, following me step-by-step, until at last I had reached a hard surface behind me and could go no further.
The guard now had an odd, unfocused look to his eyes and he still leaned against me. Below my left hand was something on that hard surface protruded behind me – yes. That surface was a door, and my hand closed around that doorknob. So I turned it.
We then fell through into the office, as its door opened behind me.
IV
WILL WAS WITH ME, WATCHING the console display over my shoulder.
Above the console, the viewscreen window showed Erika’s position in real time. The system was tracking with her as always.
Al was translating the output from the pendant around Erika’s neck into various real-time readouts on the screen. One section of the screen display showed her vitals, another section showed Finn’s. A bar across the top of the console display was showing relative power levels and estimated time left based on those readings.
I had the sound off from what was happening beyond the viewscreen for now. It was too apparent what was going on.
Al’s modulated voice came through the speakers. “Carol, I’ve coaxed everything out of the system I can. We’re down to mere hours left at this point, but that could shift rapidly.”
I glanced at the counter. Seconds of power left were declining rapidly, at a stuttering rate. Sometimes several second were skipped in the countdown as the power declined.
Maybe four hours left. If that.
“WILL, DID YOU FIND the other location?”
“Yes. It’s the diner you told me about in L. A. But it’s a real trick getting in there.”
“Unless we just use the front door.”
“Our timing has to be perfect.”
“Will, you track that end. Synchronize us with the point just before the loop shifts on their end.”
“Finn, can you hear me?”
Finn thought “yes” and Al translated it into the console screen.
“So you can hear us on this end through your pendant?”
Another “yes” signal came though.
“Alright then, you know how this has to play out. We’re radio-silent on Erika, so you’re going to have to direct this play from your end.”
Another “yes” signal – he understood.
“Luck to us all, then.”
V
FINN WAS MOVING AROUND the interior of the warehouse office, working to get better “shots” of my interaction with the guard.
The boss goon was incensed. I heard him yelling as he got up and moved around to the front of his desk. “Guard! What is all this, who is this girl? This is not authorized! Report! What is going on?!?”
The senior guard stiffened and came to attention.
I almost fell off him – or seemed to – and came up against the boss goon himself, where I grabbed out and back behind me to find and hold onto him as my new “balance”.
The guard was completely red-faced and realized he’d been played. That embarrassment quickly turned to anger.
“Sir! I’ll – you – she...”
“QUIET!” GET OUT OF here this instant! Bring back a squad to escort these ‘visitors’ out of here immediately! Find out what they know and how they found us. NOW!”
The senior guard pivoted and bolted through the door, yelling for his other guards.
Finn ran behind him, grabbed the open door and slammed it shut, t
urning the deadbolt lock with a final click.
That was my cue. My jacket “suddenly” came unzipped the rest of the way and I turned suddenly to lean against the boss goon. That in turn forced him off balance and we went skittering the few steps across the room to meet up with the hard edge of his desk.
Now I was on top of him where he lay on his desk, his feet in the air, my jacket open to his gaze, all while my legs and arms pinned his down.
His own eyes were wide with astonishment, surprise, and rage.
My act was to be innocently alluring, but shocked at my sudden situation. “Sir, how dare you! How could you possibly take advantage of me?!? How do you think you could get away with this?”
Finn had maneuvered closely, getting close up shots of his face, composing two-shots of us together, and against enough background to make our position incriminating.
I then made it more incriminating as I pulled his hands behind my back, so that it looked like I was trying to escape his amorous attentions.
“Miss! Miss! This is not as it seems! It is you who are...” He was now unable to do anything except apologize for a situation beyond his control.
I cut his protests off. “Let me go – NOW. How DARE you! The authorities will be hearing about this. Get off me NOW. Unhand me you – you – you CAD!”
Of course, my hands had locked his behind my waist, and my legs effectively kept his from moving. No matter how he struggled to get his feet on the floor again, my center of balance canceled his.
To make his matters worse, his view of my all-but-bare chest was nearly all he could see.
Finn was circling and seeming to take pictures at a rapid pace (no, there wasn’t really any film or memory cards in that camera) which actions just reddened the goon boss’s face even more. He could hear all the “shots” being taken and could imagine the blackmail pictures that would result.
The guards were now pounding at the door and looking for open windows around the outside perimeter of the freestanding office. Someone was working at the lock, fumbling noisily with a variety of keys to unlock that door instead of breaking it down. They all knew their jobs were on the line.
