Devious Origins

by Thad Phetteplace

CHAPTER 34

  It is said that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. Our plan was no exception. Even before our breakthrough with the travel expenses, a plan was coming together. Using the survey results, we would narrow the field of battle to several bars and dance clubs popular with the college crowd. Each night, we would spread out among those locations, looking for behavior that matched the profile we had compiled. My empathy ability would play a big role. More than any other team member, I would move from location to location, scanning any candidates my teammates had flagged for closer inspection. If I got an appropriately evil vibe, we would signal Dee to join us and spring her trap by throwing herself into the jaws of their trap. This basically meant using her superpower to become their ideal victim. The survey had supplied us with a profile of what they looked for, and Dee was armed with cocktail straws that change color in the presence of date rape drugs. Our plan didn't really change much with the discovery of the travel reimbursement connection, but it did become a lot less dependent on chance. Now we just needed to wait for Liz's bot to ping us when matching travel plans were filed at the Freedom Birthright Foundation. I would scan the travelers as they arrived at the airport or train station to verify our suspicions. Then we would keep them under surveillance until we tracked them to whatever night spot they were targeting so we could call in Dee.

  Only four days after our meeting at the Intergalactic, the bot pinged us. In quick succession, three different conspirators filed travel plans. Two of them would arrive next Friday on the same flight. The third was arriving on Saturday. I skipped two of my Friday classes to hang out at the airport. I couldn't get a clear read from them among all the other passengers, but I was able to confirm their identities using pictures provided by DualCore. Saturday I had more luck. I located my target at the baggage carousel and followed him to the cab stand. I stood behind him, pretending to wait for a cab. I still wasn't getting much of a read, so in a moment of boldness bordering on insanity, I bumped into him.

  “Oh I'm so sorry,” I blurted, “I'm such a klutz.”

  “Don't worry about it,” he mumbled, “no harm done.”

  “What a day. My flight was late, and then they lost my luggage, and now I can't even walk straight.”

  The guy made an indistinct grunt in reply.

  “Hey, do you have the time?” I asked.

  He turned to me, and I got a good look at him. A middle aged guy with graying hair and a network of lines around his eyes. His eyes narrowed and he said, “No. I don't have the time.” He turned back.

  Yes, this was definitely one of our demons. To him, I was less than nothing. Most people were less than nothing. He was annoyed with traveling, but excited about what was ahead. He was intelligent. He could be charming, but mostly didn't bother because most people didn't deserve it.

  OK, so either my empathy was supplying a lot of detail from an incredibly brief exchange, or I've got one heck of an imagination. I considered trying another read, but then he climbed into the next cab and was gone. I took out my phone and sent a text message to DualCore while I walked toward the bus stop.

  Third minion confirmed. Just left airport. On my way back.

  kate and seb at hotel. minions 1 & 2 still in the hotel bar.

  dee casing possible target nightclub. c u soon.

  I put my phone away and continued toward the bus stop, but then it vibrated with another text message.

  dee says its going down NOW!

  I started to type in a message asking what the hell that meant, but then got another message.

  dee has gone radio silent.

  I stopped in my tracks and immediately made a voice call. “What do you mean going down now? Why is Dee radio silent?” I nearly shouted it into the phone.

  “She didn't give much detail,” Liz answered, “she just said there was someone at Club Vashi and that it was happening now, then she hung up.”

  “Why is she even at Club Vashi? What the hell is going on?” I was starting to feel a bit panicked. The plan was for most of the team to stay close to Dee when the trap was sprung, to keep visual contact if possible and follow the bad guys when they carried her off.

  “Kate and Sebastian overheard minions one and two talking in the hotel bar. They mentioned Club Vashi, so Dee decided to go check it out and learn the layout before the big event.”

  “How could this even happen? If minions one and two are still at the hotel, and number three just left the airport, who the hell is at the nightclub?”

  “I don't know, we must have missed something.” Now Liz was sounding a bit panicked also. “I've sent Kate and Sab to the club, and Brian is headed there too, but I think you're closer. Get there as fast as you can, Barry. We have to get there before they start moving.”

  I hung up without answering. The bus wouldn't be fast enough. I ran back to the cab stand. Only one cab was left, and someone was already climbing into it.

  “I really need this cab,” I shouted as I approached, “it's an emergency, I swear.”

  The occupant of the back seat leaned over to get a better look at me. “Son, I've learned over the years that not much in this life is ever really an emergency.”

  I was struck with the sudden feeling that I knew him from somewhere. He was at least forty, maybe older, with long hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He wore wire rimmed glasses with a slight tint, and next to him was a battered guitar case. On the other side sat a teenage girl with an incredibly similar smile. I drank in every detail. I cranked up my empathy to its maximum. I needed them to listen. I needed them to believe me.

  “I know this sounds crazy,” I began, “but you know that moment in an action movie when everything is going wrong and the whole world hangs in the balance and it all hinges on some random stranger taking a leap of faith, believing the hero and helping them when there's no good reason to? This is one of those moments.”

  They just stared at me, and for a moment I thought I'd lost them, but then the girl said, “Let's do it, Dad.”

  “Oh, what the hell,” her father replied, “climb in, we'll share the cab.”

  I started to reach for the front passenger door, but the driver waved me off, saying, “All passengers in back.” I squeezed in next to the guitar.

  “Club Vashi,” I said to the cabby, “as fast as you can.” He pulled away from airport at a leisurely pace.

  Dad pulled a large wad of cash from his jacket, peeled off a couple of twenties, and handed them to the driver. “Like the man said, fast as you can.” I scrambled for my seatbelt as our speed suddenly increased.

  “I really appreciate this,” I said. He just gave a friendly nod in reply.

  “So what sort of action movie emergency thing is it?” the daughter asked.

  “I'm not sure you would believe me.”

  “Oh I promise I will. Please tell me.”

  “You might as well tell her,” Dad suggested, “she won't let go of it if you don't.”

  I took a breath. “OK, well, an international cabal of blackmailing sociopaths is right now trying to drug and kidnap a good friend of mine.”

  “Sounds serious,” replied Dad, “you think maybe you want to call the police?”

  “Oh I do. I really really do. Have I mentioned that the local government is corrupt and the police might be part of it? Wow, that really does sound crazy when you say it out loud, doesn't it.”

  “Son, crazy is just another name for Saturday where I'm from.”

  The daughter leaned over and said, “he has a song about that.”

  “Yeah, I've heard one like that on the...” I stopped. I took a fresh look at my fellow passengers.

  Dad grinned at me. Then my phone rang. The caller ID showed DualCore92.

  “Liz, tell me what's happening.”

  “Kate and Sebastian are stuck in traffic. I can't reach Brian, so that probably means he's driving. Where are you?”

  “I'm in a cab a couple
minutes from the club, I think. What about Dee? Have you heard from her? Is her GPS active?”

  “She's still radio silent, but GPS has her in the club.”

  “I would feel better if we were talking to her,” I said.

  “Radio silence after contact was always part of the plan,” Liz countered.

  “True, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.”

  “Just get there, Barry. As fast as you can.”

  “I'm there.” The cab rolled to a stop in front of Club Vashi. The building was an edifice of brushed metal, glass block, and neon. Thumping base and flashing colored lights filtered through the windows. “I'm muting the phone. Don't hang up. I'll check on Dee.” I opened the door and started to climb out, then turned back to my fellow passengers. “Thank you. I really mean that. Thank you.”

  The daughter gave me an exasperated look and said, “Go save your friend!”

  I rushed into the club, only to be stopped at the door by a large hand on my shoulder. For a terrified second I thought it was the The Mook, but it was only the bouncer. I showed my ID and proceeded inside at a slower pace. It was still early in the evening, so the place was not yet packed, but the lighting made it hard to pick out individuals. I didn't see Dee anywhere. Then I felt my phone vibrate and remembered Liz was on the line. I lifted the phone to my ear but couldn't hear what she was saying over the noise of the club.

  “Liz, I don't see her anywhere,” I shouted into the phone. I held a hand over my other ear and listened again.

  “I said she's moving. Back door. GPS shows her outside the back door.”

  I ran toward the back of the club, finding a hallway leading to bathrooms. At the end was a door marked Employees Only. I pushed through and found myself in a storage room. On the far end was a door marked Exit. Without any thought of our plan, I ran to the door, shoved it open, and tumbled outside.

  I was in the alley behind the club. A dark SUV was pulling away. It was then that I realized how ill-considered my actions were. I hoped nobody was looking back toward the nightclub exit, but in case they were, I leaned against the wall, cupped my hand near my face, and pretended to be lighting a cigarette. If I was lucky, they would think I was a bar employee taking a smoke break. When the vehicle reached the end of the alley, I grabbed my phone.

  Liz was already speaking. “She's on the move again, heading south.”

  “I know, I can see them. It's a dark SUV. Black, maybe dark blue, hard to tell in this light. The plate reads... damn it, I can't read it from here.”

  “Don't worry, the GPS is still tracking. I'll redirect the rest of the team to try and catch up with them.”

  The SUV turned right onto the street and disappeared from site. I nearly threw my phone in frustration. I turned to go back into the nightclub but found the door had locked behind me. I started to run down the alley toward the street. If I could get another cab, maybe I could get back into the chase.

  Halfway to the street, a familiar shade of yellow caught my eye. There, peeking from behind a dumpster, was Martin. I nearly cheered as I wrestled the Vespa out into the alley. Then I nearly cried as I realized I didn't have keys. A moment later I remembered the spare keys Dee had given me when last I rode the scooter. A made a frantic search of my pockets, found the keys, and Martin purred to life.

  “Liz, I'm in pursuit, but I need directions. Can you talk me in?”

  “I can do better than that. I can route the GPS data to your geo-app.”

  I opened up the app and signed on. Sure enough, a map with a blinking icon labeled 'Dee' showed up. The icon was moving gradually east on Washington Avenue. I switched to compass mode, and the screen was filled with an arrow pointing in the direction of Dee. “Thanks Liz, It's working.” I clipped the phone to Martin's steering column, and raced off.

  The chase was on.