by Tanja Neise
It had to be a professional we were dealing with. Never before in the history of Centrodynamics had anyone managed what had happened here today. Not in Seattle, nor in any other city!
Dark had gathered the cleaning staff in the canteen. When I entered the large room, all conversations immediately stopped. I immediately noticed that Sally was missing – the woman who was so dear to Olivia's heart. My own alarm system struck me immediately.
I kept close to Dark. “Where's Sally?”
Dark was pale, which irritated me. “We can't find her, she's logged in, but she hasn’t been seen by any of the women.” That couldn’t have been possible! I sincerely hoped that nothing had happened to the energetic little woman. How would I be able to explain this to Olivia?
I looked at the dark man who was turning his head towards me at that moment. We looked into each other's eyes and communicated without words. It was clear to me that this realisation meant nothing good, but Dark winked at me. He came closer until there was not even an inch between the two of us, and whispered so quietly that only I could understand him. “She’s safe.”
A huge stone fell from my heart, yet I wondered why Dark was making such a secret of it. I left it at that for now; there had to be a reason, which I would find out as soon as we were alone. Then I turned resolutely to the women and began the interrogation. Somebody must have noticed something.
Anxiously, the blonde beast looked at me as I walked towards her, but before I reached her, I received the internal signal that someone had opened the door of my office.
All the possible alarm bells shrieked in my brain and all my thoughts had only one focus – Olivia.
Olivia Morgan
I nervously chewed on a finger while prowling back and forth in the swish office. Robert had disappeared at least half an hour ago and since then nobody had stumbled upon me. I was impatient and secretly annoyed at the fact that I was so fixated and dependent on him. Why couldn’t I reach Sally?
In the small refrigerator hidden in one of the cupboards I found a bottle of mineral water, which I emptied in one go. Nevertheless, I felt like I was dying of thirst. The ventilation system had to be defective somehow; such dry air didn’t even exist in the university library. Or was I getting ill?
My thoughts raced to the incidents here in the building. What had happened here? The security measures in this building were so intense that normally nobody would even dare, let alone manage, to overcome the barriers. But as I understood it, that was exactly what had happened. That could only mean that it was a well-targeted attack. Only on what? Did an industrial spy want to destroy the research lab? Stealing results to sell elsewhere? Could someone possibly be after Robert? Plagued with worry, my heart contracted for a moment. This man was getting much too far under my skin. I couldn't answer any of these questions, which frustrated me, and if I only had a hint of a clue, I’d feel challenged to solve the mystery. However, I was left in the dark and only had the task of waiting here. I hated inactivity; sometimes I wished for it, but as I was finding out now, this was definitely not for me.
Troubled by the fantasies that were coming to the fore of my mind, I sauntered alongside the bookshelf. There were all sorts of non-fiction books on it – nothing that really aroused my interest – but then my gaze fell on a small wooden toy. It seemed worn, as if the owner had carried it around with him for many years of his life. The wood was worn out and shone in the brightness of the man-made light. It was a car – an old vehicle used in the early fifties of the twentieth century. Was it a toy from Robert's childhood?
A smile flitted over my lips when I realised which model it was supposed to be. It was a Porsche 550 Spyder and a very beautiful piece of work. The artist had gone to a great deal of trouble to precisely carve out all the fine details.
At that moment I stopped short. How did I know the model at all? It was a car that was made more than a hundred and forty years before I was born. I wasn't interested in cars, especially not in those that didn't exist anywhere anymore, not to mention in a museum. A queasy feeling spread in my stomach and I got soft knees. With trembling hands I put the small work of art back on the shelf and, staggering slightly, walked over to the couch.
Robert Tensington
Dark and I both reached the executive floor at the same time, and checked the hallway. The carpet swallowed our already very quiet footsteps until nothing more could be heard than the rustling of clothes. The light burned warmly and cast no shadows; no one was to be seen. What had happened here? The fear for Liv was choking me and preventing me from thinking clearly. All logic had disappeared from my brain.
In front of the office door I stopped and signalled to Dark with a nod to follow my lead. We both pulled out our weapons in sync – weapons, which complied with the latest standards – and silently gave each other a sign before Dark eventually pushed the door open. Gun at the ready, he stormed into the room. Suddenly, his posture changed and a smile spread across his face. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen this man smile. I was irritated and followed the other man's gaze.
Two women were sitting on the couch staring at us and our drawn weapons in horror. Sally and Liv quickly became calm, however. Then the older woman stood up, with her index finger outstretched, she was pointing at Dark. “Daniel Malcolm Higgs, how dare you scare me like that?”
Incredibly, Dark flinched and looked down towards the ground. I could hardly believe my eyes and had to suppress the impulse to open my mouth. Was this Dark? I quickly turned my eyes to the object of my desire, though. My mind was obsessed with the woman, who was still sitting on the sofa. She attracted me like a magnet, and I slowly walked a few steps towards her, but she pressed herself harder into the cushion, just as if she wanted to evade me. I stopped, alarmed. What had happened? When I left her here, everything had been fine between us. Something must have shaken her; her facial expression looked disturbed, almost as if she was afraid. Of me?
“Everything okay, Liv?” I asked, quietly.
“Please take me home.” She lowered her head so as to not have to look at me. I knew very well when people were closing themselves off to me and Olivia was doing so at that very moment. It just wasn't clear why.
* * *
My stomach cramped at the thought of letting her go. Meanwhile, it was no longer about the sex I’d originally wanted to have with her. I couldn't even imagine not seeing her for more than an hour. This was really bordering on obsession. We’d been sitting in the car for ten minutes and she hadn’t said a word to me. I didn't dare ask why her behaviour had changed so suddenly. In my mind, I ran through the last hours we’d spent together; everything had been harmonious, only Olivia's fear for Sally had clouded the evening, which I had quite understood. But the supervisor was doing well, even though I hadn't sussed out Dark's secretiveness yet, but I would take care of that problem later. By all means, the security chief's behaviour had briefly attracted my attention, because it had been more than unusual. When the car stopped, I got out and held my hand out to Olivia to help her; she grabbed it, hesitantly. Her skin, which hit mine coolly, ignited a real firework in me, and I saw her head rise, meeting me with an astonished look. She felt it too? All the blood shot into my lower body regions; my brain was swept empty. I wanted her and had to get a hold of myself so as not to press her against the metal of the car on the spot and conquer her lips. What did she taste like? As sweet and innocent as she seemed to me? Although she looked more like a witch with her fire-red curls, wrapping every man around her little finger, her eyes reflected another kind of woman. I was face to face with insecurity, but also curiosity and desire. I was waiting for a sign from her, but she only looked at me from those beautiful green eyes that touched something deep inside me. They challenged me, and at the same time they let the need to surrender emerge within me – to sacrifice myself for her. Slowly, I was losing my mind because of this woman. Tenderly, I put my palm to her cheek; she leaned her head to the side, snuggled up to it and closed her eyes. “Liv”, I w
hispered, so as not to destroy the magic of the moment.
Anne Rumsfield
For several minutes, I’d been trying to find something out about the guy I’d just knocked out with my stun gun instead of sending him to the happy hunting grounds. But there was nothing. It was as if the man had never existed. The only thing I found out, through an email to Centrodynamics, was that there was a security chief named Dark who was also responsible for the computer system.
The description fit. He probably had his finger in this pie and had deleted all his data from the systems by the time he’d got there. Not an easy task; you had to think outside the box for that. In any case, my curiosity had been irrevocably awoken.
Thank God I’d packed all my equipment, without even considering that I might have to march into a shop and buy the stuff here. The FBI would receive security messages within minutes if I even managed to get the smallest amount of what I needed.
Generally speaking, it was a fantastic security system and I was in favour of it, but here and now it was putting some obstacles in my way.
First, I’d thought it’d be unnecessary to pack all the stuff, but my gut feeling seldom cheated me, and so, the big box had been filled to the brim within a very short period of time. Now I was glad to have listened to my inner intuition. I’d need a lot of what I had packed.
The only problem I had now, was to take the devices up into the hotel room unnoticed. Before tackling this, I also had to inform the concierge about the extension of my stay. Not that I would soon be without a roof over my head. The whole thing was turning out to be a tricky operation and I needed a base for the next steps.
From a distance, I could already see that this time a different man had taken over the shift at the reception. His fat face looked at me with narrowed eyes. It was only then that I became aware of my appearance. I was dressed completely in black, which generally wasn't so extraordinary, however, I was also covered in dirt. Hiding in the hedges of Centrodynamics had not passed me unscathed, and I still smelled terribly of the grease and chemicals from the window cleaning machine. Since the guy had never seen me before, he must’ve assumed I was a drifter or something like that.
He raised an eyebrow, affectedly, and looked at me as if I were a cockroach in his lunch. “Ma´am, can I help you?”
I would’ve liked to have shot him in the neck with my stun gun and made him feel the full power of it. What was the snob thinking of, treating me like I was beneath him? “I’m Ms Ross, staying in room 358. Please excuse my appearance, but I fell down a staircase earlier.”
He hurriedly typed on the computer's hologram keyboard. His face lit up a little afterwards. “Ah, Ms Ross! Good evening, how can I help you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I intend on staying in town for a few more days.”
He typed on the computer again and then looked at me with a fake smile on his face. “We’re happy to hear that. Unfortunately, the prices for overnight stays from tomorrow are twice as high, because there’s a big trade fair taking place in town. I hope that's alright for you?”
What a grubby guy! He probably put the extra money in his own pocket or shared it with the others. Or even worse, he was the owner of the dump and did with it as he pleased. A fair! That was ridiculous! There were no such events in Seattle, because there was simply no clientele who would have visited one. And nobody came here from outside. Trade fairs were only held in New York or Los Angeles and had been for decades now.
I had no choice but to agree; at the end of the day, I had the problem of still wanting to remain anonymous. I couldn’t be defeated because of the money – I had enough of that.
“That's all right. I probably wouldn't be able to get a room anywhere else anyway,” I said, feigning joy. Maybe I shouldn't exaggerate, it was just as noticeable. I quickly swept the smile off my face. “If my stay were to be extended by more than three days, could we possibly negotiate a discount?”
A twinkle of greed appeared in his eyes. “Since I’m the owner of the hotel, I’m always available for negotiations of this kind. My office is in room 555.”
“Thank you, how kind of you. 555? I can remember that very well. I’ll definitely come back for your offer!” I fluttered my eyelashes a little, which prompted the man to lick his lips. Oh man, such primitive monkeys were simply repugnant to me. “I still have a big box of my books and clothes in my car. Would it perhaps be possible for one of your people to bring it to my room? It's very heavy and I'm not sure I can do it alone.” Another flutter of my eyelashes and he eagerly grabbed the intercom device.
“My porter will be right here. Don't forget – room 555,” he said, this time winking at me. I would’ve preferred to vomit, but now I was playing a role and pulling on the strings of this puppet, so I giggled stupidly and lowered my gaze. If I ever had to enter room 555, this greasy lurch wouldn't survive.
Olivia Morgan
My name coming out of his mouth was like warm chocolate melting on the tongue. I wanted more, wanted him, but I was also simply afraid of my own reaction. So far, I’d only kissed a man twice, and both times it had ended abruptly. The terrible experiences I’d had did not exactly help me to relax. The hand on my cheek gave me the feeling of being at home, of finally having arrived, and it helped to dispel the memories. How was that possible? After all, I had only known him for such a short time and much of him was still a mystery to me. A few hours in a nice restaurant didn't necessarily help me to forget my fears. How was I supposed to know if I could trust him? Perhaps he’d only been pretending and was a completely different person in reality. And yet this feeling of solidarity remained, in a way I had never felt before. Not even with members of my family. This realisation astonished me, and timidly, I raised my head to take a closer look at Robert. I could perceive desire in his eyes, and all of a sudden, this feeling leapt across to me.
There was nothing I could hide from those eyes that seemed to look into my soul. He saw through me, and a bold smile appeared on his lips before slowly approaching and leaning over me. My heart was jumping into my throat, my skull was pounding, my knees were turning soft and I was getting scared. I would’ve preferred to have run away, but I stayed.
He even recognised that with one look, as if he could read in my mind. He gently stroked my lower lip with his thumb. “Hey Liv,” his dark velvety voice penetrated right through me. “You’re so beautiful. I feel impossibly attracted to you. So much that I'm probably too hasty. I’m sorry.”
“No, you're not too hasty.” Sadness spread through every fibre of my body. I wanted to kiss him so much; I could not imagine anything better. Everything in me wanted it.
“Then why are you looking at me like I'm scaring you?” The insecurity in me was like poison. How could I explain this to him?
Should I tell him that in emotionally charged situations I tended to do strange things? That I did something to the other person when I kissed them? “I’m not very good at kissing. So far I've chased everyone away.” At least that wasn't a lie, but it didn't do justice to the truth.
“Oh honey, hold still and I'll kiss you, and if I don't cause you to run away, you can try me in return.” I stood still, not daring to breathe anymore. The next moment, his lips were pressed against mine before I could say anything else. Flashes of light exploded behind my eyelids, which had closed completely of their own accord. And then I forgot my irrational fears; I wasn’t aware of anything else except this breathtaking kiss, and I gave myself to him.
Robert gasped, which brought me back to reality, and when I realised that I had done it again, I drove back, in horror. But he held me tightly in his arms and ignored the fact that I had just bitten his lip. No, he didn’t even react to it. No blood flowed like it usually did, either. Astonished, I looked up at him and met a look that was marked by bewilderment.
“Liv? What are you doing?”
Everything in me cried out to run away, but his embrace didn’t allow me to escape, although I resisted.
&nb
sp; “I ... I don't know,” I stammered, helplessly, and waited to see how he would react. I was afraid that he’d push me away, disgusted, as I’d always been.
His right eyebrow shot up. “You want to tell me that you bit my lip with such force without knowing why?”
I could understand him so well. Since this had first happened to me, I’d tried to get to the bottom of this reaction my body had. I didn’t understand it; I didn’t understand myself. I was unable to do more than shrug my shoulders.
He took a deep breath. No, he smelled me. What was he doing? He came closer, sniffed at me and, the next moment, took a step back. He looked at me in a dumbfounded manner. “That’s impossible!”
What was impossible? Why did he smell me as if he were a sniffer dog? What had confused him so much? Where his arms had been before, I could now feel the cold of the night, and I began to tremble, feeling alone. I longed for him to hug me again, but he seemed hostile instead.
“Sleep well, Liv.” Almost as if he was on the run, he threw himself into the car. Not on the back seat like before, no, he sat down in the passenger seat, slammed the door shut and the next moment he roared away. Since I’d been standing so close to the vehicle, I felt the blast of air blow a few strands of my hair into my face. Sadly, I watched the lights of the back of the car. Another kiss that had backfired. What wasn't right in my head? Why did I go crazy like that as soon as a man kissed me? This time I hadn't noticed anything at all, had completely drifted away, and had dropped all protective mechanisms. It had felt so beautiful, so perfect.
