Love Vs. Illusion

by MJ Rodgers

  A.J. swung around. “You recognize him, too?”

  “Piermont Woodson, billionaire wheeler-dealer. What I don’t understand is his connection with Linbow.”

  “Has to be financial,” A.J. said.

  “We found no financial link between Linbow and anyone.”

  “We didn’t, either,” A.J. admitted. “But Clarise mentioned opening up additional VR centers. That takes capital. And for the kind of computer power an operation like this must eat up, I would expect an enormous amount of capital would be needed. That must be where Woodson comes in.”

  “Maybe. But if Woodson is going to invest his money in the expansion of Fabulous Fantasies, he’s going to end up controlling the company.”

  “I have to agree. Ever since that race car accident put Woodson in that wheelchair, he’s compensated for his reduction in physical strength by concentrating on wielding an overwhelming economic strength over everything he touches.”

  “And ruthlessness toward his enemies.”

  “Yes, I understand that he wasn’t satisfied just beating that guy Montgomery who challenged his chairmanship about a year or so ago. He also made sure Montgomery was removed as president and financially crippled.”

  “All of which underlines the fact that Woodson is a control freak. And so is Linbow. I can’t believe he’d let Woodson come in and take over, not for any amount of money.”

  “Makes the association even more curious, doesn’t it? I wonder who the she is they were referring to? The one who once swallowed too many pills? Do you know if Woodson is married?” A.J. asked.

  “Not currently. But he’s a three-time loser. And, if I remember right, the last divorce was recent. Maybe it’s his latest ex Clarise and Linbow are concerned about. I’ll put in a call to my people and see what they can find out.”

  “You realize the phones in the room are bugged?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “My investigators and I have developed a series of verbal codes that surreptitiously get information back and forth,” A.J. confided. “What do you use?”

  “Morse code tapped very lightly against the receiver. Takes a computer amplification to even pick it up.”

  “Ingenious.”

  “That’s me, Mr. Ingenious,” he said, smiling.

  “Well, it’s definitely not Mr. Modest,” she said, stifling a grin.

  She looked around at the room in which they had sought refuge. It was lined with shelves of sheets and towels. A large gray locker stood against the wall. A magnetic cardkey lock, similar to that used by hotels, secured it.

  “I don’t suppose you have a credit card that would work on this?” she asked facetiously.

  Zane strolled to the locker. He opened his vest and pulled out what what seemed to be a pocket calculator. It looked a lot more like a computer when he flipped it on, punched in a few keys and pulled a plastic card attachment out of a hidden compartment. He slipped the magnetized end through the lock. A.J. watched, fascinated, as a series of numbers spun across the small screen on the hand-held computer. In a few seconds, a green light flashed on the locker receptacle. Zane removed the cardkey attachment and opened the door.

  “Handy gadget,” she said, trying not to sound awed.

  She surveyed the contents of the locker. It contained several white jumper uniforms in various sizes. They were obviously extras stored away for the staff.

  “A set of these uniforms could come in handy,” A.J. said as she lifted one out and held it up to her shoulders to check its size.

  “Yes, they could, Ms. Divining Rod,” Zane agreed.

  “What’s this divining-rod stuff?”

  He smiled. “It means that I find you mysterious and fascinating.”

  A small thrill trickled through her at the warmth in his voice and eyes. She turned away, busied herself with removing the uniform from its hanger.

  “We weren’t going to complicate things, remember? You realize none of these are going to fit you?”

  He took the largest of the four remaining uniforms off its hanger and measured it against his frame. As large as it was, it was still obviously too small.

  “I’ll figure something out,” he said, unconcerned, as he rolled up the uniform and placed it under his arm.

  A.J. did the same with hers before closing the locker. She glanced at her bare wrist. “I forgot my watch in the room. What time do you have?”

  Zane glanced at his wrist and frowned. “Damn. Looks like my watch has stopped. It can’t be the battery. It’s brand-new.”

  She smiled as she caught a glimpse of the expensivelooking instrument on his wrist with a dozen different buttons. “Next time get something simple, like a Timex.”

  He chuckled as he casually draped an arm over her shoulders. His breath left a stream of heat along her exposed neck and sent a shaft of warmth through her womb. “Complicated things may take a little more effort to get to work, but their rewards are often worth it.”

  A.J. knew he wasn’t talking about watches. Quivers snaked inside her—deep, delicious quivers that left her achy. She couldn’t afford to feel like this. Not with any man. And particularly not with this man.

  “Come on,” she said quickly, slipping out from under his arm. “We have some serious planning to do.”

  ZANE SPREAD a series of detailed surveillance photos across A.J.’s king-size bed, the only available surface in the sparse guest room that, like his, included no table or chairs.

  “How did you get these?” she asked after studying the photos for a few minutes. The slight elevation in her tone was enough to tell him she was impressed.

  “I know a few people.”

  One of those lovely unplucked eyebrows edged up her forehead. “First a pocket-size computer with a program that can alter a magnetic strip to break a key-card lock, and now a set of detailed photos of this island that have to have come from a satellite link. What were you before you became a private investigator, a spy?”

  He chuckled. “Just a Marine.”

  Her gaze dropped to the photos. “There was no just about it. You were the commander of an elite reconnaissance unit.”

  She had said the words in a clipped, sharp sequence, but he detected respect, not sarcasm, beneath her tone.

  “Why did you resign your commission?” she asked after a moment. “You had a promising career.”

  “The Cold War was over. No use preparing to battle enemies that no longer exist. So, what do the photos tell you?” he asked, deliberately easing away from the subject.

  Her finger pointed out key spots. “These infrared shots mark the electronic surveillance equipment Linbow has set up around the island.”

  For someone without a military background, she could read the tools of the trade quite well.

  “And yet there are no telltale coloration changes that show where Linbow put all that expensive electronic gear he’s leased the last couple of years,” she added with a frown.

  Zane shuffled through the photos. He found what he was looking for and put it beside the infrared aerial shots.

  “This is an old topographic map, drawn before the Army Air Corps took over this island during the war,” he explained. “It shows the original terrain. From these later photos, you can see that the military built a fake reef along this coastal area to prevent the flooding of the flat land by the tides.”

  “Yes, I see,” she said, studying both the map and photos. “That enabled them to make this flat area into a landing strip. Then they erected this airplane hanger we’re in and butted it up against the raised mound of volcanic rock here. That door at the back, where Linbow, Woodson and Clarise came through, looked like it entered a cave of some sort.”

  “The ocean tides formed the cave in the rock. You can see it here on the old map. During the war, the military used the cave as an air-raid shelter and a command post for the brass.”

  “So they’d have a place of protection in case of attack,” A.J. said, as she looked up, excitement swimming throu
gh her eyes. “That restricted door leads into the old air-raid shelter and command post. Linbow must have his electronic gear stored there, along with anything else he doesn’t want anyone to see. That’s why he’s leasing this island from the Air Force. He wanted the security of that old air-raid shelter.”

  Zane leaned back on the pillow, enjoying the intelligence that shone through her light eyes and was reflected in her husky voice. It had taken his team—and his military connections—months to put together these pieces. She was absorbing and making sense out of them in mere minutes. No doubt about it, she was very good. “We have to find a way inside,” she said, more to herself than him. Once again she bent her head over the photos.

  “The most direct approach would be through that restricted door leading into the cave,” she said after a moment.

  “Any ideas?” he asked.

  She raised her head and looked at him with a small, taunting smile on her lips. “I’m not into the kind of electronic wizardry you obviously are. You didn’t, by any chance, bring something with you that can crack the palmand-retina identification Linbow has installed, did you?”

  “Not with me,” he admitted.

  The taunting smile faded from her lips. “Are you saying there is something that can crack a palm-and-retina identification?”

  “Any security system someone can build someone else can breach.”

  “Well, since we’re not prepared to breach that one, it looks like we’ll have to find another way into that air-raid shelter.”

  She slipped off her shoes and crossed her legs on the bed in front of her as she focused on the photos. His eyes traced the outline of her thighs, knees, calves, stripping the fabric away, seeing the long, lean flesh beneath.

  She was good to watch from a personal angle, as well as from a professional one. Too good.

  Zane picked up the computer disks that had been delivered to her room, trying to distract his more personal thoughts of A.J. He was amazed at how tiny the CDs were, just an inch in diameter, thinner than a dime. He twirled one of the gleaming disks on the edge of his finger. These were quite a few giant steps beyond the typical CD ROM technology.

  He had already scanned the computer interface units built into both sides of the king-size bed. Whatever else Linbow was, the man must possess extraordinary talent to have put together this sophisticated virtual reality system.

  “This deep underground sea cavern at the southern end of the island is promising,” A.J. said. “Look how far underground it goes. Linbow must float in stuff that’s too big to fly in. What do you want to bet this cavern connects to the air-raid shelter?”

  Zane put down the disks and turned to A.J. She was pointing at a spot on the topography map.

  “It does,” he verified. “The military used the cavern to bring in their supplies when they occupied the island.”

  “Then maybe that’s our way in. Let’s see.”

  He watched her face, waiting for her evaluation. He already knew what the best plan would be. He was curious how long it would take her to come to the same conclusion.

  “Linbow’s scanners are at the high points of the island to detect approaching ships and boats, but he doesn’t have anything to detect a lone swimmer or two who stay in close to the shore,” she said. “Still, that’s a long swim, at night, against a strong ocean current all the way. We’d need full wet suits to ward off hypothermia. I didn’t even pack a bathing suit, did you?”

  He smiled, leaned back again on the pillow. “Not this trip.”

  “So that lets out the amphibious assault route.”

  She was quiet for a moment before offering a new comment. “This is curious. Did you notice that these electronic surveillance points are heaviest several feet to the left of the back end of the building, beneath this rock overhang here?”

  “So?”

  “So, maybe that means there’s another entry into the air-raid shelter under the rock ledge. Just a minute. I need to check that old topographic map again.”

  He watched her shifting through the photos to the map. She grabbed it eagerly.

  “Yes, it’s very faint, but there is a drop in elevation at that point. See? It could be another, smaller cave that feeds into the larger one. That makes sense, too. The military would want a site that afforded an outside entry to the air-raid shelter, as well as an inside one.”

  “Would they?”

  “Of course. Crews working outside the hangar would need to get to cover quickly in case of attack. Those crews couldn’t waste time running all the way through the hangar. Plus which, all of Linbow’s sensors are trained on the ground in front of that ledge. That’s not coincidence.”

  “Even if it isn’t, you just pointed out that area is heavily crisscrossed with sensors,” Zane said. “You see any way to walk up to it without triggering an alarm?”

  “Maybe we wouldn’t have to walk. Check this out. The sensors are mounted on the high points of the rock and the building. They cover the ground pretty thoroughly all around, but they don’t completely sweep the top of the building.”

  “The top of the building?” Zane repeated.

  She leaned forward. “It has some clear spots. Let’s see. The front door we came through with the other guests and that restricted door into the air raid shelter are the only two doors in and out of this building. So that means we’ll have to evade the surveillance cameras when we leave by the front door.”

  “Then what?”

  Her finger traced a path as she answered. “We climb to the roof, zigzag through the sensors like this, reach the rock face there, climb over to the ledge here, and we’ll be directly above that outside entrance.”

  “If that is an outside entrance,” Zane said.

  “It has to be. Why else would there be sensors?”

  “For the sake of argument, let’s say there is an outside entrance to the air-raid shelter beneath the ledge. Even with a few clear spots, getting to it through the maze of electronic sensors Linbow has sweeping the area would take precise calculation of the angles involved.”

  “It can be done,” she insisted.

  “A.J., you’re looking at sensors revealed by infrared photos shot from an overhead perspective. Have you given any thought to how difficult keeping those complicated angles in your head will be when you’re actually on the top of this metal building and the sensors are hidden from your view?”

  She slid off the bed, put on her shoes. “Okay, so it won’t be easy. I’m still doing it. You can stay here if you wish, but I’m getting into that air-raid shelter.”

  He smiled at the determination in her eyes and in her voice as he slipped off the bed. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them in her hand.

  “I don’t want your sunglasses,” she said, trying to hand them back.

  “Always looking a gift horse in the mouth,” he grumbled as he turned and stepped over to the lamp on the nightstand next to the bed.

  He switched off the light, knowing her curiosity would have her putting the glasses on.

  Her response came a second later. “I can see you in the dark. These are night scopes, infrared lenses. But how can they be? The lenses are as thin as sunglasses.”

  Zane switched on the light and turned to her. “In addition to body heat, they also reveal the heat of sensor beams. Should come in handy tonight, wouldn’t you say?”

  She took off the glasses and glared at him.

  “You’ve known all along that there was an outside entrance and where it was. You already knew that using the roof was the best way to get to it. You’ve just wasted nearly an hour of our time!”

  Zane chuckled as he took the glasses and gathered the photos.

  “Would you have accepted my word that Linbow was keeping his electronic gear and technological secrets in an old air-raid shelter and that the best way to get to it was by climbing over the roof?”

  “Maybe not right away,” she admitted after a moment.

  He pocketed the photos a
nd glasses. “Admit it. You had to convince yourself of the best attack to this problem. And by my not telling you my conclusions beforehand, you helped me to verify that I hadn’t missed a better approach.”

  “How long have you been working on this plan?”

  “Let’s just say I’ve been exploring the options for a few weeks.”

  “And you expected me to come up with a better approach in a few minutes?”

  “After seeing you in action on a couple of occasions now, it wouldn’t have surprised me.”

  She almost smiled then, and he knew she was responding to the respect she had to have heard in his tone. He took a step toward her.

  “I know I’ve maneuvered you into working with me, A.J. But I sincerely believe it will benefit us both.”

  “I must admit your surveillance photos are…excellent,” she said, her husky voice filled with a hesitation that was very unlike her. And very telling. Zane’s pulses took a hopeful leap.

  “So are your instincts,” he said, moving closer, less than an arm’s reach away now. “And if it came down to a choice, A.J., I’d rather have someone with your instincts beside me than a thousand good photos.”

  She lifted her face to his. Behind the cool reflective mirrors of her eyes, a warm blue flame flickered. The heat of it whipped through him.

  He erased the remaining space between them and drew her into his arms. She came willingly. A groan rose from deep within his groin, tearing through his throat at the incredible feel of her pressed so closely to him. He buried a kiss deep in the side of her neck and felt that wonderfully toned body arch against him, her hands entwined at his waist. Exultation drove through him, as did desire so hard, so deep, he shook.

  His mouth found hers and he took it with all the hunger that had been growing inside him. Her lips parted for him. His hands ran down her back to her firm bottom and then up again, slipping beneath the top of her sweats. He roamed her bare back greedily, mapping every luscious inch with the press of his fingertips. Her skin quivered beneath his touch, solid and strong and smooth as silk.

  He wanted to touch her all over. He needed to touch her all over. And he needed a lot more. He released her lips to pull up the bottom edge of her sweat top, intending to slip it over her head.