by Bryan Koepke
“Good, the fasten seat belt sign is off,” Marie said, digging into her purse. She set it down onto the floor before standing up. “I’ll be right back.”
Reece watched her move down the carpeted aisle and decided heading to the restroom was a good idea. Marie stopped a few feet ahead of him and put her hand on Karl’s shoulder.
“Hey, surprise meeting you here,” Marie said with a giggle. “What’s that?” she added, pointing at the port window. They both looked to their right, and she swiped her hand toward Candice’s plastic drink cup. She squeezed a few drops of whatever the bottle in her hand contained and then she brought it behind her back.
Karl and Candice turned back, puzzled. “What did you see?” Candice said.
“Must have just been another jet,” Marie said, moving toward the lavatory.
Curious, Reece watched as Candice brought her glass to her lips and chugged down her drink. He smiled, wondering what Marie had spiked the glass with. He made his way to the restroom on the right side of the airplane.
On the way back to his seat, he glanced at the happy couple and saw that Candice’s hand was working in Karl’s lap underneath one of the blue airline blankets. Rhodes had a blissful smile on his face and didn’t seem to care that his wife was just a few steps away—that made Reece despise the man.
Once back at their row, he smiled at Marie as she slid in next to him and buckled her belt. He wanted to ask about Candice’s drink, but he had an idea he would soon find out.
The first set of bumps came in a rapid succession, and Reece wasn’t surprised when he heard the familiar bland tone and saw that the captain had turned the fasten seat belts sign back on. He’d flown through plenty of turbulent skies over the years while piloting small planes. On these big jets passengers always panicked at the first sign of bumps.
“Are you okay?” he said.
“You mean the turbulence?” Marie said, leaning sideways toward Reece. “I figure they’re like waves in the ocean. We have to just pass through them,” she said, sounding like the seasoned flyer Reece knew she was. Earlier, they’d talked about all the places she’d visited over the years. She’d turned pouty after recalling the last trip she and Karl had gone on with Elise to the Maldives a few years earlier.
Reece wondered what was happening as he saw the stewardess sprint up the aisle past them. Toward the forward lavatory Candice was shouting at one of the other flight attendants. That was when he felt a nudge and looked over to see Marie pull a bottle of eye drops out of her purse, just far enough for him to read the back label.
Chapter 38
Haisley Averton sat at the desk in a room off the upstairs bedroom. He liked it here in the cozy space, but he was starting to miss his wife Mavis. In front of him the cup of Earl Grey tea he’d just brought from the kitchen one floor below steamed, and he waited for it to cool before taking a sip.
Since first visiting Karl Rhodes the previous weekend, he’d convinced the man that it would be easier to work on his personal computer if he took it back to his own hotel. Haisley couldn’t afford to pay three hundred dollars a night to stay in a London hotel, so instead he’d rented this London flat. It was small, cold, and worn, but for the price he agreed to pay week to week, it suited him perfectly.
He had easily traced the first intrusion into Rhodes’ computer back to Thomas Billington’s laptop. Haisley clicked the mouse on Karl Rhodes’ computer, opening another of the hidden files he’d found earlier that day. Billington, in an effort to hide his notes about Draecon International, had saved multiple Word documents with an .xls file extension instead of the normal .doc. When Haisley had first clicked on the Excel icon on the desktop to open the file, Excel failed because it couldn’t open Word files.
It was a clever trick, but once Haisley figured out what the man had done, he launched Word and changed the extension back to .doc and presto, he was in.
Billington had spent the previous six months investigating Karl Rhodes, Ian Drae, and someone named Joseph Woodbine. All three of these men held seats on Draecon’s board of directors. A second file from a month earlier held a financial summary showing the withdrawal of large amounts of money over the previous three years.
Haisley surmised that Billington believed that Karl Rhodes was embezzling money from the company.
Haisley raised the cup of tea and blew across the top before bringing it to his lips for a sip. He clicked the top of the file he’d been reading, minimizing it on the computer screen. That was when he saw a black window about the size of a package of cigarettes open on the computer screen in front of him. What’s that?
It looked like the live feed from a webcam. A woman in her mid twenties with short black hair was typing frantically on a keyboard. Haisley stared at the screen, wondering if this was another hidden file he’d somehow opened by mistake via his remote access connection to Thomas Billington’s laptop computer.
The left side of the woman’s neck was painted with a red, orange, and blue tattoo, resembling the wing of a bird. Her sideburn had been shaved into a sharp V. The walls of the room behind the woman were painted battleship gray, reminding him of the Navy ship he’d served on after the Vietnam War.
Haisley took his mouse and pulled at one of the edges of the computer window from the webcam, making it larger. Over the woman’s shoulder he spotted something in the background. An airplane. It’s got a pitot-static probe. He knew from talking with Reece years back that the system was common on all aircraft and used the principle of air pressure gradient to indicate airspeed, vertical speed, and altitude on the dashboard instruments.
A second window opened on his computer, overlaying the first. Haisley twitched involuntarily as he took in what had just appeared. He covered the tiny glass eye of the webcam on top of the monitor of Rhodes’ computer with his thumb. The new image that had just opened went black. He pulled his thumb back, bringing the image back to life, and knew instantly that this young woman had hacked him.
He slid off the chair, dove underneath the desk, and yanked the power cord from the wall outlet, killing power to the computer.
Once back up in the chair he stared at the lifeless black computer screen and brought the teacup to his lips all the while thinking about what had just occurred. That looked like some kind of Drone Command Center. Reece said those drawings could have been from a UAV or some kind of experimental military aircraft.
That woman looked exactly like the person Reece described coming out of our motel back in Tarbert. The one that he’d suspected stole the green file. Haisley took another sip of his tea.
Is that the assassin who murdered Thomas Billington? These buggers aren’t putting me on the defensive.
Chapter 39
Reece and Marie led Karl and Candice Carlyle through the terminal building at Denver International Airport, a place Reece had flown in and out of many times. It was a busy June morning, and the train they’d ridden on earlier from the international terminal to the main part of the airport was brimming with small children and tired-looking parents eager to make their flights.
“I think it was the shrimp cocktail,” Candice said, still clenching her stomach.
“The shrimp for sure,” Reece said, knowing seafood had nothing to do with her mad sprints to the restroom for most of the flight.
“Did you two have them?”
“No, we had the salad,” Marie said, smiling at Candice.
“Here, it’s this way,” Candice said, as if Reece had never set foot in the place. He was way past his normal host mode. He could have saved them loads of time by taking them directly to the transportation area of the main terminal. Candice was efficient if not a little too aggressive, but after the long overnight flight Reece wasn’t up to challenging anyone.
“There, see the man in the red vest?” Candice said, pointing at a driver standing next to a long black stretch limousine. Reece followed the others but instead of climbing into the limo he rolled his suitcase, and the long plastic tube that held his
fishing rods, past to the next car in line. Marie followed.
“I’ll get this, sir,” the white-haired driver said, coming up behind them.
“We’ve got other plans, but thanks nonetheless,” Reece said.
“Other plans? I thought we’d all go to the condo,” Candice said.
Marie exchanged a look with Reece. “We were planning to stay at my apartment in Denver tonight,” he said.
“Well, at least join us for the ride over,” Karl said, frowning at this change in plans.
Marie pulled her suitcase back off the curb and let the driver grab it from her. The last thing Reece wanted was to spend more time with these two jerks, but Marie had already made the decision to stay with them.
Karl and the others piled into the side door of the long stretch limousine. Once inside, Reece found that the interior smelled like cigar smoke and aftershave. A smell that on this particular day was less than pleasing. Karl and Candice took the rear seat, and Marie found a space along the right side as far as she could get from the couple. Reece joined her and smiled when he felt the car roll forward. He was in for a long ride, in both senses of the word.
*
“We’re here,” Candice said sounding like an excited little girl. Reece heard the squeal of the limousine’s brakes and wondered where here was. The view out the side window was wall-to-wall cars. Marie’s torso brought him warmth as the two leaned into one another. Candice, as though out to prove how obnoxious she could be, had insisted the driver crank up the air-conditioning.
Typically, Karl Rhodes patted Candice’s rear as she climbed from the car. Karl turned toward Reece and gave him a grin as if to say look what I have. Reece stepped past the door and motioned for Marie to exit. He welcomed the bright sunshine and dry air of his native Colorado.
“We’re in the penthouse. Suite number three on the west side,” Candice said to the driver as she took Karl’s hand and led him toward one of her parents’ homes. Reece had learned on the flight over that her father had made his fortune as a shipping magnate, and that after graduating from Yale law she’d gone to work for him and spent five years there before meeting Ian Drae at a business conference and joining Draecon International.
Once inside the elevator, Reece started giving in to his jet lag. He imagined a bed where he and Marie could rest. Candice Carlyle inserted a key into the elevator console once they’d reached the fourteenth floor. With a turn of her wrist two vertical rows of buttons for floors 15–25 lit up. The woman smiled and pressed twenty-five. After a fast upward jaunt the doors opened and Candice led them out. Marie hung back, close to Reece, as he followed.
The walls were decorated in horizontal strips of dark wood topped with a weave of copper braiding, and a foot of stonework that ran horizontal along the floor. It was by far the nicest luxury condominium Reece had ever set foot in, but at this point a sleeping bag somewhere in the woods would have served him just fine.
Candice pushed open the stainless steel front door to the condo, and they all spilled into the brightly lit interior. The exterior walls on the north and west sides held floor-to-ceiling glass framed in dull metal beams, and the views were nothing less than exceptional. An expanse of green treetops extended all the way west to the large mountains beyond. Reece looked north across Denver’s Cheeseman Park and tried to see his office near Vine and Colfax, but the distant trees blocked his view.
Marie joined him, giving him a nudge in the ribs. She gave a little wink. “Is there a spot we can freshen up?”
“Oh, of course. Let me show you to your rooms. We have two floors and six bedrooms in total, so if you’re looking for privacy, you can take those stairs down to the lower level. It’s up to you. I always sleep in the bedroom behind the kitchen over there. That way if I’m thirsty in the middle of the night, I can get anything I want.”
Reece felt Marie tugging at him and followed as she took off down the stairs to the lower level. She wanted to get as much distance as she could from Karl and Candice, he could tell. The reason why was revealed as soon as she shut the door to the room she picked.
Before long he’d lost his shoes, socks, and trousers. Marie set the alarm next to the bed, and Reece watched as she unzipped the side of her navy blue skirt, letting it drop to the floor. The view of her red bikini underwear and shapely legs was amazing. She shed the rest of her clothes and climbed onto the California King bed on all fours. Reece was more than ready, but held back. She was playful and wore a smile that matched her mood. He couldn’t wait any longer, sat up against the backboard, and took her into his arms. Their lips met and she dropped down onto him. Finally they were alone.
They were kissing passionately when “Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz,” vibrated on the table beside the bed. Marie pulled her lips off his and looked over. “Not my phone.”
Reece knew it was his phone and dreaded taking the call. “Might be important. Hello,” he said. “Oh, Haisley. How’s it going?”
Marie rolled off him and got out of bed.
“Where are you at?” I’ve been trying to call you all day.”
“Just flew into Denver,” Reece said.
“Denver, what’s going on?” Haisley said.
“Well, things happened kind of fast. I tried to call you, but I got your voicemail. I was with Rhodes in his Jag and we got shot at.”
“Shot at? Are you okay?” Haisley said.
“Yeah, we’re fine now. So, then I got a panicked call from Marie. Anyway, we got Rhodes and got out of there. I figured with things going south it was the best thing to do,” Reece said.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re in Denver with Karl Rhodes and his wife Marie. That’s got to be uncomfortable.”
Reece watched with regret as Marie pulled on the clothes she’d worn earlier and walked toward the door. She turned back, brought her palm to her mouth, and blew him a kiss before leaving.
“It gets better,” Reece said as he watched her close the door.
“Better?” Haisley said.
“Yeah, turns out Karl Rhodes is having an affair with Marie’s best friend, Candice Carlyle.”
“Let me guess? The mistress is there too,” Haisley said.
“You got it. So enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
Chapter 40
Haisley felt the pull of his tired right knee as he climbed over the wire fence; thankful it had been constructed of five by five inch squares rather than the narrow holes of chain link. Once on the ground he sprinted toward the distant three-story building that still held an array of antennas left over from its days as the operations center for the base. Once there, he hopped a second fence and walked up to one of the windows. With the face of his flashlight up against the glass pane, he slid the switch to on and the dark interior of the old brick building lit up.
It was empty inside except for the remains of some old office furniture, so he turned off the light and moved on toward a large concrete apron where he’d spotted the three hangars on the satellite view earlier. One of the hangars had to house the Drone Command Center he’d spotted. This was the perfect cover. The museum was legitimate and the surrounding population was used to any aircraft noise, even if they didn’t realize it was the launching of a drone.
In the distance he could see that the darkness was beginning to be replaced by dawn. Haisley had to hurry or risk being caught trespassing. He moved quickly hoping that his choice of black clothing would conceal him long enough to find what he was looking for. The small digital camera in his front pocket would record the evidence.
He ran toward the gray hangar and once there moved toward the front. In the distance he could see the two large hangar doors were open just far enough for him to slip in. The concrete pad below his feet was smooth, almost like it had been recently swept to remove foreign object debris so that nothing could be pulled into the air intake of the drone when it was launched. Haisley could feel adrenaline coursing through his veins as he closed in on the opening between the two big doors. He s
lid his hand down to his pocket, intending to pull out his camera and begin taking rapid-fire photographs as soon as he was inside.
Just a few yards away from the opening he heard a growl, low and mean. Haisley stopped in his tracks, listening for a clue to what he’d just heard. Instinctually his right hand went to the zippered pocket of his coat to check for his .38 caliber handgun.
Looking like sharks in the night, two black forms slid through the opening between the doors and came at him. He turned and sprinted toward a closer section of fence he’d passed earlier. Dread filled his mind as he ran. Pain wracked his right knee with each pounding step. Off the side of the concrete now the grass was moist and it helped him run faster as he dug into it with each stride.
Their growls were loud and spirited now, almost as if both of the guard dogs knew they’d catch this intruder. Haisley pulled the gun from his pocket, ready to turn and fire before being bitten. He knew if one got him, the other might go for his throat and finish him off.
In his experience as a policeman years earlier he’d gone to burglary calls at commercial facilities where several guard dogs would roam the grounds at night. He’d heard that in especially bad parts of town the canines were fed only once a day so that if and when a burglar came, they were hungry and determined to sink their teeth into his flesh.
The lead dog let out an excited bark and lunged toward Haisley just as he leapt toward the fence. Sharp teeth bit into his pants and he heard the fabric tear. He sank his toes in the wire mesh and sprang up and over, landing head first in the damp grass on the other side. Rolling over onto his back, he saw the determined dogs just a few feet away with their snouts sticking through the wire fence. Their teeth were bright white, mouths wide, and voices growling. Haisley felt their breath on his face, and when he reached down to his calf he found that one of them had succeeded in tearing open a small portion of his skin.
