by Craig Hurren
“That was delicious Tik – thank you.”
“No ploblem, Tik like cooking – Mr. Alan like eating.”
Jake finished his bowl, turned and reached out to take Alan’s chin in his hand and turned his head side to side, examining his face carefully.
“What on earth are you doing?” asked Alan.
“I’m checking your bone structure to decide on the best disguise for you. You’re a wanted man in Jersey and we can’t take the chance that the taxi driver or airport security won’t recognize you like this. Grab a shower but don’t shave, I’ve got just the thing and your stubble will help. Tik has laid out your clothes on my bed.”
Alan did as he was told and soon returned to the kitchen in some khaki drill pants, a collared shirt and pale cotton jacket. Tik had done her job well and he looked unremarkable in his guise. Jake took him to the armory, pulled out an aluminum case and opened it. The sides splayed open like a fishing tackle box to reveal rows of small bottles, a variety of brushes and powders, clumps of human hair, strips of silicone and other unidentifiable items.
“Let’s get to work.”
A little trepidatious, Alan sat in a chair and sighed, “Do your worst.”
Jake pulled several items from the kit and worked steadily for half an hour until he was satisfied the detective’s face would not be recognized.
“That ought to do it.” he said, placing a New York Yankees cap on Alan’s head and handing him a mirror.
Beach looked for his reflection but instead saw a stranger. Jake had made it appear as though his brow was thicker and hairier, his cheek bones were higher, the bridge of his nose was slightly raised, there was a mid-length moustache and beard attached to his morning stubble and his whole complexion was slightly ruddy. “Wow - now that’s eerie!”
“Just avoid rubbing or scratching anything. It’s stuck on well but not as well as the real thing. You ready to go? The plane is fuelled and waiting.”
“Lead the way.”
The pair walked past the kitchen and they said goodbye to Tik. On the way through his bedroom, Jake grabbed a carry bag that held a wad of cash, a change of clothes and some other items, and pushed the card reader device into it. They made their way through the hidden exit in the bathroom and down the spiral staircase where Jake put his palm on the door reader.
“What about Tik? Won’t she be locked in without you here?”
“Yes, it’s her major cleaning day and she’ll hold the fort in case we need anything while we’re gone. Don’t worry; your new friend will be fine.”
They walked out to the street and Jake hailed a taxi to take them to the airport. The short ride was silent as Jake sat with his eyes closed going over the plan in his head. Alan thought about Holly and how he missed her but Jake had told him he couldn’t speak to her until the danger was past or their location could be discovered. Sensing Alan’s desperation, Jake dialed Walker on his encrypted phone while he explained, “I don’t want to risk the possibility that his phone is now being monitored so the discussion will be cryptic and you won’t be able to speak to them.”
“OK, as long as I know they’re safe.”
Jake waited a moment before the former Ranger Instructor answered, “Hello?”
“Good morning sir.” Jake began. “This is Peter Siddall from Pacific Bell – how are you today?”
Walker cursed under his breath, “Damned telemarketers!” then spoke normally, “Fine thanks but please take me off your list - I’m quite happy with my existing cell phone company.”
“I understand sir but I’ll get in trouble with my boss if I don’t try. Can I just explain our latest offer please? It includes extras and we can also extend it to your family and friends.”
“Tell your boss that you did your best but we are all more than satisfied with our current plan and I’m sure we have more extras than you could ever offer. Goodbye.”
Jake turned to Alan with a smile. “No need to worry; things are well in hand. They’re somewhere safe and as I suspected, he’s enlisted some very potent allies. Can we move on now?”
“Thanks Jake. Now I’ll be able to focus.”
They went through the airport security gate where the guard politely greeted Jake and barely glanced at Alan. The disguise was flawless and he waved them through without question. As the taxi pulled up at Jake’s hangar, Jimmy’s smiling face greeted them.
“Hi Jake; you’re off early this morning.”
“The early bird catches the worm Jimmy. This is the passenger I told you about. Karl Osborn, this is Jimmy.”
Jimmy extended his hand for Alan to shake. “Nice to meet you Mr. Osborn – you’re in safe hands with Jake. Good luck with your deal in Columbus.”
Jake had devised a cover for their early morning flight so Alan was prepared and thanked Jimmy. “Hopefully the vendor will be ready to accept our offer today. See you soon Jimmy.”
The pair climbed into the King Air and buckled themselves in. Jake did his preflight checks and radioed the tower for clearance then taxied to the runway, throttled up and let the sleek craft surge forward for takeoff. Alan had never been in such a luxurious and powerful private aircraft before and watched engrossed as Jake deftly handled the big twin engine machine.
“Don’t you have to have a copilot?” he asked through the headset.
“Not unless it’s a commercial flight with passengers. I’ve got full commercial ratings for this aircraft so I can fly her solo. If the FAA ever changes the rules, I might have to downgrade to a single engine but fingers crossed they don’t – I really love this plane.”
“I can see why! She’s got some serious power and the cabin is something else.”
“I had a friend’s company do the fit-out. There are a few hidden surprises back there as well.”
“I won’t ask.”
“Then I won’t tell.”
The two chatted about Alan’s job, the effect his decision to report his former partner’s crimes had on him, and finally about losing his wife and finding Holly. The time passed quickly and soon they were on descent into Bolton Field. Their approach was approved and the runway ready for their arrival so Jake easily brought the plane in for a smooth landing and they were soon in a taxi headed for the outskirts Columbus. The cab took them to a small car rental company where a generic sedan was waiting for them to pick up. From there, Jake drove them through the city and onto the highway to Blue Sky Biotech. Twenty minutes later, they were in the main car park and they went through the plan one last time.
“No matter what you see or hear, stay in the car.”
“What if you don’t come back?”
Jake smiled then turned toward the driveway entrance in time to see a TV news truck arriving.
“Your friend is punctual. See you in fifteen minutes.”
Before Alan could say another word, Jake was out of the car and striding toward the building’s front entrance. He arrived seconds before the news crew pulled up in front of the door and the truck’s passengers spilled onto the drive. They worked with military precision; the cameraman pulling the camera from its padded box, a sound technician mounting his boom microphone onto its pole and a producer holding a clipboard in front of him, directing operations as Marissa Wilson stepped in front of the door. The driver, who doubled as a live link technician, sat inside and electronically extended then turned the directional transmission dish on top of the truck to adjust for the best signal. The cameraman framed on Marissa’s face as the producer cued her and as she began to speak, the two Blue Sky lobby guards were already out the door demanding to know what was going on.
Their attention fully focused on Marissa, the guards didn’t notice Jake slip behind them and enter the lobby to make his way quickly to the staff access door. As the staff and visitors noisily gathered to watch the spectacle outside, Jake swiped his counterfeit ID card and said a silent ‘thank you’ to his electronics expert as the door slid open. Without looking back, he followed Alan’s route toward Gelling’s
SSCH lab, making certain his face was hidden from the ceiling mounted cameras as he went. He was soon outside the lab door where he pulled a smoke grenade from his jacket and pulled the pin. White smoke billowed from four vent holes at the top of the device and Jake directed the flow toward the nearest smoke detector until a loud squealing alarm pierced the air. He threw the device down the hall in the direction from which he came so that anyone leaving the lab would be directed to the emergency exit at the end of the hall. Once through that door, they would only be able to reenter the building through the main entrance so Jake would be alone with his task.
A small high tech face mask covering his nose and mouth, Jake then moved into the smoke and waited a few seconds until Gelling, Sanders, and McDonald emerged from the lab. Rothstein wasn’t with them but there was no time to waste so Jake pushed the mask back into his pocket, held a handkerchief to his face and quickly moved toward the men.
“The smoke is too thick this way, take the emergency exit!” he shouted over the alarm.
The three panicked scientists quickly followed his instruction as Jake slipped into the lab before the door could close. He stood for a second, worried that Rothstein was still somewhere in the lab but couldn’t afford to waste any time so he strode toward the programmer’s room, pulled out the specially designed electronic circumvention device and swiped its card across Rothstein’s reader. He waited two seconds then swiped it again and the magnetic lock clunked open. Jake pushed the door open and walked past banks of servers, memory and processors to Rothstein’s work station. He ducked under the bench, found an empty USB port well hidden behind the terminal’s cooling box and plugged Equilibrium’s device into it then got up to leave.
Just as he was about to open the door and leave, Jake heard the clunk of the magnetic lock and realized that Rothstein hadn’t left the lab and was ignoring the alarm to return to his room. He assumed the famous programmer was more concerned about the possibility of his illicit work being discovered by his coworkers than he was about fire. Jake’s lightning reflexes propelled him stealthily behind the door where he made himself as flat as possible in the hope that the door didn’t swing widely enough to be stopped by his body and give him away. Rothstein pushed the door and rushed past quickly so Jake was able to catch it with his hand then swing himself around and out in one swift movement unnoticed by the obsessed programmer.
Jake strode toward the outer laboratory door checking behind him for Rothstein as he went. He pulled out the device again and swiped the card across the reader once then twice and nothing happened. Years of experience and training prevented any panic as he held the black box up to examine it. His maneuver in Rothstein’s room had dislodged the multi-cable connection from the machine so he pushed it back in and held it with one hand as he swiped the card again. Waiting the prescribed two seconds, he swiped it one more time and the door emitted a welcome sound. Jake pulled it open then disappeared down the hall toward the lobby, picking up his smoke canister as he went.
A woman was slightly hunched over and coughing in the hall so he took her by the arm and led her to the staff door then into Blue Sky’s lobby. People were still crowding their way out and the cacophony of voices combined with the high pitched alarm were easily enough cover for Jake to slip out and get back to the car undetected. He removed his blazer and threw it into the back as he jumped into the driver’s seat.
Alan looked at him with a relieved grin, “You said fifteen minutes.”
“Well it went quicker than expected. I hope your friend won’t be too angry with you about your false news tip.”
“She’ll get over it once I give her the full exclusive story but I hope we don’t need any more favors from her before then.”
“We’re heading straight to the airport and back to Jersey so I don’t think it should be a problem. But first, a quick text to tell Equilibrium the device is in place.”
Eric Rothstein was just about to shut down his system and leave the lab when the fire alarm stopped. He looked around nervously before running to the outer lab door and swiping his card to check the hallway. The smoke had mostly subsided so he turned and went back his room. A suspicious man, he opened his latest project for Rygaard and checked to ensure it hadn’t been disturbed while he was in the bathroom. Satisfied the unfinished hallucination was still secure; he felt it was safe to get back to work and finish the project in time to meet the deadline and collect his reward.
His fingers darted over the keyboard writing the complex code required to make the scenario as realistic as possible when he suddenly stopped, his face frozen, as he watched the sophisticated CPU meter on the bottom of his screen. Rothstein had built the entire state of the art system with his own hands and his intimate knowledge of its inner workings exposed a very subtle increase in background CPU usage. He quickly shut down all user processes and sat watching the needle on his custom made meter like a hawk watching a field mouse. The needle betrayed a minuscule amount of power usage that would be completely undetectable by any commercially available CPU meter so Rothstein got up to check that all background systems were turned off before returning to observe the tiny fluctuations again. His face contorted in anger as he realized the only possible explanation was that someone had infiltrated his system with a very sophisticated and well hidden invader.
He began a frantic electronic search of all ports and processes but could find nothing. Exasperated, he jumped up from his chair and began physically searching the memory banks, processors and servers but still nothing. Scratching his head, he looked at his terminal and it dawned on him. While he was building the system, he had added several utility ports to his local cooling tower in case he ever wanted to transfer samples directly to a hard drive via USB and they had remained unused. He got on his hands and knees to crawl behind the tower and tilted his head around the corner until he saw it. Years of experience and knowledge came to play and he calmly crawled back out leaving the device untouched. He knew that there was only one way to find out who was behind the attack and that was to carry on as though nothing was wrong and set up a trace program to follow the device’s pathway back to its owner. In order to draw as little power as it did, the device was obviously extremely advanced and he didn’t know if Rygaard was monitoring his progress or something more dangerous was being perpetrated but he knew how to find out and that’s exactly what he would do.
Chapter 16
The trip back to Jersey City was uneventful and the pair arrived back at Jake’s base to the smell of Tik’s cooking. They hadn’t eaten since their Khao Tom Moo that morning and Alan’s nostrils twitched with the exotic fragrances emanating from the kitchen.
“That smells great Tik! What is it?”
“Laab Gai with Khao Neeow and Khao Poon.” Tik said proudly as she lifted the bowls of food onto the bench.
“Should I ask?” Alan grinned at Jake.
“Spicy minced chicken and herb salad with sticky rice and Lao style Laksa soup. These are some of her best dishes.”
“You’re spoiling me Tik – I’m not used to eating this well at home.”
“You not have wife make you good food?”
“I lost my wife years ago.”
“Tik understand – velly solly for Mr. Alan.”
As she spoke, Alan noticed that his statement hadn’t evoked quite the same depth of sadness it used to. He wondered at the change and realized that Holly was beginning to displace some of his long held sorrow. He had thought he would never be free of the haunting feelings of his beloved wife’s loss and experience again, the blooming sensation of new love but there it was after so many years of loneliness. An irresistible desire to call Holly and tell her how he felt suddenly surged through him but he knew it wasn’t possible now and struggled to push the feeling down.
Jake watched his mental battle and said, “Be patient Alan. Keep your priorities in order.”
“I know, I know but a guy can wish; can’t he?”
“I’m sure Tik’s cooking wil
l take your mind off it for a while – let’s eat.”
The men sat and savored the sumptuous, exotic dishes as Tik went on with her cleaning and housekeeping. The place was spotless but it seemed she was able to find fault with enough to keep her busy.
“I wonder how Equilibrium is doing with Rothstein’s code.” Alan said before shoveling another spoonful of the Laab into his mouth.
“If there was anything to know, we would know. Be patient; that kind of code will be extremely complex and even for Equilibrium, this will take time. When we’ve finished eating, we’ll go and review your Chin Na techniques and if we don’t hear anything in an hour, I’ll initiate contact.”
Alan nodded agreement as he relished the culinary delights in front of him. “I’m really not used to such spicy food. My mouth is burning but I just can’t stop eating.”
“It is very addictive. Tik buys fresh herbs and spices every day at the Asian market and the combination of freshness, complexity, and skill make her food irresistible. If you and Holly don’t work out, you could get very fat very quickly as Mr. Tik.” he said chuckling.
Alan shot him a glare and Jake, still snickering said, “Save it for the gym Alan.”
The men finished their meals and went to the gym to review the lessons. Alan complained that it was too soon after eating but Jake insisted they would not be exerting enough energy to cause any problems. The techniques, when performed correctly, required very little physical effort; it was simply a matter of repetition to ensure the movements were branded into his brain so he wouldn’t need to think when using them. They continued for an hour until Jake was satisfied his student was well on his way to developing reflexive expertise in the four techniques.
“OK, that’s good Alan – you’re getting them down very well. Let’s go and check on Equilibrium’s progress.”
