Invisibility Cloak

by Jill Elaine Prim

  I will not let him bully me.

  I will not let him intimidate me.

  I will not let him browbeat me.

  I will not let him bully me!

  I am woman hear me growl.

  Smiling faintly at that last line, she then straightened her expression to face the big, tough guy.

  After she stepped onto the first floor, all was quiet. He must still be in the kitchen she thought when she didn’t see him in the family room. She peered around the kitchen doorway wanting to see what he was up to, so she could strategize on how to approach him. But there wasn’t any hunky six-foot ex-Army Ranger anywhere. Amanda stepped fully into her kitchen and looked inside her pantry then peeked through her window over her sink that over-looked her back yard. Nope, Ryder wasn’t in here anywhere. Huh. Not a soul around. Amanda did a walk through the entire first floor and no Ryder . . .

  This was just too good to be true. She wouldn’t even have to tangle with him at all! She looked out her front window to see if his black Grand Cherokee was still parked there, and it was gone too. Well what is she to do now? Why did this crazy feeling of tiptoeing out of her own home and not telling Ryder where she going, feel so wrong?

  She was woman hear her growl! Right? After all, she would be right back. Maybe not even an hour . . . So why did she feel so darn guilty? She shook off those chaotic feelings and walked to the garage door and flung it open.

  Emancipation at last. Halleluiah!

  She opened up the driver’s side of her new car, well new to her anyway. She still fumed at the fact that her beloved Honda went over the embankment and was totaled. Amanda ended up buying the silver sedan from the local used car dealership down Mercantile Street. It drove nice, but it still irked her that someone could get away with that random act of violence and she lost her nice white Honda. That last thought fueled her with fury and she pushed on the accelerator as she sped to her ex-husband’s last place of employment.

  Wayne had been hired right out of Duke University graduate school to work at the premier cutting edge science facility. The Institute of Physics was always on some new project that was “Star Trek” like. She thought of the expression “Beam me up, Scottie” and realized how that aptly described their ventures and goals. They offered Amanda a position there too, but she decided to go to another firm. Verdant Manufacturing recruited her before she graduated, too. It was a great company, competitive-but not compulsively so like the Institute. She arranged her schedule and work hours any way she needed to, as long as she got her job done. Being allowed to set her own hours enabled her to be there for her children and that fact alone was invaluable while raising two children―pretty much on her own. And since Wayne wasn’t involved with them, she could still be available to take them and pick them up from school and be at certain school functions and sporting events.

  Wayne. What in the devil got you killed?

  She drew in a deep breath as she turned in to the entrance and looked head on into the green glass encased building that had at least fifty floors. She’d forgotten what an impressive structure it was. Amanda pursed her lips at how crowded the parking lot was and circled around the back looking for an open space, which meant they had plenty of techs in on a weekend day. So why were so many here on a Sunday for heaven’s sake?

  Pulling open the main entrance door she closed her eyes, searching her memory for the floor Wayne’s office was on. Was it the twenty-fifth or thirty-fifth floor? Shoot, she couldn’t remember. Oh well, she’d have to ask the security guard at the main desk.

  The huge black lobby desk took up the entire back wall and three men sat behind it. Only one looked up when she entered, the other two had phones pressed to their ears.

  “Good day.” The young man smiled and stood up as she approached the ebony covered counter. “Can I help you with something, Miss?”

  Amanda nodded. “Hi. Yes, I’m afraid I do need some help.” She hesitated. “My husband was Dr. Wayne Harris and I was hoping to get into his office.” A smidgen of guilt floated through her brain. Well, she did tell him the truth, but just didn’t qualify that Wayne was her husband long ago. This guy didn’t need details, such as they were divorced over a decade. Right? She actually felt a poke on her left shoulder from her little white angel perched there. She mulled over her obligation.

  Isn’t that the true meaning of nebulous? Was she destined for Hades for not divulging that tiny snippet of information? The little red devil to her right whacked her on her other shoulder saying anything to get you in Wayne’s office, sista. (Amanda swore she heard that―her little red eyes even winked at her).

  I am going insane.

  And to hell.

  The younger man’s smile faltered. “Dr. Harris?” He looked around at the other two men beside him who spoke in low tones on the phones as if they could save him, but neither one looked up.

  “Yes, I’m sorry, I probably should have called ahead and let Ginny Sullivan or Terrence Montgomery know I was on my way. It was a spur of the moment decision and I―”

  Just to the left of the reception desk, the elevator doors slid open. A tall thin woman with white-blond hair and wire rim glasses walked into the lobby with her briefcase in hand as if to leave, but as soon as she noticed Amanda, she walked over to her, smiling.

  “Amanda!” Giving her a quick hug she asked, “How are you?” Holding her out slightly, her gaze roved over her. “You are looking really well, Amanda dear. So what brings you to the Institute?”

  “Ginny!” Amanda couldn’t believe how lucky she was to see Virginia Sullivan step out of the elevator. “Ginny, I am afraid I’ve made an impulsive decision this morning, I suppose I should have called ahead. I really don’t know what possessed me to drive over without telling someone.”

  “What? What do you need Amanda?”

  She pulled Ginny aside and spoke in a low tone. “I was hoping to get inside Wayne’s office. I need to look for something.” Amanda pulled her brows down and pleaded, “Please help me out, Ginny.”

  “Of course, Amanda. You know I’ll do anything I can.” Ginny shifted her briefcase to her other hand. Putting an arm around her, she led her back up to the flustered man behind the counter.

  “Richie, I’ll take full responsibility for Ms. Harris.” She handed the young clerk the badge she pulled out of her coat pocket. “Here, swipe it for me. Sign in Ms. Harris as my guest.”

  Richie nodded with big eyes, doing exactly what Ginny asked. Relief clearly etched on his face.

  “Thanks, Richie,” Virginia Sullivan said, shoving her Institute of Physics badge back in her pocket.

  “Ladies.” He nodded to them both before Ginny directed Amanda over to the elevator.

  “C’mon Amanda, I may even still have Wayne’s office key on my key ring or else it’s in my desk upstairs.” Ginny pushed on the thirty-fifth floor button and turned to look at Amanda confessing, “I must apologize for not calling you earlier Amanda. I heard about the car accident.”

  Amanda glanced briefly at Ginny, a woman she had known for over fifteen years then looked out through the clear elevator windows that rose speedily, passing floor after floor at an alarming rate.

  “Oh, Ginny, please don’t feel bad. That certainly was not the reason I showed up today.”

  “I know, but still.” Ginny touched her arm. “I am sorry.”

  Amanda smiled. “I’m doing good, really I am.”

  “Like I said earlier, you look terrific. So you are doing good, I can see that.” The elevator dipped slightly and dinged as they landed on the thirty-fifth floor. When the doors slid open, Ginny waved Amanda to follow her. “Do you remember any of this? My God, how long has it been since you’ve been here?”

  “It has been a long time.” Amanda said, barely keeping up with her. She mentally slapped herself; why hadn’t she put
on her new leg brace she had fitted last Friday? She had to think constantly to pick up her foot, so she wouldn’t trip.

  Pick up my foot. Lift up. Pick up my foot. Lift, lift.

  It was hard to talk with another person and concentrate as she walked, for cripes sakes. All of the insecurities she had walking without the blasted brace would have melted away if she had it on, but she’d totally forgotten to slip it on underneath her jeans.

  The brace fit unseen under long pants and actually lifted the ball of her foot up, so this foot drop issue she had been living with for the past few months after the car accident was almost non-existent when she had it on. But she couldn’t wear it with shorts or a dress because it was extremely ugly. Interesting, she just realized something.

  Here she thought she had no superficial ego, but she obviously did when it came to the brace. Was the physical therapy she went to almost every other day working? Would she ever walk like she used to? Oh crap. She just missed what Ginny asked her.

  “I’m sorry, what was that Ginny?” They had stopped in front of a door.

  “I said, here we are, at Wayne’s office.” Ginny pulled out her key ring rifling through the silver sets. “I do not think I have his on here anymore.” She put the ring back into her pocket. “It must be in my desk drawer,” she mumbled under her breath. “I’ll be right back.”

  She moved down two doors, extracting her keys to open up her office door. Looking over at Amanda, she reached over to turn on the light. “Amanda, come on in.” She pursed her lips, “I’m not sure how long this will take and I don’t want you standing out there while I search around. Come on.”

  Nodding, Amanda went over to Ginny’s office. “Thanks. I’m sorry; I don’t mean to be such a bother. What was I thinking, just running over here and not telling you before-hand?” Amanda grimaced at her last statement to Ginny. Oh, she knew why she rushed over to the Institute. It was to get some answers without Ryder hovering over her shoulder. Well, no time like the present, she mused.

  “So, Ginny, do you know what Wayne was working on before he died?”

  Ginny shuffled her feet and hunched her shoulders. “Amanda you know Wayne always had a few projects cooking at the same time.”

  “But was there a big project? Something for the Pentagon?”

  Aha. Amanda definitely saw Ginny slide her eyes around her office. “Listen Amanda, you know I consider you a good friend, but this is classified stuff you are asking about.” Ginny opened her bottom desk drawer and produced a key. “Ah, here it is.” She pushed out her chair turning to Amanda. “You need to check out Wayne’s office, I get that.” Ginny’s gray eyes looked troubled as she said, “But I cannot betray confidentiality with any projects.” She placed her hand on Amanda’s back. “And hey, this is confidential too, me getting you into Wayne’s office, that is.” She laughed. “After all you work for our competitor.”

  She knew something. Amanda felt it in her bones, but kept silent as they walked over to Wayne’s office.

  “Stay however long you need to.” Ginny indicated to the door handle. “Just turn the lock okay?” She hugged her and said, “Take care Amanda, and tell the kids I said hello. Please be careful, okay?”

  “Thank you. For everything, I really owe you one.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it, just lock it up after you are done,” Ginny said lightly. “I’m coming back in a few hours to work on some other stuff, so I can make sure you buttoned up everything after you leave.” Smiling, Ginny touched her arm. “Let’s get together for lunch soon, okay?”

  “Okay.” Amanda nodded. “Thanks again, Ginny.”

  “Just take care, Amanda. I hope you find the bastards that did that to Wayne. He was a son of a bitch, but he didn’t deserve that. No one does.” She opened the door and left.

  Finally alone, Amanda softly closed and locked the office door and then examined his files in his drawers. From the document’s specs, it looked like he was researching microwaves with the intent of developing a cloaking technology. After studying the material, Amanda knew that that couldn’t actually disguise anything because microwaves can’t actually deflect visible light. But it looked like Wayne’s research involved fashioning a material with different sized holes based on an algorithm which fools microwave beams into not registering the presence of an opaque object placed at the center of the material.

  Amanda had just begun this research at Verdant. She’d been handed a new study ironically after Wayne’s death.

  Was that a coincidence? She wasn’t sure, but, she wouldn’t have gone the same route as her ex-husband to approach invisibility. Instead she would have used her knowledge and blatant intrigue of metamaterials to approach the invisibility quest, never microwaves.

  Wayne knew better. He was a brilliant scientist who delved much deeper than she ever did in quantum physics. Especially after she had her children, her focus was diverted from her love of science to the little perfect beings she held in her arms. The new lives she and Wayne made together were much more exhilarating to study than anything she loved before.

  She grinned remembering her swift change in her life’s goals. Her two young infants held the answers to life on earth, displacing the allure the scientific community once held.

  So why did Wayne entertain these absurd methods? She fleetingly wondered if any data was left on his Mac computer sitting so boldly on his desk. Wanting to be thorough, she pulled open the last drawer, the only one she hadn’t looked through yet. It was located at the very bottom on the right hand side. The instant her fingers tugged the cabinet open, vivid colors sprang up at her. Photographs.

  Oh my . . .

  There were a ton of photos and they were all of her and Wayne with their children. A hard knot of regret formed in her stomach.

  Did Wayne really love and miss us?

  Then why didn’t he come after us? A wave of fury rolled over her.

  Wayne.

  You stupid, stupid man.

  Her face immediately got hot as she screamed at her ex-husband in her head.

  Wayne! You absolute jerk, you! We could’ve had a great life. But your stupid male ego overtook your life. It killed you.

  Sniffing her now runny nose, her vision blurred as she blindly looked at the pictures.

  But, she couldn’t look at the photos, yet. Re-focusing, she ignored the pictures turned up at her in the drawer and directed her attention to his computer. Time was running out.

  Since she’d exhausted any paper evidence, it was time to look at his computer. She was actually surprised his Apple wasn’t confiscated for evidence. Pressing her fingers behind the monitor, she searched around for the on button. As soon as her fingers depressed the knob, the big monitor lit up. Wayne’s name popped up on the screen, but was password protected.

  Crap! The column blinked smugly at her. Amanda tipped her head back and clucked her tongue . . . What would her ex-husband use as a password? She typed in various physics terms hoping that would open his computer to her, but no. She tried a name she knew wouldn’t work, but her fingers ran over the keys anyway.

  AMANDA.

  Boom. The screen morphed into Wayne’s research files. She was in. Her jaw dropped.

  “Hello Dr. Harris.” The screen blinked at her.

  Instead of the elation at getting into Wayne’s computer files, she felt like she was slapped across her face. Why was her name his password? She shook all the questions she had floating through her brain aside and instead cruised around his files. A lot more notes, findings, and research into metamaterials.

  Aha! So he did know better.

  After reading his files, she realized she needed to take the data home. Grabbing her purse off his desk, she fumbled for her keys. On her key ring she’d always carried extra Swivel USB Drives, because on more occasions than she cared to admit,
when she needed one, she never had one. So, after one embarrassing moment of losing important data, she always had extras on her car key chain. Her eyes darted to Wayne’s desk drawer that held all of the family photos.

  No. Now was time to focus and gather information. She pushed in the drive to copy Wayne’s information and notes. When the lights bleeped, evidence that the USB was being loaded, she finally looked down at the pictures.

  Reaching down, she grabbed a handful of photos. They were pictures of the kids at Halloween. Nickel was five-years-old and Sammie was three. Wayne found a Captain James T. Kirk outfit for Nick and of course, Nickel despised it. She smiled as she remembered how Nickel really wanted to be Spiderman, but Wayne just loved the Captain Kirk outfit, so Nick went as the captain of the Starship Enterprise just to make his father happy. Sammie grinned back from the photos dressed up as Little Bo Peep. They both looked so adorable. Her fingers touched their images of so long ago and she saw one of all four of them. A neighbor must’ve taken it. She and Wayne were smiling while the kids had chocolate smeared on their faces. Amanda silently cursed the God above at her ex-husband’s obtuseness and swiped away at the tears that filled her eyes.