The Karma Beat

by Juli Alexander

  I was dying to hear what Leo had discovered. I needed to hit the drums, and hopefully they’d distract me.

  I spent an hour jamming. I hadn’t had such a good session in days.

  When I finally finished, I needed a shower.

  I pulled out my books and folders and set them on my bed. I had some trig to do, which would be no big deal if I could manage to concentrate. Then I needed to read three chapters of my bio II for a quiz tomorrow.

  Before I got started, I decided to get my shower over with. I took the cell phone into the bathroom in case Leo called while I was in the shower.

  Like he was really going to call.

  I shaved my legs and then wet my hair. I had reached for the shampoo bottle and dumped some onto my hand when the phone rang. At first, I thought I’d imagined it, but I hurried to wash the shampoo off my hand after it rang a second time.

  I turned off the shower, jumped out, grabbed a towel, dried one hand and my face enough to avoid drowning the phone. Then I picked it up and answered, butt naked, with a towel clutched to my chest, and dripping wet.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Jen.”

  “Hi,” I said avoiding saying his name. Talking to him while naked was one thing, saying his name was beyond me.

  “You aren’t busy are you?”

  “Um,” I glanced back at the shower. “No.”

  “I just wanted to thank you again. I got to see my dad. He’d been pretty freaked out about having no visitors. When I got home, I had a message from the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. telling me the hearing was moved and that I could visit.”

  “So did your dad know anything?”

  “No. But whoever set him up is obviously well connected in the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. Rescheduling his hearing is way more involved than cloning those lottery tickets.”

  I glanced down but realized I was staring at my breasts. I cleared my throat and focused on the fish shaped soap dish on the counter. “Um, so, what’s next? Did you find anything suspicious on the staffers?”

  “Nothing so far. I forked over a bunch of cash to get the PI to check on the last batch. I didn’t think we had enough time.”

  I shuddered to think about how much he’d spent. “Did you find out anything about David Laverdiere?”

  “I had the PI rush on his background check. He’s not a good guy, but so far nothing connects him to anyone in the Genie world other than my father.”

  “What do you mean he’s not a good guy?”

  “He just did ten years in federal prison.”

  “Leo, are you sure this PI is a good person? I mean she could be lying.”

  “I don’t think so,” Leo said. “She seems okay.”

  “How did your dad know her?”

  “She investigated him once when his girlfriend thought he was cheating.”

  “Was he?”

  “Cheating?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Um. Yeah.”

  “That’s not real reassuring. She may not like your father.”

  “It was a long time ago, but I guess I should look into it.”

  “Maybe you should hire somebody else to double check what she tells you.”

  “You might be right. I’ll see if I can manage it. I’ll catch you at school in the morning?”

  “Sure.”

  I hung up the phone and set it on the counter.

  Talking to Leo had kept me warm, but now the cool air was getting to me. I jumped back into the shower and turned it on. I’d forgotten again to tell him about the pictures. First I’d been distracted by his hug and now by my nudity. Aargh.

  Maybe I should call him back.

  As I dashed back to my room, Mom stopped me and asked what I thought of the memos she’d forwarded to my email.

  Oh crap. I’d forgotten all about it. I had to show I was interested though. I’d made a big deal about it and I needed Mom to start giving me more information. “I’m just headed to my room to log on,” I told her.

  I pulled up my email to find that Mom had taken my request seriously. She’d forwarded position papers arguing both sides of the Techno Echo issue. She also sent me a U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. newsletter that mentioned Leo’s dad. Nothing as good as what I had found when snooping in my mother’s email, but still good information.

  The newsletter also had a human interest section with a profile piece on Maximillian. He’d apparently died saving the love of his life at age sixty. The widely held belief that he had so much more to contribute had led to his appointment on the Directorate. The story was accompanied by a portrait of the woman. I’d never been able to tell much about people from a painting, but even I could see she was beautiful with exotic green eyes. Something about her was vaguely familiar. Maybe I had seen the painting before somewhere.

  I guess that was why he’d chosen such a handsome persona this time. Maybe he wasn’t vain, maybe he just appreciated beauty. Yeah, right.

  I didn’t even bother to read the RokrGirlz emails. I was days behind anyway.

  I hadn’t started my homework, and I had another week to get through before the hearing. If I wanted to keep helping Leo, I had to get enough work done to avoid a concerned email to Mom from one of my teachers.

  I woke up at two, sound asleep on my government book. With a grunt, I tossed it on the floor and pulled the covers over me.

  Chapter Eleven

  The alarm went off and I jumped up so I’d have some time left for my mother. I needed to talk to her, plus I didn’t want her to know I’d been up late with homework again.

  I set a world record getting ready for school and bounded down the stairs to catch Mom.

  Today she wore a black suit, which I’d noticed she pulled out when she had a lot of serious stuff going on at work. She was on the phone already, and the conversation sounded tense.

  “I don’t care about the ramifications, Bob. We have to do something about the Richard Williams situation asap.”

  Richard Williams? I’d heard her mention his name before, and it hadn’t been in a good way. Who was he?

  Mom rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger as she listened. Finally, she said, “If you want to play it that way, fine, but you have until three p.m. and then I’m acting.”

  Mom disconnected and shook her head.

  “Sounds serious,” I said, hoping for some details.

  “Hi, hon!”

  “Hi, Mom,” I said pouring some OJ and taking a seat next to her.

  “I’m glad to see you have more energy than yesterday.”

  “Uh, yeah. So thanks for sending me all that stuff. I read it all, and it’s nice to feel like I know what’s going on.”

  “The Techno Echo is a high pressure situation,” Mom said, cautioning me. “I’m hoping for a peaceful resolution, but we should be prepared in case that doesn’t pan out.”

  “Which side is right? The freedom side or the monitoring side.”

  Mom grimaced. “As a high level employee of the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E., I’m afraid I’m not allowed to express an opinion, other than that of the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.”

  “That sucks! Does Dad know about that?”

  She nodded. “He’s pushing me to take a straight Genie Communications job so I’m not bound by all the secrecy and loyalty agreements.”

  “Will they let you do it?”

  “No. I’d love to though. The cell phone business is my favorite part of the day.”

  “So why won’t they let you?” How come I never knew all this about my mother?

  “They say my skills are irreplaceable,” she said with sarcastic emphasis on irreplaceable. “But I do have a plan. I’ve been studying up on several possible ways to expand the cell business. If they went with one of them, they’d need a devoted Genie Communications VP to handle the extra workload.”

  “How do you know they’d pick you?”

  Mom frowned. “I don’t. That’s the problem I haven’t managed to work around yet.”

  “You’ll figure something out. How lon
g have you been working on this?”

  “Six years,” Mom admitted with a grin. “But the longer I wait, the more options they have for well-trained possible replacements.”

  “Uh, yeah.” I drank the rest of my juice. “So you really can’t talk about the Techno Echo with me?”

  Mom leaned over and whispered, “Once you form your own opinions, I’ll tell you mine. Just remember, that I have to stay in good with the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E., for my sake and for yours.”

  “So I can’t tell anybody.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I wouldn’t do anything to make you look bad.” Except that I already was, a voice called from the back of my head.

  “I know,” Mom said, making me feel even worse. She put her hand on mine. “You’re the child I’ve never had to worry about.”

  “You know Ian’s being really hard on Sean lately.”

  She nodded and took another sip of her coffee. “Dad and I talked about it.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Well,” she leaned closer. “I wanted Dad to tell Ian that if he did it again he’d have to shave off all of his own pubic hair.”

  Sorry I asked.

  “But Dad was afraid that might be seen as child abuse.” Mom sighed. “We’re exploring other options.”

  I so did not want to make my mother mad. I couldn’t bring myself to ask about Richard Williams. I’d have to try my other sources.

  “Can’t you cut Sean some slack?” I asked as Ian drove the route to school.

  “He’s a pain in the ass,” Ian said, turning a corner with a loud screech of the tires.

  “Yeah, and…”

  “Dad threatened to take away the car, so I guess I’ll back off the little weasel for a while.”

  “You know he might be able to kick your ass once he goes through puberty.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  “Seriously. Dad’s younger brother is way bigger than him.”

  “I’ll start worrying when he starts puberty,” Ian quipped.

  Or maybe he’d start worrying when he thought Sean had started puberty. If I waited for Sean to start puberty, I’d never have any peace. Ian would never stop picking on him.

  “Any progress?” I asked Leo when he met me outside my first period class.

  “Not really,” he said.

  “Have you ever heard of someone named Richard Williams? He must work with Mom and it sounds like he’s done something wrong.”

  Leo thought for a moment. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him. You think he might have something to do with my father?”

  “I got a very negative feeling from my mother’s conversation. I think it’s worth checking.”

  He nodded. “Will do.”

  “Now for the big news, I forgot to tell you I managed to find addresses and photos of the Directorate.”

  “No way!”

  I handed him his copy. “Pretty cool, huh? Do you think the conspiracy against your dad goes this far?”

  “I don’t know. If it’s one of the Directorate, he could probably do it all on his own.”

  “Do you recognize anyone?”

  He scanned the pages. “No. But this gives us a whole new road to go down.” He looked up. “Can you come with me after school? I want to show you some things. You’ve done so much for my dad and I thought you might want to learn a little more about him.”

  What I wanted was to learn more about Leo. “Sure. I’d like that.”

  He grinned. “Great. I’ll meet you at your locker after school.”

  Leo stood waiting for me when I got out of class. Alex kept making kissy faces behind his back as I walked up.

  I tried to glare at her but managed to glare at Leo instead. Oops. Misfire.

  “Alex is a good friend to you,” Leo said as we walked away.

  “Shows what you know,” I said, irritated by her antics.

  “You haven’t even noticed that she practically ignores me.”

  Was he saying she was rude? Alex talked to him all the time.

  In response to my puzzled expression, he said, “Compared to other girls around here.”

  “Oh.” Now, I was getting it. “She doesn’t throw herself at you like everyone else.”

  “Right.”

  “So your mojo doesn’t work on all the women?”

  “Not if they don’t let it. She doesn’t because she’s loyal to you.”

  “That’s crazy. I mean she’s totally loyal, but maybe she just doesn’t find you attractive.”

  He actually laughed. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  The way he said it made me think it totally would be the first time.

  “All I’m saying is she’s a good friend.”

  He stopped next to a motorcycle and I almost tripped over him.

  With an evil glint in his eye, he nodded toward the bike.

  “Oh no. You’re kidding me, right.” I looked frantically around the parking lot. “Where’s the Prius?”

  “At home.”

  “Leo!”

  He reached out and touched my arm. “Calm down, Jen. You’ll love it.”

  “Nah uh.” I shook my head vehemently.

  “C’mon,” Leo said. “I brought you my dad’s helmet.” He held up a bright red helmet with yellow lightning on the sides.

  I cringed.

  “Yeah, he thinks he’s cool. But I’ll let you wear mine.” He held up a solid black number that was way more sophisticated.

  I eyed the motorcycle and the hot guy standing before me. I stomped my foot in frustration. “Okay, fine. But I’m wearing the lightning helmet.”

  Leo’s face lit with a grin. “Sweet.”

  I walked over to him. “How do I do this?”

  “First put the helmet on.”

  Got it. I took the helmet and with Leo’s help stuck my head in the fiberglass.

  When I passed them on the street, motorcycles seemed so small. Leo’s bike seemed huge.

  He got on and I lifted my leg and threw it across the surprisingly wide seat. I didn’t know what kind of motorcycle it was, but it was one giant piece of heavy machinery. Ooh baby.

  He showed me where to put my feet, and told me to wrap my arms around him. I could so get used to this.

  I wrapped my arms around his rock hard chest, aiming higher than his waist to avoid any unintentional groping of his nether regions.

  “Whatever you do, avoid touching the tailpipe,” he told me.

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” I said, but I wasn’t willing to let go of him to get off the bike.

  “Trust me. It’s a great idea.” His deep voice rumbled through me. “I’m going to start her up now.”

  I glanced down at the huge motorcycle. “Are you sure it’s not a boy?”

  With a laugh, Leo turned over the ignition and I gripped him tightly as she rumbled to life with a roar. If his bike was a girl, she was taking some serious steroids.

  The thrilling sensation of power swept through me as he drove us out of the parking space. The lot had emptied out quickly, and we didn’t have to stop until we reached the school entrance.

  Make sure not to touch the tailpipe, I muttered to myself.

  Leo pulled out onto the road and hit the gas. Or, well, whatever you do to make a motorcycle go really fast. Because all of a sudden we were speeding down the road.

  And instead of being terrifying, it was exhilarating!

  Like flying. Way better than roller blading down the big hill in my neighborhood, even before the part where I fell and ended up with a chunk of gravel in my forehead.

  Okay, maybe not the right time for reminiscing with the giant cars whizzing by us. Bike against car. Not odds that I liked.

  Focus on the hot guy in my arms.

  Oh yeah.

  He raced down back roads, avoiding traffic with a success I’d never seen anyone in Atlanta achieve. Instead of the faint scent of Leo, all I could smell was exhaust. />
  I didn’t even know where he lived with his dad.

  We finally zoomed into the driveway of a small, gray house in Decatur.

  Leo cut the motor but I could still hear the roaring in my ears.

  I climbed off with less grace than I’d have liked.

  Leo pulled off his helmet with a wide grin. He ran his fingers through his hair. “You can’t tell me that wasn’t awesome.”

  I reached up to pull off my helmet. Once free, I handed it to him and swiped at my hair. “It was awesome,” I admitted looking into his eyes. I couldn’t help matching his grin.

  He set down the helmets and motioned to the house. “So this is it. Our place.”

  The house looked a lot like a cute little cottage. A sign reading “Home Sweet Home” would have fit right in on the front porch.

  “Cool.”

  He unzipped the side pocket of his jacket and pulled out some keys.

  “You’ve been staying here by yourself ever since the, um, arrest?”

  “No,” Leo said, turning the key in the lock and opening the door. “Katie’s been crashing here. And I’ve spent some nights at her place. At first she was afraid for me to be here, but no one has come near the place.”

  I glanced around thinking for the first time about possible danger. “Good.”

  He ushered me in to find a neat living room. The couches weren’t the black leather I’d expected. Instead the room was furnished with a stylish neutral green with boldly printed throw pillows.

  “I like it,” I said. “Homey.”

  Leo’s grin faltered, and I realized that it might not be his home for too much longer.

  “Dad’s a carpenter. Did I mention that? He built the dining room table and custom built all the cabinets.”

  “Wow.” What I could see of the table was beautiful, but most of it was piled with Leo’s research. He’d been working day and night to find the Lexus.

  Next to the table was a small kitchen with beautiful cherry cabinets and outdated appliances. The refrigerator was spray painted red and about fifty years old.

  “It really does work,” Leo said following my gaze. “When we moved in, it was pink. Dad doesn’t really do pink.”

  “The red’s nice,” I said.