by Purple Hazel
“Um...just uh...what’s goin’ on with you two? Do you guys really need me to go with you somewhere? Or what, am I in trouble? Wait...are you two in trouble? Is that what this is? ’Cause hey, if you two need help, believe me, these guards here...they ain’t afraid o’ nothin’. My brother’s a tough son of a bitch, too. Not physically of course. But I mean...if you need protection or somethin’...”
“Not like that, buddy,” replied Ozzie. “But I ain’t gonna lie to ya’. It’s pretty serious. That’s kind of why I was thinkin’ we better get outta here. Go somewhere so’s we can have a little chat, the three of us.”
Young-Min looked over at Shamiso, who’d started nodding in agreement, eyebrows raised. Confident. Businesslike. Military-like. She even held her shoulders back and stood with her hands on her hips commandingly, as if to say, “We gotta go mate. And what’s more, you’re goin’ with us.”
Young-Min thought for a minute, then replied. “Okay. But let’s not cause a big scene, if you guys don’t mind. Let’s take a little walk, down to the parking garage. There’s a spot where there’s no security cameras. We can talk there. And you two can finally tell me what this is all about. Okay with that?” Ozzie and Shamiso nodded calmly. Young-Min then led them over to the ramp down to the parking garage.
“This is where I go when I need to be uh...alone I guess you’d say,” said Young-Min in a low voice. His words still echoed in the tunnel as they descended. “We got these fancy limousines down here. When I need to be by myself...well, you know how it is.” And when he said that, Shamiso snickered. “When you’re on the pull, eh?” Young-Min acknowledged her immediately.
“Yep...exactly.” There was no use trying to fool his old friends. On the Santa Maria, everyone knew whenever someone was going into the Virch alone, they were probably taking matters into their own hands, so to speak. When they couldn’t find a partner—or didn’t want to bother with one. Ozzie laughed, “Well, you can’t beat a limousine for that, I suppose.”
“And we’ve got two of ’em,” interjected Young-Min. “Tinted windows. Real nice inside,” he said, and within a few moments, he’d led them to one of two long, parked cars. The doors were unlocked of course. He’d made sure of that for whenever he needed to go work out his frustrations. Though lately it’d been much harder to keep his mind off the disaster in Shanghai and having nearly gotten himself blown to bits.
“Hop in,” he said, and Shamiso, notepad tucked under her arm, did so immediately, dazzled with the beautiful interior. “Nice ride, mate. Fucking posh,” she observed.
“Sure is, darlin’,” commented Ozzie. He was next to climb in, then Young-Min followed, reaching over the front seat to press the starting mechanism and activate the air conditioning. They sat down in separate seats inside, Young Min facing Ozzie and Shamiso, while she pulled out the electronic notepad to give to him.
“Ozzie can explain it to ya’ Bones. If you wanna. But frankly, we felt it better if you just read it yourself.” She’d sized up the situation properly. If this was still the same old “Bones” they’d grown up with, no “summary” was necessary. If Shamiso could read through that long report and reach conclusions like she had so quickly, Young-Min would surely do the same.
Young-Min Jo curiously reached out to take the device from her. He looked at it inquisitively for a few moments before recognizing how it functioned. He then quickly placed his palm print on the front and both Shamiso and Ozzie could see the screen lighting up his face in the shadows of that parked car. They sat patiently while he read. Everyone was silent for a very long time after that.
Young-Min’s reactions were at first one of shock, then realization, then profound despair. He read fast for several minutes, while Ozzie and Shamiso remained quiet. Occasionally he’d stop and point at the screen like he was deciphering data. Then within seconds, he’d begin nodding again, reading fast once more, sliding pages rapidly side-to-side. His face became hollow and saddened; more than once shaking his head, and scratching itches which seemed to flare up on different parts of his body. He was nervous. Depressed at times. Deflated, like he’d just been shown medical results that indicated he was terminally ill.
He finally reached the end of the report, and when he did, he looked up dejectedly and said, “It now says to delete the file.” And when he spoke those words, he sounded almost groggy—like he had a frog in his throat—like he hadn’t swallowed in a while or that his throat was parched from holding his mouth open for too long.
“That’s fine, mate,” said Shamiso gently. “Go ahead. I’ve read it. Ozzie knows what’s in it, too. Once you delete the file...the data will vanish completely. Deleting it fries the circuit board...no one can ever open it again.”
Young-Min nodded. He knew perfectly well what she was talking about. Military documents—top secret information that is—were usually distributed in the field using such devices. If it said “For Your Eyes Only” on the cover, there was inevitably a function like this. Once deleted, the data and the device was destroyed. Permanently.
“Fuck. Now what am I going to do?” muttered Young-Min Jo. He said it as though there could be no answer to such a quandary. After all, what could he do? He was on the inside. He was a co-conspirator. He was part of the fraud being perpetrated. He should have known what was going on. Probably could have found out, if he’d only opened his eyes. Did some research on the company computers. Tracked things. Investigated a bit more. But he hadn’t. He’d merely swallowed the blue pill, drank the kool-aid, accepted the gospels as written—without raising any objections or asking difficult questions of his brother.
Maybe he’d been intimidated. Maybe he’d been seduced. It was certainly more the latter than the previous, that was for sure. He’d become smitten with his brother’s chief of security and chose to simply get along with everyone. It was the way he’d always been. Had it not been for his love for Zero, maybe...
However, Ozzie certainly did have an answer. He wasn’t about to hesitate with it either. The old junior officer within him was resurfacing. He no longer felt like a Center Back for the Dallas Wranglers: a pampered athlete for whom everything was provided, while at the same time told where to go, what to do, when to dress, when to sleep, when to eat, and when to shut the hell up. Now it was different. He suddenly found himself pressed into service to lead his troops bravely and resolutely. He spoke up instantly.
“Well, buddy, first off...you’re goin’ into this building and back to your apartment you told us about. Yer gonna pack up your duffel bag with just the things you need. ID badges, uniform, fresh pair o’ underwear. Dry socks. Don’t shower. Don’t talk to nobody. Don’t explain yourself. That’ll only delay you. You get your shit together—and by that, I mean your emotions along with it. ’N you come downstairs—or out the back door—whatever you gotta do. You meet us at the car, and we’re gettin’ the hell outa here.”
Young-Min’s eyes widened, then he sulked for a few moments, looking totally defeated. He knew what Ozzie was inferring. He’d have to make a run for it. The report had been abundantly clear. He’d seen the words, knew what they meant. Any day now, they’d be showing up, just like he’d done months before, in that white van with G.U. soldiers escorting him. Only there’d be several of them this time. Probably an entire platoon of soldiers. G.U. officials in suits. Some in uniform. It’d all be over within hours. For Kwang-Min, not even that long. And if Young-Min didn’t do precisely what Ozzie said, he could already imagine what would happen to him as well. He’d be hauled away in handcuffs, right along with everyone else. He agreed.
“Alright Oz. I’ll go get my things,” he said. Shamiso reached over and patted him on the leg. “Don’t feel bad. You couldn’t have known, mate. You read it...so did I. He’s packing them pills over in China. They’re making it in bloody Afghanistan. I can’t imagine anyone but ’im...’n maybe a few of them Afghani blokes even know what’s in it. But you gotta trust us...trust Ozzie on this one. ’Eez as dangerous as a snake...your brot
her I mean...and you know I don’t pull no punches when I tell you things. You trusted ’im. He conned you. He cons everyone. Don’t give it a second thought. Just go get your things and meet us downstairs—’fore anyone tries to stop you. Monika sent us here to get your ass outa this compound.”
“But...where ’r we gonna go then?” asked Young-Min, sounding perplexed. “A military base? I mean, what if they come after us? Those guards out there. They aren’t gonna just let you drive me out of here...you know that don’t you? And if you don’t, then let me inform you big guy...it’s not gonna be that easy.”
“You leave that up to me Bones,” said Ozzie confidently. “Just get yer stuff, and...hell, I’ll just drive ma’ car down into this here parking garage. Think you can come outa that elevator over there? I’ll back into one o’ them parking spaces ’n wait for you...figure out the rest by the time you get back. How ’bout that?”
Young-Min rolled his eyes and sighed. This was surely going to get them killed, he just knew it. Those guards were not just big monsters. They were smart. His only chance was to try and fool them at the gate. If he could anyway. Best he could hope for was they’d buy whatever story he and his friends came up with—for just long enough to let them by. If not, then…well, never mind the “if-nots”. He’d just have to hope the story would sound plausible enough...
It took Young-Min Jo only twenty minutes to pull off his final exit from Min-Pharma headquarters. Ozzie and Shamiso drove into the parking garage, while the guards up at the gate relaxed in the afternoon sun, oblivious to what was going on. By that time, Ozzie had examined all his options, and figured the only way to achieve this was to hide Young-Min in the vehicle’s trunk.
He remembered back to when they’d entered the compound and how the guards had merely scanned his car for what he assumed was weapons or explosives. If that’s all they did entering the facility, then no doubt exiting the facility they’d merely wave them on through—if they thought it was only Shamiso and himself leaving. Young-Min Jo however, when he got back to the parking garage, was flabbergasted at his old shipmate’s silly scheme.
“You mean that’s all you came up with? After all this time I’ve been gone? Dude! I practically had to fake my own death to get out of this place. Everyone was looking at me. I couldn’t even pack a bag. I fucking changed into my SP uniform and put my workout suit on over it. The tie’s in my pocket. I had to shove my beret in my underpants.”
Shamiso chuckled, “And your ID badges...you put ’em up your ass then?” Young-Min didn’t find that funny. “No godammit. They’re tucked in my socks. I’ll have to get new boots later. They’ll dock me for it, but I had to leave ’em. I swear you two, this is really fucking dangerous.”
“It’s all we can do buddy,” stated Ozzie flatly. “Just climb in that trunk and we’re gonna drive nice and slow...real peaceful like...straight out to that gate. Them guards ’r gonna just wave us on through, like we’re done with our visit and headin’ back outa town. We got Michigan plates on the car. They’ll add it up that we’re leavin’ town. They’ll look in the back seat and find nothin’. Then they’ll get right back outa this heat and wish us a pleasant day. You watch. If all else fails, I’ll tell ’em Shamiso’s got a flight to catch ’n I gotta return my rental car—which I do, by the way.”
He then leaned down and added one more little wrinkle. “When we’re out the gate, I’ll holler back to ya’. That backseat folds forward. I’ve already released the levers on ’em. My brother’s got the same kind o’ car back in Texas, and I figured it out while I was down there. It’s designed to fold down in case you need extra room for storage. Just push it down and crawl into the back seat when you hear me yellin’. You won’t have to suffer in that hot trunk for long, I promise...”
And it worked out almost like that. Almost that is. Ozzie charmed the guards at the front gate. Drove right past. They merely walked up to the window and asked calmly why they were leaving so soon. He gave them the same story he’d told Young-Min and they believed it. The guard even asked him why he looked so familiar. He told the man his twin brother was Ranger Guerrero. The guard got a big laugh out of that one. “Ranger Guerrero? Seriously?” exclaimed the guard.
Then, not to be outdone, Shamiso told him, “Yeah, he uses that as a chat-up line all the time with chicks to try’n get laid.” To this, the quick-witted guard smirked humorously, “Worked on you I guess, huh?” Shamiso giggled, and admitted, “several times, mate!” Everyone laughed, and the guard signaled for his colleague to open the gate. They drove on through, and right out of the compound.
“Oi!” hollered Shamiso, back toward the trunk, when they were halfway down the block. “We did it, Bones. We’re through! You can climb out now!” By then they’d raised their windows. No one was going to hear them. Young-Min Jo pushed down the back seat after banging against it a few times to get it moving, then he climbed into the passenger area, already sweating profusely. It would have been hot enough back there naked. But he had on his entire uniform—sans boots of course—underneath his workout clothes. He sat up in the back seat, relieved, yet at the same time apprehensive about something. Shamiso asked him what was still bothering him.
“Seriously, mate, we’re outa there. You can relax now,” she assured him. Young-Min was not so confident. He’d already received a message on his digital communication device. It had been going off shortly after they’d pulled out onto the street and driven about a block. It was Zero paging him. She was not happy.
Young-Min turned his wrist toward her so Shamiso could read the text. “It’s from Zero,” he said with a worried sigh. “She’s my brother’s chief of security. She’s pretty fuckin’ mad, guys.”
“YOUNG-MIN?” Shamiso read off the display screen. It was all in capital letters. “WHERE ARE YOU? BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU. BOSS SAYS YOU WENT DOWN THE ELEVATOR. ARE YOU WITH THOSE PEOPLE IN THE SILVER CAR?”
Shamiso snickered. “Ha! Tough luck, bitch. He’s on the lam now. You ain’t seein’ ’im again no more. ’N while we’re at it, Bones...’ewz the boss?”
“That’s what everyone calls Kwang-Min,” answered Young-Min Jo nervously. “He sees everything on his computer. Can check security cameras all over the compound within seconds. If he thinks I climbed into that trunk, they’ll be comin’ after us...sure as hell they will. Seriously...we better go fast.”
Then the device buzzed again, notifying him of yet another message. It buzzed several more times as well! He didn’t want to look, he was so terrified. Shamiso grabbed his wrist and held his arm steady while Young-Min gazed out the window.
“Here,” she said, looking annoyed. “Let me see what this Zero chick has to say now. Fuckin’ trollop.” She read through the litany of messages following, eyes widening as she did so. Moments later, she was telling Ozzie, “Oh shit. He’s right. You better step on it, Love.”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” read Young-Min’s DICE display screen. Clearly, whoever she was, this “Zero” person had activated her voice reader so she could speak into it while she was scrambling together a security team to give chase. Shamiso read through all four messages. It sounded like the gal was getting progressively angrier with each:
“YOU MOTHERFUCKER. YOU DIRTY, BACKSTABBING TRAITOR! YOU’RE RUNNING FROM US AREN’T YOU? GODDAMIT YOUNG-MIN. I KNEW YOU’D DO THIS. YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS DON’T YOU?”
10:03 EST
“WE’LL FIND YOU ASSHOLE. THE BOSS IS PISSED. OH YEAH. PISSED OFF. AND HEARTBROKEN, TOO. HIS OWN BROTHER. AND AFTER ALL THAT ‘I LOVE YOU’ BULLSHIT YOU WERE TELLING ME?”
10:11 EST
“FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU, GODDAMMIT. I’LL KILL YOU FOR THIS—AND YOUR FUCKING FRIENDS, TOO. NO ONE BETRAYS THE BOSS, YOU LITTLE SHIT. NO ONE. I’M ALREADY SENDING A CAR AFTER YOU. AND I’M GOING WITH ’EM, TOO.”
10:17 EST
“I SWEAR TO GOD YOUNG-MIN...YOU’LL NEVER MAKE IT OUT OF CANADA ALIVE.”
10:19 EST
PART FIVE
ENEMIES AND ALL
IES
Chapter 16
Tooth Fairy
“Wow. This bitch is serious, isn’t she?” commented Shamiso, eyes wide and revealing a rare trace of apprehension. This was not like her. She was usually the tough London chick, especially whenever boys were around.
“Quite serious I’m afraid, guys,” answered Young-Min. Ozzie instinctively accelerated through a yellow light in downtown Toronto and made his way quickly through the city now that he was fully aware of the situation. The implied tone from that last text from Zero was enough to switch him to crisis mode. Meanwhile the onboard navigator was warning him of potential traffic violations.
“Local speed limits exceeded. Reduce vehicle speed to comply,” came the words through the stereo speakers. Then, as before, the lovely female voice repeated this message two more times until Shamiso finally reached over to try and turn off the volume. “I don't think we need this bird advising us on our speed anymore, do we mates?” she muttered in frustration.
“Thanks, Meeso,” sighed Ozzie. He’d already seen the sign for the highway on-ramp up ahead and was weaving through Sunday traffic trying to access the lane. By now, the video screen display was flashing a plus fifteen, then a plus twenty, to warn him of how much he was exceeding the speed limit. “Yeah, just turn off the audio portion for now...if you can figger out how ta’ do it I mean. If I can get past this transport lorry here, I’ll get us onto the highway.” He sped up and then swerved into the lane, barely making it before the big hauler blocked his access. The trucker blared his horn at Ozzie in retaliation.
“Speed demon, are we?” Shamiso kidded him, gripping the console and placing her hand on the dashboard simultaneously. She was tensed up as if bracing for impact. She wasn’t completely serious, but in reality, they’d narrowly made it. She recovered her composure quickly though. She sighed and gave out a “Whew!”
