Chain Reaction Power Failure Book I

by Andrew Draper

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Aaron called out in a strong, clear voice. “Whoever you are, you can come out now!”

  The smell of cordite hung heavy in the air while the smoke from the shots moved in opaque wisps around the ceiling.

  Brent slowly raised his head over the divider. “Are you sure? Is everyone all right?”

  He looked at the inert form of the colonel lying in a heap, eyes wide in apprehension. “Holy shit! Mister,” he said in an unsteady voice. “Tell me you didn't just kill that guy.”

  Aaron noticed the color start returning to Diane’s face as she realized Freemont’s head remained intact. “No. I didn't kill him, not yet.”

  Still shaking from head to toe, Diane turned to the new comer. “Who are you?”

  “I'm Brent Ryan. I'm trying to find my sister.”

  Aaron looked at him more carefully and noticed he was very much Jenny's brother.

  The former captives spoke simultaneously, “So are we.”

  Aaron slipped the Beretta back into his belt and closed the distance between him and the other man. “I'm Aaron, and this is Diane.”

  He moved back to where Freemont sat on the floor. Motioning for Brent to grab Freemont's other arm, they dragged him to the only chair that survived the earlier brawl. The pair unceremoniously dropped the stunned solider into the seat.

  Aaron moved to the still unconscious Private and slipped his weapon from its holster. He called out to the younger Ryan. “Cuff this guy and put him in the storage closet and make sure he can't get out.”

  While Brent dragged the still-unconscious lackey to the far side of the room and dumped him in the closet, Aaron, rather un-gently, yanked Freemont’s head up and slapped him back to the here and now.

  Aaron handed the Private’s gun to Diane and cocked his head toward Freemont. “If he so much as blinks, blow his balls off.”

  Aaron yanked the cord off a fax machine and tied Freemont's hands to the back of the chair- a little tighter then necessary. “Okay, colonel, the time for truth is here.”

  During the ten-minute interrogation that followed, Freemont confirmed that Sean Murphy had indeed attacked Jenny and then sold the plans to a rival of Ryan’s named Phillip Temple.

  “It looks like a falling out among thieves.” Freemont opined.

  “Why do you say that?” Aaron asked.

  “Ryan had to be involved for this to work. Murphy’s not smart enough to do this alone,” he paused for a second. “Also, he doesn’t have access to the data. She had to get it for him.”

  Freemont paused for several more seconds, collecting his thoughts.

  “The FBI’s tried to get Temple for a hell of a long time. He is too slick. Charges slide off him like he’s made of Teflon.”

  His patience wearing thin, Aaron folded his arms across his chest. “Where do I find him?”

  “I can't tell you that.”

  Aaron rubbed his sore chin and considered what would be the best method of getting through to Freemont. He tried the direct approach first. “Listen, Colonel, I had no idea who or what Dr. Ryan was up to when I found her,” he paused “All I want is to get her back and make sure she's safe. We can sort out the rest after.”

  “Mr. Casey, if you have nothing to hide release me and I’ll find the girl.”

  Aaron laughed aloud, “Get real! I heard your plans for her, remember? Not going to happen.”

  “She has very sensitive research material and we want it back. Release me…this instant!” The Colonel demanded.

  Aaron raised one eyebrow. He was no fool and he decided the time had come for Freemont to learn that.

  “Let me get this straight, she has sensitive research material or she created sensitive research material?”

  Freemont hesitated. “We… see no difference.”

  Aaron’s jaw clenched, his temper creeping back up another notch.

  “Well I do,” Anger forcing his voice into clipped tones, the antipathy underlined his next words. “It’s a matter of whether or not she created what you say she took. If she took something that didn't belong to her, that's one thing. However, if she took her research to prevent you from exploiting it, that's altogether different.”

  “The Army, meaning me, doesn't see it that way.”

  “Well I do, and since I'm the one with the weapon, my opinion is the only one that counts at the moment.”

  Getting no response, he moved on to the next topic. “Okay, since you came after me, you don't have her. So, who does?”

  The Colonel sat is silence for a long moment before answering. “I thought you would know where she’s hiding.”

  “Well I don't know where she is, but I think you might.”

  “How do you come to that brilliant deduction?” Freemont said, the bass voice loaded with condescension and loathing.

  Aaron now had a pretty fair idea of what happened to Jenny.

  If Murphy sold the plans to Temple, then he couldn't leave her alive to refute any claim to her work.

  Aaron continued. “Process of elimination. If you don't have her and I don't have her, then the only other person with an interest is Temple.”

  “What about Murphy?” Freemont asked.

  Aaron sat on the corner of the desk for a few seconds, thinking. He shook his head, discounting the colonel's theory. “No. He has no idea she survived the original attack. If he’s smart, he took his cash and is sunning his sorry ass on some tropical island with no extradition treaty. It has to be Temple.”

  He paused and looked at the Colonel. “I'm going to ask you again, where can I find Temple?”

  “Why should I tell you?” the colonel demanded.

  Aaron’s voice suddenly became very cold. “You mean aside from preventing me from kicking your ass again? Simple, because we both want the same thing.”

  “We do?”

  “Yes. I want Dr. Ryan back safe and you want her research back, right?”

  “I don't hear very well when I'm tied to a chair.”

  And I can’t find Jenny from a jail cell.

  Aaron saw a chance, albeit a slim one, to stay out of federal prison. Aaron figured he had one option left. “And if I release you?”

  “I'm listening.” Freemont said.

  “Give me a chance to bring her in. If I can do it, you drop all charges against her and us.”

  Freemont thought it over for a minute, “You must think I’m a moron. Why would I even consider it?”

  He ignored Freemont’s question. “Give me twenty-four hours and I'll bring her and her research back in one piece.”

  “What makes you think you can find her if I can't?”

  “Simple. She's not afraid of me.”

  Freemont looked around the room in silence.

  “So we have a deal?” Aaron asked.

  “You bring her and her work to me, and all I have to do is drop the charges?”

  Aaron snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  Aaron had one last-ditch option left, the one thing that strikes fear into the hearts of all military brass. Still looking at Freemont, he spoke in calm, sure tones. “Diane, call WBZ News and tell them there’s going to be an arrest they’ll want to cover. Tell them they'll need a camera crew.”

  Diane’s face showed her confusion. “Whose arrest?” she asked.

  He turned to her and quietly announced his intention to surrender. “Mine.”

  Her jaw dropped at the sound of “arrest” and “mine” in the same sentence. “Aaron, don't do it. Why let him arrest you? We have him, not the other way around.”

  He pointed at the man in the chair. “Don't kid yourself Diane, this guy’s a colonel in the United States Army. We can't hold him indefinitely.”

  Freemont spoke up, his arrogance returning in all it’s unmitigated glory. “Now you are beginning to think clearly.”

  Diane and Aaron turned on him simultaneously. “Shut up!”

  Diane continued to plead
with her friend and employer. “Don't let him arrest you. You heard his plans for Dr. Ryan. You might never see a courtroom. You might just disappear to Cuba or something.”

  He comforted his secretary. “Don't worry Di, I won't disappear. I didn't say I was going to let him arrest me.”

  He pulled a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it to her.

  “After you call WBZ, call this FBI agent and tell her what’s going on here. I think she’ll be very interested.”

  Freemont interrupted him. “Nobody's getting arrested.”

  Diane turned to Freemont, brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why not?”

  Aaron answered for him. “Because he knows I would have way too much to say and he doesn’t want the Feds, or a congressional oversight committee, to hear it.”

  She turned back to the man in the chair. “Is that true Colonel Freemont?”

  Freemont said nothing, staring out the window at the Boston skyline beyond.

  After being quiet since the gunshot, Brent finally joined the conversation. “Look, Mr. Casey, all I care about is getting my sister back. I don't care about any research project she was working on.”

  Aaron turned his attention to the younger man. “Do you have any idea where your sister might be?”

  “No, I don't,” he paused. “But I do know this, wherever it is, she didn't go willingly.”

  “How do you know that?” Diane asked.

  “Like I tried to tell the cops downstairs, she’s called me at the same time, every Sunday, for the last 2 years. She's a creature of habit. She wouldn't just disappear without a word.”

  He thought about the young man’s insight into Jenny’s habits. It makes sense. After all, he must know his sister better than anyone else.

  “Okay. How do we find her before someone else does?”

  “I don't know,” he said. “But if we put our heads together I’m sure we can figure it out.”

  Aaron was at a loss. He thought maybe Brent could give him a direction to look in. “Well, I checked my place and her office but I couldn't find her address to check her place.”

  “She told me to meet her here, but we can still go and check her townhouse, if you want.”

  Aaron stopped in mid-thought. “She told you to meet her here, at my office? When did she tell you that?”

  “She called me in New York early this morning.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said she was in trouble and needed her computer.”

  Aaron absorbed the new information and found it decidedly odd. “Why would she bring you all the way from New York to bring her a computer?”

  “I guess she thought I was the only one she could trust. She sounded scared.”

  “Did she tell you what she needed from it?”

  “No, she didn't. She just said she needed it, and she would explain later.”

  Aaron knew dammed well what she wanted. “Well, we're never going to get near her computer now. The Feds are all over the place down there.”

  “Maybe we don't need to get to her office,” Brent offered. “Her office computer wasn't the one she asked for, she wanted her laptop. So, I went into her office and lifted it for her.”

  Finally, a break. “Where is it now?” Aaron asked.

  Brent went into the reception area and retrieved his travel bag. “Right here.”

  The two men watched as Diane booted up the computer and started looking for something that might give them a lead. Aaron didn't hold much hope of finding anything useful but they kept looking anyway.

  After several minutes, Aaron slapped his fist on the desk in frustration. “Nothing.” He said. “Checked her files, checked her e-mail, no clues.”

  He turned again to face Freemont. “I keep coming back to the same place; Temple. He's the only one with a reason to grab her.”

  The colonel's defiance had resurfaced, rearing its ugly head yet again. “I'm not giving you Temple,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Aaron, tired of dealing with Freemont, thought for a moment before speaking. “Diane, let’s find Temple.”

  Returning to her own computer, Diane’s fingers flew over the keys. The internet search took an entire minute.

  “All right, found him.” she said. “Temple Corporation, 15697 Commercial Street.”

  Aaron slid off the corner of the desk. “I think I'll pay Mr. Phillip Temple a little visit.”

  He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Hand on the knob, he turned back to Brent and Diane. “Keep our guest on ice for an hour or so, then spring him, and the one in the closet too. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Then he turned to face Freemont. “And I suggest you behave,” His calm voice betrayed a barely controlled inner rage. “Or so help me, I'll find you and make you pay for what you did to Rambo.”

  The door closed soundlessly behind him.

  Diane set the automatic down on the desk and gazed at Freemont with unconcealed disgust. She pointed toward the door. “You’re damned lucky he didn’t kill you.” she said. “I still can’t believe you shot her, you asshole!”

  Freemont dismissed the insult. “What was I supposed to do? It was tearing me up.”

  Diane went to where Rambo’s body lay in a small puddle of blood. She took Rambo in her hands and turned the limp form over, seeing a second crimson spot on her other side. A small tear escaped her eye as she carried Rambo over to her desk and laid her on top.

  “Nice work. It went right through her.”

  Diane pulled a gray sweater off the coat tree and carefully wrapped it around Rambo’s motionless form. As she went to cover the cat’s face she noticed Rambo’s ears twitch.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “She’s still alive!”

  “Are you sure?’ Brent said.

  Diane studied her for a few seconds. “I think so, her ears are moving.” She said excitedly.

  She placed her hand on Rambo’s side and felt for a pulse. “She has a heart beat!”

  Brent walked over to the desk and felt the pulse for himself.

  Diane looked at him, her eyes pleading. “We have to help her.”

  He nodded. “Of course we do.”

  She reached for the phone, hands shaking. “I’ll call her Vet and tell him we’re coming.”

  As she punched the numbers, Brent picked up Rambo and wrapped the sweater closer around the small, still unmoving, body.

  With the one-sided conversation between Diane and the doctor’s office ended, Brent headed toward the door. He turned back to her. “I came in a cab. Do you have a car here?”

  She opened the door for him. “Downstairs, in the south lot.”

  Just as the two were about to leave the room, Freemont piped up. “What about me? You can’t just leave me here.”

  Brent stopped at the door and turned, yelling back over his shoulder at Freemont. “Watch us!”

  Pets of all shapes and sizes, along with their owners, were seated among the rows of chairs as Brent and Diane entered the busy waiting room of Dr. Elliot Colton DVM.

  Navigating the crowd, Brent stepped over a large white carrier when the occupant startled him with a loud ‘WOOF!’.

  Approaching the reception window, a fresh-faced, twenty-something girl in a white lab coat greeted them. “Can I help you?”

  Brent stepped forward and motioned for Diane to bring Rambo’s still listless body up to the window.

  “We called earlier. We need to see the doctor. This cat’s been shot and she needs help.”

  The young girl gasped, looking over the counter past Brent and seeing the blood all over Rambo and all over Diane.

  “Oh, my God! Bring her right in. The doctor is waiting for you.”

  She motioned to a door on their right. “I’ll go tell him you’re here.”

  They watched as she ran down the hall.

  Elliot Colton had been Rambo’s vet ever since Aaron found her and he recognized her at once. Taking the cat from Diane’s bloodstained arms, he disappeare
d into the exam room. While Colton went to work, Brent and Diane returned to the reception area.

  During the next hour, Diane paced the room and Brent made small talk, unsuccessfully trying to calm her. After her fourth lap of the waiting room in less than ten minutes, she spoke. “This is taking too long. She must be worse than we thought.”

  Brent moved to her side. “Don’t assume the worst, she’ll be all right.”

  “She better be, or I’ll shoot that son of a bitch Freemont myself.” She started another lap of the room.

  Looking at her, he lifted one eyebrow, “You couldn’t really do that, right?”

  She stopped pacing and gave him a confused look, “Do what?”

  “You couldn’t really shoot him, could you?”

  “Shoot…who?” she offered a momentary look of confusion. “Oh, Freemont? I guess not, but if I were him, I wouldn’t want to run into Aaron anytime soon.”

  “Yeah, he’s got some serious anger issues.”

  “You just have to get to know him. He’s very protective.”

  Brent watched her continue pacing and thought about everything that happened since he met her a few short hours ago. She had shown several different sides of herself and he was amazed by her. He assessed her qualities, and being a guy, went through his mental list. Looks…check, Brains…check, Body…check, check.

  Great looks aside, he found himself genuinely intrigued by a woman so cool under pressure she could hold an Army colonel at gunpoint and yet, on the verge of tears, paced the floor over an injured animal. He found her contrasts very interesting indeed.

  He put his arm around her shoulder. “Don’t worry. The doctor will fix Rambo up good as new. You’ll see.”

  As the words came out of his mouth, he hoped he wasn’t lying.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The engine’s never-ending roar thumped in Kelly Ingersol’s ears while the overhead speaker twanged, the pilot announcing the plane’s descent into New York.

  The exhausted woman called the flight attendant to take her tray. The long flight, and an entire bottle of champagne, had left her both dehydrated and mentally worn out. All she wanted now was to get on the ground and into a hot bath at a good hotel.