Echo (The Remote Traveler Series Book 3)

by Finian Blake

  “You almost wrecked my car,” Wayne bellowed. “You’re fired!” Cherry walked up to Gordon intentionally turning her back to Wayne and Marvin.

  “Gordon you are hired get on the chopper with the others,” Cherry said purposefully. Gordon stood rooted to the spot not sure if Cherry was kidding or not. “Now Gordon, tell Rene that I will take the Metro home, move.” Gordon sprinted to the chopper closing the door as it lifted off.

  Cherry turned to Wayne, “You’re fired Wayne.” He looked down at the smart assed little lady dressed in a chauffer’s uniform.

  “If you are lucky I will hire you. If you are very lucky I will allow you to blow me in the back seat,” Wayne scoffed. Cherry spun on her heel grabbing Wayne forcefully by his genitals.

  “If this ‘needle dick’ ever gets out of your pants in my presence you won’t even be able to piss with it.” Cherry smiled as she exerted all her might dropping Wayne to his knees with his forehead on the ground unable to speak. “You will receive notice of an emergency stockholders meeting before the sun goes down.”

  “I’m going to kick your ass,” Wayne gasped.

  “You will need to standup before you try.” Cherry pulled the Bentley into the Hangar and walked off toward the Metro stop with a lap top tucked under her arm. The car was the permanent ride stationed at Regan National. Wayne wanted to intercept her so he ran to the Cadillac only to find it locked.

  “Fuck,” Wayne screamed. “Gordon has the keys in his pocket.”

  “I will call the helicopter,” Cherry offered. “I can have the pilot drop them to you.” Cherry picked up the satellite phone calling Rene. After a few minutes she turned to Wayne.

  “Rene will drop the keys to you in a few minutes,” Cherry smiled sweetly. “I have a train to catch.” She grabbed her lap top leaving quickly.

  “I am going to call Salvador and have a little surprise for that bitch when she gets off her train,” Wayne said with a wicked laugh. “Sal will want that lap top. He can have his people mug her for it and if she gets hurt in the process, oh well.” Wayne picked up the phone dialing Salvador’s private number.

  “Sal I need a couple of your security boys to steal a laptop for me.” Wayne proceeded to give Salvador Cherry’s description and the station that she would be arriving at. “… and Sal make it look like a mugging put her in the hospital for a week.”

  Salvador broke the connection not hiding his irritation from Henry, his name was Salvador and he did not approve of someone abbreviating his name.

  “That little lady must have really pissed him off bad. He wants me to send a couple of the boys down to the metro station to steal her lap top and put her in the hospital.”

  “Are you going to do it,” Henry asked.

  “Yes…?”

  “Why…?”

  “Pay back,” Salvador said wolfishly. “They hit us twice and we did nothing. We need to teach them some respect. Perry has a couple of new guys and they need to earn their bones.”

  “Five foot two and 120 pounds, and you are going to send two gorillas after her,” Henry exclaimed.

  “I want her to have a lesson that will be permanently etched in her memory. Over kill is the best way to do just that. The little bitch goes to the hospital for at least two weeks.” Salvador did not care for Henry’s over caution or his taste for unnecessary violence.

  Perry went along with Sean and two of his newest recruits Neil and Oscar who were both over six feet tall and over 200 pounds. Sean was to snatch the computer with Neil and Oscar instructed to inflict as much physical damage as they could in thirty seconds. Two trains had passed through the station and the team was beginning to doubt the information that they had received. Perry acted as the spotter and the other three would wait outside the station, so they would have several exits covered. Only five people stepped off of the train and Cherry was one of them. The four other people moved off of the platform quickly while Cherry took her time. By the time Cherry reached the exit there was only an old man sitting on a bench reading a newspaper.

  Perry gave the go signal and Sean moved in close Cherry stopped placing the computer case on the ground reaching in her purse for something. Sean made a dash grabbing the case running past the old man into the parking lot. She did not start to chase him until Sean was ten yards away. Neil and Oscar stepped in between her and Sean with outstretched arms intent on their attack. Cherry fired the Taser that she had taken out of her purse hitting Neil in the chest dropping him to his knees. Oscar hesitated long enough for Cherry to kick him full force in the knee on the run. As Oscar started to fall Cherry made a fist with her thumb extended punching him full force in the left eye producing an ear shattering scream after which he passed out from the shock. Neil was starting to move when Cherry pushed a button on the Taser sending a second jolt through her assailant. Perry started to move in to help his fallen employees when Cherry pulled out a nine millimeter Sig Sauer pistol from her purse holding it in a defensive position. Perry jumped in the driver’s side and Sean jumped in the passenger’s seat.

  “What the fuck,” Sean screamed at Perry. “That was definitely a Taser and that pistol was no popgun. I’m lucky that she didn’t hit me with that thing. What are we going to do about Neil and Oscar?”

  “Beats the hell out of me,” Perry snapped. “I am not about to discuss it with her.”

  Cherry checked Neil for a pulse finding that he was still alive. She next checked Oscar finding that she had destroyed his left eye. Cherry rolled Neil over applying a set of plastic cuffs securing his hands behind his back moving over to Oscar repeating the process.

  “They were over confident in their numbers and their size.” A voice came over Cherry’s shoulder.

  “Adam, you could have helped,” She said without turning around.

  “If I had they would have known that this was a set up,” Adam said mildly.

  “Rene was supposed to be here.” Cherry said over Oscar’s moaning as he started to regain consciousness.

  “I wanted to see if all of that bad ass training was worth a damn,” Adam said over Oscar’s screams. Cherry did a round house kick to Oscar’s jaw knocking him out.

  “That was kind of harsh,” Adam observed.

  “I believe that they were hired to do something like that to me.” She pointed out.

  “Fuck em…,” was his only comment starting to the car.

  “Pick me up by that pay phone,” Cherry said as she went through Oscar’s pockets and Neil’s pockets. Both men had their Ardent Company ID’s in their shirt pockets. She took the ID’s clipping them on each man’s shirt calling 9 1 1.

  “Thanks for helping back there.” Cherry said icily when she got into the car.

  “I didn’t want to piss you off by ruining your workout,” Adam said defensively adding. “What was with the Taser?”

  “I promised Molly that I would join her for happy hour and I didn’t want to break a sweat. Stop when you turn the corner I want to be sure that the ambulance arrives.”

  “Shit, teach the little girl a lesson,” Perry bellowed as he barged into the room tossing the laptop to Salvador. “It was a mugging alright, and it only lasted ten seconds.”

  “Good give the boys a big bonus,” Salvador said misunderstanding Perry’s point.

  “I mean that it only took ten seconds for her to take both of them out. They only slowed her down enough to allow Sean a clean getaway.”

  Salvador closed his eyes curling his hands into fists. “Where are they now?”

  “She pulled a gun. I didn’t want to go ‘OK Corral’ in the Metro station, so we got the hell out of there.”

  Before Salvador could ask another question the phone rang. Perry watched Salvador’s knuckles go white on the telephone and all that he said was, “I will send somebody.”

  “Perry, it seems that two of our security guards were found unconscious in the parking lot of a metro station and are now in the Emergency Room.” Salvador started calmly finishing with a scream. “Th
ey knew because they were both wearing their Ardent Company ID badges which was the only ID that they had on them.” Perry ran out the door before Salvador could say anything else.

  “Cherry that’s the one that put Steve and me in the hospital,” Lloyd exclaimed slamming his hand on the table knocking over the drinks. “She carries a Taser and knows how to use it. That bitch had us both in five seconds.”

  “Why didn’t you say something,” Salvador said through gritted teeth.

  “I thought that you knew,” Lloyd said defensively. “You sent Perry to bust us out of the hospital.”

  “Fuck,” Salvador screamed.

  Perry was approached by Detective Barragan as soon as he asked for Neil and Oscar.

  “We found your boys in the Metro parking lot on a tip from 911. All they had on them was their ID badges. We found their wallets on the ground by a trash can after we called Ardent Computers. Neil had still had the barbs from a Taser in his chest and it looks like Oscar is going to lose his eye. What the hell were they doing in that parking lot?”

  “They were just coming into work, so I will have to talk to them first,” Perry lied trying to buy some time.

  “Well we need to find out from them since all of the security cameras for Metro were out for thirty minutes. We don’t have any definitive video that we would normally have.”

  “Maybe they were just mugged,” Perry offered.

  “I doubt that nothing was taken from their wallets,” Detective Barragan observed. “Do you think that they were doing courier work?”

  “I will have to ask Mister Ardent sometimes he goes around me.” Perry jumped at the opening as he picked up his cell phone pretending to dial. “Mister Ardent did you have Neil and Oscar doing courier work?” He waited for a few seconds. “This is bullshit you need to clear that shit with me even if you own the company.” Perry pushed a button on the phone thrusting it in his pocket hoping that the detective had not notice that he faked the phone call.

  “Detective Barragan, Mister Ardent had them delivering a set of prototype circuit boards that were the back bone of our next generation of computers,” Perry was really impressed with his bullshit.

  “What did they look like?”

  “I don’t know Mister Ardent gave them the boards himself. I am going to assume that they were in a sealed case.”

  “What about…” The detective started to ask.

  “I have two men that took some heavy damage, and I need to insure their care before I do anything else.” Perry broke off the conversation by walking over to the doctor.

  Salvador used all of his control in order to put the phone down gently. “That was Perry, Neil had broken ribs from having CPR preformed on him and Oscar will probably lose his left eye plus his knee cap was shattered. That little five foot 120-pound Cherry had done all of that damage in less than ten seconds to two large men twice her size.” Salvador strode up and down in his office waiting for Senator Belight and Wayne Haggard to arrive.

  “That idiot Perry actually told the police that those two were on company business,” Salvador exclaimed as he paced.

  “Maybe that is a good idea.” Henry offered quietly with supreme effort trying to calm Salvador. “After all they had their I D badges on. He did say that they were acting as couriers for new technology.”

  “Yes I guess that we have to claim them somehow. I wonder why they didn’t disappear like the Russians.” Salvador questioned in a brooding voice. “It’s like they were abducted by aliens. That little bitch…,”

  “I liked to shit sparks when she hit me with that Taser,” Lloyd injected.

  “It looks like Oscar is going to lose an eye plus he is going to have a permanent limp. Neil is the lucky one they only broke a few ribs giving him C P R.” Wayne and Marvin walked in before Salvador could continue.

  “So tell me, did your boys hurt her real bad or kill her,” Wayne Haggard asked as he walked in the room.

  “Fuck,” Salvador screamed, “It took her ten seconds to take out the both of them.”

  “I guess that I should have told you about this morning,” Marvin added quickly.

  “That would have been nice. I have two men in the hospital,” Salvador was still screaming.

  “You should not have sent sissies,” Wayne added.

  Salvador completely lost control. He picked up the first thing that he could lay his hands on which was Cherry’s laptop and threw it against the wall. The computer did not fall to the floor, but stuck in the dry wall. Henry stood up walking over to the wall pulling it free examining it carefully. The screen was hanging by one hinge and the battery had popped loose with the impact.

  “This is the only thing that salvaged the situation,” Henry said as Salvador realized what he had done. “The case is toast, but the boards look like they are not damaged.”

  “Can you do anything with them,” Salvador asked limply with his energy expended.

  “The case is history, but I think that I can load them in another case down in my lab,” Henry offered hopefully.

  “Could you please do that immediately,” Salvador said with a forced calm.

  “I am on my way,” Henry said thankful for the excuse to leave.

  “I still say that you should not have sent sissies to do a man’s job,” Wayne insisted.

  Before he could think Salvador picked up a chair swinging it round house fashion striking Wayne across the legs catching his left knee cap with one of the chair leg’s. Wayne fell to the floor holding his knee in pain.

  “I guess that you must be a sissy too,” Salvador said his energy expended.

  Everybody was having the Friday happy hour on the roof of the computer center when Cherry and Adam arrived. Adam had his arm firmly around Cherry’s waist causing Colleen a moment of jealously.

  “I know that Cherry is your sister, but that looks a little too friendly,” Colleen said coolly. Adam gently removed his arm from around her waist glad that he could make Colleen jealous.

  “She is my sister,” Adam said laughingly. “I have seen Cherry spar before. I have never seen her doing live round action.”

  “And…” Cherry asked.

  “You really are a vicious bitch.” Adam said appreciatively.

  “Thank you for not saying ‘little’ bitch,” Cherry kissed Adam warmly on the cheek. “You know how sensitive I am.”

  “Did they get your computer,” Boris asked.

  “Yes they did, but I practically had to put it in their car for them.” Cherry said mockingly.

  “Good,” Boris said with a relieved tone. “I thought that your instincts might have taken over.”

  “Good,” Paul, Winnie, Molly, and Felicia exclaimed in unison.

  “Yes, Boris keeps something nasty on my laptop in case someone steals it. Wayne Haggard is a piece of shit and we figured that he would do something. Between Wayne and Salvador, it was a sure thing. Salvador sent four goons to steal the computer and take revenge on me. Adam scouted the station giving me a heads up, but that was all he did.” Cherry said with mock criticism. “One drove the car, one grabbed the computer and the other two were supposed to teach me a lesson.”

  “What did it teach you,” Rhonda asked.

  “It taught me to charge my ‘little’ brother admission the next time that he just watches.” Everybody doubled over with laughter while Tamar placed a drink in her hand as Boris led everybody to his lab.

  Nikki and Mary Lee were waiting in the Lab when Boris led the group into his private sanctuary. Molly was stunned by the size.

  “Dining table, fridge, bed, lounge chairs and a fully stocked bar,” Molly said appreciatively. “Is this a lab or a lounge?”

  “Sometimes I don’t leave here for days, and once I stayed down here for a month,” Boris said seriously.

  “What does your wife say?”

  “My wives come down here when they want me.”

  “Let me tell you what Boris eats on this table before you put any food down without using plates.
” Rhonda did not need to go any further with her explanation. Three 60-inch computer monitors lit up when Boris started to boot up his work station. One screen had two animated characters having intercourse in an impossible position.

  “Oh you have that program,” Molly blurted out realizing what she had said only after everybody turned to stare at her. Molly turned beet red stammering to correct herself until Boris took pity on her. “Nikki, it appears that you and Mary Lee have fans in the room.”

  Nikki smiled warmly. “Mary Lee and I try to keep a low profile, but it is nice to know that we are appreciated.”

  “You…” Molly half exclaimed and half asked.

  “Yes that is our enterprise. Would you like to be a star,” Nikki asked in a serious tone?

  “That will have to wait,” Boris interrupted. “It appears that Henry has installed the mother board into another computer for some reason. This is very bad.”

  “Why is that so bad,” Rhonda and Felicia asked simultaneously.

  “If he did a USB or a WIFI hookup he could break the connection. With that mother board installed in the computer the full instruction will be loaded,” Boris said with a tone of regret in his voice. “The instructions are progressive. I wanted to see how fast Henry could react, but then…”

  “Then what…” Rhonda pressed impatiently.

  “But then he is trying to screw us,” Boris said cheerfully. “I cloned their computer while they were trying to clone us, so there is a backup if they are nice to us.”

  “And if they are not nice,” Rhonda asked.

  “In that case they are just screwed,” Boris laughed.

  It had taken Henry two hours to fit the mother board into the computer and having Salvador hanging over his shoulder made the job much more difficult than it should have been. Perry, Steve, Lloyd, Wayne, and Marvin were pounding down drinks with Salvador while Henry was sweating bullets trying to do a full inspection of the mother board looking for nonstandard circuits.

  “Come on you have all of your connections made, fire it up,” Salvador prodded with his voice slurred by alcohol. “Perry had two good men torn up to get that.”