The Netscher Connection

by Estelle Ryan

  “Jenny is doing everything she can to stop this woman, Nikki.” Colin slowed the car down and turned into a quiet street. He stopped and put his hand on my forearm. “We are all doing everything we can to stop this woman.”

  “But what if she publishes my life? Shit, I have photos of me and my dad on my phone. And of my dad and some of his old friends.” Nikki barely stopped another sob. “Doc G?”

  I inhaled to speak, but no words would form in my mouth. The frustration was bringing the darkness closer and I slapped my hand on my thigh. Then I couldn’t stop. Vinnie took my phone and Colin used both his hands to grip mine. “Deep breaths, love. Deep breaths.”

  Vinnie continued speaking to Nikki, Pink and the others, but I was focusing on Colin’s hands holding mine. More than ever, Nikki needed me. As welcoming and safe as a shutdown was, I couldn’t afford to lose a minute. I needed to know that Nikki and Eric were safe and the only way to do that was to find Lila and prevent her from using whatever data she’d found on Nikki’s phone against her.

  I inhaled deeply and held my breath for ten seconds. Then I exhaled and tried to relax my hands. It didn’t work until the third deep breath. I turned my hands in Colin’s and looked into his concerned face. “I’m okay.”

  He studied me for a few seconds and nodded. “Did you hear that, Nikki?”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed. “I’m also okay now, Doc G. Go out and kick her butt!”

  Vinnie snorted, his expression softening. “We’ll all go and kick her butt, Nix. You just listen to Pink and Daniel. And tell Eric he cannot use my aftershave.”

  She laughed and more of the tension left my muscles. Pink ended the call with reassurances that he was doing everything he could to help us find Lila and keep Nikki safe.

  “Ready?” Colin waited for me to nod, then started the SUV again. At the next cross street we turned left.

  “What the hell?” Manny grunted. “Garas, what’s going on here?”

  I didn’t hear Andor’s answer. Colin stopped the SUV and we stared at the four police cars parked outside the office building that hosted Arany’s headquarters. Their lights were flashing and two officers were guarding the door to the building.

  There was no place to park, so Colin pulled the SUV next to a parked sedan. “I hope this is nothing bad.”

  Manny parked behind Colin’s SUV and together we walked to the front door. The moment the taller officer noticed Andor, he frowned and said something in Hungarian. Neither his tone nor his nonverbal cues were friendly.

  “Hmm.” Andor responded to the officer respectfully, then turned to us. “Captain Palya is inside and waiting for us.”

  “Did he phone you?” Colin asked. “Do you know what’s happening here?”

  “No.” He turned back to the officer and asked something in Hungarian. The response was clipped. Andor nodded once and pointed us to the door. “They arrived only ten minutes ago. Captain Palya said no one was allowed in unless I managed to show up.”

  “Curiouser and curiouser.” Francine’s expression was familiar. Her eyes and mouth moved in that specific way only when she was creating a conspiracy theory.

  I was pleased when she didn’t share it with us. Instead she followed Andor into the building. The elevator was already on the ground floor and we were on the fifth floor within a minute.

  The doors opened to chaos. Two police officers were at a modern reception desk in front of a huge colourful logo. To the left of the desk was a large open space office with slides, a pool table, bright blue, yellow and green sofas and even a trampoline. It looked like a children’s playground.

  Andor spoke to the officers who pointed us to the end of the open office.

  Gathered around a strangely shaped conference table were twelve people, including Captain Palya. Two of the women sitting at the table were crying, one young man was constantly pulling at his full beard and another man was breathing heavily through flared nostrils. We made our way there.

  Captain Palya met us halfway. “Ah, my shining star.” He frowned when he took a closer look at Andor. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Seasonal allergies.” Andor shrugged. “Nothing serious.”

  “Huh.” Captain Palya looked at Manny. “So? What are you doing here?”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Garas has kept me updated on your progress. So when I heard that there was commotion at Arany, I made sure to get here as soon as I could.”

  “What commotion?” I hated nebulous statements.

  The captain looked at me for a second. “The owner of the company called everyone in for an early meeting this morning. Apparently, that in itself is very strange. She’s one of those who works until three in the morning, then wakes up in the middle of the morning and starts working again in the early afternoon.”

  “The meeting?” Manny asked.

  “She told them that the company was bankrupt, she was closing shop and they could all go and fuck themselves.”

  “What?” Francine’s eyes were wide.

  “Those were her exact words. These people said she even said the last part in English.”

  “Where is she?” Colin asked.

  “Don’t know.” Captain Palya looked at Andor. “Now tell me why you’re here.”

  “She’s our killer, Cap.” Andor was losing even more colour in his face, perspiration beading on his forehead. “And she’s planning something for today.”

  “Today, huh?” The captain rubbed his chin. “These people told me that they are devastated at what this Lila woman did. Especially since they have their big event tonight.”

  “What event?”

  “The World-E tournament.” A man in his late twenties walked to us. He was dressed in what Colin would describe as hipster clothing. His hair was long, but gathered at the top of his head in a man-bun. Vinnie had explained that term to me. He stopped next to Manny. “I’m Rad. And I was Lila’s assistant until two hours ago. That bitch! I have no idea what she thinks she’s doing.”

  “What do you think she’s doing?” Colin asked.

  “Screwing us all.” He took a calming breath. “Look, we all knew something was off with her the last few months. Not that she’s ever been normal, but hey”—he tilted his head towards the conference table—“it’s not like any of us are normal.”

  “Go on.” Colin rolled his hand in a gesture to encourage the man to continue.

  “Yeah. Well, she’s been even more distant than usual. Normally we have a lot of projects to work on, but the last few months has only been the tournament. She wanted to make sure that the Drestia version we created especially for the competition was going to work flawlessly.”

  “What competition?” I asked.

  “There is a huge competition tonight. Only the best of the best gamers are taking part and the winner will take home three million euros.”

  “Bloody hell.”

  Rad looked at Manny. “There’s a lot of money in the gaming industry. Guys like you don’t know about it, but Lila knew. And she knew how to make even more. That’s why I don’t believe the bullshit that Arany is bankrupt.”

  “Then where is the money?” I asked.

  “Eva, our accountant, looked. It’s all gone. Lila transferred everything last night.” He leaned in. “Eva is good. She’s not only the best accountant for this type of work, she’s also computer-smart.”

  “Aha.” Francine smiled. “She’s a hacker.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Didn’t have to. Did she find out where the money went?”

  He closed his eyes. “Lila transferred over eleven million euros to several accounts in Switzerland.”

  “Switzerland?” Andor frowned. “That used to be the go-to country for criminals to hide their money.”

  “And the obscenely rich to hide their money from the tax man,” Francine said. “But Lila putting her millions in Switzerland is a stupid move. Switzerland has been changing their secrecy laws since 2008 and more r
ecently, they’ve agreed to come in line with international standards of taxation which means more transparency. Her money isn’t untraceable there.”

  “Doesn’t matter right now.” Rad put his hands on his hips. “We’re without money, without a boss and we don’t know what to do about the tournament.” He looked towards the conference table. “We’ve worked so hard to make this a success. Everything is set up. Everything is perfect. Tonight’s competition will be epic.”

  “Thank you, Rad.” Captain Palya nodded to an officer who took the young man back to the conference table. He looked at me. “So?”

  “So what?”

  He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glared at me. “What is your ever-so-expert opinion?”

  “About what?”

  Vinnie snorted and Manny chuckled. “You have to be more specific when you want answers.”

  “Was he telling the truth, love?” Colin took my hand and interlaced our fingers.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have any hypothesis about Lila’s motivation for transferring the money?”

  I looked at him. “It’s the behaviour of someone who has planned their escape. But in this case, it appears that Lila only wanted to create that impression.”

  “It’s like she wants us to find her.” Andor looked at me. “To stop her.”

  “Holy hell.” Manny turned to Captain Palya. “How secure is the tournament venue?”

  “Completely secure.” There was no hesitation in his answer. “With all the terrorist, immigration and political crap going on, we’ve been on full alert. The place has been cleared by the bomb squad twice. We have numerous measures in place to control who and what goes in and out. All the participants know that there will be extra security procedures and it’s generally been accepted in good spirits. These guys just want to go and play games and meet their idols. They don’t care that we have anti-terrorist squads moving among them.”

  Andor’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen. His eyebrows lifted. “Gotta take this.”

  He walked towards the elevators, speaking into his phone while Captain Palya described in detail the security the city had arranged for the tournament. Something in Andor’s posture caught my attention and I watched his back as he slowed to a stop. He swayed to one side, then the phone dropped from his hand a moment before his legs collapsed under him.

  I couldn’t speak. My breath caught in my throat and darkness pushed in on my vision. I shook Colin’s hand holding mine and with my other hand pointed towards the elevators.

  “Shit!” Colin let go of my hand and ran to Andor. He was lying on the floor. Not moving.

  “What the fuck?” Vinnie joined Colin while Captain Palya shouted instructions into his two-way radio. Manny snapped at two of the employees when they got up to see what happened. They sat down immediately, fear in their eyes.

  This was too much for me. First Nikki and now Andor. I forced the overture of Mozart’s Don Giovanni into my mind, but it didn’t work. The music that usually calmed me had no effect. The darkness that preceded a shutdown was winning. There was nothing I could do.

  Chapter NINETEEN

  “Jenny?” Colin’s warm hand rested on my forearm. I didn’t stop writing Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor. I wasn’t ready yet. I’d already written the first two movements and was thirteen bars away from completing the Presto. Colin’s hand tightened. “Love?”

  I shook my head and carefully added the quaver rest on the music sheet.

  His phone rang and he squeezed my arm. “I’m going to take this in the living room. I won’t be long.”

  I didn’t respond. He got up and I heard his footsteps against the Italian tiles. We were at the villa. My shutdown had not been as severe as others. With some shutdowns, it was a complete blackout where I had no recollection of the time I’d been rocking and keening. This time I’d been mostly aware of my surroundings, but had wrapped my arms around my torso and had refused to let go.

  Colin had managed to get me into the SUV, where I’d wrapped my arms around my knees and had started keening softly. In that moment I’d so deeply despised being a prisoner to my own mind. No amount of Mozart or deep breathing would release me from that powerful hold my mind had over my body. I’d learned the only course of action was to wait it out and work as hard as I could to stay calm. It hadn’t been easy.

  Even as I was writing the staccatissimo harmonic triads, my mind kept straying back to Andor’s prone body on the floor in front of the elevators. In the short time he’d been in my life, I’d come to respect him and like him. There was a time I hadn’t allowed myself to have personal connections to other people. I’d suffered fewer shutdowns in that time. Caring about people made my mind more vulnerable to overstimulation and shutdowns or, even worse, meltdowns.

  My concern over Nikki’s safety was putting immense strain on my mind. Since the first day when I’d given her the news that her dad had died, she’d become an integral part of my life. She’d never allowed my need for personal space, my character and my discomfort with emotions to stop her from loving me and pushing her way into my life.

  I loved her. And the thought of Lila putting Nikki’s life in danger by revealing her whereabouts to the ruthless enemies of Nikki’s father Hawk brought the darkness back. I forced my mind to focus on Daniel and Pink keeping Nikki safe, and Émile’s bodyguards making sure no one came close to her.

  Knowing that Andor was being taken care of by the best doctors in Budapest aided in calming me. I recalled very little of what Colin and Vinnie had told me in the SUV while driving to the villa. But I did remember Colin repeatedly telling me that Captain Palya had vowed he would make sure Andor had the best care possible.

  I drew the final crotchet rest in the F-clef and tilted my head while studying the page in front of me. All the note stems were angled exactly the same, the flags as well. One semiquaver rest was not to my liking, but everything else pleased me. I took the other seventeen pages of handwritten music and added this page to the bottom. I exhaled deeply.

  “I wish I could do that.” Olivia’s quiet observation drew my attention to the chair next to me. It looked like she had been sitting at the dining room table with me for a while. She was smiling at the music sheets in my hands. “My parents sent me to piano lessons when I was seven or eight and I hated it. Actually, I hated the teacher. I lasted a whole three months before I begged my mom to let me take chess lessons instead. That was the end of my music career.”

  “I had piano lessons from the age of four until I turned sixteen.” It had been a marvellous escape from the pressures my parents had put on me. “Then the professor teaching me retired. I wasn’t interested in having a new teacher.”

  “And I bet you were already at concert pianist level.” She wiggled her fingers as if typing on a keyboard. “Do you still play?”

  “I haven’t played since the day the professor left.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Why not?”

  I thought about it. “I don’t know.”

  “Huh.” She glanced at the sheets now lying in front of me. “Does writing it out help you?”

  “Yes.” I registered her expression. She was waiting for more. I looked for a way to describe my process to a neurotypical person. “When too much information or emotion bombards my mind, it rebels. It’s like the lines in binary code when encoding data. Instead of the bit-strings of zeroes and ones flowing in neat rows, I have all the numbers including decimals rushing in uncontrolled patterns through my brain.”

  “That would paralyse me.” She rested her chin on her hand, her elbow on the table.

  “I suppose that is almost what a shutdown is. My mind just refuses to take in any more information and blocks everything out.” I touched the music sheets. “Writing Mozart’s compositions replaces the numbers with zeroes and ones and pulls them back into flowing in organised lines.”

  “Huh. That makes complete sense.” Her smile lifted her cheeks. “I think my brain
’s zeroes and ones are much, much slower than yours. And possibly large print.”

  I didn’t understand her last statement, but her laughter relaxed me. “You’re unique for a neurotypical.”

  “Uh. Thanks.” She straightened. “And you’re perfect. I’m so glad I met you. I mean, it was a huge shock at first to see Colin. And it’s still weird to call him that. I suppose he’ll always be Jackson to me. But I can see how good you are for him.”

  My eyes widened. “He’s good for me. And good to me.”

  “Yeah. I see that too. But he’s different with you. I mean, it’s obvious that he would’ve changed since the last time I saw him, but there’s something special when he’s with you.” Her expression softened. “You make him happy.”

  I started to respond, but then decided against it. Philosophically, I didn’t agree that any person or place or thing could make one happy, but I understood her sentiment. “He’s a good man.”

  “Oh, that and more.” She leaned back in her chair and looked towards the living room. “When we were together, there was always some kind of sadness following him around. He never said anything, but I think something big, something traumatic happened in his childhood. Something that gave him this strong need to take care of people.”

  Again I didn’t respond. When Colin had told me what he’d been through, he’d also said that he’d never before had the need to tell anyone about this. I’d reminded him how hard it was for me to be deceptive and he’d laughed. He’d been convinced there would never be another reason for him to bring up his childhood. I wondered if he’d been right.

  “Here you are.” Francine walked to the chair on my other side and sat down. She stared at me. “You’re okay?”

  “I am now.” I turned the music sheets over.

  “At bloody last.” Manny came in and sat down next to Francine.

  “Andor?” My breathing shallowed as I waited for Manny to respond.

  “He’ll be fine.” Manny rubbed his hands over his eyes. He looked tired. “I spoke to Palya a few seconds ago. He’s on his way here from the hospital. Andor had a severe reaction to his allergy medication. Apparently he used meds that he knew would worsen his allergies. The doctors gave him stuff to counter it and he’ll be up and running and saying ‘bleeping’ in a day or two.”