Mind Trace

by McCaghren, Holly

  Ouch! C'mon, my brain couldn't have warned me how much that was going to hurt?

  Fortunately for her, it had the intended effect. The man slumped forward onto the aisle. She turned her back to him and roughly rummaged through his pockets, trying to find the keys to her restraints. It seemed to be the luckiest day of her life. He had a pair of keys in his back pocket and she was able to unlock the cuffs in under a minute. When her hands were free, she turned around and dug in his pockets again until she found his wallet.

  Alice considered tossing it, but she hesitated.

  I'm going to need money... I can pay him back later.

  After she pocketed the cash, she rubbed her wrists and looked around. The man that was refueling the van had disappeared and the pump had been disconnected. Looking back towards the convenience store, she saw Jeremy and a few other men lingering near the door. Alice peered through the grating separating the front seats. Lying on the front seat were the keys to the van.

  You have to be kidding! They left the keys on the seat AND the door is unlocked? These people are either careless, or fools. Either way, I'm not going to ask questions.

  Taking a quick glance around one last time, Alice heaved open the side door of the van and dumped the unconscious man's body onto the pavement.

  Sorry, mister. It's just business.

  Stepping around the man, she shut the door and ran to the driver's side of the car. Flinging it open, she leapt into the front seat. Before she could shut it behind her, she heard a man yelling near the side of the van.

  "What the – Hey you! Get out of there!"

  He came around from behind the pump suddenly, so that he was less than ten feet away. Alice panicked, shut the door and locked it.

  Keys! Start the car now!

  She fumbled with the keys, dropping them between the seat and center console. Her heart was pounding as she desperately tried to dig them out. A sudden loud and abrupt pounding on the window made her jump.

  The driver stood there, yelling, "Open this door! Now! You don't want to do this, girl!"

  She reached as far as she could beneath the seats and her hands closed around the key ring.

  Thank God!

  As she shot back up, she noticed the man digging around in his pockets for something. A glance in the rearview showed Jeremy and the four other men barreling towards the vehicle, hands waving.

  She cranked the engine, switched gears and slammed down the accelerator. The tires squealed on the pavement, but finally took hold, and she was off.

  Alice began hysterically laughing and yelled, "Take that, you jerks!"

  She swerved into the ditch while she was gesticulating towards the distant men. She corrected the wheel, steering back into her lane.

  Might be good to try and not die after I just escaped the FBI.

  She had been so desperate to get away, she only just realized that she had no idea where she was, or where she was going. Alice inspected the nearby vicinity, her mind quickly outlining a map of the area. She was currently driving north on a rural road that ran parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike. They had been close to a heavily populated area, but had been driving along on the outskirts for quite some time.

  She needed to find somewhere to get rid of the van, and find another mode of transportation. No doubt the vehicle was equipped a standard LoJack that would be tracked by satellite. Alice knew she had to act before they had a chance to intercept her.

  Okay, it looks like there's an airport, train station, and bus station all within a few miles. They're bound to be covered in security cameras. I don't have a choice; I have to take one of them. But, I don't have to make it easy for Jeremy.

  Maybe if I park at the bus terminal, then have a taxi drop me off a few blocks from the train station, I can hide in the crowd and slip onto a train before they find me. They'll think I'm taking a bus, and search there first.

  It sounds crazy, but it just might give me enough time to get away.

  But...where am I going to go from there?

  Alice thought about the possibilities. She had nowhere left to go that Eric didn't know about. The only person she knew that might be able to help her was Garrett...and she had no idea if he still wanted to.

  I have to give him a chance, though. What else can I do?

  She drove as fast as she could without getting arrested. It would do her little good to get caught driving a stolen government vehicle.

  Alice arrived at the bus station five minutes later. There was a large commuter parking lot off to the side. She found a spot partially hidden under a large carport and parked the van there.

  She weaved in and out of cars until she reached the front of the bus station. Several taxis were idling there, shining like bright yellow beacons of hope. Alice quickly hailed one and slid gratefully into the back seat, out of breath. She told the driver where to go, and watched the bus terminal disappear behind them.

  Alice told the driver to drop her off several blocks away from the train station, next to a community park. There was less chance of being spotted on a security camera there. To her relief, the driver only looked at her long enough to tell her how much the fare was. Shakily counting the bills, Alice passed them over the seat and exited the taxi.

  As she walked the short distance to the station, Alice hovered close to other people walking along the sidewalk, using them as a shield against any security cameras in the area. Her behavior earned her more than a few strange glances, but most people were accustomed to strangers with no sense of personal space. Her behavior was tolerated with only mild curiosity.

  Inside the station, Alice gently pushed through the heavily congested areas to the wall where the schedules were posted.

  Yes! They have a train that goes all the way to Concord. That's close enough to Newport that Garrett can hopefully meet me without drawing unwanted attention.

  No one will be looking for me there...I hope.

  The next train didn't leave for another fifteen minutes. Alice searched for a public terminal in the station where she could send Garrett an email, letting him know she was okay and telling him where to meet her.

  A short walk around turned up an internet café with several computer kiosks. She managed to find an open one and sat down to work. Alice secured the message as best she could, hoping that Garrett could crack it.

  It's risky, I know. Hopefully, Eric doesn't assume I'll be foolish enough to go back to Garrett.

  Her fingers drummed the keyboard impatiently. What would she tell Garrett? She rapidly searched through her repository of locations in the Concord area where they could meet. It would be late when she arrived, so there would be very few places still open.

  Better ask him to meet me at a hotel.

  Alice wrote a quick message, telling Garrett where to meet her, and what time she should be arriving. She encrypted the email and pressed send.

  There's no time to do anything else. Hopefully, this will be enough.

  A few hurried minutes later, she was safely seated on the train. She jumped at every sound, nervously searching for any sign that she had been followed. When the train slid safely out of the station without incident, she finally allowed herself to sit back and let her heart resume its normal rhythm.

  If everything went as planned, she would be back with Garrett soon, planning their next move. Meeting him made her realize just how much she had missed having someone to talk to, especially in the midst of times like these.

  It was much harder to face everything alone.

  Chapter 12

  Garrett had a horrible cramp in his left leg. He struggled to reposition it, to get the blood flowing again. He realized it was lying partly folded beneath him.

  What could have possessed me to fall asleep like that? My leg is killing me.

  He rubbed his neck, and was aware of a sharp pain beneath his hand. Fragments of memories started returning to him. Alice, making plans to meet Jeremy, going to the rest stop and then Jeremy…

  He betr
ayed me!

  "Alice!" he yelled, opening his eyes and searching madly about the room.

  Looking around, Garrett realized he was in his own bed, in his own home.

  How did I get here? I vaguely remember being attacked by Jeremy's men, and then…nothing.

  So, he had me drugged and brought back here?

  Garrett covered his face with his hands, wishing he could block everything out.

  Jeremy must have thought he was protecting me, doing me a service by bringing me back here. Misguided fool.

  I chose to do this because it's the right thing to do, and EngineerCorp must pay for what they've done. I definitely didn't do it because I was crazy or because my judgment was clouded by some girl!

  Put it out of your head, Garrett. None of that matters now. All that matters is Alice. What happened to her? Jeremy must be taking her back to Eric. What time is it?

  He rolled over to look at his bedside clock.

  5:24pm. I've been unconscious for at least eight hours.

  He let out a groan, depression threatening to take over. Alice was most likely already in the hands of Eric, and there was precious little that could be done to get her out.

  Unless, by some miracle, she managed to escape again. He would not have thought that possible, but she did say she had escaped from EngineerCorp once before.

  If anyone can do it, she can.

  But, where will she go from there? Does she know I'm not the one that betrayed her? Or, does she think I'm her enemy now? She could be anywhere, and I have no idea if she'll ever trust me again.

  Maybe she's tried to contact me. I need to check!

  Not wanting to make his head pound again, Garrett slowly raised himself off the bed, and walked carefully down the hall to his office.

  Upon entering the room, his heart dropped in his chest. Everything but the furniture was gone. He pressed his hand over his forehead, speechless. "Jeremy…what did you do?" he whispered.

  He collapsed in a nearby chair.

  He must have wanted to make sure I couldn't continue any more of my "unreasonable" plans.

  It was bad enough that Jeremy had betrayed him in the first place, but this was going too far. For several moments, Garrett just stared at the vacant room.

  The lab! He couldn't have known about that!

  He ran back to the hidden workshop in his room, not remotely caring that his head throbbed with pain because of the effort. He scanned the lab nervously, but everything was just as he left it.

  "Thank God!" he exhaled loudly.

  There were several computers in the room and he hurried to the first one. Garrett checked his email, hoping and praying that a message would be there. Scanning through dozens of unread emails, his eyes stopped on one particular line.

  The subject read, "Want to be a superhero?"

  Is it Alice? Referring to the pajamas? Please, please don't be spam.

  Opening it, he saw that there was an encrypted file attached. His heart began to beat faster, realizing it was most likely the message he was waiting for.

  After a long process of trial and error, he was finally able to crack the security.

  Alice!

  His heart warmed as he read her words.

  She did manage to escape! She made it, and she knows I wasn't responsible. I knew she could do it.

  He glanced at the nearest clock. Garrett had plenty of time before he had to leave for Concord to meet her.

  He left the room, both with a grim determination and a hope he could only attribute to Alice.

  ***

  Eric glowered down at the man seated before him.

  I really don't expect much from people these days…but this is just pathetic.

  Jeremy was sitting in the armchair across from his desk, nervously trying to explain how the girl had "somehow managed to escape" and how it was not his fault.

  Not your fault? I've heard that more times than I can count.

  This particular "incident" had occurred at a gas station on the way to deliver her. Apparently, while they were refueling, they left her alone in the van with one other man, most likely someone equally incompetent. Young Alice managed to incapacitate this man "by some unknown means" and then drive off into the sunset…leaving five grown men staring with their mouths gaping open.

  From there, they found the van parked in the back end of the commuter lot, abandoned. They checked the security cameras in and around the bus station, but had no luck until an eyewitness verified seeing her at the front of the building hailing a taxi. It took some work, but they were able to track down the taxi and driver and confirmed that she took the taxi to some random street, but were unable to verify where she had gone after that. The driver had been unable to offer any useful information.

  "So, that's it? She just drove away and you have no idea where she is?" Eric asked emotionlessly.

  "Well, Mr. Martin…sir, we traced her to a location on the west side of town. There were no camera feeds in the area where she exited the taxi, but we're working on scanning the cameras that surrounded the area. She was also able to get some money from the stolen wallet that she abandoned in the van."

  "Did it ever occur to you that there's a train station and an airport less than five miles away from where she was last seen? She could be halfway across the country by now!"

  "We just thought…she can't have gone far. She’s young, alone, and has no one to help her. I’ll send a team there immediately and begin combing the area."

  "No need. You have done enough. My men will take care of it from here."

  Eric was about to turn away, but paused.

  "Before you go, Jeremy, there is something I want to know...something that has been bugging me for a while. How did Alice reach out to you in the first place? Why would she choose to ask for your help? And, don't tell me she just chose you at random. It's insulting."

  Jeremy fidgeted in his seat, uncomfortable under Eric's steely gaze.

  Eric continued, "I suppose it might jog your memory if I told you that we checked the feed from the rest stop where you met. I was very interested to see an old friend of mine with the two of you. Garrett Wiggins, as a matter of fact."

  Let's see how he explains this one.

  Eric let the words sink in for a moment before speaking again. "Jeremy, you've worked in the business long enough. You know what happens in situations like this, and you know what I am capable of. You can either tell me the truth now, or put your family at even greater risk while I find out what I want to know anyway. I don't need to waste time explaining just how that kind of thing happens…"

  Jeremy stared at the floor for a few moments, wrestling some inner conflict, and then sighed. "There'll be no need for that. You already know he's involved."

  He straightened in his chair and looked up at Eric for the first time.

  "The girl contacted Garrett some time ago, seeking protection. She told him some kind of crazy story that she had proof to vindicate him in the scandal with EngineerCorp. He foolishly believed her, and set off on this quest for redemption. They agreed that they needed some outside help, which was when he got in touch with me. You know the rest of the story from there."

  Jeremy became bolder, almost defensive. "Garrett is innocent. I've always known that. And, you've put him through hell for reasons that can only be your own. He's never done anything to you, and now he can't. We've confiscated all of his computers and electronics, so any evidence he came in contact with is in our custody. Just leave my family and Garrett out of this."

  Pathetic.

  Eric gazed back at him, nonplussed. "Yes, I know. I took the liberty of having some of my men confiscate them from you while we've been chatting. The equipment is being analyzed now."

  Jeremy made a motion to protest, but Eric interrupted. "Your family will be safe, as long as you cooperate. As for Garrett…only time will tell what happens to him. You've done your part. Garrett is lucky to have a friend like you."

  He paused, clearing his throat
.

  "You're dismissed."

  "Wait, you don't want us to pursue her?"

  Eric laughed quietly. "Oh, certainly not. I have my own plans for Alice…"

  I do, indeed.

  Jeremy regarded him with a concerned expression, before motioning to the rest of his men and leaving the room.

  Once they were gone, Grant stepped up from the side of the room. "What do you think, sir?"

  "I think she will reach out to Garrett again. He is the only person she knows since her whole world has been turned upside down. She will seek that security, no matter what. When she does, we’ll be ready for her. It's time to give Gabriel a call…"

  Grant said nothing, watching him. Eric was looking out the window of his office, smiling to himself.

  "She will never see this one coming, Grant. I promise you that."

  ***

  Ever since the "incident" with the servers, Luke was permanently reassigned to another area. Management was greatly displeased by his performance, but were unwilling to fire him; he knew too much about what happened. In response, he was moved to one of the teams responsible for sorting through information on priority hard drives brought in from the field.

  Grunt work.

  Luke didn't know where work like this came from, or why it was important. It was above his pay grade to know such things. He was only responsible for sorting through the endless volumes of information until he found references to any key words provided by the higher ups.

  He was currently searching through files to find any mention of a person named "Alice." In addition to that directive, there was a list of known accounts, email and otherwise that were currently being monitored.

  Luke needed a paycheck more than he needed to satisfy his curiosity. There was also a disturbing trend that kept his curiosity at bay. Employees that asked too many questions, or got too involved with certain projects just seemed to disappear. Officially, they were told that those employees were merely relocated to some remote EngineerCorp office or another. Either way, Luke preferred not to take any chances.