Garrett laughed. "No. Nothing like that. I need you to buy a prepaid cell phone for me, and slip it into my basket when I leave the store."
"Why don't you buy it yourself?"
"I can't be seen buying it. I'm working undercover. There're people following me, and they can't find out what I'm up to."
The young man stopped playing for a moment, looking at him suspiciously. "Hey, are you like, in the FBI or something?"
"Keep watching your game! And yes, something exactly like that. I'll pay you, in cash, if you're willing."
"Whoa. And all I have to do is just slip it into your basket?"
"Exactly. I'll park my basket next to the door for a few moments, while I grab a drink from the machine. Drop it in then, but don't be obvious about it. It's very important."
"That's totally rad!"
"Shh! You don't want them to hear you! Listen, I'm going to put the cash behind this game here, and you get it after I leave."
"Okay, no one will ever know. I'll be so sneaky, you won't even know I was there. Like a ninja."
"I knew I could count on you. Your country thanks you."
Garrett smiled to himself as he walked away. There was no harm in the ruse, and he would get what he needed. He watched out of the corner of his eye and saw the boy sneak over and grab the cash.
I hope he doesn't just steal the money and run. It's a risk, but I think he's good for it.
He took his time shopping, making sure to give the boy enough time to purchase the phone. As he checked out, he saw him lingering near the doors, waiting.
Garrett parked his basket near the doors, moving several yards away to the vending machine. In the cheap plastic of the machine, he saw the reflection of the young man slip something into his basket, then vanish. A few moments later he returned to his cart, pushing it out to his car and to freedom.
He unlocked his trunk and began to load the bags into his sedan. Glancing into one of the sacks, he could see the cell phone.
Perfect! Maybe one day I can find that kid and thank him.
Garrett drove home feeling just a little bit closer to completing his goals. He knew it would be a long and arduous process, but each step brought him a little nearer to the end.
Nearer to Alice…
Monday came after what seemed like the longest weekend of his life. At work, no one really said anything to him about the time he was gone. A few people asked him what happened to his eye, which was still heavily discolored from his encounter with Gabriel, but he made up a story to satisfy their curiosity.
After catching up on the essential tasks he missed during his absence, Garrett shut himself in his office. He drew all of the shades closed and sat down at his desk. Garrett could not help but remember the last time he had been in his office. Alice had been there too, sitting across the desk with her awful blonde wig. A ghost of a smile teased his lips as he shook his head and turned on his computer. He was about to search for Richard's information, when he paused.
What if they're monitoring this computer, too? I can't risk alerting them about Richard.
He looked around his office, and saw an old, dusty laptop sitting on one of the shelves. He wheeled over, removing stacks of paper that had been sitting on top of it.
Perfect. It's completely outdated, but that's exactly why they wouldn't have thought to bug it.
It took close to ten minutes to come to life, but he was able to pull up every file Cyberconn had on Richard, personnel and otherwise. He tackled the personnel files first.
Nothing useful there. Not that I expected it to be that easy.
From there he moved on to the timesheets, taking note of how long Richard was in and out of the building. Employees entered from the side door and the keypad kept a record of each person entering from their keypad entry. It took some time, but Garrett eventually plotted all of the information on a graph.
He scrolled silently through the graphs, growing more and more hopeless, when something caught his eye. Acting on his hunch, he rearranged the charts so that he could compare all of the information at once.
Gotcha.
He had been right. Every two weeks, Richard took a two-hour lunch.
Richard was not the type of person to vary his routine, making each of the variations in his schedule stand out like dozens of red flags. Even if he was not meeting anyone then, Garrett was now insatiably curious about what Richard was doing during that time. Perhaps it was a product of madness, a result of the strange and unbelievable circumstances he found himself in, but Garrett could not help his newfound paranoia.
Garrett was not a micromanager. He was flexible with his employees' schedules as long as they finished their work in a timely manner. They were not required to be back by any certain time. No one would have said anything to Richard about his long lunches.
For the most part, Richard seemed to be set in his own routine. Every day, he would eat at the same Chinese buffet in town. The food there was horribly greasy and cheap, making it an economical choice for someone who did not emphasize a healthy lifestyle. However, he was always back at the office less than an hour later. When had that first changed? Garrett had never even noticed.
If Richard followed his pattern, and there was no indication he would not, then his next meeting was that very same day. Garrett stared at the screen, disbelieving.
I suppose stranger things have happened recently…
That gave Garrett a little over an hour to figure out some way to escape the building without notice and follow Richard wherever he was going.
That's nothing. I can do that blindfolded… I hope.
Garrett peeked through a crack in the blinds and looked outside. It took him a few moments to locate, but he found the white van parked across the street. There was no possible way to get his car out of the parking lot without being seen. Even if he were able to create a diversion, they would surely notice that his car was gone after it subsided. He could not afford to rouse their suspicion.
He opened the door to his office and looked around. Garrett's office was in the back of the building. He preferred it that way; he was able to get more work done because his employees didn't come to that area unless they needed something specifically from him.
The building layout was simple and straightforward. The front entrance opened to a well-lit room with faded couches, several display cases with their more successful products, and a reception area. Behind this, a short hallway wound to the center of the building, passing the kitchen and bathroom areas.
The center of the building was where Garrett's secretary, Linda, was located. The four main halls in the building all met there. The hall with the employee entrance ended there, branching off to the labs and production areas on the other side of the building. Opposite the hallway leading from the front of the building was a shorter one that ended in Garrett's office.
Between Linda's desk and his office, a door led off to the shipping and receiving area. There was a receiving dock there, attached to a diminutive room that they referred to as their warehouse.
Garrett went to Linda, asking her to hold all of his calls and not disturb him for the rest of the afternoon, as he was working on something critically important. She gave him a curt nod and quickly made the proper arrangements. He smiled warmly.
Gotta love her. I can count on her for anything.
Since Garrett could not use his own car, he had to find some other way to follow Richard. He couldn't make phone calls from his office to arrange any other transportation, as he was sure that they had his office bugged.
But, I bet they didn't bug the bathroom. I know I wouldn't want to listen to that…
He snuck down the hall to the restroom and made a few phone calls on the prepaid phone, finally finding a taxi service that could pick him up on such short notice, far enough from Cyberconn that he would not be seen by the people in the van. Garrett could sneak out of the door near the dock and walk several blocks down the alley that ran behind the building, where
he would meet the cab.
He gathered up the few things he needed to bring, ensuring that he left his real cell phone on the desk so he would still appear to be in the building. Before leaving, Garrett turned the radio on so it would mask any noise he made exiting his office.
He peeked out the door, and when he saw that the hall was empty, he crept out of his office, locking the door silently behind him.
The person who normally worked the warehouse/dock area was already gone to lunch, so he did not have to worry about anyone noticing him. Once outside, he jogged the few blocks to where he agreed to meet the cab. He could not help but feel his spirits lifting. With the crisp, cool air blowing on his face, knowing that finally no one was watching him, he set off to do something he should have done long ago.
The cab arrived a few minutes later, and he quickly entered the faded yellow taxi. The man in the front seat partially turned around to ask, "Where to?"
Garrett responded hesitantly. "This might seem kind of cliché and strange, but I need you to wait here until a man drives by, then follow him."
The cab driver raised an eyebrow in the rearview mirror.
That sounded a lot less strange in my head.
Garrett quickly thought of an explanation. "Look, I'm a private detective, so I do this kind of thing all the time. I normally use my own vehicle, but I know this man personally and he would recognize my car. Don't worry; I will give you a nice tip for your troubles."
The driver laughed. "Whatever you say, buddy. The meter is running, so it's your dime!"
They were parked there for a span of almost five minutes, when Garrett saw Richard's 1983 Buick drive past them. He motioned for the driver to follow him, reminding him not to follow too closely. It was relatively easy to keep up with Richard. He had no reason to suspect that anyone would ever follow him.
Ten minutes after that, Garrett watched as Richard pulled into the same Chinese buffet he ate at every day. He had a sinking feeling in his chest. Had he been wrong about this? He sighed, and asked the driver to pull into a parking spot across the street. They waited. He was already there, so he might as well see what took Richard so long.
He saw Richard get out of his car and enter the restaurant. The windows on the building were clear, with no curtains hanging or other window coverings. Garrett could see into the front half of the building, but beyond that, the lighting was poor and it was too dark.
Richard spoke with the hostess for a few moments before she showed him to a table near the window. From there, he stood and promptly went to the buffet.
Well, that figures.
He gazed across the street distastefully. Anyone who ate greasy food like that on a regular basis was asking for a heart attack. He pushed himself back onto the worn plush fabric of the cab's back seat. He could still see out of the window, but he had no idea why he bothered.
Five minutes passed before Richard came back to his table, plate overfilling with food. Another twenty minutes went by with nothing else to do but watch Richard's cholesterol climb.
Garrett was on the verge of telling the cab driver to take him back to the office, when he gave one last look back to where Richard was seated.
What? Who is that with him?
A strange man had slipped deftly by when Garrett wasn’t looking and was now engaged in conversation with Richard.
He almost jumped out of the window trying to look at him. Garrett did not recognize the man, but somehow instinctively knew that he found the person he was looking for.
Garrett sat there, awkwardly with his face pressed against the pane of glass, no longer caring how foolish he might appear. It was one thing to be made aware that someone had been sabotaging him for years. It was quite another to see evidence of it with his own eyes. He wondered at the callousness of a person that would agree to such a thing and carry it out so casually.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but after a while, Richard reached into his pocket and handed the man a small device. In exchange, Richard was handed a thin, brown envelope. Most likely payment for his services.
They talked for quite some time after that, about what, Garrett could not imagine, nor did he care. Then, the unknown man gazed down at his watch, reached into his pocket and laid some bills on the table before he stood to leave. He shook hands with Richard, who smiled at him almost greedily.
Garrett sat back again, trying to be inconspicuous as the strange man exited the restaurant. He stared at his face, trying to memorize it. The man looked around suspiciously before walking to a dark SUV parked in front.
What is it with bad guys and SUVs?
He took note of the license plate, make, and model.
Garrett leaned forward and spoke to the driver. "Change of plans…we need to follow that black SUV pulling out from the restaurant across the street."
"You got it."
The driver waited until the SUV was a respectable distance away before following. Garrett checked the time. He needed to be back before long to avoid anyone noticing his absence.
They drove silently for several miles before the scenery began to change into clusters of close-knit houses. They were moving into the outskirts of the residential area in Newport. There had not been much residential development in some time, so many of the houses were older homes that had been renovated.
What's he doing out here? Shouldn't he be delivering the data?
In his mind, he irrationally imagined the culprit driving madly back to EngineerCorp to deliver the stolen data. However, that was clearly not the case. He told the cab driver to keep a greater distance now, as the cab would stand out more in this area.
The SUV finally stopped at one of the houses and parked in the driveway. Garrett had the driver pull over to the side of the street, far enough away so they would not attract the man's attention. He got out of the vehicle, and stooped to pick up something…the newspaper?
He lives here? This is getting stranger by the minute.
The man reached into his pocket to take out some keys, unlocked the front door and went inside.
Garrett wrote down the street name and took notes over what he saw. If this man was the person responsible for getting the information back to EngineerCorp, then Garrett could use him to find a way back onto the EngineerCorp campus. He would need all the help he could get.
After he had gotten all the information he could, he told the driver to take him back.
They arrived at the same place where Garrett had been picked up. He paid the driver and thanked him, giving a gracious tip. As he jogged back to the warehouse dock, he hesitated only when it came into view. Seeing no one outside, he deftly crept up to the door and slipped inside.
The warehouse was empty, fortunately, and he made it back inside his office without incident. A quick peek outside the window revealed the white van, still parked across the street.
The clock read 3:03pm, meaning several more hours before he could go home. Garrett frowned impatiently. There was so much he needed to research, but he could not do it there. He didn't trust his work computers, and there was no way he could do what he needed to on the old laptop he found.
Garrett still mourned the loss of his home computers, but he knew he wasn't helpless. He had more than enough to work with at home.
It pays to have a secret lab.
Chapter 18
Steven watched as the tall, dark-haired man returned home for the evening.
I wish I was anywhere but here. But, I'm stuck watching this nobody named Garrett Wiggins.
Before his reassignment, he was a member of the elite guards that patrolled the underground complex at EngineerCorp, a complex that most people had no idea existed. Then, there was the unfortunate incident that ruined his career.
It all happened one evening when he was working his shift in the "Underground," as they affectionately called it. His assignment was simple. He was responsible for delivering dinner to one of the guests. She was a girl, seemingly innocent and non-threatening.
He knew she had to have some terrible secret to have earned herself a locked cell at EngineerCorp, but he couldn’t imagine what it might be, and it was above his pay grade to know such details.
When he entered the room, she seemed caught by surprise. She jumped back and tripped over her bed. He cursed to himself for his bad luck. She had not stirred at all and he assumed she was unconscious, so he bent over to check on her. In the next moment, he found out the hard way why she was behind a locked door. She shot him with his own taser, and then completely immobilized him.
It was humiliating, but even more so when he woke up. Not only had she fully escaped the compound, but she also attacked Eric Martin on her way out. Steven became aware of that gossip later, when he overheard some of the other guards talking.
Steven awoke in an impossibly awkward position, slumped near the scanner of the girl's cell. She had apparently dragged him over to use his palm to activate the door.
Convenient.
Then, there was the fact that he was wearing significantly less clothing than when he entered the cell. He was found only wearing an undershirt, boxers, and handcuffs.
Eric's unofficial second-in-command was standing over him when he awoke. He was staring at him with a grim expression and Steven could clearly see that he had messed things up irreparably. Grant stood watching as two other men roughly pulled him up to standing and unfastened his cuffs.
Grant spoke with great deliberation. "Follow me."
He tried to maintain what dignity he could, trying to shake them off and stand on his own. The gesture was futile, as he was still unsteady and unable to walk without help.
Steven groggily followed, trying to shake off the fog in his brain and figure out exactly what had happened. He was completely lost, not even noticing where they were going. When they suddenly stopped, he was shocked to see that they were standing in front of the door to Eric's office.
A short pause later, they were buzzed inside.
Eric was sitting in his immaculate desk, staring menacingly across the room. Even the air itself was thick with the sense of disappointment. In spite of his stupor, Steven was aware that his heart began to beat faster and his palms grew sweaty.
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